“These children staying by the Saintess’s side are different from the Dustfolk outside. It seems I can’t rush things. If I want Liang Lai all to myself, I need to become strong first…”
This was Dexilensi’s conclusion.
“If I can get through this storm, then I mustn’t touch anyone else. The first thing to do is to become stronger—at least stronger than these few children… Then I can figure out how to disguise myself as someone else to kill…”
Dexilensi’s gaze gradually grew vacant as she started thinking about things far, far away.
Time ticked by second by second. Dolosa was fired up with energy, while Asterys and Delucia, being Shadowborn, didn’t need much sleep. Only poor Illucy was struggling, her head nodding drowsily.
Liang Lai pulled Illucy close.
“If you’re tired, just go back and sleep.”
Illucy stubbornly shook her head, forcing her eyes open wide. “No, I want to stay here with Mom, uh, and with the sisters.”
Looking at Illucy’s stubborn yet pitiful little face, Liang Lai sighed and gently laid the girl’s head on her lap.
“Then just rest your head on my leg and sleep. You look too tired to stay awake. Sleep for a while, and when it’s your turn to watch, we’ll wake you up, okay? After all, we agreed to take shifts watching Dexilensi from the start.”
“Mm… I…”
Illucy wanted to protest, but once her head rested on the Saintess’s soft thigh, her eyelids grew heavy.
The Saintess smells so nice, the Saintess’s legs are so soft, being near the Saintess really feels safe… Hehe~ Today I got to lap-rest on the Saintess—it’s been such a satisfying day~
Even in her sleep, Illucy smiled, clearly the biggest winner of this entire dispute.
“She needs to sleep now.”
Dolosa was irritated. Pointing at Dexilensi, who was still holding an ice pack, she said coldly, “Looks like the swelling on your face is almost gone. That ice pack’s nearly melted, right? No need to drag this out. Just go to sleep. Don’t tell me you’re too nervous to sleep.”
She glared fiercely at Dexilensi.
Dolosa refused to believe Dexilensi could really sleepwalk.
Even if she did, waking her constantly until she was exhausted enough to sleep—she wanted to see if Dexilensi would still sleepwalk after that!
But obviously, Dolosa didn’t realize one thing: if Dexilensi dared suggest this method, she must have a backup plan.
That’s right, Dexilensi knew she would sleepwalk once asleep, but most of the time she would just sit up, stare blankly, then lie back down.
Walking around was rare. Plus, she didn’t sleepwalk every time—more like ninety-something percent of the time.
So Dexilensi decided to fake sleepwalking the first two times, then genuinely sleep on the third, to see if she would actually sleepwalk.
If she did, great. If not, she could explain that not every sleep leads to sleepwalking, and ask for another chance.
With this in mind, Dexilensi set the ice pack down on the table.
“Okay, Sister Dolosa, I’ll sleep now to prove it to everyone.”
She said no more and lay down, closing her eyes to pretend to sleep.
Dolosa stared fixedly at Dexilensi.
Liang Lai, Asterys, and Delucia all focused on Dexilensi, the room utterly silent. No one dared make a sound that might disturb her sleep.
Minutes passed. About ten minutes in, regular breathing came from Dexilensi’s side, sounding like she was asleep.
Everyone held their breath, eyes locked on the bed.
After about twenty more minutes, just as Liang Lai was starting to relax and feel disappointed, Dexilensi suddenly sat up on the bed. She just sat there, staring blankly, looking a bit lost.
“What is she doing?” Delucia leaned toward her sister to whisper.
Asterys frowned. “Probably acting… but there’s also the possibility that Dexilensi really does have sleepwalking symptoms. I’m not sure, but since she proposed this solution, she probably does.”
Asterys’s guess was correct.
After Dexilensi got off the bed and walked around once, she stopped in front of the window and stood perfectly still for a full hour.
“Wake her up,” Liang Lai stood and walked over, gently tapping Dexilensi’s shoulder. “Alright, Dexilensi, let’s end it for today.”
Dexilensi blinked as if waking from a dream.
“I, I…”
She seemed confused about what was happening, turning her head slowly. Then her body shuddered, and she lowered her head in gloom.
“I thought everything just now was a dream. I thought I was just waking up now.”
Liang Lai looked at the pitiful girl before her, genuine pity in her eyes.
But despite the sympathy, she couldn’t show it openly. Until Dexilensi’s guilt was fully cleared, showing concern would only upset Dolosa—and worse, they might be caring for a murderer.
“Asterys, Delucia, you two watch Dexilensi now. Don’t let her sleep more than two hours a day. We’ll take shifts: you two today, then Dolosa and Illucy tomorrow, then me the next day, and repeat the cycle. After six days, we’ll see the final results.”
Liang Lai refused to believe that under six days of strict sleep control, Dexilensi would keep pretending to sleepwalk when allowed to sleep on the sixth day.
The others agreed, but Dexilensi kept her head lowered, looking both restrained and wronged.
Liang Lai gave Dexilensi a long, hard look, then picked up the sleeping Illucy and left the room with Dolosa.
Inside the room, only Asterys, Delucia, and Dexilensi remained.
Dexilensi said nothing and quietly took a seat on the sofa.
“Do you have anything to say to us?” Asterys broke the silence first, asking Dexilensi, “For example, you wanted to kill Dolosa because you also like Liang Lai, right?”
“Not that kind of love for family, right?”
At those words, Dexilensi’s composed body suddenly stiffened.