Rhode had a lot of forethought about Celia’s psychology. But honestly, no matter how much he pondered, he never expected her to hold such feelings for him. Strictly speaking, although it wasn’t completely impossible for her to fall for him since she had followed him since the beginning and it wasn’t surprising that she had grown fond of him over time, he hadn’t considered this direction in the slightest. In fact, he never reciprocated such feelings for her all this while. The reason was simple.
He knew that there was a conflict between them, and it wasn’t the kind that could be solved by just talking about it as it involved their standpoint and morals. Celia was bound to follow a certain level of principles, fairness, goodness, and justice, which were the embodiment of a battle angel. But Rhode was different. He would do whatever he needed to achieve his goal without considering ruthless sacrifices. He had also designed several traps to capture the entire family of the innocents in the past.
For him, the result was always more important than the means, which was an irreconcilable conflict between him and her. He might seem like the kind of guy who welcomed everyone but, as a matter of fact, those who accepted him truthfully and were accepted by him had almost no problems with him in this regard. For instance, Anne had a joyful and outgoing character, and to some extent, she and Rhode were the same kind of people: both seeking the ends and not the means. However, Anne’s ‘means’ wasn’t as evil as his. And as a mercenary, she was very open-minded about life and death, so she neither agreed or disagreed with his approach. It was the same for Lize. If it were in the past, as a princess, she might have a slight problem with his actions. However, after being a mercenary for some time, Lize tasted the cold and warmth of the world, so she never interfered with his decisions.
And Marlene, as a noble descendant, to whom the wisdom of Thick Black Theory[1] came as an almost occupational gift, understood both sides of the story better than anyone. Controlling a country and territory was sometimes the same as managing a family. One had to play the role of a hero, while the other had to play the role of a villain. Rhode took on responsibility for being the hero, while letting Marlene handle being the villain. She was well aware of that but didn’t show much resistance.
Meanwhile, one shouldn’t be deceived by Erin’s elegant and quiet appearance and forget that she destroyed half of a city on Earth without blinking an eye. This ‘achievement’ was nothing in her eyes. That was why what Rhode had done was also ‘nothing’ in her perspective.
As for Sonia, she had been trained by him to be devoted to him, not to mention stopping him from doing anything out of the ordinary to her, if she could please him, she might even help him on her own accord, just like the riots she had caused in Casabianca.
As for Canary and Mini Bubble Gum, there was no need to talk about them. They looked at the world in the same way as he did and didn’t treat the natives as equal. Canary was relatively better off, while Mini Bubble Gum was a bit of a dilettante as everyone knew, so there wasn’t a need to clarify it further. That was why what Rhode did to the people here wasn’t really much different for them than a guild war in the game and slaughtering people.
In that respect, Celia had always been out of Rhode’s consideration because there was an irreconcilable conflict between them. Lapis might be unaware of it, while Lize pretended not to see it. However, Celia couldn’t be like Lize and not say a thing. Just like the three-way-fight inside her earlier; absolute ‘rationality’ overruled ‘ego’ and ‘instincts’, which was what made Celia remain silent about what Rhode did. Meanwhile, she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t see or take things personally like the others did. If she were able to be as unconcerned about petty things as Lydia, it would be possible for Rhode and her to talk things out.
But the problem was that she had the typical angelic personality, where she thought about the big things and also wouldn’t let go of the small matters. That was dictated by nature and no one could change it. Moreover, it was also impossible for Celia to be as ignorant as Lapis because the former was his holy sword card spirit. She followed him around at all times, and no matter what he did, the reality happened right before her eyes. So even if he were to appease her with a lie, it wouldn’t last long. His lies would be seen through very easily. Once she saw through his lies, their relationship would definitely turn out worse than before, which would make the problem even more difficult.
That was why while Rhode chose to tease Celestina or even say some dirty jokes to Shira, he would never mess with Celia. After all, Celestina always clapped her hands gracefully and admired him as he slaughtered others, while Celia would sulk in silence. That was why when he did the killing, he basically didn’t send Celia into battle and would use her as a sword at the very most.
In that case, for him to consider being together with Celia… Even if she were willing, he definitely wouldn’t. Because as soon as they became a couple, it meant that he had to be responsible for her. Rhode was a man of principle, and if he really wanted to have this kind of relationship with Celia, it meant that he had to consider her feelings. But then again, he wouldn’t be able to do whatever he wanted to do, and he wasn’t a man who wanted to begrudge himself.
That was why he had never thought about her in that aspect. And he didn’t expect her to have such thoughts about him in that regard either. After all, what he did was so different from her values that they were nowhere close. Rhode counted himself lucky that she didn’t curse him to death in her heart, so how was it possible that she even liked him?
Seems like I still don’t understand women… Sigh, women… Even though Celia is a battle angel, she is still a woman, after all. It is so true that women’s hearts are just like a needle at the bottom of the ocean.
But now wasn’t the time to lament ancient sayings. And honestly speaking, upon hearing Celia’s confession, Rhode’s head started hurting instantly. He didn’t believe that this was an impulsive remark from her. Rather, it was clearly a thought that she had been hiding deep within her heart for a long time. But it would be harder than hell for him to accept her feelings. As mentioned before, he wasn’t a person who liked to begrudge himself. And his principle was to treat his women better, so Celia, a battle angel, who had a certain degree of purity and persistence in this regard, wasn’t in the scope of his choice of women.
But if he were to reject her outright, the result would definitely not be any better. His trip to the mental world of the holy sword card spirits was to get them to accept and acknowledge him. Without mentioning whether the rest would accept him, If he were to reject her now, this journey to their mental world would end right after it started. A broken heart wouldn’t feel good for anyone and Celia was no exception. Had he known that, he wouldn’t have tried to encourage her ‘ego’ and ‘instincts’ earlier. But unfortunately, this world didn’t offer any medicine for regret either. Since he had already done it, his only choice left was to continue on. But now, his biggest question was…
How should he respond?
“You always look at your Big Sister with those lustful eyes! And yet, you rarely look at me. I’m obviously the one who has been following Master, but why are you so cold toward me!?”
At that moment, Celia, however, became increasingly agitated. She shouted as though she were venting her frustrations. At the same time, she waved the sword in her hand even faster and more frantically, slashing blades at Rhode one after another. He was fortunate that he dodged quick enough; otherwise, he would have been hacked several times by her even in the mental world. By the way… What exactly was this situation?
“… Hah… Hah… Hah…”
After some time, Celia finally stopped, sweating profusely and panting unceasingly. But even so, the battle angel held the sword in her hands tightly, her two eyes staring at him like she was looking at her father’s murderer. Looking at her expression, Rhode couldn’t help but remember a phrase that was rather appropriate for this situation in front of him: love well, whip well. Rhode felt his head aching even more. If he were to reject her outright, it would be tantamount to failure.
Is there any other way to solve this problem? What should I do?
At this thought, Rhode’s eyes glinted all of a sudden.
He recalled news he read when he was on Earth about a baby that was taken and raised by a she-wolf. When people found her again, she had completely turned into a wolf child. She couldn’t speak the human language at all, and didn’t know how to communicate with people. After a long period of education, she finally returned to society and gained humanly wisdom and etiquette. Although this matter was almost unrelated to the situation that he was facing now, for some reason, he saw his own way of correspondence from it…
Even though he didn’t know if it was reliable and whether it would work, he didn’t have any better ideas now. Or perhaps to say, he had to succeed. And if he couldn’t, it meant that his entire plan was likely to fail. So in that regard, he had to do his best to make it work.
At this thought, Rhode looked up with a feeling of openness, sensed Celia’s measuring gaze, and nodded.
“I’ve come to understand where you’re coming from, Celia. Honestly, I never thought you would actually feel that way about me. After all, not everything I do is acceptable to you.”
“That’s right, Master; I really don’t like what you’re doing.”
In response to Rhode’s words, Celia was also quick to make a firm reply. At that moment, she was no longer confused, but seemed rather shaken instead. Or perhaps, the part of Celia that was suppressed by ‘rationality’ was gradually being revealed, venting the frustrations she had been hiding toward him so far.
“I don’t like your dastardly tactics, and I don’t want to see you slaughter those innocent civilians. I cannot comprehend your thoughts, Master. You are now the Void Dragon, so do you really need to do things using such means? I really, really dislike it, but Master, you keep moving forward and everyone trusts you. I don’t want to say much, but I don’t know why I fell in love with you, Master. When I found out, I was already in love! For that reason, what you did became more unforgivable! Master, why must you do this?!”
“I…”
Upon hearing Celia’s frustrations, Rhode was completely stunned. This speech was really upside down and completely knowing. On the other hand, after hearing her question, he suddenly remembered a movie that he watched when he was bored, in which the male protagonist was a vicious mafioso, while the female protagonist was an ordinary woman who initially hated the male protagonist when she witnessed him killing someone. Despite that, she inexplicably fell in love with him later. But even so, the female protagonist still didn’t like to see him kill others and even stopped him during the act, resulting in him being injured.
Later, the villain who was originally oppressed by the male protagonist learned that the latter was injured and sought revenge. Then, the female protagonist helped him defeat the villain. The male protagonist abandoned his profession and they lived happily ever after… Frankly, after Rhode watched this movie, he thought it was absurd. And It was also simply unbelievable that it won an Oscar with a script like this. But what he didn’t expect was that he had to face such a script himself now!
Am I also going to abandon my profession and retreat into the woods? What kind of international joke is this?
“I understand now.”
Rhode shuddered at that thought and nodded at Celia. It sure looked like he needed to use this method. No matter what, it was much better than abandoning his profession and retreating into the woods!
After making his decision, Rhode put away his sword and walked right up to Celia, gazing at her quietly.
“I’ve understood your feelings, Celia. I’m really surprised and happy that you like me. Because I’ve always thought that your feelings toward me are pretty average. After all, I don’t do a lot of things that match your hopes and expectations, but the fact that you’re actually able to like me makes me really happy…”
Rhode said and paused a little, before looking up at Celia again with a serious and earnest expression.
“… But even so, I won’t change myself for you. Will you still be able to accept me? I like you, but I won’t change myself for you. If something dangerous were to happen, I would still make the choice you dislike. Will you still be willing to accept me?”
“I-I don’t know. I don’t know. I really hate what you’re doing, Master. But I really like you and I don’t know… No… It’s not like that! I’m not asking you to do anything for me. I just want you to know that I…”
“I understand, but I can’t act like I don’t, Celia.”
Before Celia finished her sentence, Rhode interrupted.
“This is your mental world, and you won’t lie to yourself. And I am not going to lie to you either. If you are going to be my woman, I will not change my ways by accommodating you. I want you to remember this, Celia. I can accept your feelings, but I cannot give you a corresponding response. In that case, can you accept it? I’m not going to accommodate you, but I need you to be able to gradually accept what I’m doing. Can you agree to it?”
“No, I’m not…”
Upon hearing his questions, Celia’s expression grew even more panicked. She shook her head vigorously, as if she were afraid of something.
“I didn’t intend for you to accept me, Master. I just… I… No, I didn’t want to… All I want is… No! Master, you shouldn’t have forced me!”
“Say what you really think, Celia!”
Facing Celia, who looked like she was about to break down, Rhode didn’t have the slightest intention of pitying her. Instead, he stared coldly at her and yelled in a deep voice. Upon hearing his scream, Celia was shocked. She closed her eyes and her body shuddered.
“No, Master! I hate you! Why can’t you change! You’re just that stubborn, that is why I———!”
Along with Celia’s scream, she raised the sword in her hand high once again, drawing a bright, dazzling arc in midair and striking down at Rhode. This time, in the face of her slashing blade, Rhode neither dodged nor hid. He stood there quietly and looked at Celia before him.
The sword swung down.
The sharp blade stopped right in front of his eyes. If it went down just a little bit more, it would be enough for his blood to spill. But at the very last second, Celia held back, which was the only thing that kept him from being split in two.
At the next moment, Rhode felt Celia’s soft, tender body falling into his embrace. Shortly after, he heard a sobbing tone in her voice.
“Master, you’re always so stubborn. That is why I hate you… But… It is also the very reason that I fell in love with you…”
Celia lifted her head and pecked him on his lips, catching him off guard. However, he extended and wrapped his arms around the battle angel young lady.
The pure white space shook. Soon after, as though a piece of mirror shattering, the colors of the scenery in this world changed. The pure whiteness turned into an azure blue sky, while the path paved by layers of white clouds underneath Rhode’s feet stretched into the distance.
“Even though I knew it all along, after hearing you saying it personally, I feel like… This is indeed your style, Master.”
Raising her head rather shyly from his embrace, Celia looked at him with a blush and spoke.
“But, thank you, Master… At least I won’t be hesitant and feel lost again.”
Upon hearing this statement from Celia, Rhode knew that he finally succeeded.
[1] A philosophical treatise written by Li Zongwu (1879–1943)
