Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

The coffee was served in a white porcelain teacup, and the brown veins became visible as the train vibrated.

In winter, Rod doesn't like drinking cold drinks at all, but it's undeniable that they're a good way to perk you up.

After all, the upcoming storyline and the location are places he knows very little about from his first playthrough, so he has to be on his toes.

Rod took a sip of his coffee and put it down.

"There seem to be many key connections hidden behind the task given by Professor Merrick."

Yesterday, the fact that I was captured by those witches and taken to the dungeon was actually somewhat related to this quest.

Because, it is said, the witches' next target is very likely that girl.

In other words, this isn't a simple escort mission; we'll most likely have to fight the [Fallen Demon Seed], so we must get her back to the academy as efficiently as possible.

Felicity Lip Movement:

"But Luo, we are indeed facing a big problem now."

We all know that the difficulty of this mission lies not only in the lurking "witches," but also... in Miss Ivina herself.

"Lo, Miss Ivina's mental health issues are truly severe, far more serious than my own were back then, making things much more complicated."

Rhodes raised his eyebrows slightly:

"Tell me about it?"

"She is a beast, a beast that no one can approach."

Chapter 24 If all else fails, kill Ivina (Long Chapter)

Lilith interjected, voicing her confusion:

"Wait a minute, is there a problem with Ivina?"

She had initially thought it was just a hostage rescue case, but it seems it wasn't.

"Miss Lilith doesn't know?" Felicity looked at Lilith with her amber eyes.

"Hmm." Lilith nodded slightly.

“Hmm…” Felicity paused for a moment, “Anyway, I have to introduce it. As the only one here who knows the information, I’ll try to say as much as possible.”

"First of all, the influencing factor in this operation was Miss Ivina's mental state."

In short, Miss Ivina's mental state is quite abnormal. She basically goes crazy as soon as she gets close to the border of the Duke's mansion, let alone leaving it.

It is said that... she was once kidnapped by criminals, but after only thirty minutes, she went into shock and was half-dead, which scared the criminals so much that they abandoned her.

Moreover, even in normal times, she would stay quietly alone in the back courtyard, not allowing anyone to approach.

In other words, there must be a doctor to help her muster the courage to return to normal and then step out of that cage.

This character, of course, is Rhodes. After all… no one knows better than him how to get close to girls.

Felicity glanced at Rhodes as she said this.

Rod simply picked up his coffee, took a sip pretending to be nonchalant, and ignored her gaze.

Felicity looked at Rhodes's defenses but said nothing, only continuing:

"Therefore, Rhodes must gain the young lady's trust and make her willing to leave the Duke's mansion with us..."

Rhodes interrupted, "Actually, there's another way. We can just knock Ivina unconscious and then use a mind-controlling method to make her sleep for half a month. That way, I won't need to bring her to the academy."

"Wow..." Felicity covered her mouth. "Lo, that's so cruel."

"...It's a last resort; if we really can't do that, this is the only option."

“I understand. But anyway, this is our mission: to prevent the witch from entering while having Rhodes try to make contact with this lady. Do you understand, Miss Lilith?” Felicity continued, looking at Lilith with a smile.

Lilith did not speak.

She lowered her eyes, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

She had no idea such a thing existed.

She had a strong desire to control Rhodes, and she would absolutely not want him to have contact with a crazy woman or anything like that.

The problem is, she doesn't have the authority to restrict Rhodes' actions right now.

It's awful.

The words she couldn't say in her previous life are now even harder to say. Opportunities that were once easy to seize are now right in front of her, but she couldn't bring herself to speak them... And now, everything is even more difficult.

Overwhelmed with regret, she really wanted to reach out and grab Rod and say:

"Don't do that. I don't want you to get involved with other girls."

but……

She can't do that, because she's lost the right to be willful...

I was unwilling, but there was nothing I could do.

All I can do is try my best to make up for what I couldn't do in the past.

Tonight, tomorrow night, she'll have plenty of opportunities. Even if she's tongue-tied, she'll always find a way...

In any case, having possessed a lifetime of information, she would never allow a madwoman to cause any change in her relationship with Rhodes.

Even though her and Rhodes' start was a little unusual, she still had that basic confidence.

She absolutely had to make Rod fall in love with her again;

“I…” Lilith’s lips moved, and after a long while she said, “I understand, Mr. Rhodes, please be careful.”

“Hmm, good to know. But… Miss Lilith, there’s no need to add ‘Mr.’, it feels a little strange.” Rhodes looked away from the window and said.

The proud Lilith would never give anyone a respectful nickname like "Sir," but she kept calling him that, which made him quite uncomfortable.

He wasn't feeling well last night, but he only brought it up now.

But Lilith didn't think so.

Objectively speaking, if someone lets others call them by their first name, it usually means they have a fairly close relationship with them, right?

Eh?

So, her relationship with Rhodes is now a little more familiar than it was yesterday.

Lilith's blue ahoge radar jumped up instantly, her heart fluttering with a mix of shy joy.

But because Felicity was still in front of her, she controlled her expression and nodded slightly:

"Alright, then you don't need to use honorifics either, Rhodes."

"Okay, Lilith."

what.

Upon hearing this long-unheard name, Lilith's heart trembled as if it had been squeezed, and her breathing became slightly erratic.

After a long time, that familiar voice was calling her name...

The pent-up emotions within her were released intensely at this moment, and she looked at Rhodes with longing, blinking her shimmering eyes:

"Could you say it again?"

"Huh?" Rod asked, puzzled, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“They just call my name,” Lilith added.

Your name?

Dark Guang... Pshaw!

What is Lilith trying to do?

"Lilith?"

"Okay, that's settled, thank you." Lilith nodded contentedly, her feet dangling unconsciously swinging a couple of times, her mood light and cheerful.

Rhodes looked at him strangely, wondering what had gotten into this guy this time...

Never mind, instead of worrying about this, it's better to learn more information.

For example—when will Ivina be arrested?

Although he didn't quite remember the specifics, he vaguely recalled that Ivina was abducted during a banquet.

He could guess why Ivina was captured on the day of the banquet. It was simply because there were many people at the banquet, which not only made it easier for the witches to grab some food, but also put pressure on Merrick and forced him to accept the challenge of the envelope.

Rod pondered for a moment, then spoke:

"Hiti, what other information do you know? Tell me."

When asked, Felicity's eyebrows twitched slightly, and after a moment of thought, she said:

"Yes, the Duke's mansion is actually quite lively right now."

Because Miss Ivina's coming-of-age ceremony is only about ten days away, and the Duke's mansion is currently in the preparation stage for the ceremony.

Rod tilted his head, lost in thought.

ha?

Rod wondered if he had misheard.

The duke is hosting a banquet for hundreds of families even though his daughter has mental health issues? That doesn't make sense.

Rod looked bewildered, wondering if Ivina's mental illness was due to that classic problem again—her family of origin?

Rod frowned. "Isn't she someone who can't be seen by people?"

"That's right, but even so, Duke Sanders still wants to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for his daughter, even if she can't attend."

He simply wanted everyone to know that no matter how abnormal his daughter was, he still loved and cared for her.

“…” Rhodes remained silent.

He is narrow-minded.

"Sometimes things are just like that, aren't they? The Duke didn't do anything wrong. You could say that Miss Ivina's mental abnormality is all because of her own self-blame. It's her self-blame for having a blood thirst disease that's just as bad as that of a demon god, even though she's a star god."

She is withdrawn and isolated... Any love that falls on her becomes a bottomless pit and disappears.