Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 87 Ivina: Am I going to die too?

Chapter 88 Ivina: Am I going to die too?

night.

The birds outside had fallen silent, and there was no more howling of wolves in Phillips, this coastal city.

The wind was blowing softly, and Ivina and Rod were in the room, exchanging a few words.

"You stay in my room and get some sleep. I'm going out for a bit tonight," Rod said softly, stroking Ivina's head reassuringly as he bent down.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to talk to Lilith about something."

"Huh? Lilith?"

Ivina sat on the edge of the bed, feeling her hair being stroked, and a strange feeling welled up inside her.

She thought Rod was going to find Felicity.

However—in the memories Cecilia transmitted to her, there seemed to be a vague mention of Lilith—what was it?

Star God, Hunt, Hatred — This is too chaotic, what is this?

Even though Lilith may seem unapproachable, what does she have to do with the Star God?

In her eyes, the "god" is an insurmountable mountain, an ultimate monster that surpasses the limits of nine human ascensions.

They represent [destruction], [creation], [world], and [dream].

As for the Goddess of Starlight, although she was not grateful to this god, she understood that awakening the ability of Bloodlust was not essentially the god's fault.

Therefore, she did not hate the Star God, but only felt awe towards this representative of the world's twelve peaks.

"Lilith is very difficult to approach," Ivina honestly stated her inner feelings.

"Rhodes, to be honest, I don't even know what your relationship is with Lilith."

"————" Rodwei paused, then spoke, "She and I have a deep connection———— but some things are too complicated to explain to you. Right now, you just need to try to overcome your panic."

"oh."

Ivina was a little unhappy, but she still nodded.

Before long, a proud and arrogant look appeared on her face. "Wasn't my performance great? Even when strangers brushed past me, I remained calm and rational."

"Yes, very good, our Ivina is amazing."

But this level isn't enough to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony; you'll be facing hundreds of nobles then.

"Hey, if you say that, I'll start to feel scared in advance—"

"But Ivina," Rhodes interrupted Ivina, "ever since you absorbed my blood, your emotions have remained stable, and you haven't been replaced by any other personality."

"You can definitely do it, because even if you still don't fully believe in me, at least you're used to having someone by your side and you're used to trying to communicate with strangers."

"And if you really can't stand it—"

"Just treat everyone like potatoes and ignore their gaze."

"Just focus your attention on me."

Rhodes reached out and picked up a small, rose-colored umbrella from beside him, handing it to Ivina.

"When you first enter the venue, go in with this umbrella open, imagine the space inside the umbrella as your own, and use it to divide the world into its own space."

"Think about it, you can also look at other people upstairs through the window, right? So, you can definitely do it."

Rhodes uttered his words one by one.

While constantly reinforcing Ivina's confidence, he did not emphasize his own importance.

Because he understood that unless he did something bad to Ivina, the relationship of trust could not be improved in two days if it was to be strengthened further.

There's not enough time now, so we can only use some basic psychological methods to help her overcome her fear.

When fear reaches its extreme, it can indeed trigger neuronal shock.

This is a mental illness, and it requires long-term reassurance to improve. Relying on these petty tricks is really not his style—but what can be done?

"Well," Rod gently placed the umbrella in Ivina's hand, a smile on his face, "and this umbrella is quite beautiful, isn't it?"

"Hmm—" Ivina took the umbrella, a slight tremor in her eyes.

"Using the umbrella as your own personal space—?"

"Yes, this will definitely be much better. Although it may not be enough to make you leave the Duke's mansion, it will at least allow you to create your own room on this familiar ground."

95

"I understand." Ivina gripped the umbrella tighter and nodded gently. "But I can't dance while holding an umbrella—"

"So, when it's time to dance, that's the second stage. In this stage, you have to try putting down the umbrellas and seeing them as potatoes, and then you can dance with me."

"Okay." Ivina nodded again.

Her heart was growing increasingly tense. Under Rod's careful guidance, her complex emotions about the coming-of-age ceremony were becoming more and more intense.

She didn't know if Cecilia would give her a chance to properly complete her coming-of-age ceremony before making a move—so perhaps these methods were ultimately unnecessary to understand.

But things are always looking a little better, or rather, right now she has no other choice but to hope for a better outcome?

With this thought in mind, she leaned her head forward and then pressed it against Rhodes's chest;

Her ears were red, a little hot, or perhaps a little shy. She wasn't good at expressing her emotions, and she was also a stubborn person, but anyway—

"Thank you, Rhodes." Her voice was soft. "I will do it, and I won't let you down."

"Okay," Rod replied calmly. "Then, I'll be leaving now."

L

Before the warmth could linger, Ivina felt the heat on her face disappear.

It was as if she hadn't even had a chance to properly experience Rhodes's warmth before being forced to leave.

That's terrible————

From the very beginning, after Cecilia found salvation at the age of fourteen, she had many fantasies.

She thought that she could learn how to do makeup to make herself more beautiful for her lover.

Even if the knight is an ordinary person, so all she needs to do is learn to cook, clean, and be a qualified mother, she feels that this is fine.

All I need to do is support a small family, be an ordinary girl, and spend my whole life with the person I love—that's enough.

But clearly, she hadn't had time to learn to cook, nor had she had time to improve her writing skills during the short time Rhodes had been there, and she hadn't even had time to gain weight and become more suitable to be a lover.

That's a bit of a shame.

She looked up, watching Rod disappear from her sight and leave the room, and felt her heart grow increasingly empty and unfillable.

"I really, really want to continue, even though I don't like Rod that much right now, at least he's a good person, a very good person."

I will definitely like him more and more, because he is always so kind.

He has many ways to reassure me and is very capable; after all, he easily broke through and advanced three times.

To put it bluntly—a guy that handsome will always make me glance at him a couple of times, right?

She cupped her face in her hands, uttering each word one by one, step by step, feeling her body grow heavy.

"If only Cecilia had never existed."

"Because of her, am I really going to die too? Hmm—"

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