Chapter 56: She Didn’t Deny It

Lily’s alarm rang beside her bed.

She groaned and reached for the nightstand to turn it off. Before her hand got there, something held her back by the waist.

It was an arm.

Lily turned her head and saw Nero sleeping beside her. His arm was wrapped around her, and his face was close to her shoulder.

’Why is he in my bed?’

Before she could finish the thought, the memories of last night came rushing back. Her face turned red at once.

She looked at his sleeping face for a while. Then she reached out and gently touched his cheek.

A small smile appeared on her lips. "You’ve changed so much in such a short time, Nero." She whispered.

It had only been a little over a week since he started changing. His looks were completely different now, and even the maids stared at him when he walked by.

His personality had changed just as much. The boy who used to stammer whenever she talked to him had become surprisingly bold.

Yesterday, he had even put his hand under her skirt right in front of her mother. She never expected him to grow this confident so fast.

She expected even less to feel this comfortable after spending the night with him.

Lily’s hand slid down from his cheek and came to rest on her own stomach. Without thinking, she rubbed slow circles over it.

There was still a faint warmth there. Her face burned even hotter.

"It felt good..." She mumbled.

The words slipped out before she could stop them. Lily bit her lip hard.

’W-What am I saying? Am I some kind of pervert?’

She wanted to deny it. However, she couldn’t, because it was the truth.

She had enjoyed it, very much. It was more than she would ever admit to anyone, especially to the idiot sleeping next to her.

Her chest felt light and full at the same time. Every corner of her mind felt warm and happy, as if all her usual irritation had melted away overnight.

Lily wondered if this was the happiest she had ever been. She couldn’t remember a single morning that felt like this one.

Then a warm, tingling feeling stirred low in her body. Her thighs pressed together on their own.

Lily’s eyes flew wide open. ’No, no, no! It’s barely morning, and I’m already thinking about this?’

She shoved the thought away with all her strength. Lily Morgan was not going to lose to her own body before breakfast.

Once her head cleared, she noticed something strange. She felt completely refreshed.

Her Destruction power was very calm too. Normally, an alarm annoyed her so much that her power grew restless before she could even get out of bed.

This morning, she felt none of that. ’Could it be because of last night?’

Her ears turned hot all over again.

Not wanting to wake him, Lily carefully moved his arm off her waist. Nero mumbled something but kept sleeping.

She gently rolled him onto his side and covered him with a spare blanket. Then she looked at the bedsheet.

It was messy and damp in a few places. There was no way she could let a maid take this to the laundry.

Lily got out of bed and gathered the sheet in her arms. She sent a small amount of Destruction into the fabric.

A faint red glow spread across it. In the next moment, the sheet broke apart into dust and disappeared.

Lily looked down at her hand. Her power usually fought her a little, using more than she wanted or spreading farther than she meant.

This time, it did exactly what she wanted and nothing more. She also felt stronger, and her grip was much tighter when she made a fist.

She had been close to a breakthrough for a while now. ’Did I finally break through?’

It was hard to believe one night with him could cause this. Yet she couldn’t think of any other reason.

Even with the noise of her power, Nero was still fast asleep. His breathing stayed slow and steady under the blanket.

Lily smiled. "You didn’t even wake up?" She asked softly.

She decided to let him rest. She could test her body properly after a shower.

While she washed, she kept noticing the changes. Her body moved more smoothly than before and reacted the moment she wanted it to.

When she reached for the tap to change the water, the handle creaked in her hand. Lily quickly let go.

She had barely used any strength. If she had turned it a little harder, she might have ripped it off the wall.

’Something really changed.’ Still, she wanted to see the numbers on the training equipment before she believed it.

In the bedroom, Nero had woken up to the sound of running water. He sat on the edge of the bed with the blanket around his waist, and he remembered everything from last night.

He still couldn’t believe it had happened. Only a week ago, he had been sure he would never get this close to a girl.

Now his first time had been with Lily, of all people. Someone confessed to her almost every day, and people turned to look at her wherever she went.

She could have picked anyone she wanted. But she had chosen him.

For a moment, Nero wondered if everything since the accident was a dream. Maybe he would wake up and find himself back in his old life.

’Please don’t be a dream.’ He had grown way too attached to this new life to lose it now.

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Lily came out fully dressed. She walked straight over to him.

Nero realized that remembering last night was much easier than knowing how to act this morning. Nobody had ever taught him what to say after something like this.

"Hey." He spoke up awkwardly.

"Good morning, Nero."

She sounded completely normal. Somehow, that made him even more nervous.

"Right, good morning."

Nero stood up to grab his clothes from the floor. Then he remembered he wasn’t wearing anything.

His whole body went stiff. He glanced at Lily and hoped she had turned away, but she hadn’t.

She stood there with her arms crossed and didn’t even try to look somewhere else. Her eyes even dropped down once before coming back up to his face.

But then

"You can use the shower. I left a clean towel next to you." She said.

"O-Okay, thanks."

Nero quickly gathered his things and held them in front of himself. Then he hurried toward the bathroom.

At the door, he stopped. He was still embarrassed, but he had promised himself he would stop running away from every awkward moment.

He turned back to her. "If you ever want to spend the night together, you can call me."

Lily’s face turned red at once. "Hmph, shameless."

Nero coughed awkwardly and slipped into the bathroom before she could say anything else. He closed the door and let out a breath.

That line had sounded way cooler in his head. In his imagination, his voice hadn’t shaken, and Lily had looked impressed instead of annoyed.

Still, he didn’t regret saying it. He had really enjoyed last night, and judging by the way she had looked at him just now, he was pretty sure she had too.

’She called me shameless, but she didn’t say no.’ He decided to count that as a win.

After showering and getting dressed, Nero came back out. Lily was sitting in front of the mirror and brushing her hair.

"Can I borrow your brush?" He asked.

She handed it to him without a word.

Nero combed his hair and started tying it into a ponytail. Lily watched him in the mirror and frowned as he gathered the last strands.

"You have more hair than I do." She said.

Both of them had hair down to their waists. However, Nero was taller, so his hair was a lot longer.

He couldn’t really explain it either. He had never chosen to grow it this long.

"Uh... I guess I do."

"Hmph. You sound like you just noticed."

"I haven’t had much time to get used to it."

Nero finished tying his ponytail and gave the brush back. Lily set it down and stood up.

"Come with me to the training room."

"Sure, but is something wrong?" He asked.

"I just want to check something."

She walked to the door without saying more. Nero scratched his head and followed her.