Chapter 157 : Did I Wake Up Too Suddenly?

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[60:11:22:36]
[60:11:21:20]
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The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a hazy light into the dim room. Feeling the warmth on her face, the girl on the bed fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.

The light made her instinctively raise her hand to shield her vision. Through her fingers, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Milly blinked, confused about where she was.

Was it a dream?

She pinched her cheek. It hurt a little. Not a dream.

Yawning, she sat up and looked around. She remembered sitting by the lake with Stacy last night, telling her about the real world. How infuriating. Where the hell had she woken up?

She looked down at herself. Her clothes were fine, unruffled. But Milly remembered she hadn’t been wearing this yesterday. In this unfamiliar room, she was dressed in a simple white nightgown.

The clothes she wore last night weren’t hanging by the bed. They must have been taken away to be cleaned. Beside the bed sat the small leather shoes she had worn, now spotless, looking brand new.

Only when her gaze fell on the iron cage in the corner did Milly realize where she was.

“When did we get back?”

She was back in Stacy’s mansion in Starlight City. But she had no memory of the journey back from the forest. It was as if she had closed her eyes and opened them here.

Milly searched her memory, but found nothing after she started talking to Stacy about the real world. She remembered yawning…

Had she fallen asleep right there?

Why was she the one who fell asleep while talking? Was she that tired? No wonder she had no memory of the night. And judging by their positions, she must have leaned on Stacy after falling asleep.

Now she woke up in bed, changed into a nightgown… last night… Milly blushed. No, what was she thinking?

She looked at the other side of the bed. The silk covers were thrown back, indicating someone else had slept there. A faint scent of cold cedar lingered, Stacy’s unique scent.

Where was she?

Had Stacy carried her back to Starlight City while she slept? Did she sleep that soundly? Unless Stacy used teleportation magic, Milly would have woken up.

But looking at the nightgown, she couldn’t have changed herself in her sleep. That meant that person had changed her. Stacy must have been very gentle, or she would have woken up.

As a result, she had a dreamless night, the best sleep she’d had in a long time. Her fatigue was gone.

She got out of bed and stretched. Click. The door opened, drawing her attention.

“Awake?”

Stacy’s voice came from the door. Milly looked at her and froze. The Stacy who usually wore dark dresses and exuded an aura of ‘do not approach’ was now wearing loose loungewear.

The soft fabric swayed with her movements, revealing her collarbone.

Compared to her usual cold voice, she sounded much softer now. Stacy held a tray, the aroma of hot black tea filling the room. Milly noticed that Stacy wasn’t wearing her usual jewelry. Her silver hair was tied back with a simple ribbon, a few strands framing her face, swaying gently as she moved.

She looked like a gentle girl next door. But seeing this on Stacy left Milly speechless.

So out of character. Was Stacy’s programming malfunctioning?

“You…”

“Surprised?”

Not surprised, just weird. Milly had never imagined the words “gentle girl next door” could apply to Stacy.

She wanted to tell Stacy to be normal. She was overcorrecting. But compared to the paranoid nightmare of before, this weird style wasn’t unacceptable.

The tea was placed on the nightstand. The sweet aroma made Milly doubt if Stacy had made it herself. The trauma was too deep; seeing Stacy still reminded her of dark cuisine.

“Sugar?”

“Wait…”

Drinking tea first thing in the morning was weird. And she hadn’t washed up.

The atmosphere was too strange. Being alone with Lisa was acceptable, but with this Stacy, Milly couldn’t adapt quickly.

Saying she needed to wash up was just an excuse to leave, to splash some water on her face and calm down.

But Stacy saw right through her. A familiar smile appeared on her familiar face. “I almost forgot. Little Milly hasn’t washed up yet.”

Her tone was normal, and her actions seemed normal too? Seeing the magical glow on Stacy’s fingertip brought back Milly’s deepest memories.

Back then, to make Milly learn the language quickly, Stacy had crammed a massive amount of information into her brain, and to speed up the digestion, she had carved countless sigils on her body.

Seeing the magic on Stacy’s finger, Milly instinctively shrank back, trying to distance herself.

“Relax, it’s just a cleaning spell.”

Stacy’s voice was soft, but carried a hint of imperceptible disappointment.

Her finger touched Milly’s forehead. A warm light enveloped Milly’s body. When it faded, she felt refreshed, as if she had just bathed. Her hair was fluffy. It saved the trouble of washing up.

Stacy sat on the edge of the bed and patted her lap, signaling Milly to sit. She produced a comb from somewhere.

Sitting on the edge of the bed reminded Milly of being spanked. Back then, she had been placed on Stacy’s lap in this position, her skirt lifted, electrified slaps landing on her bottom. The memory made Milly blush. She turned her face away, but her body still sat on the soft lap.

She picked up the tea and took a sip. The sweet taste bloomed in her mouth, dazing her.

Behind her, Stacy gently combed her long hair. The scene felt so unreal, as if she were still in a dream.

Morning light, black tea, gentle combing. It was a beautiful dream she didn’t want to wake up from.