Ethan looked at the snoring girl on the bed with amusement.
His image of Nicole was of a fine young lady who acted like a tomboy most of the time. She was very good when it came to fighting and was also a very talented witch.
Among the ladies surrounding Ethan, her fighting ability was on par with Lily, who was a very dangerous opponent in one-on-one and group battles.
Part of him wanted to see the two fight seriously against each other, and the other part of him didn't want to see it happen.
Ethan was certain if the two girls were to really duke it out with each other, there was a high possibility that one of them might get seriously injured or, worse, die in the aftermath.
After using his water magic to completely dry his hair, Ethan took his pajamas from the closet and pulled them on.
He didn't have to worry about Nicole peeking at him because she was down for the count.
And even if she did take a peek, Ethan wouldn't be too bothered by it.
He was no longer the innocent and naive boy who would blush if a girl saw his naked body. Sёarch* The NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Lily and the rest of his lovers had raised his immunity to womanly charms.
Even if Nicole wasn't wearing any clothes in front of him, he would simply nod his head in admiration of her beautiful body before going to sleep.
For him, the young lady was a very close friend, sparring instructor, and adviser.
He would not do anything to break her trust, for her friendship was important to him.
After he finished putting on some clothes, Ethan laid down and slept at the edge of the bed, giving Nicole all the space she needed.
Since he was also tired from the festivities, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep despite the fact that his roommate was snoring loudly.
Half an hour later, the young lady, who was snoring loudly, stopped snoring and opened her eyes.
The lamp in the room was dimly lit, allowing her to see her surroundings.
A glance was enough to tell her that although familiar, the room she was in wasn't hers.
A moment later, she noticed that she wasn't wearing the clothes she had worn earlier.
The only reason why she didn't panic was because she recognized the young man sleeping on the other edge of the bed.
Just like how Ethan trusted Nicole, she also trusted him and knew that he wouldn't do anything that would make her hate him.
As her gaze landed on the handsome young man's sleeping face, the words of the plain-looking girl suddenly echoed inside her head.
"You will not live long enough to accomplish your goal. At most, you will only be able to live up to three years. You already know what to do, so why are you hesitating?"
Those ominous words spoken by the plain-looking girl caused Nicole to break out of character and drink until she got drunk.
It was as if the girl had seen right through her soul, and it vexed her because the girl confirmed what she already knew about herself.
Just like the plain-looking girl said, Nicole didn't have long to live.
According to the girl, she still had three more years before her body perished because it wasn't strong enough to handle the load of the power that she had unknowingly stolen from the Asta Family.
Of course, none of them were aware of what she had stolen because even the Patriarch of the Asta Family, Oscar, wasn't aware of the secret that was hidden in one of the rooms of their main residence.
When Nicole was only nine years old, she was running away from the children of the Asta Family, who wanted to bully her and had entered that room by accident.
"Do you want power?"
Those were the words that the being inside the room had asked her long ago.
"Yes, I want power!"
That was what she had said back then.
As a child, she wanted power so that she wouldn't get bullied by the members of the Asta Family, who had treated her as if she was a bastard child of the family.
She was still too young to understand the consequences of her actions, but even if Nicole was given the opportunity to travel to the past, she still wouldn't change a thing.
Because of the power she gained, the Patriarch of the Asta Family recognized her potential.
The bullying had also stopped, but her relationship with the Asta Family remained cold.
Nicole was strong and perfectly healthy, but this was all due to the power that she had acquired.
Behind that facade, her life force was slowly being eaten up by the power that wasn't meant to be held by an ordinary Human child.
'Three years,' Nicole thought. 'So just after graduating from the academy?'
The young lady sighed internally, but her mind was already sober. The power inside her prevented her from being intoxicated for a long period of time and drastically cut down the period of time that she was under status effects like paralysis and petrification.
She was also immune to Poison, which was why those who had tried to poison her when she was young were surprised when none of their tricks were working on her.
One of them even died after they tried the poison on themselves when checking why it didn't work on her.
'I feel so cold inside,' Nicole thought as she placed her hand over her chest.
Although her skin was warm, just like an ordinary human on the outside, deep inside, she was feeling very cold.
She didn't always feel this way. But she would feel this cold sensation once or twice a week.
This only happened during the night, and it would be gone when morning came.
Even so, at times like this, she wished that she could hold onto something warm that would help her get through the night.
Nicole looked at Ethan for nearly half a minute before making up her mind.
The young lady then moved closer to the young man and hugged him like a pillow.
Suddenly, the cold she was feeling slowly faded as if it was being absorbed by something.
The young lady wasn't able to stop herself from sighing in relief because the cold that was making her uneasy disappeared as if it didn't exist in the first place.
Ethan, whom she hugged, suddenly shifted his body and sleepily wrapped the young lady in his arms.
He then lightly patted her head and mumbled something.
"Are you feeling homesick again, Lilian?" Ethan said softly. "Don't worry. I'm here. I'll hold you until you fall asleep tonight."
After saying those words, Ethan kissed her forehead and remained still.
He was still fast asleep, and what he did was like an automatic reflex, similar to a muscle memory.
Nicole, who had been wrapped in a loving embrace, almost forgot to breathe because of what just happened.
When she regained her composure, she didn't know if she should push Ethan away or remain in his arms.
His warm embrace, which had pushed the coldness out of her body, was very soothing.
In the end, she just lightly hit his chest before closing her eyes.
'At least don't call out the name of another girl when hugging me,' Nicole thought. 'Stupid Ethan.'
A few minutes later, she, too, fell asleep and woke up the next day feeling as if she had taken the most refreshing sleep in her lifetime.