Illucy’s eyes gradually widened, and she almost tumbled forward as she joyfully grabbed the other’s hand, shaking it up and down.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you, Asterys sister!” Then she turned to look at Delucia and Dolosa.
“Thank you too! Delucia sister! Dolosa sister!”
Dolosa seemed completely oblivious to Illucy’s excitement and just turned around to leave, heading toward the practice room.
“What… what’s wrong with her?” Illucy asked, staring at Dolosa’s retreating figure.
Asterys only smiled slightly, bringing a finger to her lips in a “shh” gesture.
“You don’t need to know all that. Just know this—we’ve already persuaded her and allowed you to join us.”
After saying this, Asterys and Delucia strode away, leaving Illucy standing there dumbfounded, still basking in the joy of having joined them.
Dolosa, on the other hand, didn’t look well at all.
After returning to the practice room, she sat in the corner, hugging her knees, recalling the conversation she just had with the twin sisters.
Just moments ago, Asterys and Delucia had pulled her into a corner.
“Dolosa, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?” Asterys asked.
Dolosa shook her head firmly. “No, I definitely won’t consider something like that.” Asterys sighed softly and stepped aside, leaving the long-winded talk to her sister.
Delucia squeezed up in front of Dolosa.
“Dolosa, have you realized that if you truly don’t allow Illucy to join, she will genuinely mention what we’ve done in front of Liang Lai?” Delucia’s rare serious expression made her face stiffen.
Dolosa shrugged indifferently.
“If she wants to say it, then let her say it. I don’t believe Liang Lai would really believe her. Why would she suspect her own children of doing something like that? Besides, she doesn’t have any memory of it.”
At this, Dolosa gave a mocking smile. “If Liang Lai can believe Dexilensi, then why can’t she believe us?”
“But you’ve complained so many times before. Haven’t you noticed? Even when what you say is absurd, Liang Lai still trusts you enough to investigate. But all the investigations show that your complaints are false because they’re baseless. Of course, sometimes it’s because we hid things too well.”
Delucia cleared her throat.
“So if Illucy tells Liang Lai about this, Liang Lai will investigate too. Even if she doesn’t believe we are like this, she would want to believe her children don’t lie, so she’ll test and check.”
Delucia sighed again. “If you insist on this, we won’t cooperate with you on these things anymore. We’re afraid that in Mom’s eyes, we’ll become the ‘bad children.’ Then Mom won’t be our Salvation anymore, and she won’t want to save us!”
Was this a threat?
Dolosa frowned, looking at the twin in front of her. “So you’re taking Illucy’s side?” She actually felt a little hurt and sad, as if betrayed by close friends.
Asterys shook her head.
“No, we’ve never taken sides with anyone. If we had to pick, we’d be on your side, Dolosa.”
Her voice was unusually gentle as she lightly patted Dolosa’s shoulder.
“But if Liang Lai becomes suspicious, we won’t be able to use that Poison on her anymore. Dolosa, you seem to have forgotten one thing—we’re just Beginners, but Liang Lai is the Third Saintess, chosen through rigorous selection, a one-in-a-million genius. Why is she not a Nun? Or a Lower Priest? Of course, it’s because her ability is very strong!”
Asterys voiced her concern.
“If she’s on guard against us, she’ll catch us in the act. We used to act while Liang Lai was asleep, trusting us—otherwise, we wouldn’t dare do such things. But if she no longer trusts us?”
“Dolosa, you don’t want Mom to dislike us, do you?”
At this, Dolosa fell silent.
Who would want to be disliked by the Saintess?
With that thought, Dolosa slumped against the wall like a deflated balloon.
“Dolosa, think it over carefully. It’s not that we don’t want to support you or that we’re taking Illucy’s side. The risk is just too great, and we’d suffer losses too. We wouldn’t be able to do anything more with Liang Lai either, which isn’t good for us.”
“And I’m clear that even if we side with Illucy and play along with her, you’ll still tell Liang Lai about everything we do. In the end, we won’t be able to do anything, right?”
At this, Dolosa fell completely silent. She pressed her lips together, deep in thought.
Asterys and Delucia sat side by side on a nearby chair, quietly watching Dolosa, waiting for her decision.
“It’s okay, Dolosa. We can wait until you think it through and make your own choice. Even if you disagree, we won’t play the Game with Illucy and Liang Lai.”
Though they said this aloud, Asterys and Delucia’s thoughts were very different.
“Sis, don’t worry, she’ll agree eventually. We’ll still be able to play with the Saintess every so often~”
“I know exactly what you’re thinking, little sister~ How could Dolosa let this go? But I think we’ve done our part—we at least gave her the chance to choose, even though we already know what she’ll decide.”
As expected, about half an hour later, Dolosa spoke slowly, fatigue barely concealed in her voice:
“Yeah, you do have a point. Fine, let’s do it your way. Let… Illucy join, but I have one condition: don’t do anything too extreme. Like kisses are okay, but nothing more than that.”
Asterys and Delucia exchanged a glance and smiled victoriously.
“Of course~”
Delucia gleefully grabbed one of Dolosa’s arms, while Asterys took the other, swinging them back and forth.
“I knew you’d think it through. For the sake of our… shared happiness!”
Dolosa stayed silent, lowering her head.
She really didn’t want to share Liang Lai with more people.
It had taken her so long to slowly accept Asterys and Delucia, and now there was Illucy too… she truly couldn’t accept any more. Hopefully… Illucy would be the last.
Seeing Dolosa’s mood wasn’t good, Asterys and Delucia tacitly let go of her hands.
They both understood that Dolosa needed to be alone right now to process everything.
So after Dolosa hid away in the practice room, they didn’t follow.
Downstairs, Illucy was still immersed in the joy of success.
“So that means tomorrow night I can also play the Game with the Saintess, just like them!” Her eyes practically sparkled with hearts.
“But, but I don’t really know how to do it. I’ll need them to teach me. I wonder if they’ll want to, or if they’ll laugh at me…”
Thinking this, Illucy decided to go back to the Library to look through the Little Yellow Book carefully.
If there were more books on this topic, she had to study hard so she wouldn’t embarrass herself tomorrow night.
Moved to action, Illucy dashed to the Library, beginning her search for the Little Yellow Book.
What none of them knew was that on the second floor, near the staircase corner, a shadow quietly listened to their conversation.
Though unclear, the general content reached her ears.
Dexilensi frowned, touching the back of her head.
“What are they talking about? Playing a Game? The Saintess actually plays Games with them? How come I didn’t know about this?”
Her expression was confused.
That was right.
Because those four were enigmatic and used words only they could understand, Dexilensi hadn’t grasped what they were saying and was even wondering if Liang Lai played with them but never with her.
“Anyway, they definitely have secrets I don’t know about,” Dexilensi’s eyes darkened.
“What kind of secrets could they be?”
If Illucy had known that her loud shouting would attract this poisonous snake Dexilensi, she definitely wouldn’t have shouted so loudly.
Elsewhere, Asterys and Delucia glanced at the time before pushing open the practice room door.
“Dolosa, are you still sulking?”
Dolosa was no longer curled up in the corner but was practicing her Crystallization Ability.
Hearing this, she put down her hands and looked at the twins with a complicated expression.
“Not really. You should know—I’m not sulking. I just… don’t want to share Liang Lai with others.”
“Mm, we know,” Asterys nodded.
“But there’s one thing you have to understand: Liang Lai will continue to bring children home. The only thing we can do is become the most special ones in her heart.”
At this, Dolosa raised an eyebrow, brushing away sweat-soaked bangs.
“You mean, get her to feel about me the way we feel about her now?”
“Uh-huh~”
Asterys nodded happily and snapped her fingers.
“See? Now you get it!”
Dolosa gave a self-deprecating chuckle, lowering her head to rub her sleeve with her finger.
“You’re thinking about this too simply. We were all picked up by her, children she adopted. How could she possibly feel differently about her own children?”
“But logically, as adopted children, we shouldn’t have different feelings for her either. Yet we do, so it’s possible. Dolosa, you really should think about why you like Liang Lai and treat the root of it.”
Is that so?
Dolosa stared blankly at the floor—she’d never considered this question before.
“Why are you suddenly telling me this? What good is it to you if I figure it out?” Dolosa asked.
Asterys and Delucia smiled brightly, stepped forward, and grabbed Dolosa’s hands together.
“We all really like you, Dolosa~”
“Eh?!!” Dolosa’s face turned terrified as she tried to pull free and step back.
“You two saying that is disgusting! No, I don’t want it. I only like Liang Lai!!! I only like the Saintess. You two don’t…”
Before she could finish,
“To us, Dolosa is like family now~ We love family the most~ Sharing our beloved Salvation with family makes us happiest!”
The two white-haired girls smiled, their five-pointed and six-pointed star pupils shining with strange excitement.
“Huh?”
Dolosa was stunned again.
She had once more witnessed their weirdness and craziness.
But them calling her ‘family’? It sounded strange, but strangely gave her a faint sense of comfort.
“Even though, even though you say that, I still won’t give Liang Lai to you. In the end! Liang Lai will definitely be mine!”
She added quietly, “But… when the time comes, I’ll take a bite of meat and give you some soup. Fine?”
Okay, this girl was still a tsundere—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.
Asterys and Delucia laughed it off.
They had seen through Dolosa long ago.
Of course, they had also seen through Illucy.
The reason they were willing to get close to Dolosa and Illucy was that deep down, they weren’t bad.
Unlike Dexilensi—who had never been taught how to treat people properly since childhood.
Interacting with her would take a lot of words and effort, and Asterys and Delucia didn’t want the hassle.
“Thanks then, Dolosa,” Asterys said as she shook Dolosa’s hand up and down, as if sealing some pact.
“From the start, we said we came to join this Family, not to destroy it~”
She released Dolosa’s hand and leaned close to Delucia.
The two bodies touched as they held hands like dancers.
“Let’s blend together… both physically and mentally… Dolosa, we’re going to live happily with Mom!”
Damn.
These two went from normal to crazy in no time.
Used to their strange behavior, Dolosa showed dead fish eyes and rolled her eyes.
The fleeting feeling of being moved was gone.
Expressionless, she walked to the other side and quietly resumed practicing her Crystallization Ability.
“These two lunatics can go crazy by themselves. They’ll be normal again soon enough,” Dolosa muttered inwardly.
In the Library, Illucy lay exhausted and disheartened amid a pile of books, staring blankly at the ceiling, sighing heavily.
“Sigh, no gains at all. Looks like only that one Forbidden Book… Well, if there were too many books like that, the Saintess would definitely have been caught by now.”
Right.
Illucy suddenly realized something.
“If there’s a book like this in the Library, that means the Saintess must have read it too! After all, this Library belongs to the Saintess…”
Thinking this, Illucy’s cheeks flushed.
“Who would’ve thought the Saintess has desires like this too… But then again, it’s normal. Normal people have them; it’s the Church people who are abnormal…”
That last sentence wasn’t learned from anyone else, but from Liang Lai herself.
Thinking of Liang Lai secretly reading such books in the Library, Illucy couldn’t help but squeeze her legs tightly.
“Mm…”
She really looked forward to tomorrow night—so looking forward to having a shallow, soul-deep exchange with the Saintess.
Anticipation, anticipation, Illucy awaited the arrival of the next night.
She arrived early, clutching a doll, and knocked on the twin sisters’ room door.
Delucia opened it and saw a little girl staring at her with sparkling eyes, full of anticipation.
“When, when will it start today?”
She was already impatiently peeking inside the twins’ room.
Delucia found it funny and teased her a bit. “Oh, we’re having second thoughts tonight. We’re not doing it.”
“Eh??”
Illucy froze.
If she were a puppy, her ears would be drooping and her tail no longer wagging.
“Th-then, okay…” Her voice was muffled as she lowered her head, ready to turn away.
“Pft~”
Delucia burst out laughing and grabbed the back of Illucy’s collar.
“Come back. I was teasing you. Tonight’s plan stays the same.”
At these words, Illucy’s previously dull eyes lit up again, and she smiled, showing eight white teeth.
“Yay~”
She whispered softly.
“But don’t be too eager. We’ll start very late because Mom goes to bed late. We have to wait for her to fall asleep before we act. So… the time’s not fixed, but once Mom is asleep, we’ll tell her. You just wait in your room, okay?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Illucy nodded vigorously, hugging her doll as she hopped away.
Closing the door, Delucia looked at Asterys, who was sitting on the bed.
“Feels like she’s easier to handle than Dolosa.”
Asterys chuckled, her five-pointed star pupils sparkling.
“Of course~ That kid never thought about competing with us. All she wants is to share some of Liang Lai’s love and attention. So I never tried to say much to her—just let it flow naturally. She only hurts herself, the poor child. Just a little beckon, and she’s willing to share Mom with us~”
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