Dolosa’s icy gaze swept across the three uninvited guests at the door, finally settling on Dexilensi, who was pale-faced and barely standing by the end of the corridor, bracing herself against the wall.
Seeing the person she hated most witness this scene, her irritation instantly soared to its peak.
Tsk, it’s one thing for the others to show up, but what is this one doing here? Just seeing her is bad luck.
Dolosa was filled with disdain and disgust for Dexilensi.
No, I have to clear up the scene right now!
Her mind raced, yet her face quickly switched to an expression of weariness and helplessness, trying to maintain a facade of calm… Yes… This was her imitation of Liang Lai’s usual look when dealing with trouble.
“What are you all making such a fuss about here?”
Dolosa’s voice was deliberately low, tinged with just the right amount of displeasure and forced calm, as if she really had just been disturbed from her rest.
“Liang Lai drank too much and just threw up all over herself. She’s really uncomfortable. I just helped her clean up, and she finally managed to fall asleep.”
As she spoke, she shifted aside slightly, leaving a gap at the door, as if to prove the truth of her words.
From inside the room came the muffled, uncomfortable-sounding groan of Liangcai.
Of course, that was just Liang Lai muttering unconsciously in her sleep.
The excuse sounded perfectly reasonable; drunk people vomiting was all too common.
When Morgana heard this, sympathy and guilt immediately filled her face.
“Ah? Mom Liang Lai threw up? Is it serious? Should I help?” She tried to squeeze into the room as she spoke.
“No need!”
Dolosa immediately blocked the door, her tone a bit hurried, but she quickly softened it again. “I’ve already taken care of it. She needs absolute peace and quiet right now—the more people, the noisier it’ll be, and the worse she’ll feel. Morgana, go check on Motifiel and Illucy; those two are the drunkest. Make sure they don’t fall off their chairs.”
She assigned the task of looking after the other children to the most enthusiastic, and easiest to send away, Morgana.
“Oh, oh, right! Little Mo and Illucy are still downstairs…!” Morgana’s attention was instantly diverted.
She slapped her forehead, her face written all over with regret: “How could I forget about them?”
“I’ll go check on them right now! If they really fall and hurt themselves, that’d be a big problem… If Motifiel hits her head, won’t she get even dumber?”
With that, she immediately turned and hurried toward the dining hall, her footsteps thudding loudly in the corridor.
“…She dares call others dumb,” Dolosa muttered.
She turned her gaze back to the twins, her tone still calm, yet with an unmistakable note of command. “Asterys, Delucia, Dexilensi doesn’t look well. It might be hard for her to get back to her room alone. Go support her and make sure she gets there safely.”
Asterys and Delucia blinked their clear, pale-green eyes in perfect sync, displaying the most obedient and concerned expressions as they nodded in unison.
“Yes, Sister Dolosa.”
“We’ll go take care of Dexilensi now~”
They acted just like the most well-behaved and considerate little sisters, showing not the slightest hint of suspicion or curiosity.
Dolosa was a bit surprised by their reaction, but didn’t dwell on it. There was no time to overthink things—she could only grit her teeth and send them away… It was just that those two seemed up to something, both in tone and the way they looked at her.
Forget it!
Whatever!
At last, she looked at Dexilensi, who was bracing herself against the wall, looking awful. Her voice even carried a hint of (crossed-out) genuine concern.
“Are you alright? Go get some rest, don’t push yourself.”
The real message behind her words was—Just leave, will you? Tonight, I’d be happy if you drank yourself to death in your sleep.
Dexilensi’s stomach was churning and her head was spinning. She really had no energy to think about anything else. Hearing that Liang Lai needed rest after vomiting, she felt a bit uncomfortable, but her physical misery overpowered everything else.
She merely glared at Dolosa in disgust, clearly displeased at being bossed around, but ultimately said nothing. Watching the twins approach her, she nodded weakly, allowing them to support her on either side as they half-dragged her back to her room.
The plan to send everyone away seemed to have worked perfectly.
Dolosa watched their retreating figures—especially Dexilensi being supported away—and quietly let out a breath of relief. She gently closed the door, even taking care to quietly set the lock in place, though she didn’t turn it all the way for fear of making too much noise.
Only then did she turn and walk back to the bed.
Her heart started racing again, and the thoughts that had been interrupted just moments before began to resurface.
Now, only she and the sleeping Liang Lai remained in the room.
Yet she didn’t realize…
Around the corner of the hallway, Asterys and Delucia, who had just helped Dexilensi a short distance away, exchanged a meaningful glance.
Delucia silently mouthed the words to her sister in her heart: “Did she really throw up?” Asterys replied with an equally silent pursing of her lips.
“You believed that?”
A cunning light flashed simultaneously in both their eyes.
When they had approached the doorway earlier, their sensitive Shadowborn sense of smell didn’t detect the acidic stench of vomit at all. Instead, there was only the faint, cloying aroma of Light Honey Wine and the unique warmth from Liangcai.
Dolosa was lying.
That awful woman, scheming again to monopolize the Saintess!
But they didn’t expose her.
On the surface, they remained just as dutiful and careful as ever, supporting almost all of Dexilensi’s weight as they helped her to her room.
Dexilensi was truly at her limit. As soon as she reached her bed, she collapsed face-first, not even bothering to take off her shoes, and quickly fell into a deep, troubled sleep, her brows tightly furrowed.
The twins, after completing their mission, thoughtfully took off Dexilensi’s shoes and tucked her in before quietly slipping out of the room.
As soon as the door closed, the two of them spun around and started running, this time moving even faster and more silently as they sped back toward Dolosa’s door.
This time, they pressed themselves even more tightly to the gap between the door frame and the wall, concealing their presence as much as possible, barely even breathing.
“Delucia, see if you can slip in through the door crack and into Dolosa’s shadow,” Asterys whispered, nudging her sister’s shoulder.
Delucia glanced down, discovering that the door fit tightly against the floor, and could only shake her head in resignation—no way in.
Meanwhile, Morgana, who had been sent to look after Motifiel and Illucy, was indeed diligently fulfilling her task in the dining hall.
She saw Motifiel drooling in her sleep on the table and Illucy curled up on a chair like a kitten, scratching her head.
“They look pretty dead asleep, huh?”
She poked Motifiel’s face—no reaction, just a smacking of the lips.
She glanced at Illucy, who also seemed to be sleeping soundly.
“Doesn’t seem like I’m needed here, huh?” Morgana muttered to herself.
Her curiosity, though soaked in alcohol, began to stir again.
Dolosa’s expression earlier… was a little strange, wasn’t it? And did Mom Liang Lai really throw up? How come she didn’t smell anything? Was there something wrong with her own nose?
No, I’ve got to go check!
With that, she tiptoed out of the dining hall and headed stealthily toward Dolosa’s room.
As she neared the door, she immediately spotted two figures pressed tightly against the door, and as she got closer, she could see two little silver-haired heads focused intently on eavesdropping.
Morgana’s eyes widened in surprise.
Wow~ They didn’t leave after all~! Still eavesdropping, just as I thought!
This time, she learned from experience—not shouting out loud. She clapped a hand over her mouth, swallowing her surprise, and crept forward on tiptoe, inch by careful inch.
Her movements were far clumsier than the twins’, but since she was a witch, a true stats monster, she didn’t make much noise.
She pressed herself against the door, first looking curiously at the twins, who were stuck to the wall like flowers, then followed their example, pressing her ear tightly to the cold wooden door and holding her breath.
Asterys and Delucia were so focused on eavesdropping that they didn’t notice she’d returned. All their attention was on what was happening inside the room.
The three of them, their heads stacked in a bizarre formation, clung to Dolosa’s door, straining to catch even the faintest sound from within.
Inside the room.
Once Dolosa confirmed there were no more sounds from outside, she finally relaxed. She walked to the bed and looked at Liang Lai, who was sound asleep after drinking.
Liangcai’s cheeks were flushed, her breathing steady, her lips parted slightly. She looked completely defenseless, even a little alluring.
Dolosa’s heartbeat quickened.
She slowly reached out, her fingertips gently brushing the white hair spilled across Liang Lai’s pillow, then slowly moved down, tentatively and softly caressing Liangcai’s slightly warm cheek.
In her sleep, Liangcai instinctively nuzzled Dolosa’s fingers, letting out a faint, spoiled-sounding hum.
That unconscious movement was like a spark, instantly igniting the deep longing Dolosa had been holding back in her eyes.
Her breathing became a little ragged, icy blue eyes swirling with emotion. She leaned down, closer and closer…
Outside the door, the three eavesdroppers were so tense they didn’t dare even breathe.
Asterys and Delucia, through their Shadowborn abilities, sensed the faintest stirrings and emotional waves from within. Their identical pale-green eyes gleamed in the darkness—the six-pointed star and five-pointed star in each eye growing so bright they might have startled Morgana if she’d noticed.
Morgana, on the other hand, relied entirely on her hearing. She strained her ears, catching the softest sound—was that… fabric rustling? And… someone’s breathing growing closer?
Her heart leapt to her throat.
What on earth… is happening in there?!