Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 105 Cecilia, sit down, then pet

Chapter 106 Cecilia, sit tight, then the pet (4.3k words, meow)

When Ivina retreated wearily to the back, ready to leave, everyone knew it was time to go home.

Although the second floor of the Duke's mansion was flattened, there were still quite a few temporary residences available for them on the first floor.

Even Ivina was given a room to herself, because she really needed to try to overcome the problem of being alone in an unfamiliar room.

So, since there were places to rest, they naturally went back to their respective homes to rest.

They understood that Rhodes was absolutely top-notch at torturing witches, or rather, what else could they do besides leave like Ivina?

Felicity didn't hate Cecilia that much.

Lilith, on the other hand, didn't care at all about this defeated opponent.

Therefore, everyone followed Ivina's lead and stood up. Merrick even snapped his fingers thoughtfully after standing up.

At that moment, she used her [Creation Spirit] to quickly create a closed rock space, enveloping Rhodes and the others, leaving Rhodes a space to teach Cecilia a lesson.

Then, his fingers tightened again, and something identical to the soundproof rhombus-shaped barrier he had created in the college café appeared before his eyes.

"Alright, leave the rest to him." Merrick's face was arrogant and mocking. She had enjoyed the slaughter tonight, so it was only natural for her to do some good deeds.

"Professor Merrick's skills are still as interesting as ever." Felicity nodded obediently, then reached out and gently took Ivina's hand in front of her. "Ivina, get some rest."

"Ah—" Ivina noticed Felicity's comforting words.

She awkwardly scratched her soft cheek with her other fair hand. "Actually, I'm quite happy right now, I just don't want to see Cecilia."

After she finished speaking, she awkwardly pulled her hand away from Felicity's, still somewhat repulsed by this intimate behavior.

But feeling a bit awkward, she added, "After all, I successfully made my coming-of-age ceremony, even though it was ultimately messed up."

He only said half of what he wanted to say.

Actually, she had something even happier to say.

That means she can finally lift the huge weight off her heart and truly and happily stay by Rhodes' side.

Ivina raised her head and looked at the yellowish moonlight and the brilliant stars in the sky, and her heart calmed down a lot.

Only one hurdle remains. When she can truly and safely step out of the Duke's mansion tomorrow morning, she can embrace her true future and rebuild those shattered dreams.

Therefore, after letting go of the hatred for Cecilia, all that remained in my heart was expectation.

Felicity paused, but quickly recovered, smiling sweetly with a slight curve in her eyes, "Well, that's good."

The young ladies left this place.

Meanwhile, in the stone house behind them.

Cecilia looked up at Rhodes's chilling gaze, her delicate body twitching slightly in fear. "Ahem, darling, the word 'discipline' is a bit of an overstatement. I know I did something wrong, but it doesn't warrant this, does it?"

Cecilia understood perfectly what Rhode was angry about.

After all, he had forced him back into those terrible feelings from the past—so it was reasonable for Ace to admire him.

But she was afraid that Rod would get so angry that he would knock her head off.

Losing a clone would have a significant impact on her—the formation of each clone requires not only a large number of human corpses but also long-term nurturing.

"As for it," Rhodes replied coldly, then looked at the two witch maids behind her, "I'll deal with you two first. Come here."

"Yes!" Sheila immediately grabbed her sister and walked quickly forward, bringing her face close to Rhodes'.

"Signed." Rod handed the two women the simulated [slave contract] that Merrick had made.

Above it, the words "cannibalism" are written in a blatant manner, an undeniable form of oppressive contract.

First: Do not harm your contractor.

Second: You must not harm anyone else who also lives in the mansion.

[Third: All tasks at the manor must be completed daily, for twelve hours a day, including but not limited to cleaning, cooking, tailoring, purchasing, and combat.]

[Fourth: If necessary, make the choice to sacrifice oneself to protect the contractor.]

Salary: 15 gold coins per month.

[Effect Feedback: The contractor will not harm you at the same time.]

Contract duration: Two years

"Wow, I signed it!" Sheila only saw the fifteen gold coins in the fifth row among these rows.

She instantly reached out and took it, then bit her finger and pressed it into the bloody mark.

"Sheila—" Mira was worried when she saw her sister acting so recklessly again, but when she remembered that this was the only way for them to survive, she did as she was told.

At that moment, two diamond-shaped contract marks appeared on the backs of the two girls' hands, symbolizing that the conditions for enslavement had been met.

As if hinges were locking their hearts shut, they could feel a pull drawing them to the man before them.

Yes, this pulling force was even like a chain, binding them around their necks—

But Sheila didn't dwell on this trivial matter. She clasped her hands together and said earnestly, "Boss, the contract is signed. Can I step back now? There shouldn't be any work for the next couple of days, right?"

"Go find a place to stay in the Duke's mansion."

"OK!"

"Yes."

The two witches nodded in agreement.

They didn't hesitate much; they simply bowed politely at the door and then vanished from Rhodes's sight in a flash.

Cecilia's eyes remained calm as she watched her two subordinates run away and surrender so quickly.

That's all witches are like. Even the high-ranking witches are, to put it bluntly, just rats that became monsters in order to survive.

"This is what you've always wanted to advocate for," Rod said disdainfully to Cecilia.

"These are two different things, darling."

"I just wanted to show that there are normal people among witches, and I just wanted to find a way to stop the demon seeds from devouring people. I didn't expect these ordinary witches to have any great abilities."

Cecilia responded casually, and feeling her legs getting a little numb from kneeling, she quietly rubbed them a couple of times.

"To put it bluntly, our future relationship will definitely be one of cooperation, won't it? You still need me to devour the throne of that fallen demon god, otherwise you won't be able to defeat the Dragon God."

"So, a little punishment will do, right?" Cecilia said somewhat humbly.

"This time, all of you witches are dead. Your superiors must be furious." Rhodes took out a small stool and sat down in front of Cecilia.

The height of this bench is just right so that Cecilia can reach slightly below Rhodes' waist when she straightens her back.

Cecilia pursed her lips. "Probably. Anyway, I'm definitely going to get blamed."

"The plan to establish a base in Phillips has undoubtedly fallen through. As you know, we witches don't have that much fighting power to waste on such a small area. Most of our plans are still being made in the capital."

"But—darling, you can't leave Phillips yet, okay?"

Rhodes narrowed his eyes slightly. "What are you trying to say? Valuable information, I'll consider a reduced sentence."

"The marine species are behaving strangely; it seems they've changed in this life as well. A couple of days ago, I saw quite a few students at the academy who had been corrupted."

"I know about this. I'll go back to the academy in a couple of days to handle it. Professor Merrick has already given me the task."

"Oh, really? That's good."

Cecilia nodded, feeling relieved.

Fortunately, even though she has lost now, there are still other cards waiting for Rhodes and the others.

The marine species evokes not just the "mother," but also the hatred between the land and the sea in the past.

Things could have been salvaged if only her daughter had been lured into a trap, but everything changed after her daughter died.

Undeniably, Isadora was ruthless and evil, but she also managed to save Cecilia's last bit of face.

Now all she has to do is obediently work as a maid for a few days, and then she can watch the show unfold.

"That's enough of that small talk. It's time to teach you a lesson." Rhodes reached out and lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her head up.

"Hmm, what do you want to do? This is just a clone of me."

"But it's also the original body, isn't it? As long as you're with me, it will definitely be the original body, right?" Rhodes smiled.

"————" Cecilia swallowed, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.

"There are far too many conflicts and mistakes between us."

Adding to all the mess from your previous life, I don't know how to educate you.

So let's just talk about Ivina's situation.

"Do you know why I'm angry?"

"Because I put you in that terrible situation, and then caused dear Vina a deep emotional wound."

"Yes, you are clearly a [second state] created by her, yet you turn around and harm your master, even trying to use her corpse. That is your despicable nature."

"She told you everything?"

"More or less."

"Darling, her death was of her own volition, you can't portray me so maliciously, and—" Cecilia laughed, "to put it bluntly, without me, you wouldn't have had the chance to save her, would you?"

"You're just avoiding your mistakes."

You could have given her a happy and fulfilling life, but instead, you deliberately interfered, causing her immense suffering, just to play me for a fool.

Rhodes's eyes turned cold. "This is your fault."

Cecilia was still downplaying the incident, saying it had absolutely no impact.

His resentment grew stronger as he recalled Ivina's empty expression.

To be honest, he didn't really intend to torment Cecilia, but her constant act of thinking that nothing would happen was quite annoying to him.

They refuse to admit their mistakes, and even when they are arrested, they don't think they are wrong; they just think they have been defeated.

No matter what, they must be educated, otherwise what if they do this kind of thing again in the future?

This time it was Ivina, so who will be targeted next? Felicity, Lilith, or Natalie?

He didn't like hitting women, but as the saying goes, after fighting witches so many times, he got used to it. Besides, this was a girl he had raised, so it was only right to teach her a lesson with a stick. He stretched out his fist and smashed it hard into her abdomen.

The girl's soft belly caved in instantly from the punch, "Cough—!"

Cecilia doubled over in pain the instant she felt it. Her once confident and pale face turned pale, her pupils dilated, she gasped for breath, and saliva dripped from her mouth.

Colic, it is undoubtedly colic —

With her own power sealed, her physical defenses simply couldn't withstand that attack.

"Isn't this going a bit too far? My body is really going to die." Cecilia stubbornly propped her face up.

Rhodes laughed: "Is that going too far? How does it compare to how you just playfully threw down the knife on stage to deliberately embarrass me?"

"To put it bluntly, I've been very, very good to you. Even if you've done these bad things, I just wanted to teach you a lesson. After all, you're the one I raised."

Rod grabbed her hair. "Don't do that. I can't control the sensations that are too intense."

"My sister will feel pain too—"

Cecilia's words brought him back to his senses.

"How much pain will she experience compared to you?"

"Unable to control it, it's 50% of the perception that's affected —"

It's not a secret, or rather, even if she didn't say it, Ivina would have told the truth anyway.

Rhodes sighed.

Well then—to put it bluntly, he still didn't dare to use too much force for too long, otherwise he was afraid that Ivina would also feel pain.

That's why dealing with Cecilia is indeed a big problem; you can't really mistreat her.

This damn shared perception, can't it really be cut off?

Rhodes looked at Cecilia, who was crawling on the ground, with considerable dissatisfaction.

"Ah————Ah————"

At that moment, Cecilia was in agony, supporting herself on the floor and gasping for breath.

She didn't really like Ace's affections; after all, she had had enough of physical pain when she was a child.

"So, do you realize you were wrong?"

"Wrong, wrong—"

"Then kneel down properly."

Cecilia propped herself up, her delicate fingers trembling as she sat up.

However, due to muscle weakness, it still sits in a duck-like position.

But what Rhodes said next was what truly broke her down: "Sit still?"

"Here's a contract. Sign it."

Rhodes took out a contract that was even more lowly than the contracts of the two witches he had just made, and threw it in front of Cecilia.

In that instant, Cecilia's face froze.

Even if a contract only applies to her as an individual, it will still affect other bodies to some extent.

She looked at Rod.

"Um----"

The moment their gazes met, her last shred of stubbornness crumbled instantly.

"No, really??"

Okay, she admits it. Compared to playing like this, she'd probably rather die.