Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

Rhodes was taken aback.

Horenad's intuition was indeed excellent... No wonder he was one of the four dukes of the empire; even if his own strength was insufficient, his mind was truly brilliant.

It's no wonder that Phillips is a commercial port; its main character certainly reflects this characteristic.

but.

Rhodes disagreed with the idea that the gods could not be profaned.

Not to mention that he casually insulted the God of Souls, he also killed two gods.

Besides the Dragon God, another god also died at Rhodes's hands, namely the Necromancer God—Aston Chandler.

After learning that the Dragon God intended to seize the divine positions of other gods, this deity also began to take full precautions and increase its own strength.

However, it is quite obvious that his divine title reveals that there is only one way for him to become stronger—to create more undead.

The world's turbulent situation owes some credit to Him, and when Rhodes and his companions later attempted to collect the Demon God's Divine Throne Bomb for Cecilia's fusion, He vehemently opposed their acquisition of the fragment guarded by Him.

Therefore, it was only natural that Rhodes was killed by Him.

After all... compared to the Dragon God, His true form is still far weaker.

Well, not to mention Lilith, his former ambiguous partner and current partner, what he did to Lilith could also be considered blasphemy, right?

Crying, kneeling, begging for her hand to come back... ugh, thinking about it now, it feels a bit...

The god that others kneel to kneels to kneels to kneel to.

"It is related to God, but please rest assured."

"Sigh." Horenad sheathed his sword and let out a long sigh.

"No, I didn't mean to stop you from going. After all, it would be foolish to keep you here knowing that your strength has reached such a level."

"I just wanted to say..."

Horrenard paused slightly, then said carefully, word by word:

"Have a safe journey. If you can't win, then run away."

Rhodes's eyes and brows relaxed, and he nodded in response, "Yes."

……

...

The group stood at the entrance of the Duke's mansion.

Last time, Rhodes and his group left quietly, but this time, even though he knew they were going to the capital, Horenaard was still worried and followed them.

He wanted to see Ivina leave home peacefully in the end... When this absurd thought popped into his head, he truly realized that he was getting old.

He also became an ordinary father who had to watch his child leave.

Even so, the guilt in his heart could not be filled. No matter how much he did, he would only feel more frustrated and empty-headed.

"Your Grace, we must be leaving now," Rhodes said politely.

Horenad stopped in his tracks, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Hmm."

There have been no further replies.

There was nothing more to say, and no one else spoke.

Horenad himself didn't have the courage to say anything, and Cecilia, the shadow, would never speak a word of Ivina's true feelings.

They simply turned and left, carrying only what Ivina wanted, which they had looted from the Duke's mansion.

The figure grew longer and longer, and also more and more distant.

Horenad understood that once he crossed the long bridge, it would be a very long time before he could see his daughter.

but,

at this moment,

Standing at the entrance of the Duke's mansion, Ivina turned back, her face showing displeasure, and spoke forcefully:

"Hey, Father, I'm leaving."

Horenard's fingers trembled slightly.

"Ah."

"Hmph. When I come back next time, things will be much, much better. Just you wait and see."

Ivina turned her head and, without pausing, led Rhodes and the others away.

All that remains here is Horenaard and his shadow.

And a single word—'Okay'.

They kept going, and finally, Rhodes and his companions lost Horenaard's sight.

Rhodes' eyes were gentle, and he only spoke after they left the arched bridge:

"good."

"What's so good about it?" Ivina asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"No, I just mean, you've become even cuter."

"!"

An alarming exclamation mark instantly appeared above Ivina's head, and she crossed her arms in a "no" gesture.

"You lolicon, what are you trying to do?"

After saying that, she realized something was off, so she added, "Don't tell me you want to do it."

Rhodes smiled helplessly and shook his head, holding a few Star Trail tickets in his hand, examining the anti-counterfeiting technology belonging to the Linlank Empire.

"It's alright, but His Majesty the Duke gave a lot."

This is true.

Horenad was afraid they wouldn't have enough, so he gave them an unusually large amount.

This is to be expected, since for a duke of his rank, obtaining such a thing would be incredibly easy.

Because most of the star train tickets for the nobles in the eastern region actually passed through his hands before being passed down, he naturally had a large number of them.

"Boarding location: West City Railway Station; Time: Tomorrow morning."

Rod looked at the information written on the receipt and read it aloud word by word.

"Oh? You're leaving tomorrow?" Cecilia asked with a hint of regret, her hands clasped behind her back, her fingers intertwined.

After all, once Rhodes arrives in the capital, it means that their short time together will come to an end.

It's like a couple who are on vacation for a while and then have to go back to work.

"What, do you want to come with us and get on the train?"

"Hmm~ I really want to, but it's not possible, is it?" Cecilia said with a smile, leaning forward, her soft, delicate body bumping into Rhodes.

At the same time, she bypassed Rod's men and hugged him directly:

"Honey, since tonight is the last night, why don't you stay with me?"

"It's okay, you'll be back soon anyway."

"Ok?"

"You will not be able to obtain the position of Demon God."

"Ugh, more of this pointless verbal arguing. I don't like it."

"Hey!" In an instant, Ivina ran in front of Cecilia, forcibly separated the two of them, and glared at Cecilia with an unfriendly expression.

"Rhodes' birthday today is for me, not for you. All those secrets you wanted to tell me have already been revealed by strangers. Do you understand?"

"It doesn't matter, does it? My dear sister, we all feel the same way anyway, it doesn't matter who I accompany, and I'm leaving soon anyway."

"Moral blackmail? Do you think that will work on me?"

Cecilia smiled and patted Ivina's head:

"good."

"?"

Ivina's fangs instantly grew out, and she fiercely bit Cecilia's hand.

Unfortunately, due to the absolute difference in speed, she still couldn't touch Cecilia.

"Alright, alright, no more joking around. Come keep me company tonight, and I'll tell you one last secret."

Cecilia turned to look at Rhodes, her eyes revealing absolute tenderness and a hint of infatuation.

She was really tormented last night, and the key point is that Rhodes didn't actually do anything to her in the end.

This means one thing.

This means that all the anger she held back yesterday is still there; she's just forcibly suppressing it.

"A secret? What other secret could there be?"

"Hehe... For example, how many spies have infiltrated the capital of the Dragon God Empire, and what internal information is there?"

"My dear probably didn't expect that some interesting people would also appear in the capital."

"Are you really willing to tell the truth?"

"If I don't tell the truth, I'll die on the spot tonight."

Cecilia solemnly raised her hand in a promise.

"..."

She's ruthless.

Honestly, Cecilia is an extremely contradictory person.

Rhodes let out a helpless sigh:

"alright."