Spoiled by Eight Uncles (Lily)

Lilly cried herself to sleep.

She didn't know if she would return to South City when she woke up. Still, none of that mattered. Her grandmother's crystal clear face was etched in her mind. The result she gained after that trip only firmed her resolve.

She could remember it all. Her grandmother's scent and the tone of her voice were all as clear as day.

If she was given another chance, she would still make that perilous trip from South City. That challenging trip was more than worth it as she could remember her way home and the faces of her family.

So, she ate a bowl of cereal and fell into a peaceful sleep.

This time, she wasn't awakened by that faint, elusive voice. Instead, she had a great rest and woke up on time.

She opened her eyes as she felt the warmth of the room. A sudden joy rose in her heart as she thought, Have | succeeded? Lilly happily got out of bed and ran out barefoot. She was eager to see her grandma, Uncle Anthony, and her siblings.

Alas, she was greeted with an unfamiliar living room when she opened the door. A tall figure was cooking in the kitchen.

The food's aroma hit Lilly's nose like a sledgehammer. She couldn't understand what was happening.

Blake heard the pitter-patter of her feet running and glanced over.

"You're awake?" he said while cooking. "You're truly as stubborn as a mule... You've sneaked out of the police station just to board a train so many times that the officers were placing bets toward the end. Frankly, it's quite embarrassing that so many of them failed to keep an eye on a slip of a girl like you." Lilly was stunned. What was he saying? "Did I... return from the Crawford Mansion?" Lilly asked tentatively.

Blake served the fried egg and gave her a bowl of rice.

"Hungry? Eat!" When he saw that she wouldn't back down until she received an answer, he said in exasperation, "Your head is still in the clouds? You've never been to the Crawford Mansion. | told you to wait for me this afternoon. Yet, what did you do? You ran away as soon as | turned my back on you. Luckily, the officers patrolling the station caught you." Lilly only felt as though the reality he described made no sense! She was sure she had been to the Crawford Mansion. Even if the warmth she felt when she saw her grandmother was illusory, the hunger and cold she felt crossing half of Dudroinia were very real.

It seemed that illusion had been given a good whack, causing a forced reset! This was the first time she had experienced a reversal of time since she entered the dream.

She had been losing time whenever she tweaked something. Each subtle change led to her falling into a deep sleep again.

Whenever she woke up, it was as if all her experiences were nothing but a dream.

Nonetheless, the clock had been turned back! "Is he running out of ideas?" Lilly smirked as her eyes gleamed with cunning.

She didn't feel resentful. On the contrary, it seemed like the ‘director’ had no choice but to revise the plot after finding several inconsistencies.

"Thank you, Dad!" Lilly cheerfully picked up her bowl and started eating.

Blake unconsciously curled his lips into a smile, murmuring, "You're quite the bold one, aren't you?" It didn't feel like such a bad idea to have a little girl staying under his wing.

Suddenly, Lilly placed her bowl down.

It didn't matter how much she wailed and raged against him, the dad in this ridiculous dream was like an NPC. He acted as if he was utterly unaffected by her pleas.

Nevertheless, she could feel his changes. He was acting and reacting like a real person.

Plus, he had brought her home! "Dad, are you going to take me in?" Lilly asked cautiously.

Blake hummed in response before saying, "What else could | do? I've never seen a kid as clingy as you." There was a hint of exasperation in his eyes. However, Lilly also noticed a spark of warmth and indulgence that had never been there before! She was overjoyed! That meant that she had finally broken free from the orphanage! If this was a journey, this meant that she had now docked at the "Dad" port.

What would the next stop be? Would it be her return to the Crawford family? Lilly became even happier as she enthusiastically dug in. In the end, she practically inhaled two big servings worth of food.

Blake propped his forehead with his hand and clicked his tongue. "I can see that my wallet will be emptier now that I've decided to raise you." Lilly looked up at him. Her eyes turned into crescents as she beamed. "You can't go back on your word once you've agreed to take me in!" Blake paused before muttering, "Don't worry. | can afford to raise you and your abyss of a stomach." Lilly grinned and stretched out her hand. "Pinky promise. If you lie, you'll be living a life with fiery pants!" Blake found her antics amusing as he hooked her little finger with his.

At that moment, it felt like a warm current was rushing straight to his heart.

"I'm going to wash the dishes!" Lilly picked up her cutleries and zoomed into the kitchen like a busy bee. Then, she dashed out to clean up the ones in front of Blake.

Once she was done with that, she moved on to the empty plates and bowls... She even took a cloth to wipe the table.

Blake said, "Hey, | was just teasing. | don't need you to earn your keep." Lilly was standing on her toes as she tried to turn on the faucet. Alas, he grabbed her hand and gently pushed her aside. "Get out of the way." Lilly didn't argue. Instead, she let go as soon as he said so. "Okay, Dad!" Blake was rendered utterly speechless.

Before he could make a snarky comment, he saw her darting to the bathroom. When she came out, she was holding a mop.

Sure enough, she started mopping the floor without any prompting.

Blake watched her silently. Although he wanted to stop her, he didn't say anything to diminish her eagerness.

As Lilly mopped the floor, she muttered to herself, "When did it all start to change?" She finally remembered something crucial! People used to refer to Dad as ‘Captain MacNeil." That changed this afternoon as someone referred to him as 'Blake MacNeil".

That was it! It was as if she had breathed some life into an NPC of the illusion.

She pursued that train of thought relentlessly, trying to figure out what was confounding her.

She remembered what Alban had said before. He had declared that if he had the same fate and resources as her, he could have been as successful as she was.

Her rise to such a high position was merely due to good fortune.

He wasn't wrong because there were people who assumed that her becoming a Great Emperor at the tender age of 10 was simply due to good luck.

If that was the case, what people viewed as her ‘luck’ had been stripped away.

A sudden realization dawned upon Lilly! She finally knew how to shatter this dream!