“Are you feeling better?” Ethan asked as he handed Lilian a glass of water.
“Yes,” Lilian replied. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to thank you earlier. You saved my life. For this favor, I will definitely repay in the future.”
Ethan smiled and nodded. “I only did what anyone would have done. But feel free to return the favor when it’s my turn to get into trouble.”
He didn’t pretentiously reject the young lady’s show of gratitude because, in the Wizarding World, you never know when you might need the help of others.
“Absolutely!” Lilian jumped at the chance to form a connection with the handsome young man who had come to her rescue. “By the way, my name is Lilian. May I know my savior’s name?”
“Ethan,” Ethan replied. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lilian.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Sir Ethan,” Lilian smiled.
“Sir Ethan? Just call me Ethan. I am no Sir.”
“But, I insist!”
Nicole, who was watching this from the side, couldn’t stop from smirking. Just like Cedric, she had recognized who Lilian was.
However, seeing that Ethan had no idea whom he was talking to tickled her heart.
‘I wonder how he’ll react once he finds out her identity,’ Nicole mused. ‘I hope I’ll be there when it happens.’
Unlike Nicole, someone else in the room didn’t look happy with how things unfolded.
The ‘someone’ in question was none other than Emma, who was looking at the beautiful young lady with a bored expression on her face.
Although Lilian didn’t look like someone who had fallen in love with her Master at first sight, she was sure that the more time the young lady spent with Ethan, the more her feelings of gratitude would turn into something deeper.
It was at that moment when Luna arrived at the common room and sat beside Ethan.
Her hand smoothly slid into the handsome young man’s hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Having seen this, a look of surprise appeared on Lilian’s face for a brief moment before returning to its usual calmness.
“Sir Ethan, is she perhaps your lover?” Lilian asked.
“Yes, she is,” Ethan answered in a heartbeat. “Her name is Luna.”
The members of Brynhildr Academy, who were still in the dark about Ethan’s relationship with Luna, looked at the handsome young man with shocked expressions on their faces.
Henry, who was also in the room, was leaning against the wall. He thanked the stars, for Rowan was currently not in the residence.
Had Luna’s older brother been there and heard Ethan’s declaration, things might have gotten really ugly.
Nicole whistled, impressed with how the teenage boy didn’t even hesitate when he made such a big declaration. She knew that her sparring partner was close to Chloe and Luna, so this revelation didn’t surprise her that much.
What surprised her though was the fact that Ethan seems to have more than one lover.
She was there when Ethan kissed Lily in the infirmary of the academy, so she was sure that the two had a close relationship with each other.
Since she wasn’t someone who liked to pry into the private lives of others, she didn’t bother verifying and simply assumed that Ethan and Lily were now an item.
Back then, she felt a bit sad for Chloe and Luna because the adorable First Year had managed to snatch their golden egg and made it her own.
But now… she understood that Ethan had taken a route different from the one she was expecting.
‘Interesting,’ Nicole thought. ‘I guess it’s safe to assume that Chloe is one of his lovers as well.’
Before leaving the academy, Chloe was there to bid their farewell to them. She even kissed Ethan’s cheeks and told him to stay away from the beautiful ladies of Nightfall Academy.
‘Chloe, your reminder went to the chicken coop,’ Nicole laughed internally. ‘Ethan is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.’
Nicole could tell that Ethan wasn’t really trying to make any moves on Lilian. The way he held Luna’s hand and declared that she was his lover was also his way of telling the beautiful blonde lady that he was already taken.
But the scene she was currently watching suddenly took an unexpected turn.
“Luna?” Lilian smiled. “Are you perhaps Luna Oswald?”
lightsΝοvεl ?οm
Luna frowned, wondering how the other party knew her as she was certain that this was her first time seeing the young lady in front of her.
However, the girl was able to tell her surname even though they had just met.
“That’s right, my full name is Luna Oswald,” Luna replied. “How did you know my family’s name?”
“It’s because my brothe—I mean, the Oswald Family is a Baron Family.” Lilian caught herself just in time and tried to change the subject. “Your family name is quite famous, you know?”
Luna shook her head. “My family is not famous. We are just a Baron Family that lives on the outskirts of Eastshire. There’s nothing special about us.”
Lilian cursed internally for making a blunder. Right now, she was unable to explain why she knew Luna’s family name and was desperately thinking about how to get out of the mess she made.
‘Should I tell her my identity?’ Lilian thought before shifting her gaze to Ethan. ‘No. This is not the right time and place for it.’
Seeing that she was troubled, Ethan lightly patted Luna’s hand and smiled.
“Nightfall Academy sure has its hands full with troublemakers,” Ethan said. “With so many academies in one place, tensions and conflicts between rival academies are inevitable. It’s a good thing that the students of Nightfall Academy are very punctual in their patrols and resolve most of the issues. You are a very diligent and hardworking student, Lilian.”
“Eh?” Lilian blinked once then twice after hearing Ethan’s praise. However, as someone who was raised to be able to adapt to any situation, she took hold of Ethan’s olive branch and nodded her head.
“Thank you, Sir Ethan,” Lilian replied with a flushed expression on her face. “I wish we had met under better circumstances. You found me in such an embarrassing moment.”
“You shouldn’t say that, Lilian,” Ethan commented. “It was three versus over a dozen. You were at a disadvantage. If they fought with equal numbers, I’m sure that you would have dealt with them easily.”
Lilian’s face brightened after hearing Ethan’s praise for the second time.
‘Sir Ethan is really a kind person,’ Lilian thought as she tried to calm her wildly beating heart. ‘It’s quite unfortunate that he already has a lover…’
Lilian glanced at the angelic beauty beside her savior and tried to keep the smile on her face from breaking.
‘Well, she is just his lover,’ Lilian thought. ‘They’re still not married.’
Suddenly, she thought of something, and the smile on her face widened.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Sir Ethan,” Lilian said before standing up and giving the handsome young man a brief bow. “I am now recovered, and it’s time to return to our patrol duty. I’m sure that there are plenty of opportunities for the two of us to meet each other.”
Lilian then glanced at her two escorts, who had stood up and walked to stand beside her.
“Can I visit here again when I’m free?” Lilian asked with an uncertain tone.
“Of course,” Ethan replied. “There are still a few things that I don’t know about Nightfall Academy, and I will be really grateful if you can answer some of my questions when we meet again.”
Lilian nodded while doing her best to not smile from ear to ear. “Then, I’ll drop by again tomorrow afternoon. I hope Sir Ethan will allow me to give you a tour of the academy. And if you are free in the evening, how about I invite you and Ms. Luna to have dinner together? Will that be acceptable?”
“Dinner sounds good,” Ethan agreed. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“And thank you for accepting my invitation,” Lilian gestured for a handshake, and Ethan stood up to shake hands with her.
The two held hands for a few seconds before the young lady reluctantly pulled her hand away.
A moment later, she left with her escorts, leaving the students of Brynhildr Academy looking at Ethan with amused expressions on their faces.
‘…Master, just what are you planning?’ Emma thought with a frown.
Nicole, on the other hand, was like an Auntie who was looking forward to seeing a drama unfold.
After making sure that Lilian had truly left, Ethan led Luna away from the common room so that the two of them could talk in private.
However before he did that, he mentally gave a few hornets an order to secretly follow the young lady, whom he had saved earlier.
Things weren’t so simple, and he intended to find out if Lilian was a friend or a foe that he needed to be wary of during their stay in Nightfall Academy.