Liang Lai led Motifiel back to the Court of Purity.
Motifiel’s eyes grew wider the deeper they went inside.
“My goodness, I’ve never seen a place like this before… my goodness! What kind of miserable life have I been living all these years?!! This place is basically paradise, isn’t it?!”
It gave Motifiel the feeling that she never wanted to leave.
“This will be your home from now on~ How do you like it?”
Liang Lai spread her arms wide, introducing everything around her to Motifiel.
Motifiel’s mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg as she nodded repeatedly at Liang Lai’s introduction, completely forgetting about the mission she was supposed to be carrying out.
“Oh oh oh!”
“Oh oh oh!”
She excitedly exclaimed at every new thing she saw, like a mother hen crowing at dawn. That was only natural, since she had never seen such fine things before.
“You can check out the second and third floors and see which room you like best. That room will be yours~ Of course, my room is on both the second and third floors. Your sisters’ room… well, they only have one room, but it’s also on both the second and third floors. You can decide where you want to live. Pick one.”
“Me?” Motifiel’s eyes went round as she pointed to her own chest.
So she actually had a choice?
“Exactly~”
Liang Lai took her hand again and led her upstairs.
“Of course, you have the right to choose. Your sisters chose their rooms themselves too. At first, I did assign rooms for them, but later, they had their own opinions and just went with those. On second thought, that was my mistake. I should have let the kids choose the rooms they liked. So, you choose, little Mo.”
Motifiel shivered slightly at the nickname.
She wanted to ask why Liang Lai called her that, but swallowed the words.
Better not be rude; she’d heard humans liked polite children.
Let them call her whatever they wanted—after all, the nickname sounded nice and was rather affectionate…
Motifiel yielded quietly.
Downstairs, Dolosa, Asterys, Delucia, Illucy, Dexilensi, and others sat on the sofa, the atmosphere heavy with tension.
Sarcastic jeers filled the air.
“Dexilensi, aren’t you happy now? Look, Liang Lai has brought home another child.” Dolosa suddenly spoke coldly.
Dexilensi’s fake smile faltered, and she stood up abruptly. “What kind of thing is that to say? Do you really want Mom to bring home a new child?”
“I’ve never wished for that,” Dolosa’s gaze fixed sharply on Dexilensi, as if willing to bore a hole through her, “If you hadn’t dragged me into that alley to fight, we wouldn’t have suddenly come across a… not quite normal child for Liang Lai to see.”
Dolosa stood as well, pointing a finger at Dexilensi.
“It’s all your fault. You’re jealous and possessive, and you wanted to kill me. If you hadn’t had that mindset, you wouldn’t have pulled me into that alley today. We wouldn’t have met Motifiel, and Liang Lai wouldn’t have pitied her and brought her home!”
“You…!” Dexilensi’s face flushed red with anger, but she had no words to retort.
Honestly, Dolosa’s logic was laughable—she was pinning all the blame for Motifiel coming home on Dexilensi.
But on closer thought, it was somewhat Dexilensi’s fault… so she had no comeback and just stood there silently.
Dexilensi even began to doubt herself, wondering if she really was at fault.
Just as the tension reached its peak, Liang Lai descended the stairs alone.
Motifiel had already been settled in and was now tidying up her room with two nuns, choosing dolls and furniture she liked.
“What are you two standing there for? Aren’t you tired?”
Liang Lai didn’t notice the tense atmosphere and went downstairs, looking at Dexilensi.
“Little Dex, come with me for a moment. Don’t worry, I’m not scolding you. I just have something to talk to you about, so don’t be nervous.”
Dexilensi’s face stiffened further upon hearing that.
She already realized Liang Lai was going to blame her for picking a fight with Dolosa.
The thought of being scolded by the Saintess made her lips droop unhappily.
But she still had to go, just like one must endure punishment.
With a bowed back, Dexilensi followed Liang Lai.
Liang Lai led Dexilensi to her own room and gently closed the door behind them.
She sat down on the bed casually.
Dexilensi, who wasn’t nervous in front of the other sisters—even when about to kill someone—now felt uneasy, nervously wringing the hem of her clothes by the door, unable to even look up at the Saintess.
She suddenly regretted trying to kill Dolosa before she was fully prepared.
“Little Dex, come sit down.”
Liang Lai looked at the hesitant Dexilensi and laughed softly, patting the bed beside her.
“Why do you look so scared? I’m not here to scold you. Think about it: since you came here, when have I ever scolded you? Don’t worry, I’m not the kind of adult who likes to scold kids.”
Despite the explanation, Dexilensi’s anxiety didn’t subside much; she shuffled awkwardly toward Liang Lai.
Liang Lai looked at the slightly tense Dexilensi sitting next to her.
She cleared her throat, then gently poked the girl’s cheek.
“Hey, you’ve put on some weight recently, haven’t you? Little Dex, looks like I’m feeding you well. You’ve even grown taller than before~”
She decided to start with trivial things; if the girl stayed this nervous, it would be hard to continue their talk and guidance.
Though Liang Lai hadn’t raised children before, she was a gentle person who didn’t want to pressure the kids psychologically.
“I-I guess it’s because I’ve been eating a lot of meat lately… If if Mom doesn’t like chubby kids, then I’ll stop eating…”
Before Dexilensi could finish, Liang Lai interrupted her.
“What do you mean, if Mom doesn’t like chubby kids, then you’ll stop eating?” Liang Lai frowned and pinched Dexilensi’s cheek hard.
“You’re your own independent person, Little Dex. Don’t do things just because someone else likes them, and don’t avoid things just because someone else hates them.”
Hearing this, Dexilensi lifted her head and stared directly into Liang Lai’s eyes.
“But I don’t do things just because others like them or avoid things because they dislike them,” she blushed suspiciously and lowered her head shyly.
“I only listen to Mom. If Mom likes something, I do it. If Mom dislikes something, I don’t…”
Eh?
Liang Lai was stunned upon hearing this.
Only then did she clearly realize Dexilensi likely had serious psychological issues.
But that was understandable—without parents, these kids hadn’t received proper education.
Moreover, having been wandering alone, they definitely didn’t have a normal worldview.
Psychological problems were inevitable.
Her current task was to correct the child’s worldview as soon as possible, or else she might cause serious trouble as an adult.
“Dexilensi,” Liang Lai said sternly, grabbing the girl’s shoulders and forcing her to look in her eyes, “If that’s the case, would you kill someone if I asked you to?”
It was meant as a teaching moment. Liang Lai expected hesitation but was surprised when Dexilensi nodded without hesitation.
“If Mom wants to kill someone, just tell me. I’ll take care of all Mom’s enemies! Even if they’re not enemies….”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Liang Lai even saw the word “loyalty” shining in the girl’s eyes.
Anyone who came to this world with her wasn’t here to raise daughters or train a future pope—they were raising assassins, right? Ready to strike at a moment’s notice?
Liang Lai covered her head, feeling a headache coming on.
“No no no, that’s not what I meant, Dexilensi, you misunderstood me again.” How to explain this to the girl?
Liang Lai could hardly look into Dexilensi’s eyes.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
Dexilensi said, “Mom, I only listen to you. Whatever you like, I do; whatever you dislike, I don’t.” Maybe that could be used to her advantage…
With that thought, Liang Lai smiled once more, took Dexilensi’s hand, and decided to try her luck. “Little Dex, you won’t do anything Mom dislikes, right?”
“Of course!” Dexilensi nodded emphatically, almost sparkling with excitement, as if eagerly waiting for Liang Lai to give her a task.
A smile slowly appeared on Liang Lai’s lips.
“Then I hope you don’t fight with your sisters anymore,” she finally said her purpose.
“And I hope you can treat your sisters as family. Little Dex, I know you already consider me family, but I want you to consider your sisters family too.”
Upon hearing this, Dexilensi’s smile froze, probably because she hadn’t expected such a request from Liang Lai.