Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"So, I just want to understand, and to confirm, whether I have an even stronger reason to stop you from destroying the Linlank Empire."

Are you trying to say I'm stupid? That I always give up and do nothing?

“No.” Rhodes shook his head again. “Hatred is justified. Lilith disregards your life and considers you insignificant, so revenge is not unreasonable.”

Rhodes did not sincerely express his true thoughts.

Because he understood that even if he spoke now, Cecilia, already obsessed with her obsession, would never turn back, so he simply continued casually:

"But I still maintain that the person who ultimately decides to kill you is, in essence, me."

"It was because I believed you were not capable of bearing more of the divine position of the demon god, and I wanted to stop your actions that could destroy everything, that I finally drew my sword."

Cecilia stammered frantically, "No, no..."

"It doesn't matter if you don't listen." Luo De said calmly, then wrapped his arms around the back of her head and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"In short, even now that I understand what I need to do is more specific, I still won't stop. So, there's no point in arguing anymore."

"I'll make you come back obediently. Once the plan falls apart, you'll have no choice but to come back dejected."

"I can't possibly... lose."

"do not know."

"..."

silence.

Argumentation and sophistry all seem so meaningless.

After Cecilia fell into the demonic seed, her thoughts became even more chaotic than before, manifesting in severe vindictiveness and emotional distortion.

"So annoying... I came here to make a grand exit."

"Ah."

...

A brief moment of calm.

"Honey."

"Ok?"

"The Dragon God has issued a special kill list. Some dragon leaders have infiltrated the capital and are preparing to encircle and annihilate you."

How many people are on the list?

"All five are here, except for Lilith."

"Including you?"

"Yes. The cooperation request we witches received was to kill two of you. Of course, our choice is naturally..."

"Who is it?" Rhodes stared intently, his grip on her tightening.

"Natalie and Shirley."

"Is that so?" Rhodes stared at the ceiling, his eyes swirling. "This is your secret for tonight?"

"More or less? Of course, there are many other things, but it's more fun to let you experience them yourselves. The reason I'm informing you is simply because I'm worried you might be killed by the Dragon God's forces or our forces."

"In essence... I still don't want anyone to die."

"Oh, right, in theory, there are high-ranking officials within the Linlank Empire who are cooperating with us witches and people from the Dragon God Empire."

"In other words, that spy will also keep his promise and hunt you down."

"Is their goal the same?" Rhodes asked.

“That’s definitely not it, because, ah, this thing is a secret, um…” Cecilia pondered for half a second, then continued with a smile, “Anyway, they didn’t want to kill Natalie, so they changed one of their targets to me.”

"..." Rhodes remained silent.

Cecilia's words actually provided a very good piece of information.

Those forces unwilling to kill Natalie, upon reflection, would realize there are only two directions: first, the Church; second, Flora's Northern Territory.

As for their claim about killing Shirley, Rhodes had absolutely no reason to worry.

Not only is Shirley not in Linlank, but even if she were, they would just be courting death.

【Mental Chaos Monster】, a twisted creature that has ascended seven times, is a neutral chaotic entity.

She won't react if no one is hostile to her, but once someone is hostile to her... then she is doomed.

“I understand,” Rhodes replied. “Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

"...That should be it, right? Like, I like you? I want to spend more time with you? Ah~ those are a bit too sentimental."

"Then see you in the capital."

How do you know I don't actually plan to sleep with you tonight?

"A vague feeling."

“Yes, the time has come.” Cecilia straightened up and broke free from Rhodes’s grip. “That’s the end of everything that’s been cooled down.”

"Next comes the craziest part, darling, are you ready?"

"Hello, you're such a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur)."

"Hmm?" Cecilia tilted her head. "What does 'chuunibyou' mean?"

"No, I just meant you're cool."

"Huh?" Cecilia felt another pang of resentment, biting her lip and letting out a hoarse laugh, "That's... really awful."

[Click.]

The clock hands are pointing to eleven o'clock.

Time is distorted.

In that instant, the space behind Cecilia tore open, and countless dark tentacles grew wildly from it—

However, although these tentacles looked sinister and terrifying, they were gentle and lightly wrapped around Cecilia before shrinking back.

"My skill allows me to summon my body to the location of another body."

"I know the limitation is the long startup time, but the requirement is very strict."

"Ha, you even know that? As expected of my darling." Cecilia's eyes were like crescent moons as she smiled in response.

"contract."

Rhodes reached out and tried to stop her from moving by using the [Master-Servant Contract] branded on her body, but obviously, in that instant, Rhodes only felt the contract burning wildly like flames and disappearing without a trace;

It's something that should be taken for granted.

"Well then, goodbye, my dear—"

"It'll happen very soon, just you wait."

Cecilia's figure began to disappear from her legs, then half her body, and finally her eyes—

Finally, a sliver of her body merged into the darkness and truly disappeared.

Everything fell into silence and tranquility.

I reached out and could still feel the warmth she left on the blanket.

Even in the air, there was still a faint scent of lilies left behind by her.

"You have to clean up the mess you made. Of course, if I hadn't subdued her in the alley back then, the outcome would have been the same."

"I've tried to get her out of the rats, but she always goes back in. What can I do?"

"I'm just saying I'm unhappy because I'm unhappy that things didn't go well."

Like Ivina back then, if he gave up after only doing half of something, or if he gave up after only saving half of a person, he would really feel uncomfortable.

Saving someone is like this, and killing someone is the same principle—you can't kill someone halfway and let them escape, only to not chase after them and completely eliminate them.

If we deal with Cecilia in the capital sooner, the story will basically be set in stone.

……

...

early morning--

The sky had cleared, after a deep rain last night, and the air was slightly misty.

The western part of Phillips City was the boarding point for this "Star Trail" train. The special gate, which had not been opened for a long time, crashed down with a bang as the gears turned, revealing the traces of the track.

Dozens of nobles were already waiting on the Star Orbit platform, but no one dared to approach the area where Rhodes and his group were.

Because—even among nobles, the difference in status is obvious.

"This is Rod Chivenlance?"

"It's like this..."

The nobles don't shy away from their own voices; once they're on the train to the capital, they're always making a racket.

Otherwise, Rhodes wouldn't have left the capital to develop here back then—he's really annoying.

“Maintaining the StarTrain is really expensive… so we’re storing it away for protection.” The middle-aged, long-haired officer standing next to the StarTrain train pointed to the direction the vehicle had come from.

"The time limit is one minute. The train will only stay here for one minute. If you don't get on within one minute, you'll have to wait for the next one."

"Star trails prioritize efficiency and will certainly not linger for long."

"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel Raya."

"No need for thanks, Lord Rhodes... or perhaps, Lieutenant Rhodes?"

"They're all the same."

"No, no, no, it's not quite the same. At least your strength is no weaker than mine." Lai Yan waved her hand.

“In the empire, I really have no status.”

"Huh? You must be joking. You are the future emperor of the Melanie Empire. Not to mention, even if you abandon this identity, your relationship with Princess Felicity is a well-known marriage."

"Marriage?"