Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

"No, no, I really can't do it..." Ivina shook her head frantically, biting her lip.

"I'm here." Rhodes took a few steps closer to Ivina and then gently patted her head.

The warmth was the best calming agent, and even though Ivina was still conflicted and hesitant inside, she still spoke:

"Then, you have to hold my hand tightly and don't let go of me."

"Yes, definitely."

"Pinky promise! If... if you suddenly run away, I'll die for you..."

"Shut up, you won't die."

Rhodes extended his little finger and gently hooked Ivina's slender finger.

The girl's body was as light as a maple leaf. With just a little help from him, she fell into his chest like a piece of cotton.

"Let's go."

Rhodes stood firm as a rock, and in an instant, the girl blushed.

"snort……"

He opened the door and led her out of the room.

This step was not difficult for Ivina.

But the next step is more troublesome.

"Whoosh..." Suddenly, a blinding gaze entered the line of sight of Rhodes and his companion;

"You two, after a late-night chat, you've become very close, haven't you?" Felicity tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

But it was clearly a sweet smile.

But Rhodes could vaguely see a hint of anger in her eyes.

Ok?

It's probably just my imagination...

"Thankfully, at least we've become friends. Now we need to take Ivina to the flower garden for desensitization training."

"Oh? To get her out of the desensitization training at the Duke's mansion?"

"Hmm." Rhodes nodded.

Felicity's subtle aura vanished, replaced by elegance and gentleness.

She was also quite interested in the girl who was "redeemed".

After all, it's like looking at your past self.

"Then let me go first, Miss Ivina." Felicity took a few steps toward Ivina. "Miss Ivina, why don't you try shaking my hand first?"

"Huh...?" Ivina paused for a moment, then suddenly felt something was wrong.

What is this? Is this being taken advantage of in front of someone's real partner?

Wow, I'm the other woman...? Am I going to be completely taken advantage of...?!

Ivina's thinking was perfectly reasonable; almost everyone in Phillips City had heard the story of Princess and Rod Chivenlance.

cocoa……

No, that's not right. Felicity isn't Rhodes's girlfriend, so there's no problem. Besides, she and Rhodes are just friends, good friends, so there's nothing wrong with it!

She immediately reached out and grasped Felicity's hand.

The two girls were stunned for a moment when their hands clasped together.

I was slightly dazed.

"Huh?" they exclaimed in unison.

Felicity was surprised by how much Ivina had changed; she could now touch her without hesitation.

Ivina only realized what was happening after they shook hands.

She...had contact with someone?

I was just thinking about the right wife and romance, and before I knew it, I had grabbed it...

The moment she realized what was happening, fear surged within her, and she hurriedly tried to pull her arm away, "Wait, wait...!"

But Felicity didn't give her a chance to let go; instead, she gripped it even tighter and said:

"Well done, Miss Ivina. You see, touching someone is never really a difficult problem."

"No, wait, loosen your grip...!"

"Ivina, that's great." Rhodes suddenly interjected, squeezing Ivina's hand even tighter.

This comforting praise instantly calmed the girl who was about to explode and hiss back to normal.

Ivina's face froze;

Although her eyes still trembled with fear, her heartbeat gradually calmed down.

Until—

She truly felt it; she was shaking hands with Felicity…

"I, I... I wasn't prepared..."

"But you've already succeeded!" Rod and Felicity said in unison, as if on cue.

"...Success? You succeeded?"

Ivina only just came to her senses and murmured in disbelief.

So, you ended up touching someone else?

So simple...

"Rhodes! I did it?"

She breathed tremblingly, and when she came to her senses, she gasped for breath, revealing her canine teeth, and exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, that's great."

"And there's no bloodlust reaction yet! Because you fed me well yesterday!" Ivina said even more excitedly.

"Hmm, not bad...not bad?" Rhodes felt there was something strange about Ivina's words, but he still nodded.

"Feeding him?" Felicity reached out and grabbed Rhodes' sleeve. "Wait, Rhodes got his blood sucked?"

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Rhodes was holding Ivina's hand, and Ivina and Felicity were shaking hands when Felicity grabbed Rhodes again...

Triangle.

Rod was stunned. "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Luo, are you alright? Were you hurt by Miss Ivina's bloodlust...?" Felicity asked worriedly, quickly moving closer to Luo and touching him all over.

My fingers slid down my neck to my chest, then down to my abdomen...

The moment her hand began to fidget again, Rod quickly said:

"It's alright, it's alright. After all, I've already leveled up three times, so it's only natural that I wasn't completely drained."

A hint of confusion flashed in Ivina's eyes when she heard those words.

In fact, even someone who has just broken through to the third level of advancement wouldn't have blood concentration as high as Rhodes'...

But it didn't matter to her, after all, all she knew was that she had overcome the difficulty...

However, what's interesting is—

The group of them huddled together, playfully bickering, while someone listened quietly to them.

She had finished breakfast and was heading back to her room when she stumbled upon this scene...

Lilith bit her lip hard, her frustration growing.

To her, those conversations were incredibly grating.

"I can't get involved with them... nor do I need to..."

She has taken the first step today. From now on, she just needs to take it slowly and not rush it.

……

...

"Alright, now for you, the second most difficult challenge is coming up."

Rod stood beside Ivina and led her downstairs step by step.

Felicity was sent by Rhodes to the Duke's mansion to find some useful books to teach Ivina to read later in the flower garden.

When they reached the first floor of the mansion, even though they avoided most of the people there, they still encountered some of them.

Not to mention, the moment Ivina was actually led by Rhodes out of the Duke's mansion and into the central garden—

The gaze naturally converges upon it.

Everyone—including Lady Joanna, Viscount Luca, and everyone else who had just been discussing Ivina—looked over.

They easily spotted the girl.

Firstly, her hair was as white as silver threads; secondly, one of her eyes was damaged, leaving her with a scarlet eye.

The moment these two conditions were met, everyone understood that the person standing before them was none other than Ivina Sanders, the daughter of the Duke of Sanders!

The girl was incredibly nervous, even closing her eyes in fear, and was simply being led along by the man beside her.

"It's alright, don't be afraid, none of them dare to come near us."

The moment Rhodes uttered those gentle words—

Shocked, bewildered, confused, and dumbfounded gazes appeared one after another.

"ha……?"

Everyone witnessed a scene that was utterly unbelievable.

That [monster], [mentally ill], [bloodthirsty] Ivina is being intimately touched by a man, and Mr. Rhodes is holding her hand... guiding her?