Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

...

After leaning against Lilith for about ten more minutes, Rhodes came out of Lilith's room.

Instead, he entered another, even more dangerous area—Cecilia's room.

Although I've spent a lot of time alone with Cecilia, it's undeniable that this is the first time I've done this in this playthrough—going to her room alone.

The environment was completely dark, and even the lights were dim, with shadows and light blending and permeating each other in a hazy way.

Meanwhile, Cecilia sat reclining on the tatami mat in the center, wearing a thin black nightgown with her white shoulders exposed. Her long, dark hair, like satin, had been freed of its bows and hair clips and hung down to the ground.

"You're here?" She smiled, placing her hands on the table and supporting her chin with her palms. "A little fast... Darling, this won't do."

Rhodes paused in his steps.

He has ample evidence to confirm that Cecilia is saying something inappropriate right now.

One or two... Can't things be normal for once?

But he just sighed, walked to the other side of the table, and sat down on the tatami mat.

"You're here, so tell me, what interesting secrets do you want to reveal to me in advance?" Rhodes cut straight to the point.

“You can’t rush things.” Cecilia held up her fingers, waving them from side to side in the air, her face upturned. “After all, tonight is one of the few nights we can finally be alone together…”

Before Cecilia could finish speaking, Rhode snatched the hot water she had been drinking from the table and took a sip:

Happy birthday, Cecilia.

...

...

thump.

Her heart felt like it was being squeezed, a sharp, panicked thud that suddenly pounded into her ears.

"What..." Cecilia's eyes opened wider, her heart pounding. She wiggled her fair legs on the tatami mat for a moment. "Hey, you can't, you can't just suddenly say happy birthday, right?"

My defenses have been breached.

Nothing can make your heart clench more than when you were just arguing about interests, and then the other person suddenly says what she cares about most.

Or perhaps she's just outwardly strong but inwardly weak; when genuine feelings are presented to her, she can become incredibly impulsive.

cannot……

One must exercise restraint.

At the very least, she should be arrogant, perfect, and ready to announce her future victory on the stage, and to extend the most perfect invitation.

How can we let him turn the tables on us?

Absolutely not.

She should make Rhodes reluctant to part with her tonight, and resent her departure, rather than her being reluctant to let Rhodes go... that's the right thing to do.

But my heart is beating so fast, so fast.

Rhodes shook his head, still holding the teacup in his hand:

"After all, you won't be by my side in a few days, right? And today is my birthday in advance, so I should at least say something."

"No matter what you did, no matter what happened, I still spent your birthday with you, didn't I?"

"What we've never lacked before, we won't lack this time either."

“Rhodes…” Cecilia rarely spoke Rhodes’ name. She gently bit her lip and then fell silent.

"Ok?"

"You are really too bad."

She quickly bent down and, like a child, crawled under the table to get across it.

"Hey, wait a minute, what are you doing...?"

A diving tackle;

Cecilia's body and long, flowing silk hair swayed in the air for half a second before falling to the ground.

With a 'bang,' the teacup that Rhodes had just been holding drew an arc in the air before crashing to the ground, spilling all the hot water inside.

Fortunately, because Cecilia used too much force, the teacup was far away, so the water didn't get on Rhodes' side.

but……

But it was still quietly and steadily seeping towards him.

Of course, it's the same for both water and Cecilia.

Cecilia's eyes, whether golden or crimson, now gleamed.

That's terrible...

They still rushed over.

It's not that I want to do anything.

However, when you're really feeling down, and the person you like happens to be right in front of you, you just want to lean on them and vent your feelings, no matter what.

Cecilia's head was pressed against his chest, and the sounds of her throat vibrating caused Rhode's body to react accordingly.

"Mingming. I was prepared to part amicably and not act impulsively. But even if you just say a few words, I'm still thrown into turmoil by them."

"That's because you're too naive, you're naive in every way, but you still have to pretend to be very shrewd and capable."

“That’s right,” Cecilia paused, “but it’s because I like you.”

Rhodes' eyes remained calm:

"Then stay here and lay out all your plans, and join us. With the witch on our side, we'll be able to kill the Dragon God easily."

"If you allow me to become a demon god."

"That's definitely not possible, you can't do it."

"That's not enough..."

"Ok?"

“I am greedy. So I understand that even if I kill the Dragon God, you will still die in the end. That’s what they all say. So, since you will still die anyway, it means that killing the Dragon God won’t make you immortal and stay with me forever.”

"To live forever, and then be together?"

"Yes, for a lifetime."

Rhodes remained calm: "Actually, I've already said all of these things before, and I understand what you're thinking."

"Yeah, you're too weak. You're weak now, and you'll still be weak in the end."

Rhodes' face still darkened slightly.

Well, it's definitely not pleasant to be told by Cecilia that I'm 'weak'.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, no... no, the paths are different.

However, the essence remains the same: being looked down upon is nothing more infuriating than that.

“Walking the path of a demon god isn’t a way for us to stay together forever.” Rhodes shook his head. “Even if I don’t stop you, are you confident you can absorb all the fragments of godhood and truly become a demon god?”

"I don't want you to become a monster."

"I don't know, but I certainly don't want you to have any possibility of breaking up with me."

“Cecilia…”

Cecilia was a bit more sincere today;

Is it because of the separation? When people are really about to part ways, the feeling of reluctance makes their minds a mess.

"That--"

Rhodes' eyes flashed:

"What if I were willing to let you become a demon god?"

Cecilia's body trembled slightly, then she raised her slightly bewildered face.

What……?

Rhodes said a lot, but then suddenly agreed to something he had never agreed to before?

That's impossible.

Cecilia made a quick decision in her mind: "What is the price?"

"The price is that I won't use those people from the Linlank Empire as sacrifices to make you stronger. Can you agree to that?"

"No, that won't make us powerful enough to become demon gods; we'll just be a bunch of rats gathered together."

Rhodes shook his head again.

"In the future, there will be no kingdom without gods, and Lilith's empire will not be the only one. To put it bluntly, you just want to take revenge on Lilith."

"But ultimately, I was the one who started it, so even if someone has to apologize, it should be me."

"No matter what..."

“Don’t apologize.” Cecilia gripped Rhodes’ collar tightly. “Like I said, you don’t need to apologize. It’s just my own fault.”

"Although I hate, I have already vented my hatred back in the time of Ivina."

"And I understand that you have tried your best to make me less greedy and to make me obediently go back, but it is just that I myself did not do so."

"Ugh--"

Rhodes was truly in a dilemma.

He was lying to Cecilia when he said he was willing to make her a demon.

After all, he suddenly realized that since they wanted to seize the Demon God Fragment, and he also wanted the Demon God Fragment, he could simply act as a spy and steal it and fuse with it himself.

But clearly, even if he agreed to let her become a demon god, Cecilia would still kill the people of the Linlank Empire.

For no other reason than to get revenge on Lilith.

Therefore, even if the conflict of interests doesn't lie in the pursuit of divine positions, it still clashes within the framework of the empire.