Chapter 33: How come she is better at pretending to be pitiful than us?

Hearing that the newly picked-up child had woken, Liang Lai immediately pushed open the door and stepped inside.

But fearing the child might be shy around strangers, she proceeded with utmost care.

“Hi~ Hello there?”

Liang Lai drew near the child’s bedside and offered a tentative greeting.

The poor child flinched at the sound, her silver pupils flickering with wariness—but the moment she saw it was Liang Lai, her rigid body loosened up a good deal.

“You, you…”

She stammered, words failing her, her gaze flitting nervously between Asteris and Delucia—as if the two unfamiliar children daunted her.

Seeing that the girl didn’t shy from her but feared Asteris and Delucia, Liang Lai gently ruffled the twins’ heads.

“You two head out and play for a bit, alright? She’s a little shy, and having you here might scare her… Once she warms up to me, I’ll introduce her properly, and we can all play together then?”

Liang Lai coaxed them in that soft, kid-whispering tone.

“Okay, Mom~”

Asteris and Delucia nodded with perfect docility, slipping seamlessly into the roles of model children.

Once the twins had gone, the new child finally let her guard down entirely; she poked her head out from beneath the covers, gazing at the silver-haired saintess before her with a blend of gratitude and residual fear.

Liang Lai held out a hand, gesturing toward the bed.

“Mind if I sit here?”

“Mm…” The child bit her lower lip, gave a nod, then—after a hesitant pause—sat up anyway.

Only then did Liang Lai take in the full sight: the child was swaddled head to toe in bandages, a tiny mummy in the making.

“Oh dear, your wounds look so terribly severe…”

Liang Lai’s brows knit in heartache as she reached out to pat the child’s head—only for the girl to dodge ever so slightly, her fingers grazing only those golden strands.

The moment hung awkward in the air.

“Uh…”

Liang Lai managed an embarrassed chuckle and pulled her hand back.

“No, it’s not that!”

The child bolted upright in a panic, her small face flushing scarlet as she hastened to explain: “I didn’t mean to dodge on purpose—it was just, my parents always hit me, so I… I got in the habit of pulling away. I’m sorry… Saintess.”

Ah, beaten into a reflex?

Liang Lai’s heart twisted all the more for the child; she inched forward on her seat and extended her hand once again, testing the waters—this time, the girl held still, and Liang Lai’s palm came to rest successfully on her less-injured hand.

“Could you tell me your name?” Liang Lai asked.

The child didn’t waver for a second, answering right away:

“My name is Iluci.”

Iluci?

A lovely name—one that meant “creating a world of dreams”—a refreshing break from the shadows in Duoluosa’s, Asteris’s, and Delucia’s.

“What a beautiful name~”

Liang Lai’s lips curved into a gentle smile.

Iluci’s cheeks tinted pink at the compliment; she ducked her head and mumbled her thanks in a stutter: “Th-thank you… for praising my name…”

Oh, this child was just too stiff and proper.

“It’s fine—you don’t have to thank me like that.”

The words weren’t even fully out before Iluci’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with a near-pleading desperation—convinced Liang Lai meant to dismiss her, or that her gratitude was unwanted, a burden.

“What’s all this now?”

Liang Lai jumped at the sudden welling of tears in the child’s eyes; she fumbled in haste, cupping the girl’s cheeks between her palms.

“Did I accidentally tug a wound? Or does something hurt? I’ll fetch…”

Before she could finish, Iluci threw herself forward, dropping to her knees right there.

“Sa-Saintess! Please, adopt me…! Earlier, when I was blacking out, I heard you say you wanted to adopt me… I know you only said it to save my life, but… but I really want to stay…!”

She looked up at Liang Lai with eyes brimming in raw entreaty, every inch the wretched stray dog.

“As long as you don’t drive me away, let me stay—I’ll do anything! I-I’m good at housework; I can keep your home tidy as a pin! Just a full belly is all I need… Please, Saintess…!”

The sight of her so utterly debased, groveling in the dirt, sent wave after wave of pain lancing through Liang Lai’s heart; she sank to a crouch at once and drew Iluci into a close embrace.

“See, I wasn’t even done speaking—I was about to say I’d adopt you~ Silly girl, with injuries like these, how could I dream of chasing you off?”

Fearing she’d be misunderstood still, she rushed to add: “Even after you heal, I won’t send you away. I feel like fate tied us together~ Why else would I pass by right when you needed me? Of course I’m adopting you… Don’t be afraid; I won’t abandon you.”

Her smile stayed as kind and steady as ever, mirrored in Iluci’s pupils—and that reflection coaxed two rivulets of tears down her cheeks.

“R-Really?” she choked out through a sob, her fingers digging deeper into Liang Lai’s clothes.

Liang Lai nodded with emphatic vigor, dabbing tenderly at the tears on her face.

“Really—I’m a saintess, after all; saintesses don’t lie.”

She thumped her chest for emphasis. “I swear it to God: I’ll adopt you and raise you up plump and healthy! Look at you now, all skin and bones… Goodness…”

Just like some elder prattling on without end.

Yet that endless, fussy chatter wrapped Iluci in a glow of warmth—no one had ever fussed over her quite like this, and it made her want to cling to this woman’s hand with all her might.

“Thank you, thank you! Saintess!”

Liang Lai shook her head. “No need for such formality. Now that I’m adopting you, that makes me your guardian. Er, you might not know the term—it just means you can call me ‘Mom’ like those two girls did earlier. If that’s too much, you can use my name: Liang…”

“Mom!”

So timid in the lead-up, yet the word itself rang out bright and clear.

Iluci couldn’t say what possessed her; mustering all her courage, she flung her arms around Liang Lai’s neck the instant it escaped her lips, pressing herself flush against the woman.

In the face of such open affection from the child, Liang Lai brimmed with joy, naturally.

“Wonderful~ Calling me Mom makes you my daughter now! Rest easy… As long as I’m here, you’ll know happiness every single day~”

To Liang Lai’s earnest promise, Iluci felt herself tumbling into the sweetest of dreams—terrified that awakening might shatter this fragile bliss to mist.

Outside the door.

“Oh, that one’s way better at playing pitiful than we are…” Delucia wrinkled her nose.

Asteris cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, her tears fell faster than ours ever did… If she keeps up that whole woe-is-me routine, Mom’s attention’s gonna stay locked on her forever, huh?”