Alice first arrived in Arcadia and happened to bump into the war between the neighboring country and Arcadia.
Located in the north, the Malzi淵 mercenary nation is purely composed of adventurers and mercenaries, a country that relies on dispatching mercenaries to war for its economy.
The Malzi淵 mercenary nation, along with its two neighboring countries, the Dikute Kingdom and the Broz Empire, were bribed by a powerful king with a hefty sum, intending to destroy Arcadia, which had recently stirred up a great commotion.
In their eyes, the three countries attacking a mere small country wouldn't require much effort at all.
They looked forward to the bounty promised by the great king, arrogantly declaring that they would flatten Elserland and plunder the women in the city.
These remarks completely enraged several girls who had originally planned to train.
As a result, the vanguard general, who they held high hopes for, was beheaded by a single stroke of an ice-blue sickle in the midst of thousands of troops.
The vanguard force of over ten thousand soldiers was slaughtered in less than half a day by the woman who smiled as she wielded her long sword.
The three countries, shocked and furious, desperately mobilized a massive army of fifty thousand, completely encircling Elserland.
That day, the people of Arcadia witnessed their young monarch personally taking action for the first time.
Rhode slowly paced in the air, raising his hand to create three thousand magic crystals imbued with electric magic, encircling the fifty thousand troops, then expressionlessly waved his right hand down.
“Forbidden Magic - Divine Thunder Palace!”
Rumbling, rumbling—
Countless golden thunderbolts reached the ground faster than the sound, stirring the celestial phenomena in the sky like divine punishment, forming a majestic column of thunderous light, connecting the sky and the earth.
The torrent of heat roared as it swept across the land, releasing terrifying magic capable of destroying everything, vaporizing everything on the wildlands!
In the blink of an eye, those living soldiers didn't even leave behind ashes.
Young Alice, witnessing this scene, collapsed to the ground with weak legs, but deep in her eyes, there was a fervent admiration for that figure.
She knew that her decision to abandon everything in her hometown and come here was not a mistake!
Afterward, Rhode received Alice.
Alice stood stiffly, performing an awkward bow, her heart both nervous and excited.
Even she, who was called a beast, understood that the person before her, both in terms of strength and status, was someone she could never afford to offend.
However, after she did so, Rhode actually showed a confused expression.
As she stayed in the palace for a longer time, the filter in Alice's heart gradually shattered.
Because the man who was revered like a god outside, actually spent his days in the palace, pestering the maids for sleeping in!
He would play hide-and-seek happily with the young maids, suddenly jumping out to scare them to tears, then immediately embrace them with a face full of apology.
He would push all his work onto Ms. Rita and then lie down in the garden, slacking off and fishing.
He would argue with the chubby-faced elf for a whole day, until both of them fell asleep while sitting, then the big mushroom lady would helplessly carry them back to their respective beds.
Sometimes, she would secretly observe Rhode's every move, then scornfully mock his childishness, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, and she felt a bit envious in her heart.
Later, Rhode discovered Alice's peeking and started to tease her.
At first, Alice, due to courtesy and the fear deep within her, constantly endured.
But Rhode kept provoking her relentlessly.
One day, Alice finally couldn't take it anymore, and she roared at Rhode, giving him a hard punch.
Although Rhode easily caught the punch, Alice stood there stunned and helpless.
Fear, bewilderment, panic.
She once again recalled the terrifying figure who controlled thunder, and her body trembled uncontrollably, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face.
When Rhode slowly reached out to her, Alice closed her eyes in despair, as if she saw herself turn to ashes.
However, Rhode just gently stroked her head and said with relief.
“Good, this is the Alice I want to see.”
“A wild dog that will never yield, should not be kept in a cage.”
“I give you the power to be willful towards me, it's a privilege exclusive to Alice, oh~”
Alice sniffed and sobbed, tears in her eyes, and opened her eyes in disbelief.
Rhode smiled and took out a cute life-sized doll from behind and handed it to Alice.
“But I'm the king after all, there are always times when it's inconvenient, if Alice can't help but want to vent at that time, just use it to beat me up instead.”
Alice hugged Rhode's doll tightly, biting her lower lip, and large tears welled up at the corner of her eyes.
“Stupid......”
After that, Alice regained her original nature and boldly started to bicker with Rhode.
She even occasionally charged out like a nuclear warhead to spar with him, although she never succeeded, she always stubbornly declared that she would try again next time.
But in private, she actively forced herself to seek guidance from Lilya, learning royal etiquette, making sure she would never embarrass Rhode in formal occasions!
The distance between Rhode and Alice quickly narrowed after that.
Because Rhode surpassed Alice in every way, as if he was omnipotent.
Therefore, although she was stubborn, in Alice's heart, she proudly believed that Rhode was invincible, the strongest!
She depended on, admired, and trusted Rhode.
Until that day.
Rhode practiced swordsmanship with his teacher, Yūshirō Shihōin, as usual.
As the greatest villain in the history of Soul Society, Yūshirō Shihōin claimed to master all the schools and styles of swordsmanship in the world.
Her swordsmanship incorporated the strengths of all schools without being confined to convention.
Whether it's the 【Scythe Slashing Technique】, which controls one's body, or the 【Dark Sword】, which attacks with a left-handed sleeve sword.
They all emphasize the swordsmanship concept of using all of one's abilities to kill the enemy.
Rhode quite liked this kind of swordsmanship.
It's not as extreme as the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style, nor as focused on speed like the Kenshin-ryū style, it requires more development of oneself to the extreme.
This is why Rhode thought she was his perfect teacher.
Even though Rhode had six-eyed replication, it would still take a long time to learn all of Yūshirō Shihōin's swordsmanship.
Yūshirō Shihōin noticed Rhode's self-imposed limitations due to his respect for her, so she had the idea of breaking Rhode's shackles.
As a result, the two people's battle went from sparring at the beginning to an extremely fierce duel.
Rhode entered a state of harmony with nature, displaying all the swordsmanship he had learned, even suppressing Yūshirō Shihōin for a while.
Therefore, Yūshirō Shihōin couldn't help but lose control.
Her vicious nature, which enjoyed slaughter, was completely unleashed because of excitement at the hunt.
She truly saw Rhode as an opponent who could kill her, and she unconsciously unleashed her Bankai.
....
The outcome of that battle ended with Rhode, who had unleashed all his power, almost completely killing Yūshirō Shihōin.
Rhode returned to the palace, exhausted.
Alice, as usual, was excitedly about to fight Rhode, but when she saw the battered Rhode, she froze.
“Who is it! Who dared to lay a hand on you!”
Alice, full of excitement, shook Rhode's shoulder forcefully.
“It's nothing.”
“How can it be nothing!”
Rhode wanted to cover it up, but Alice, with her stubborn temperament, kept asking the same question several times.
Finally, Rhode helplessly spilled the whole story.
“What's that supposed to be!”
Alice angrily picked up her sword, about to charge out.
“She dared to attack you, I can't forgive her, I'm going to go kill that guy!”
Even though she knew how terrifying an opponent who could fight Rhode to such an extent was.
But the red-haired wild dog did it anyway!