Chapter 26: Lilly Morgan Is in Denial!

Nero greeted Lilly as he approached the mansion entrance.

"Hey, Lilly."

Lilly immediately turned away, her strawberry-blonde hair swaying with the movement.

"It’s not like I was waiting for you or anything."

Nero raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior.

"Okay?"

A faint blush appeared on Lilly’s cheeks, and she quickly changed the subject before he could say anything else.

"I’ve already prepared the kitchen. Come on."

She turned and headed inside without waiting for him, her short skirt swaying with each step and revealing her pale thighs.

Nero followed behind her, wondering why she was acting so strangely.

When they entered the kitchen, everything had already been prepared. Several Mana-infused ingredients were arranged neatly on the counter, and the equipment was clean and ready to use.

Nero began explaining the technique again, demonstrating the hand movements slowly while pointing out the important positions and the reasoning behind each step.

Lilly watched carefully before attempting to copy his movements.

Her slender fingers pressed against the ingredient, but the pattern was still incorrect. The Mana flickered weakly before disappearing.

She tried again, only to receive the same result.

After several more unsuccessful attempts, Lilly began getting frustrated.

"This is harder than it looks."

Nero watched her struggle for a moment.

Just then, a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.

[Ultimate Choice System Activated!]

[Option 1: Hug Lilly from behind and personally guide her through the technique.]

[Reward: $3,000 (Common)]

[Option 2: Leave her like this.]

[Reward: $1,500 (Common)]

"..."

Nero was speechless.

’Why does this System keep doing this to me?’

It seemed like every choice involving a girl was designed to put him in some ridiculous situation.

At this point, he was starting to wonder whether the System was secretly trying to get him to become a pervert.

Still, after considering the reward, Nero eventually accepted the choice.

$3,000 to a broke guy was like gold.

He took a deep breath before stepping behind Lilly.

"Let me guide you."

"Eh..."

Before she could finish, Nero reached around her and carefully placed his hands over hers, just like yesterday.

Lilly immediately stiffened when she felt his chest pressing against her back.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"I’m helping you learn again." Nero replied, trying to keep his voice steady. "Just focus on the technique."

He adjusted her fingers to the correct positions, showing her exactly where to apply pressure.

Lilly became increasingly embarrassed by their position.

She could feel the warmth of his body through her blouse, and his arms were practically wrapped around her as he guided her hands.

However, she stubbornly refused to pull away.

"Press here first. Gently."

Nero demonstrated the movement, his fingers overlapping with hers.

Lilly tried following his instructions, although her hands were trembling slightly.

"L-Like this?"

"Yeah. Now move to the second point."

Nero leaned forward to reach the ingredient properly, bringing his chest closer against her back.

Lilly bit her lip.

’He’s way too close!’

She could feel his steady breathing whenever he spoke, and when he leaned forward to demonstrate the next movement, his chin nearly brushed against her shoulder.

"You’re pressing too hard. Relax your fingers."

"O-Okay..."

Lilly tried concentrating on the technique, but having Nero standing so close was making that rather difficult.

Normally, she would’ve pushed away anyone who tried getting this close to her.

But for some reason, she didn’t feel like doing that with Nero.

His hands remained steady as he corrected her mistakes, and despite their awkward position, he seemed genuinely focused on teaching her.

Eventually, Lilly began relaxing.

She even found herself leaning back slightly against his chest as the tension in her shoulders faded.

"Good. Now repeat that movement."

Lilly followed his instructions, gradually becoming more familiar with the technique.

This time, the Mana finally responded.

A soft glow appeared around the ingredient as the energy within it activated.

"See?" Nero said, his voice close to her ear. "You got it."

Lilly nodded quickly.

Although she was still embarrassed, she couldn’t help feeling pleased that she had finally managed to perform the technique correctly.

Nero stepped away once the lesson was complete.

Lilly immediately noticed the absence of his warmth, but she quickly turned her face away to hide her expression.

"Of course I got it. It wasn’t that difficult."

Nero gave her a doubtful look but decided not to say anything.

He stretched his arms above his head before speaking.

"I’m tired. I’m going to bed."

With that, he left the kitchen.

Lilly watched him leave without saying anything.

Later that night, Lilly lay alone in her room, staring at the ceiling.

For some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened in the kitchen.

Normally, being that close to someone of the opposite sex made her uncomfortable. Yet when Nero stood behind her and guided her hands, she hadn’t felt the usual urge to push him away.

In fact, she had been surprisingly comfortable.

"..."

Lilly grabbed her pillow and covered her face.

"Am I some kind of pervert?"

Well, there was a she watched naughty videos at night because of circumstances.

But then, she immediately shook her head.

"It’s not like I like him or anything!"

She was only comfortable because Nero was teaching her something she genuinely wanted to learn.

That had to be the reason.

It had absolutely nothing to do with him!

Lilly suddenly sat up.

"What the heck am I even thinking about?"

There were countless people interested in her. Plenty of young men had tried approaching her, confessing their feelings, or doing whatever they could to gain her attention.

So why was she suddenly thinking about Nero?

Of all people, why him?

She couldn’t understand it.

However, one thing she couldn’t deny was how much Nero had changed recently.

It had only been four days, yet his improvements were already obvious.

He was becoming more confident, his combat abilities had improved drastically, and even the way he spoke to others was different.

Lilly fell back onto her bed and rolled around restlessly for a while.

Eventually, she reached for her phone and opened the gallery.

There were still plenty of old photographs of Nero saved on it.

She began scrolling through them.

In almost every picture, Nero looked awkward and nervous, as though he had no idea where to put his hands or how to behave around other people.

Lilly stopped at one particular photograph.

A quiet chuckle escaped her lips.

"So awkward..."

She continued looking through the old pictures, comparing the timid boy in them to the Nero who had been standing behind her in the kitchen earlier.

The difference was almost unbelievable.