“Am I interrupting something?” Nicole asked in a teasing tone as soon as she entered Ethan’s room.
Chloe and Luna were glaring at her, which made the pink-haired beauty giggle.
“I just woke up a few minutes ago,” Ethan replied as he made a gesture for Nicole to sit down. “Do you need me for something?”
Nicole smiled. “Do you remember the favor I asked of you in the past? The one that you would accompany me to somewhere after your first mission was over?”
Ethan nodded. “Yes. I did make you that promise.”
“Good,” Nicole commented. “After your first mission, I want you to accompany me to a place that is a bit close to the Asta Earldom, which is ruled by my family. I can’t tell you the specifics as to why we will go there, but consider this as repayment for all the favors that you owe me in the past.”
“Understood,” Ethan replied.
Chloe, and Luna felt uneasy about this agreement, but since it was an arrangement that Nicole and Ethan had agreed upon in the past, there was nothing they could do about it.
“Is that the only reason why you came to see me?” Ethan inquired.
“That was my original plan, but when Noah told me that you are now accepting guests, he mentioned that there will be a victory party tonight,” Nicole said. “If possible, I’d like to join that as well.”
“I’ll have to ask Sir Henry for permission first,” Ethan stated. “But knowing how much you have helped me train, I’m sure he will agree to let you join our celebration.”
Nicole patted her chest in relief. “Is that so? That’s good then. I thought I wasn’t welcome here anymore.”
The pink-haired beauty made sure to give Chloe and Luna side-long glances before shifting her gaze back to Ethan.
Seeing that the snake wanted to bite their apple for a second time, Chloe and Luna exchanged glances with each other and nodded their heads at the same time.
After some idle chat, Nicole promised to return after sunset to join the festivities of Dud Manor.
When the pink-haired beauty left, Chloe grumpily sat on Ethan’s bed and looked at the teenage boy with a pout.
“You seem to trust that girl a lot, Ethan,” Chloe said. “Don’t you feel that she has ulterior motives in approaching you?”
“Yes, I do,” Ethan replied, which surprised Chloe and Luna. “But, I also want to know why she is going through all this effort just to get close to me. At the very least, I can tell that, right now, she is not my enemy.”
‘But she’s our enemy!’ Chloe and Luna thought at the same time.
“Actually, what I am being wary of is that girl, Lily,” Ethan said with a frown. “I feel like she won’t take what I did lying down, and would definitely use her immense popularity and influence within the academy to make my life difficult.”
Chloe pondered for a bit before sharing the rumor that she had heard before leaving Eques Manor earlier that day.
“Some of my acquaintances were saying that Lily planned to go out on a date with you to Limeburgh Town this weekend,” Chloe commented. “Of course, this was due to her announcement during the tournament that if she lost to you, she would go on a date with you. Although that is just a bunch of hogwash, she might actually do it just to spite you.”
“I also heard this rumor on the way to the Dining Hall earlier,” Luna stated. “However, some say that Lily was purposely spreading this news among the Ranks of the First Years. You should be careful when you go out of the Manor, Ethan. Lily has many admirers and there’s no telling what they will do out of jealousy.”
Ethan sighed helplessly after hearing Chloe’s and Luna’s report.
The tournament had just finished, and he planned to take it easy until the Autumn Break. However, with Lily holding a grudge against him, it was possible that he would receive challenges everyday from the members of her Fan Club.
Suddenly a thought came to Ethan’s mind and a devilish smile appeared on his face.
“How about I invite Nicole and Lily to have a vacation on our farm this Autumn Break?” Ethan muttered. “I’m sure grandma will have fu—awwwww!”
Ethan cried out in pain when Chloe suddenly pulled on his ear, making the handsome teenager writhe in pain. 𝞸𝔳𝑙xt.𝒸𝞸𝓜
“Who are you going to take to see your grandparents again, huh?” Chloe asked angrily. “I didn’t hear you the first time. Can you repeat that for me?”
“W-Wait, I’m just considering it!” Ethan replied. “I wasn’t being serious about it!”
“You’d better be.” Chloe scoffed before releasing Ethan’s ear from her hold. “Listen here. Grandma Agnes is already old and has no time to deal with vile snakes and a scheming wolf. If you want someone to accompany us to the farm then Luna will be enough. We don’t need any other girls there.”
Ethan, who was massaging his ear, momentarily forgot the pain as he subconsciously looked at the angelic beauty seated opposite him.
“Do you want to visit our farm?” Ethan asked.
“Can I?” Luna asked back.
“Yes,” Ethan replied. “I’m sure grandma will love to have you. Just don’t tell her about the things that have happened to me in the academy and it will be perfect.”
A faint tinge of red was creeping on Luna’s cheeks after Ethan invited her to meet his grandparents.
She was very curious to meet the people that raised Ethan, and she thought that this was a perfect opportunity to meet them.
Chloe, on the other hand, crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. She would rather have Luna accompany them back to the countryside, than have Nicole and Lily follow along.
“What does your grandmother like to eat?” Luna inquired. “I can prepare that as a gift when I come with you back to your hometown.”
Ethan was sure that his Grandma would love anything that Luna would give her because she was such a kind and caring girl.
Even so, he still mentioned the things that his grandma liked, and the angelic beauty made sure to remember them all.
An hour later, Henry informed them that their Victory Celebration would start at six in the evening, and even insisted that Chloe joined them as well.
Naturally, Ethan’s cousin accepted Henry’s invitation because she planned to prevent Ethan from getting drunk.
She didn’t want the pink-haired snake to take advantage of his helplessness a second time, and planned to stick with Ethan until their victory party ended.