Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

This sudden crisis for Phillips was completely resolved.

Let's take a brief look.

This crisis actually brought many rewards.

First, he successfully advanced four times; second, he gained Charlotte's favor; and third, he obtained a demon seed bead.

For him, this made dealing with the problems in the capital and dealing with the witches who were trying to seize the fragments of the twelve demon gods much easier.

But... Rhodes' attention wasn't actually on sorting out the current situation.

Because right now his gaze is entirely on Lilith.

After all, all the unease I had felt before vanished without a trace at this moment.

Charlotte had no reason to lie to him, after all, she didn't really have much of a connection with Rhodes and Lilith.

In other words, even without Natalie's confirmation, this fact is sufficient.

Rhodes exhaled slightly.

Exhaling was a sign of relief that the truth had come to light, but it gradually turned into anger at the girl beside him for being so irresponsible.

Of course, it's out of frustration with her personality.

"Do you like me?" Rhodes asked abruptly, uttering a question that seemed completely out of the ordinary, and could even be described as harassment.

"Ah...?" Lilith raised her head, her petite figure and slightly confused blue eyes giving her an inexplicably charming look.

However, when she realized what Rod was talking about, her breathing instantly became shaky with the rise and fall of her chest.

"I, uh." She nodded, ignoring what kind of strange obedience test Rhodes was conducting, and agreed immediately.

Now that everyone's gone, she's under less pressure and can naturally say short emotional words like "uh-huh" or "ah-ah".

"Yeah."

Rhodes looked away and then back at the crowd in Stassen Square. The weight that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted a little.

I've never felt happy about using strategy guides.

All he could say was that no one was at fault in this whole mess, but it was in such a clever way that everyone was saddened.

That's just how it is...

He had already done a lot of work and made many concessions during the first playthrough, so he was confident that she would have the courage to confess in the end.

It can only be said that in his first playthrough, he overestimated the changes he could make in her and underestimated the problem of Lilith's frozen emotions.

Indeed, it was something her master had taught her his whole life that she had never succeeded at; it was inherently very difficult.

Or think about it the other way around: he managed to make Lilith a bit pretentious in just two years, which is pretty impressive, isn't it?

Of course, none of these past events are as important as the present.

Lilith now possesses even greater courage.

Although she was still coy, at least she was more obedient to him and less arrogant.

She has learned to extend kindness and make more changes for him.

Looking back on the conflicts and disputes that happened between him and Lilith from the moment he started the second playthrough, even Rhodes felt a little sad.

Those unhappy things should really be erased...

Besides, now that Lilith has gone through all that hardship, it actually has one more fun place to go, so whatever...

What are some fun places to visit?

That's definitely the place where someone has done something wrong and is trying their best to make amends.

Rhodes felt that he could use this to properly train Lilith and make her more courageous in expressing her emotions.

Thinking about this, Rod's heart began to pound in a jumbled mess.

He can easily treat others coldly, but when he understands emotions, he always feels a little flustered.

He squeezed Lilith's hand.

Yes, even now, she's still holding his hand.

However, once the crowd left, the trembling in her fingertips naturally disappeared as well.

"Rhodes," Lilith asked softly after feeling her fingers tighten around her, "what did you and Charlotte talk about just now?"

“Charlotte told me something,” Rhodes paused briefly, then continued, “She asked me about what happened in the world after I died, and things like that.”

"Really? Then she..."

“That’s it.” Rhodes reached out his other hand and pinched Lilith’s cheek. “Let’s go back to the apartment… um, tell Felicity and the others about the situation, and chat with Natalie while we’re at it.”

There's hardly anyone paying attention to them right now, so even if they make such a move, Lilith definitely won't resist.

"Um……"

Lilith's eyes were still slightly dazed, but her delicate body had already been pulled forward by Rhodes.

Charlotte was also reborn with her memories intact? She didn't know that until just now.

After all, the latter half of Rhodes and Charlotte's conversation was entirely a mental exchange, and she naturally assumed that Charlotte's earlier expressions of concern were just old clichés.

Unexpectedly... Charlotte was referring to something from a past life.

She certainly knew about cherishing what she had in front of her.

However, her mind is actually a bit of a mess right now.

Since Charlotte was still willing to hold his hand after Rhodes asked about her past life, doesn't that mean he's already certain that this is the truth?

But Rhodes didn't say it directly, probably because he still needed to verify it with Natalie.

In fact, every extra second of waiting is torture for Lilith.

She understood that even if the truth were revealed, she couldn't claim to have Rhodes all to herself, since her clumsiness was a real thing.

If you make a mistake, you should make amends; if couples quarrel, they should try to mend the relationship.

But... at least all of this requires them to still be each other's lovers.

She was still more afraid of being treated coldly again, being left aside and ignored, and also afraid that Natalie would deny everything and send her to hell.

Unwilling to think, and unwilling to consider the worst-case scenario—

She could only hope that Natalie wouldn't deliberately make both Rhodes and her sad.

She clearly liked Rhodes, but was denied it by a cold gaze—she absolutely refused to accept that…

A long-lost shimmer appeared in her eyes as she gently bit her moist lips.

As she watched Rod's retreating figure, she felt her strength dwindling.

until--

"Hey, aren't you waiting for me, darling?"

Cecilia appeared in front of Rhodes and the others and greeted them.

……

...

In Rhodes' apartment at St. Starson Academy.

Natalie stayed in Rhodes' room, remaining in his bed the whole time.

She covered herself tightly with the blanket, so that Rhodes' aura would surround her.

His body grew warmer and hotter, and the sweat on his body soaked through the priest's robes and even seeped into Rhodes's blankets.

“He got his pleasure.” Natalie murmured, but didn’t pay much attention to the sweat-soaked skin. She just turned over and continued to curl up.

She's been like this since she was young... Whenever she's near Rhodes, she feels her vitality is strong and she can think more calmly.

After all, she had lost all her memories when she was twelve years old.

Everything around her was completely unfamiliar to her, including her family, church, and even the environment she should have been familiar with.

But she is brave, so she is never afraid to adapt to unfamiliar environments.

What she was truly afraid of was suddenly losing those memories again...

She was afraid of losing the memories of knowing Rod, afraid of losing her friendship with Felicity, and afraid of hurting her parents' feelings again.

The boy who taught her the magic of photography to preserve memories was undoubtedly the one who saved her from dire straits.

He was funny and calm. Although he didn't do anything special, he still managed to make this young girl swoon.

This is why Natalie would never give in to Rhodes, even though her opponent was her own god.

Can--

She is now undoubtedly facing a moral dilemma.

Anyone with eyes can see what they should do for their own happiness.

Even if he couldn't completely sever ties with Rhodes and Lilith after he rejected Lilith, it would still affect them for a long time.

And this period of time is enough for her and Rod to take many more memorable photos, isn't it...?

The inner struggle definitely exists.

"You say I'm righteous and will definitely give the right answer? Rhodes, are you looking down on me?"

Even if I'm the most righteous person, I still clearly like you, you idiot... Why do you always have to make things difficult for me?

Natalie was actually a little aggrieved because Rhodes was essentially standing on a moral high ground, expecting her to use words of "justice" to tell the truth.

But didn't he ever think about how much he would have to sacrifice in his heart to speak out these facts in a just way?

No matter how righteous she is... she's just a girl with selfish motives. Why can't we consider things for her sake too?

Just because she always faces problems cheerfully and always faces danger with a smile, does that mean she can be casually sidelined and have her feelings ignored?

It's like the second child in a family... the more sensible they are, the less they receive.

Pain accumulated in her chest, and the stuffiness of the blankets made it difficult for her to breathe.

He was panting heavily, exhaling hot breaths, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, he suddenly threw off the covers and sat up.