“Dong!”
Asterys and Delucia both collapsed to the ground at the same time, fainting.
That’s right, Asterys’s plan was to pretend to faint before Liang Lai could react.
As long as the two of them pretended to be unconscious on the ground, then after they woke up, they could cling to Liang Lai’s waist and cry, saying they had no idea what happened.
The kind-hearted Saintess Mother would definitely not suspect them, and would even lovingly pat their heads.
Just as expected, the moment these two children fainted, Liang Lai’s eyes widened in alarm and she rushed to their side.
“Asterys!”
“Delucia!”
She scooped them up, one in each arm, picking them up like little chicks and tucking them under her arms. Fortunately, these twins were both on the short and skinny side, so Liang Lai had no trouble carrying them as she dashed back upstairs to her own room.
She gently placed them on her bed and called for a Nun to come and check on them.
After examining them, the Nun told Liang Lai that the two girls were fine, and it seemed they had simply been shocked or frightened, which caused them to faint.
Liang Lai nodded thoughtfully, showing she understood.
They were just children—getting scared by something so frightening was perfectly normal.
So, their crazed state at that time definitely wasn’t their intention. Either someone was manipulating them from behind, or they’d just been scared silly.
“Sigh~”
Liang Lai let out a breath and sighed as she sat by the bed, her fingers gently brushing Asterys’s smooth cheek.
“I’m sorry… In the end, I really am too useless.”
She was always like this, taking all the blame onto herself.
Asterys and Delucia’s eyelashes fluttered slightly; this was unexpected for the two of them. Liang Lai’s kindness made them… feel a little guilty.
Could someone so responsible, so compassionate, really survive well in this world?
When morning light filtered through the curtains once again, Asterys’s fingers were the first to twitch.
She slowly opened her eyes. The cracks in her light green pupils had faded, replaced by an innocent gaze brimming with tears.
“Mo—Mother?” she called weakly, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s.
The tone was just right—both weak and helpless, with just the right amount of trembling.
Liang Lai immediately sprang up from her chair, rushing to the bedside in three quick steps.
“I’m here!”
She reached out to touch Asterys’s forehead. The temperature beneath her fingertips had returned to normal.
Delucia also “woke up” at just the right moment, her Six-Pointed Star Pupils veiled in a layer of mist. She was even more direct than her sister, diving headlong into Liang Lai’s arms, her shoulders shaking violently.
“Mother! What—what did we do!?” Delucia’s voice was muffled against Liang Lai’s chest, tinged with genuine sobs—not acting, but from the fear of almost being exposed.
“Those scary words, it wasn’t me, I didn’t say them…!”
Asterys struggled to sit up as well, but “accidentally” tumbled off the bed, landing on her knees at Liang Lai’s feet.
She looked up, her little face streaked with tears. “Did we… hurt Mother?”
Liang Lai’s heart instantly melted. She knelt down, hugging the twins close.
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
She gently patted their backs.
“It was those bad things that controlled you.”
Out of Liang Lai’s sight, Delucia’s lips curled in a triumphant arc. Her fingers quietly crept up to the back of Liang Lai’s neck, lightly rubbing the black markings there.
“But… we said such terrible things…” she made her voice choke with sobs on purpose, “We even said we’d lock Mother away…”
Asterys began to tremble in sync.
“I—I even bit Mother’s finger…”
She grabbed Liang Lai’s right hand and, sure enough, found a tiny bite mark on her index finger.
Liang Lai misunderstood the look, thinking the child was blaming herself.
She cupped Asterys’s face, gently wiping away her tears with her thumb.
“See? It doesn’t hurt at all. Mother knows it wasn’t your true intention.”
Delucia took the chance to bury her face in Liang Lai’s neck, inhaling deeply. Mother’s scent, Mother’s warmth, Mother’s heartbeat… all so close.
Her tongue secretly brushed Liang Lai’s collarbone, leaving behind a nearly invisible trace of moisture.
“We were so scared…”
Asterys seized the chance to snuggle in too, wrapping her arms around Liang Lai’s waist.
“Afraid Mother would hate us, would abandon us…”
With the two warm little bodies pressed so tightly against her, Liang Lai’s heart nearly melted.
“How could I?”
She kissed the tops of their heads.
“Mother will never hate you.”
Ah, ever since she became a woman, her motherly love had just exploded. Liang Lai herself felt a bit embarrassed by it, not sure if it was the hormones or just her own innate kindness at work.
Delucia suddenly looked up, an eerie light flickering in her pupils.
“Really? Even if we… did something really, really bad, Mother would still forgive us?”
A few days ago, Dolosa had asked a similar question. Liang Lai wondered why these children always thought things were so complicated.
Without hesitation, she nodded. “Of course. Mother will help you correct your mistakes.”
Asterys and Delucia exchanged a glance. Out of Liang Lai’s sight, their smiles grew wider and wider, nearly stretching to their ears.
Delucia’s nails dug into her palm, using pain to suppress the excitement about to burst forth.
“Then, pinky promise?”
Asterys held out her little finger, her eyes as wet as a puppy’s.
Liang Lai smiled and hooked her own slender finger around it.
“Pinky promise.”
At that moment, Delucia suddenly grabbed Liang Lai’s other hand and pressed it to her own chest.
“Mother, can you feel it?” she whispered. “It only beats for you.”
Liang Lai just thought it was the child being affectionate and gently ruffled her hair. She didn’t notice at all that beneath her palm, Delucia’s heart was pounding at an abnormal speed, as if it would burst through her chest.
Outside the door, Dolosa watched everything unfold, her resentment growing deeper.
“These days, Liang Lai only cares about those two, she’s completely forgotten about me… Those two liars… pretending to be sick again!”
Dolosa’s voice gradually twisted, her nails tapping on the doorframe and making a shrill noise.
“Pretending to be good? Saying sweet things to please her?” she gritted her teeth, finally letting out a cold laugh, “Fine~ I can do that too.”
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, there was a not-so-natural smile on her face.
“Click~”
She pushed open the door.
“Mother~” Dolosa’s voice was sweet to the point of being frightening.