Chapter 183
Maria didn't answer in too much detail, because she had also noticed the girl's drowsy posture.
After glancing at her a few more times, she asked one last question before the girl fell asleep.
"May I have your name?"
"... Lavinia."
Despite feeling drowsy, the girl struggled to utter her name softly.
Lavinia Falcone.
"Like a princess, a very elegant name."
Maria hesitated for a moment, but still gave the girl a gentle response.
Unfortunately, by this time the girl was completely overcome by sleepiness and could no longer hear what Maria was saying.
She could only mumble incoherently.
"Good night..."
After saying that, she fell into a deep sleep.
Maria glanced at her a few times, then reached out and slowly stroked the girl's unique gray-gold hair.
Goodnight... Lavinia.
The first rays of morning sunlight slowly pierced the room, and the woman's powerful biological clock forcefully dragged her out of bed.
Her drunken mind and reason began to fight fiercely, the sounds of battle making her head buzz.
She groggily got out of bed and looked around in confusion.
"The room... is not my room..."
She muttered to herself, and memories of yesterday slowly surfaced again.
"I remember... I was drinking with that new guy..."
"And then... and then what happened?"
The Angels nudged the custom machine's head with his hand, looking somewhat helpless and confused.
She couldn't remember what had happened yesterday.
Fortunately, the two people leaning against the chair next to her quickly brought back her memory.
"Oh... I remember now, after I finished drinking, I left the tavern with her, and then... then I ran into this girl, huh? Why does this girl seem a bit serious?"
The Angels girl squinted and carefully examined Lavinia.
Unfortunately, yesterday's events happened too quickly, and she didn't even remember the other person's face.
After a moment of confusion, he could only shake his head violently.
"You're awake?"
Maria quickly heard the other party's movements, turned her head slightly, and looked at the somewhat unreliable Sankta.
Upon hearing Maria's question, the woman showed no remorse, simply raising her face with a grin.
"Hehehe, I really went to a lot of trouble for you yesterday. I haven't paid for the drinks yet. How much is it?"
As she spoke, she reached for her small purse.
But Maria shook her head.
"I didn't pay; the shop owner let me buy on credit. If you want to pay him back, go find him."
"Huh?" Upon hearing Maria's words, the Angels's eyes widened in surprise.
"That tightwad is actually willing to pay on credit? Maria, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"... I'm not sure if the person you're talking about is the same person I'm referring to, but that's the fact."
Maria shook her head.
It was her first time at the tavern, and she knew nothing about the nicknames that regulars used, so naturally she didn't know if the "tightwad" the woman was talking about was the one she had met yesterday.
"Hmm... maybe they've hired someone new, otherwise the boss definitely wouldn't have let me pay on credit. I still owe him money for drinks a few times."
The Angels smiled, his expression carefree.
The noise from their conversation quickly woke up the little girl next to them.
She groggily looked up, glanced at the calm face before her, and yawned.
Good morning, ma'am.
Sooner or later, Lavinia.
"I'm going to wash up."
"Um."
Still half asleep, Lavinia rubbed her eyes as she put on her greyish-white pajamas and headed for the bathroom.
The Angels watching this scene looked on with envy at Maria girl as she obediently brushed her teeth and washed her face.
"That's so nice~"
"Um?"
"It's so nice to have such a sensible daughter~" Sankta seemed to have misunderstood something, and looked at Maria beside him with a subtle expression, then smiled.
Before Maria could explain, she turned her head and looked around curiously.
Is the child's mother here too?
"... her mother."
Upon hearing the question, Maria hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to begin her explanation.
But she still shook her head.
"I don't know where her mother is, and besides, I don't have a very close relationship with this girl; I only met her for the first time yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
The Angels was somewhat surprised.
With a swift movement, she sprang up from the bed and smoothly moved to Maria's side, squatting down beside her.
"You said you only met her for the first time yesterday?!"
"Yes..."
"And then you brought her to your house?!"
"To be more precise, this is the girl's place; we're both just staying here for one night."
After saying this, Maria looked up again.
The Angels standing to the side had a look on her face that said, "Are you kidding me?"
"To be honest," she stood up, "This is a bit too fake."
There are many things in this world that can be faked, but some things cannot be faked.
For example, what she just saw—the girl waking up groggily—must be real.
She could trust Maria so much that she even slept in Maria's arms all night and didn't feel any suspicion when she woke up the next day.
So Maria still claims it's their first meeting?
She may be a bit oblivious, but she's not that oblivious.
Although Maria didn't seem like a liar, the facts were undeniable, and Sankta trusted his gut feeling!
As for why Maria didn't tell him...
Obviously, everyone has their own ideas.
Since Maria was unwilling to talk about it, she wouldn't force her to.
But...
"Regardless of your relationship, the child is innocent. I'll pretend I didn't hear you say you weren't close to her."
The Sankta woman shook her head, looking as if she were giving a well-intentioned but ultimately misleading advice.
Meanwhile, the well-behaved and sensible girl had already come out of the bathroom. When she saw the two people in the room, her mind, which had regained its clarity, became somewhat restrained.
After nodding slightly, he turned around and began to diligently organize the books he had borrowed.
The woman from Sankta was stunned by his self-management skills, which far exceeded those of his peers.
She looked at the girl in surprise, then at Maria beside her, and hesitated.
Is Maria... still a strict father?
After hesitating for a few moments, while Maria was resting in the bathroom, the Sankta woman, acting as if they were old friends, approached the girl.
Looking at the other person's flushed face, she hesitated for a moment before quietly asking the question.
"Um... child, where's your mother?"
"Mother..."
Hearing the other person ask this question, the girl hesitated for a long time.
She turned her head slightly away, somewhat reluctant to talk about such things.
The woman standing nearby also had a subtle change in expression after witnessing this scene.
Even if Maria didn't say anything, she could still understand it as the couple's relationship having been strained lately.
But... even the child is like this.
Could it be...?
They're gone?!
Thinking of this, the Sankta woman's expression became conflicted.
She reached out and gently drew on the girl's body.
"She will find happiness in the world..."
"Um."
Lavinia clearly had no intention of continuing the conversation; she simply lowered her head and expressed her gratitude to the other person.
"My mother was a gentle woman."
"I believe that with such a sensible child as you, your mother must be a person worthy of respect."
In an instant, this woman, who had been drinking heavily just yesterday, seemed to emanate an aura of purity.
After a while, she hesitated and looked at the girl.
"Um... you and Maria, that is, her..." the Sankta woman said, glancing at Maria had just entered the bathroom, "What's your relationship like?"
Although this matter had nothing to do with her, as a Sankta followed the doctrine, she could not stand by and do nothing while such a tragedy unfolded before her eyes.
"... We... are not particularly familiar with each other."
"Even you say that?"
The Sankta woman was genuinely shocked.
She stared blankly at the girl in front of her, then hesitated for a few more moments.
But in an instant, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
Speaking of which... Maria is a newcomer, right?
Newcomers aren't necessarily selected from Siracusa, are they?
They might also be from out of town.
And this child... said he wasn't familiar with Maria.
Could it be...?
In an instant, a story flashed through her mind: a wife leaving, a child helpless, and a father traveling thousands of miles to his hometown to start a new life with a child he barely knows.