Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"Ah? Well, that's how it is. There are basically ten incidents a day, so there's still plenty of work to do."

"Why have you been standing there for so long?" Rhodes asked, slightly puzzled.

"No, I just thought of something... It's nothing, please continue."

"Well, there's not much else to say. I need to report to Professor Merrick first before I can organize this. Let's eat first."

Rod tried to get things back to eating and resting.

He was indeed a bit disoriented after being pinned down by Natalie...

Really are.

However—the very person who caused Rhodes's thinking ability to decline is now genuinely spacing out.

After all, Rhodes had already mentioned returning to the capital.

After Phillips's affair was dealt with, those four words served as a wake-up call for Natalie.

For her, returning to the capital was not about increasing her strength or crushing those ambitious people, unlike for Rhodes.

There was something more crucial and important to her—

That was Rhodes and Felicity's—that pointless engagement to the Emperor.

This is about forcibly binding together worthless things, and it's something that makes people feel disgusted.

Maybe.

Perhaps this kind of news is very interesting to the general public. After all, things like inter-state marriages and childhood sweethearts are things that people enjoy gossiping about.

But for someone like Natalie who knows the truth, it's a completely different story.

Could anything be worse than this?

Even though there was nothing between Rod and Felicity, people always spread rumors.

To put it bluntly, spreading rumors is fine, so why not spread rumors about her and Rod?

They were childhood sweethearts, and she certainly fit that description, didn't she?

Just because Felicity's status is a level higher than hers, everyone always speculates in that direction...

Natalie felt a little annoyed.

As for the direction of romance, she is even less likely to open up.

That's the thing, she's like a runaway train with no brakes.

Therefore, she simply exhaled and then spoke directly:

“Speaking of which, Rhodes, when I came from the capital, the high priest told me about some trouble that you might need to deal with before you go back.”

"Huh?" Rhodes was taken aback.

What is Emperor Linlank up to now?

He's gotten used to this kind of behavior...

only--

His eyes glanced at Felicity.

Ok.

Right.

Nowadays, people who are clueless about love are no longer clueless.

“Tell me about it?” Rhodes added.

"Ah... I feel so embarrassed for you guys just thinking about this. You know, the Emperor always wants to match you up with Felicity."

However, it seems he has tried to talk to your father and made a preliminary agreement, saying he wants to discuss bringing you two together.

However, I reckon it's not an engagement or anything, since you two haven't gone back yet, so whatever they say won't make a difference.

They know your personality perfectly well... they won't listen to your father at all.

"..."

As soon as the words were spoken, all the girls present froze, their movements stiffening.

That was the truth. The others didn't have Natalie's nonchalant attitude because they all knew the truth about Felicity...

Lilith and Ivina both knew what Felicity expressed that she liked.

Even Cecilia, who was hidden in the Duke's mansion, basically knew about it—

Rather, looking at Felicity's current appearance, one could more or less guess what was going on, right?

"Ok?"

Natalie noticed that everyone's expressions were a little off, and after a moment of surprise, she asked, "What's wrong?"

The matter was brought up.

Felicity's body also froze.

For her, the first thing that happened when she heard the news was joy.

But she soon fell into panic again.

She had intended to tell Natalie later, but now that it had been brought up, there was no way to avoid it.

After all, if they first say something like, "Let's talk about this later, let's talk about it after we get back to the capital," and then bring it up again later, isn't that clearly an attempt to 'cover up the truth'?

Felicity doesn't want to be disliked by her friends, because if she covers it up even once, it means that suspicion and estrangement have appeared in her heart.

A sense of unease began to grow within her, making it incredibly difficult for her to speak.

“Na,” she began, “this matter…”

Natalie looked up, a slight smile playing on her lips:

"I know you don't understand these things, so there's no need to explain. Everyone understands."

"However, I would actually be pleased if you actually figured it out."

Natalie reached out and gently pinched Felicity's cheek.

It's easy to pinch, after all, Felicity is pampered and her face is naturally soft.

Felicity's words caught in her throat. She looked at her longtime friend and clenched her teeth.

It's a struggle, and also a hesitation.

But no matter what, things that need to be said sooner should be said sooner.

Angry? Sad? Troubled?

These things need to be clarified eventually.

So, she called out Natalie's name anyway:

"Natalie."

"Hmm?" Natalie felt a little strange about Felicity suddenly calling her by her full name, but she still asked softly.

"What do you think 'like' is?"

"This kind of question again? You've always liked asking it... you idiot."

How many times have I explained this?

But no matter how many times I say it, it's still the same. I'm just incredibly moved. He's been with me for so long, I've gotten so used to him that I feel safe and secure lying in the bed he used to sleep in.

Felicity's figure swayed slightly.

It was not just that the shadow was blurry, but also that her body felt heavy.

However, she is not afraid.

Therefore, Felicity moved slightly closer to Natalie and whispered in Natalie's ear, as if making a secret:

"Na, I have something to tell you..."

"Ok?"

Natalie didn't have much time to react, because at that moment her wrist was immediately grabbed by that slender hand.

"Go to my room, I'll explain everything to you."

"Hey, hey, what's the matter that you need to talk to me about alone? But we're still discussing something right now. Do you want to share your feelings about it?"

"Let's go." Felicity didn't explain, but simply pulled her along towards the house.

Natalie was also being dragged along, her steps faltering, and she felt increasingly uneasy.

Felicity never whispers.

Even those outrageous statements, she could say them calmly and casually, without any shame.

But now, she has something to say to her alone?

Indeed, they were very close friends, practically lifelong acquaintances, but it was precisely because of this that this unusual behavior instantly aroused Natalie's confusion.

"it is good."

She responded with a single word and then followed Felicity into her room.

boom.

Felicity led her into the room, then immediately closed the door and exhaled softly.

"So what exactly is it? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Felicity leaned against the door, averting her gaze, her figure graceful, her lips moving slightly:

“We…haven’t talked alone in a long time, Na.”

"Well, everyone's busy with their own things, and besides, Rod is dead... no one's in the mood to get together."

Felicity nodded gently.

It's time to say it.

Saying it in front of a group of people is different from saying it to Natalie alone.