Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

Under Cecilia's guidance, those disordered "resentments" transformed into "Cecilia's" "resentments," thus creating this world.

Rhodes rubbed his forehead:

“When it comes to holding grudges, Cecilia is the best.”

"After all these years, I still care about being bullied when I was a kid. Even though I taught those guys a lesson they didn't dare to say a word later on."

Rhodes guessed that Cecilia was probably dreaming of killing them herself.

After all, she has this kind of self-reliant personality; she doesn't like to rely on him and wants to solve problems on her own.

It could even be said that if she hadn't had the opportunity to unleash her morbid emotions, her desire to control Rhodes would have been enough to instill fear in him.

The fact that she captured Rhodes and put him in the dungeon at the very beginning of the game already makes her intentions quite clear.

but.

But what does this mean now?

Cecilia's obsession has attached itself to Clara, but the problem is that this is not something Clara cares about at all.

You can tell from the fact that she hid behind him, wanting him to solve the problem, right?

So, should he go ahead and kill these two women directly, or should he teach Clara to try and kill them herself?

Now, a slightly tricky question arises.

Rod stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then turned to look at Clara.

Clara.

"Yes, yes, it's me, Rod, also known as Clara."

How did they bully you?

"Huh? Actually, I don't really know either. As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt a lot of memories flooding into my mind... like they cornered me and I took the opportunity to run away or something."

Clara spoke somewhat timidly, her fingertips gripping Rod's shoulder.

Clara was as timid as a newborn toddler, her skin so delicate that she couldn't touch anything else.

This was evident from her previous fear of battle.

Clara cannot be afraid of fighting.

Because Rhodes still needs Clara to restore Charlotte's abilities in order to leave Carmen.

However, forcing her into battle directly probably won't really solve the problem, at least not awaken her potential.

Rhodes didn't have much time to think.

One of the girls calmly spoke up:

"Miss, you can't wrong us! We clearly didn't do anything."

She glanced at the other girl, then turned back with a fake smile, curtsied, and said, "Lord Rhodes, we'll be leaving now."

The hypocrisy and arrogance of the nobility were on full display at this moment.

That's it.

These nobles never had ugly faces like the villains in novels. On the contrary, their wickedness lay in their pretense and bullying, doing disgusting things as if nothing was wrong.

"Wait," Rhodes said slowly, stopping them from leaving.

We can't let them go.

Letting them go would be the worst possible story.

After all, this world was formed because Cecilia wanted to kill them herself.

Therefore, even if they don't do what Cecilia wanted, they should at least die at Rhodes's hands.

“Clara, I have a question for you,” Rhodes asked softly, “Do you think they are awful?”

"Hmm...?" Clara blinked her eyes in confusion.

"Didn't you regain some of your memories? Based on what's in your mind, do you think they're despicable?"

Her voice was slightly hoarse, and after a long pause, she hesitantly spoke:

"Yes, they are bad people."

“Then, kill them,” Rhodes laughed.

Yes, since the resentment is real, even Clara thinks they are bad people—

Then it's best to let Cecilia kill him.

Chapter 124 Soul Fusion [Charlotte]

"Kill them?" Clara's figure seemed slightly dazed.

Clara was just a child.

Or rather, the soul of Clara is essentially the soul of a girl who is about ten years old.

Pure and clean, never tainted by worldly affairs.

So when Rhodes told her to kill someone willingly, she was in a daze.

She had the courage to defeat those monsters, and the courage to hold her head high and say that she was "great," and then put in extra effort to help Rhodes solve some problems.

But... even killing someone, even a fake person from the soul world, is enough to make her tremble.

Because, in her eyes, killing people was never a choice.

This was guided by the inherent goodness of her soul, and also because, being afraid of everything, she simply didn't believe she had the ability to deal with a formidable enemy.

This is why her soul separated from her body.

As that child, as Clara's soul entity, all she knew from childhood to university was to be obedient.

Living under a loving mother

Living under the care of our people

Although she didn't know that the reason her people cared for her was because she was the vessel of the [Deep Sea God], it didn't matter.

Because no matter what, she is a flower that is surrounded and protected in the palm of one's hand.

So... even on her deathbed, she foolishly believed that Isadora wouldn't kill her.

It's not that I'm really stupid.

It's simply because she believes it.

Trust Cecilia, and trust all the witches who, like Cecilia, seem normal and ordinary.

They were so kind and gentle that even living together didn't seem evil; instead, they comforted her and kept her in one room.

But clearly, her trust was too naive.

Of course, for a child who is only ten years old, ignorance and cowardice are never mistakes.

But it was this emotion that made Clara afraid to face the monsters inside her, and she began to hide from them, becoming increasingly dull-witted.

The disappearance of the empty soul shell ultimately prevented Charlotte's soul from awakening normally.

The cause and effect of everything are thus intertwined, forming a fitting web.

But now, Rhodes has once again placed the choice of facing danger before her—

Clara trembled for a moment, and her lips trembled as she uttered:

"Me? Why should I do it? You should do it..."

“Because you are stronger than me, you can protect yourself,” Rhodes said softly.

“Nothing like that. I don’t remember anything, just some inexplicable power.” Clara’s head shook like a rattle-drum, her words tumbling out in agitation.

That's it, that's the problem.

Rhodes's eyes were calm; he had grasped the key issue.

Clara's soul has been denying its own power, which is why Charlotte's soul cannot awaken normally.

This was indeed an unexpected situation. After all, Charlotte would never have imagined that her soul would awaken ahead of schedule, let alone consider the possibility that she would be resurrected in a vessel that had not yet grown up.

Her immature soul and physical form are denying her own strength and suppressing the power that belongs to Charlotte.

"But you can easily kill an enemy that I need to fight to defeat with a single punch."

"That was a coincidence...! The monster I killed was definitely much weaker than the one you killed, Rhodes."

Clara waved her hand in denial as before.

negative.

It seems that for all people with problems in their souls, one key aspect is denial.

Denying your true self, denying objective facts, and getting stuck in a rut will only lead you into a dead end.

Whether it's Clara or Ivina, they are essentially the same.

Rhodes remained silent, saying nothing.

But to Clara, Rhodes' silence seemed terrifying.

She really didn't want to kill anyone, nor did she have the ability to do so...

She knew this must be just an illusion, after all, she had just been absorbed into this world.

Even though they were just fake people, she didn't have the courage to pick up a knife and kill them.

Hate?

In her eyes, Cecilia's hatred was nothing at all.

She doesn't seem like Cecilia, who would fight desperately against fate and never give in.

She is the typical type who, even when bullied, will swallow her anger and keep the problem to herself, and even when she is beaten or scolded, she will believe that the problem must lie with herself.

Therefore, in her eyes, picking up a knife to fight back and kill people was simply an act that would only occur when one was on the verge of desperation.

Even though she knew that if she didn't pick up the knife and kill this enemy, she and Rhodes would be trapped in this world and unable to get out.