Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 97 Will you take responsibility?

"Isn't she a really bad person? Why not kill her?"

"She is valuable, Ivina. You may not understand, but she means a lot to us."

Cecilia's role is self-evident; in fact, one of the most crucial steps in killing the Dragon God relied on Cecilia's actions.

In fact, before the final battle, Rhodes and his companions assisted Cecilia in collecting the twelve fallen demon god positions that had been divided into twelve parts by the gods, and pieced together the remains of these demon god positions to two-thirds their original size.

And what is the purpose of this divine position?

Naturally, it was used to gather the overwhelming malice accumulated throughout the history of the Demon God race, and as the most terrifying pollution bomb, it reduced the Dragon God's health bar by forty percent.

Therefore, without Cecilia, who could inherit the incomplete position of the demon god, to ignite the war by invoking this broken divine position, they would indeed have had difficulty killing the dragon god.

Of course, things may change in this lifetime.

The simplest example is what Rhodes envisioned last time: if his next divine seed were to be a [Demon God Seed], then perhaps he himself could control this most terrifying contaminated explosive in the world.

But all things considered, it was the right thing to spare Cecilia's life as a precaution, since her [Demon Seed] was already the most powerful among all witches.

"? It works————?" Ivina blinked————

"If Rhodes defeats her, what will he do to her?"

"I will seal her power, then restrain her movements, and make her come back to be my obedient maid," Rhodes said calmly.

Ivina's pupils sharpened, and at that moment, the pressure that had been building up suddenly dropped.

But the relief I felt was quickly replaced by renewed anxiety.

Because—that's not entirely correct either.

Rhodes was willing to keep Cecilia because her life was valuable, but was his own life valuable to him?

If Rhode really controlled Cecilia and kept her by his side as a maid, then he too would share this fate, going from being a pampered object to being a nobody on the street. In fact, that would be the best-case scenario.

Because what if Rhodes can't control Cecilia?

Once that happens, Cecilia will be an enemy to Rhodes, and he himself will clearly be a threat.

After all, even if Rhodes is kind and won't lay a hand on himself, it's still unrealistic to expect to keep an enemy's eyes by your side, right?

Ivina reached out and gently placed her hand on the eye that was wrapped in bandages.

She could certainly explain that only this golden eye could transmit vision to Cecilia, but whether Cecilia would believe her after she explained was another matter entirely.

The more I thought about it, the more complicated it became; the more I thought about it, the more chaotic my thoughts became, and the more my heart pounded.

In the end, all he could do was shake his head and put those questions out of his mind: "She's your maid?"

"Yes, it used to be," Rod replied frankly.

"I don't understand why you saved such a bad person in the past—" Ivina said in a low voice.

"I used to think she was a pitiful child, but I didn't expect her to betray us. There's nothing we can do about it." Rhodes shook his head. "Alright, it's almost time to rest. Let's continue practicing."

95

Rhodes stood up and walked in front of Ivina, extending his broad hand and smiling elegantly, "Invitation."

A slight silence followed.

Ivina stared at the hand, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Her body felt as heavy as lead, yet the desires in her heart rose cautiously and timidly. As for what the story would ultimately be like, it was no longer possible to explore.

There could be too many possibilities, too many implications, and even what Cecilia said might be a lie, while Rhodes might just be saying it casually.

So why bother?

She stretched out her soft little hand and placed it in Rod's broad palm;

But—Rhodes still caught Ivina's hesitation.

Although Rhode really wanted to flirt with Lilith tonight, he knew this was the last night.

So he stayed in his room.

At this moment, Ivina and Rhodes were separated by a rolled-up blanket.

:

Rod stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

There's already enough idle chatter; adding any more meaningless actions won't make a difference.

He could sense a peculiar resistance within Ivina, a constant rejection of his approach.

The superficial arrangements and decorations are never about considering the desire for the future, but simply about experiencing this particular moment.

But if you really want to be with someone, you will inevitably start thinking about the future—Rhodes understands this very well.

But he didn't understand, he didn't understand where his actions went wrong.

Whether it was overall gentleness, occasional teasing, or providing her with various methods to overcome the crisis—in the end, she still couldn't gain more confidence in herself.

Why?

Because I'm afraid that I won't be able to successfully walk into that crowd tomorrow and stand normally in front of people.

But if that's the case, the more afraid she is, the more she should rely on herself.

"I don't understand—" Rod pulled up the covers, and as he inadvertently sensed Ivina's presence while breathing, his inner turmoil intensified.

The blankets in the guest room didn't have much of Rhodes' scent on them to begin with, and since he hadn't been there last night, when he lifted the blankets, all he could smell was Ivina's scent.

The young girl always had a very pure fragrance, not the scent of perfumes, but a natural and simple fragrance.

There's a saying that goes something like this: Everyone has their own natural body odor. Some people like this smell and will be attracted to it, while others dislike it and will stay away from it.

And perhaps some people, after liking the person, will naturally also like the smell —

But in any case, Rhodes didn't dislike him.

"Ivina, what are you afraid of?" Rhodes finally asked. "Today, you are clearly burdened, and your soul is fading."

"Hey, is the Soul Seed really that disgusting? It can even sense fluctuations of this level—?"

"More or less, one can sense the quality of the spirit," Rhodes replied, gazing at the ceiling.

"It's nothing! What's there to be afraid of? At most, I'm just a little scared that I won't be able to stand in the crowd tomorrow and I'll faint from fright."

"If that's the case, I'll have no choice but to carry you away in public," Rhodes said calmly. "If you don't want your innocence to be ruined by me for the rest of your life, you'd better try to overcome this problem."

Rod said half-jokingly, after all, Ivina, who always talks nonsense, had to say it like that.

but----

Unexpectedly, the girl turned her gaze to Rhodes, her crimson eyes shimmering.

Ivina's face appeared flawless in the pale moonlight, and her already haggard appearance was further accentuated by the moonlight, highlighting her fragility.

"—Rhodes, if my innocence is ruined by you, will you take responsibility?"

"I'm serious," Ivina added.