“Are you okay?”
Seeing Cecilia sitting dazed on the ground, Lu Mo asked again.
‘Did this dummy hit her head and become even stupider?’ she wondered.
“I-I-I… I’m fine.”
Cecilia quickly scrambled up from the ground, reaching out to pat the dust off her clothes.
In front of others, she had always been refined, carrying herself with a calm smile. Yet, for some reason, she felt a bit flustered and clumsy in front of Lu Mo.
“Wait, your hand — ” Lu Mo spoke again.
She saw that Cecilia’s palm was scratched. Although the wound was shallow, it was still bleeding.
“…” Only then did Cecilia react.
“It’s nothing… Eh, eh, eh!” Just as Cecilia was about to answer, her large, watery eyes widened in shock.
Right in front of her, Lu Mo had actually torn a small piece of fabric from her own skirt!
Then, grabbing Cecilia’s hand, she applied a simple bandage to the wound.
Cecilia was no longer calm. Her pupils began to tremble violently.
What a simple and crude action! It wasn’t elegant or ladylike at all!
When she thought about how Lu Mo had previously called her a dummy and then made short work of those boys and girls…
At this moment, Lu Mo had taken on the complete image of a Great Demon King. But all of these actions seemed to be for Cecilia’s sake.
The panic and trembling Cecilia felt now were completely different from what she had felt when facing the bullies earlier.
“Um… thank you, Miss Lu Mo…”
Cecilia wanted to regain her composure and smile at Lu Mo, just like she always did. Like the Holy Maiden in the stories. But she was surprised to find that no matter how she tried, she couldn’t seem to settle down.
Her state was a bit strange. Strange emotions that she couldn’t even understand were spreading from the depths of her heart.
Lu Mo looked at the flustered Cecilia and spoke again, “Why don’t you fight back? If you don’t resist, they’ll only think you’re an easy target and push their luck even further. Today they stepped on your doll and pushed you down; tomorrow they could tear your doll to shreds and cut off your long hair. If you don’t fight back, they will forever take away everything that belongs to you.”
“But… Cecilia is… the Holy Maiden…” Cecilia answered.
It was the same answer she had given every time they spoke. Only, for some reason, her reply seemed to lack a lot of confidence today.
“The Holy Maiden? So what?”
Lu Mo said, “A Holy Maiden is a human, too. She isn’t a tool for the Hero, the Holy Sanctuary, or even the Gods. Even a Holy Maiden should have the right to laugh, to cry, to get angry, and to freely express her joys and sorrows to this world.”
Lu Mo looked at Cecilia again and said seriously, “You are yourself first, and then the Holy Maiden.”
Cecilia continued to stare at Lu Mo with her large, watery eyes. There was panic, reflection, and a bit of confusion in her gaze.
She had never been taught any of this since she was a child. So, when Lu Mo spoke these words, she didn’t quite understand them. But she understood that what Lu Mo was telling her was the exact opposite of what her family had taught her.
At this moment, she didn’t yet know who was right and who was wrong.
“But… can I really get angry?”
“What do I have to do… for it to count as being angry?”
Perhaps feeling that Cecilia’s questions were too foolish, Lu Mo reached out in the next second and gently patted Cecilia’s small head, ruffling her long blonde hair.
Cecilia was startled, and her stray lock of hair stood straight up.
“What a dummy…” Lu Mo sighed, feeling helpless.
“How about this? You think about that question on your own first. While you’re thinking, I’ll express anger on your behalf. How does that sound?” Lu Mo asked.
“Eh?” Cecilia tilted her head.
“In the future, if someone tries to snatch something that belongs to you, just shout loudly through this wall, ‘Help me, Miss Lu Mo!’ Got it?”
Cecilia was stunned again.
‘Help me, Miss Lu Mo?’
But the Holy Maiden was always the one helping others. Could a Holy Maiden really ask someone else for help? Could she… really do that?
“Come on, try shouting it,” Lu Mo urged.
Perhaps because her small head was filled with too many questions today, or because Lu Mo was pressing her too hard, Cecilia’s face actually turned red as she tried to speak. “He… Help me, Miss Lu Mo…”
“Too quiet! Who could possibly hear that?”
“Help me… Miss Lu Mo.”
“No spirit! I can’t hear you!”
“Help me, Miss Lu Mo — !”
In the end, Cecilia had no other choice. She simply stopped caring about anything else, closed her eyes, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
The girl’s tender voice echoed through the manor, lingering for a long time. Even outside the wall, it could be heard clearly.
“Passable,” Lu Mo nodded, looking satisfied. “Leave Clara… no, Cecilia, alone,” she muttered softly.
But Cecilia still heard her.
‘Clara? Who is that? Is she Miss Lu Mo’s friend?’
“I’m leaving. Remember what I just said.”
A moment later, Lu Mo bid Cecilia farewell. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to call out “Cecilia, you big dummy” one last time. Then, she leaped up and hopped over the low perimeter wall.
Once again, Cecilia was the only one left in the manor.
“Goodbye… Miss Lu Mo,” Cecilia said softly.
She looked at the low wall in front of her. Her family never allowed her to cross it. They set limits for her everywhere. For a long time, the space inside this wall had been her entire world.
But today, that girl had suddenly broken into her world like a Chaos Demon King. And when she left, she was just as boisterous and unrestrained.
What kind of girl was Miss Lu Mo?
Cecilia racked her brain but couldn’t find a suitable word to describe her. Looking back now, she could have used words like “free” or “unfettered.” However, no one had ever taught her those words.
Her thoughts, personality, and language all seemed to be confined within that tiny world.
Cecilia watched the low wall and the setting sun, recalling the silhouette of Lu Mo leaving. She felt a small sense of loss.
“Oh no!”
After a long while, she suddenly realized a very serious problem.
Miss Lu Mo had used bad language! She had also hit people! She had even acted in a very un-ladylike manner!
“The Gods won’t like Miss Lu Mo because of this…” Cecilia whispered.
Quickly, she pressed her hands together and began to pray and repent on Lu Mo’s behalf.
“Gods, I repent to you. If you truly wish to hand down punishment to Miss Lu Mo, I hope you can transfer that punishment to me…”
“Miss Lu Mo did those things because of me…”
Miss Lu Mo wasn’t a bad person. Cecilia hoped that Lu Mo would always be well. She hoped Lu Mo would live to be 100, living even longer than herself.