“Mom! Mom! I didn’t do well on this assessment—I only got third place… sob sob, I’ve embarrassed you, I’m sorry~!”
Asterys actually started to cry, sniffling as she wiped away her tears.
“Oh dear~ what’s there to cry about~” Liang Lai rubbed Asterys’s head, “You did great already~ And Mom doesn’t care that much about rankings. As long as you tried your best, I’m happy! I’ve noticed all your hard work~”
Saying this, she even pinched Asterys’s cheek affectionately, clearly doting on her.
“It’s okay! In my eyes, Little Te is already amazing!”
Hearing that, Asterys instantly broke into a smile, no longer crying with her nose scrunched up. Yet she kept clinging to Liang Lai’s arm, acting spoiled and refusing to let go.
Dolosa watched them with surprise, seeing tears flow so naturally, then rolled her eyes dramatically without bothering to hide it.
“Fake!” she muttered quietly.
Liang Lai, perceptive as ever, noticed Dolosa sulking nearby and immediately pulled the child into her embrace as well, gently patting her back.
“Very impressive, Little Do,” Liang Lai gave her a thumbs up, “Really amazing! Hmm… you’ve dazzled me! Though I’m not great at compliments… Awesome! Yeah!”
Though the praise came out a little awkward, Dolosa felt much better inside. She snorted quietly at Asterys but showed no outward reaction, instead nestling obediently beside Liang Lai.
At that moment, Dolosa also realized she was nearly as tall as Liang Lai.
Probably because she’d been eating so well, getting plenty of nutrition—within just two months, she’d shot up quite a bit, now reaching the corner of Liang Lai’s eyes.
“Liang Lai, I bet in another six months, I’ll be taller than you.”
Dolosa was delighted. She remembered the first time she met Liang Lai—Liang Lai had held her in her arms.
When she was taller than Liang Lai, maybe she could hold Liang Lai instead! Spin her around a few times, a proper princess carry!
Just thinking about it made her giddy.
Liang Lai stepped back and sized Dolosa up.
“Really~”
She nodded with satisfaction, a sense of pride directed at herself.
“No wonder! I’m really good at raising kids!”
It made sense; before becoming a priestess, she had experience raising pigs, feeding piglets until they were plump.
When it came time for slaughter at the festival, the big men couldn’t even hold them down—several had knocked over those burly fellows.
Her gaze on Dolosa wasn’t one of delight, but admiration for her own child-rearing skills.
Dolosa often felt Liang Lai looked at her oddly but didn’t pay it much mind.
On the way back to the Court of Purity, Liang Lai bought some Transforming Candy and Light Honey Freeze. She liked these little treats herself, and they were harmless since they contained no additives…
As soon as they got home, Illucy pounced into Liang Lai’s arms, rubbing against her like a little animal.
She had been standing by the upstairs window, practicing her Crystallization Ability while looking downstairs, hoping to see that familiar figure soon appear in her world.
Finally, she got to see Liang Lai laughing and chatting with the kids.
Delucia had been sitting downstairs. When she saw the door open and was about to run over to jump into Liang Lai’s arms, Illucy came flying down the stairs and beat her to it. Delucia’s smile froze, disbelief flickering across her face.
“This kid runs so fast?”
She hadn’t expected this surprise appearance at all.
After Illucy had snuggled into Liang Lai’s embrace, Delucia approached the group. She gently took Liang Lai’s hand, shook it twice, and showed a sweet smile.
“Welcome home~ Mom~”
Looking at this group of “good” children she had taken in, a wave of motherly love surged through Liang Lai once again. She clapped her hands and declared:
“To celebrate Little Do and Little Te passing their assessment smoothly! I’ve decided to take you all out to play tomorrow! Whatever you want to buy, just tell me. Whatever you want to eat, just say it! No more being stuck at home studying tomorrow~”
Everyone else was pretty happy—except Dolosa, whose face suddenly fell after three seconds of excitement.
She thought about how Liang Lai could always bring home another child when she went out, maybe even two kids at once. What if this time she ran into another bullied child? Liang Lai would surely pick up more kids again…
Dolosa looked at Asterys, Delucia, and Illucy gathered around Liang Lai—the so-called “little sisters”—and her head felt like it had two big ones.
No! No more! If there were more kids, Liang Lai wouldn’t have much attention left for her! On top of that, her competition would only grow! It was already huge!
So Dolosa interrupted, “Liang Lai! Let’s just forget it. There’s nothing fun about going out… let’s just celebrate here at home.”
Seeing Dolosa’s hesitant expression, the others didn’t understand, especially Illucy, usually timid, who hid behind Liang Lai and whispered softly: “But… but sometimes going out to play is good too…”
Illucy was right; she had been here for a month but hadn’t gone outside even once, staying only in the Court of Purity.
She hadn’t even visited the other palaces, let alone the market of the common folk.
Asterys and Delucia hadn’t caught Dolosa’s meaning yet.
They just thought Liang Lai’s finding Illucy was a coincidence.
How could so many stories of Liang Lai stumbling upon injured or bullied kids and heroically rescuing them really happen?
Liang Lai couldn’t understand either.
Aren’t kids naturally supposed to like going out and playing? Staying cooped up at home all the time would make them sick…
Seeing everyone’s puzzled looks (except for Liang Lai), Dolosa was inwardly furious and grumbled:
“These guys have never suffered like I have, so they dare to let Liang Lai go out! Every time she goes out, she brings home another kid!”
But she couldn’t say this aloud yet—she had to pretend to be magnanimous, which made her miserable.
“Little Do, everyone hasn’t gone out to play for a long time. Let’s just relax a bit… If you think walking is tiring, I can carry you, okay~”
Liang Lai thought Dolosa was just lazy.
Dolosa: “…”
Liang Lai went on, “Look, your little sisters really want to go out and play (actually, they’re all bored and itching to go out). Isn’t that right?”
The Twin Sisters and Illucy all said yes in unison, now the three of them standing firmly on the same side.