Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 40: Shared Perception Means You Kissed Me.

In Rhodes's room.

"It's alright, everyone." Felix, the Duke's doctor, pulled off the last piece of gauze, wiped away his sweat, and finally finished bandaging Rhodes under the gaze of the group of girls.

As a [Destiny God Seed], he was more than capable of fully recovering Rhodes' injuries.

Of course, the key point is:

"Lord Rhodes' injuries are indeed severe, but strangely enough, his body's healing ability is unexpectedly strong."

"So, despite the bleeding, internal organ damage, and severe burns on his back, he is still full of life, so there's nothing to worry about."

Upon hearing this, the young girls standing beside him, as well as the Duchess, all breathed a sigh of relief.

Not to mention the young girls, even the Duchess was terrified.

Rhodes's status is special; if he were to die in the Duke's mansion, her life would likely be in danger.

At this moment, the doctor put all the props into his box and bowed to the Duchess:

"Then, I'll take my leave."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Felix," the Duchess replied gracefully.

The door was opened, and then closed again.

At this moment, only they remained in place;

At that moment, Ivina squeezed in from a position away from the crowd.

That cute yet awkward face showed unease in front of so many people, but she still gritted her teeth and spoke:

"Can I have some time alone with him?"

Felicity's amber eyes looked at Ivina.

"Why?" Felicity asked softly.

"He was seriously injured because of me, so I should stay here and watch over him."

"This is not a reason for you to drive us away, Miss Ivina." Felicity shook her head.

"I, I..."

"But I understand what you mean," Felicity suddenly interrupted her. "You must have a lot to say to Rhodes."

"He saved you, but was seriously injured in the process. I could also see the conflicting emotions in Miss Ivina's eyes. So..."

Felicity added gently, "I'll let you stay with him for a while, though. Well then, I'll be leaving now."

Felicity nodded to Ivina, and at the same time reached out and took Lilith's hand:

"Let's go, Miss Lilith."

"..."

Lilith did not move.

She just stared at Rod on the bed, frozen in place, biting her lip hard.

She wouldn't be so foolish as to shift the blame to Ivina, after all, Rhodes's mission was essentially to protect Ivina.

So Rhodes did a great job; the only one who didn't do a good job was her.

At this moment, a surge of resentment and self-blame welled up within me...

Why would she let Rod get hurt?

Even when Rhodes said, "Don't follow me, I have things to handle myself," it was all the same to her.

She failed in her duty to protect Rhodes, even though it was something she and Rhodes had agreed upon.

Mingming, she had said that this time she would make sure Rod was alright. Mingming had promised herself that she would muster up the courage to do things she couldn't do before.

Time and time again...

She shouldn't be so useless...

"I...don't want to leave." Lilith actually spoke her true feelings;

Felicity's pupils contracted slightly, and her heart skipped a beat at Lilith's emotionally charged words.

Even so—

"Let Miss Ivina vent her emotions first." She held Lilith's hand, her stance clear.

What she was really saying to Lilith was, "Rhodes' goal is to build a good relationship with Ivina. Now that we have this opportunity, we have to leave."

"..." Lilith pursed her lips, finally deflated.

That's true, in the end...

No matter how she tried to act while Rod was still unconscious, it was ultimately useless.

Her usually indifferent face now showed a hint of dejection as she followed Felicity out of the house.

"Ivina..." the Duchess began hesitantly.

"I understand, Mother Gina Viv." Ivina took a chair, placed it at the head of Rhodes' bed, smoothed her skirt, and sat down.

"Hmm..." Seeing this, the Duchess said no more.

No matter how much she worries about or thinks about something, it's not as clear as the thoughts of young people themselves.

She walked to the door, turned to look into the house, but after a moment's hesitation, she closed the door.

Katz—

The sound of the wooden door opening echoed, and then there was no one else in the entire space.

There were only Rod and Ivina.

In an instant, she finally relaxed, and her crimson single eye stared at Rhodes with a complex expression.

She reached out her hand, her fingertips carefully touching the skin of Rhodes' palm.

After sensing that the bloodlust within her body had not flared up, she cautiously touched her more.

Touching Rhodes's hand only intensified her inner turmoil.

"The symptoms of bloodlust have disappeared because I was just fed."

"You slut who insists on saving me, you got hurt, didn't you? Serves you right... I already told you, I don't need anyone to save me..."

She kept her head down, wanting to say something, but in the end, the words stuck in her throat, and she fell silent again.

The wind blew in again in an instant.

That graceful figure sat on the windowsill once again.

is her.

Cecilia.

"Congratulations, your dream has come true." Cecilia said with a slight smile, resting her chin on her hand.

Ivina did not respond to Cecilia, but kept her mouth tightly shut, showing no intention of replying.

"I'm talking to you, my dear sister."

I don't want to talk to you.

"What, isn't this the ending you wanted? The knight saved you, and even broke your 'bloodlust' condition, isn't that perfect enough?"

"But I caused him to get hurt," Ivina said, her voice choked with emotion. "He didn't need to save me at all."

Cecilia jumped out of the window, then stood on the other side of the bed, bent her slender waist, and gently stroked Rhodes' face with her fingertips;

"He needs it. Because if he saves you, it means I've lost one of my trump cards, doesn't it?"

Don't think too highly of your darling; he's just after his own interests.

"You're talking nonsense... He could just kill me."

"Then he just really wants your body."

"……snort."

"How about that? Does that mean you feel much less guilty now?"

"Do you need to tell me that?" Ivina retorted, her voice a little louder than usual.

"Shh—" Cecilia gestured for silence. "He's exhausted. Don't disturb him."

After saying that, she continued, "But in short, now you have a friend you can get close to and spend time with, right? That's good."

"No, not a friend! He just saved my life, how could he possibly be my friend..."

"Shut up, or I'll smash your head in." Cecilia said disdainfully, then climbed onto Rhodes' bed under Ivina's gaze.

"Huh?" Ivina was slightly stunned.

She stared in disbelief as Cecilia climbed into bed.

Before she could react, she saw Cecilia straddle Rhodes' body with her legs covered by black stockings, then sit on his waist.

Instantly, Ivina's face flushed a deep red, and she stammered nervously, "..."

"Hey! What are you doing...!"

"Shh—" Cecilia gestured for silence again, clearly annoyed. "I need to treat him, you idiot. That doctor was useless; at this rate, it'll take him three days to recover."

"Damn it... could you at least tell me first? I thought you were up to something bad!" Ivina said through gritted teeth, her face flushed.

"Hmm? I didn't tell you I wasn't going to do anything bad, did I?" Cecilia smiled teasingly, her eyes narrowing like crescent moons.

"Uh-huh?!"

Cecilia ignored Ivina's reaction; she just found teasing Ivina a little amusing, but that was all.

She gently bent down, facing the boy she had longed for day and night, her eyes filled with tenderness;

Holding his face in her hands, she felt the world become more real.

Yes.

"You even managed to save my past."

"Although I don't know exactly how you did it, all I can say is that you are amazing, my dear."

"You will always be able to thwart my schemes, and you will always do things better than me."

"But... forever... is still more cruel than me."

The moment she uttered those last words, a ripple of emotion surged within her, a feeling of unease as if her heart were being squeezed.

"Perhaps in your eyes, everything is based on self-interest, but... at least, I hope you can treat my past properly."

Having said that, she bent down and brought her beautiful face close to Rod's face;

Yes……

Ivina sat to the side, her eyes wide, then quickly covered her mouth—

Because at this moment, Cecilia's lips, as soft as cotton, adorned Rhodes's lips.

Everything was her most tender and gentle wish.

A unique green glow entered Rod's mouth, nourishing his internal organs like sweet spring water.

And it only lasted for a mere ten seconds.

Cecilia was still reluctant to leave, but she also understood that some things could only be resolved quickly.

At the very least, I need to explain the truly important things to Ivina before Rhodes wakes up.

Therefore, she still raised her face, and then lowered herself;

Cecilia lightly patted her elegant black Lolita dress, then turned to look at Ivina, her eyes defiant:

"How was the kiss?"

Ivina covered her mouth, feeling a little suffocated.

To know.

Although she and Cecilia shared two lives.

However, all their senses are interconnected.

Especially when the other person deliberately transmits bodily sensations to you, it feels just like it's happening to you.

In other words... essentially, she experienced what it felt like to kiss Rhodes...

"You...!" she stammered, but because of her clumsiness, she didn't know what to say to Cecilia for being shameless.

"Alright, it's just kissing, right? You'll be doing it in the future." Cecilia patted her black gauze gloves. "Or, you can go up and experience it for yourself now."

"I don't want to!" Ivina shouted quickly with her eyes closed.

"Hehe... Okay, that's enough teasing. Or rather, don't push your luck too far."

The slightest trace of gentleness vanished from Cecilia's face in an instant, replaced by coldness. Her eyes fixed on Ivina, and she said:

"You really think you can live a good life like this?"

Cecilia's sudden change frightened Ivina.

"W-why are you suddenly doing this? What does it matter to you whether I have friends or not? Give it to me now..."

Cecilia interrupted her, saying coldly:

"You might not even qualify as a friend. Or do you really think you can gain a friend this way?"

"Don't forget, you are me, and I am you."

"You don't know, do you... After all, you died early, so of course you wouldn't know the rest of the story."

"I have to tell you a very unfortunate fact: because I became the main villain in the future, he eventually killed me as his enemy."

"So here's the question: As the [true form] of the main villain, do you think that if my dear knew this truth, knew that your senses are connected to mine, knew that—"

Her eyes met Ivina's bound, injured eyes.

"If I could use that blindfold of yours to spy on his actions, would he... still be willing to be your friend? And would he... kill you first?"

At that moment, Cecilia placed her fingers on her forehead, transferring the memories belonging to her first timeline to Ivina—

"You should know that he was also reborn, so... you are not the one who makes the choice, but the one who is chosen."

"Most likely, after learning the truth, he will definitely, absolutely will..."

Like a demon's whisper, Cecilia uttered her final words—

"I'm abandoning you."

thump—

As soon as the words were spoken, a chill ran through Ivina's mind.