I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 85.

‘If High Priest Diego is a half-man-half-horse, I can understand why he looked at me with such strange eyes, why he acted so suspiciously, why I couldn’t trust him.
My sister says, ‘A saint is a walking mass of divine power, favored by the gods.
This means that they are more sensitive than anyone else when it comes to demons, magi, and warlocks.
I can see now why I felt a strange unease with High Priest Diego, unlike the others.
‘It was a different kind of magic, more like black magic.
The amount of Magi, or magic power, flowing from my body was so small that I didn’t notice it easily, and I thought it was just my mood, but it wasn’t.
It was my instincts sending me a signal.
‘There’s a half-man-half-horse over there…….’
Kugung! My heart sank.
The enemies in the temple were not just those who were in league with the Half-Breeds, but the Half-Breeds themselves.
But then a doubt came over me.
‘No. Wait, then what is High Priest Diego’s holy power? It heals people, and it’s the golden color of the Viatars.
If nothing else, holy power is something that no one can use unless they are chosen by the gods.
And High Priest Diego is literally ‘High Priest’. He is the one with the strongest divine power after the saints and guardians.
My head spun in confusion.
‘So he’s not a half-man-half-horse? No. What’s going on here?’
My mind was filled with questions. He staggered back to his feet, pulled back the cloth, and picked up the jewelry.
‘Your Majesty, excuse me, but may I ask a favor?’
‘What is it?’
‘This. You said it was a gift for me, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then may I have it now?’
‘…What?’
The Empress seems surprised that I’m asking for the prize before she’s even competed.
My instincts are telling me. I must not let this jewel fall into their hands.
Clutching the jewel tightly in my hand, I turned around and smiled, barely managing to lift the trembling corners of my lips and make it look as awkward as possible.
‘May I have this now, since I’m going to win no matter what?’
Hearing my trembling voice, the Empress gave a small nod with a worried look on her face.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but do it, and if you don’t win, it’s okay, I have plenty of jewelry to replace the Crimson Heart.’
‘Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty.’
Before the flustered Empress could say anything else, I bowed briefly, gathered up my Iros, and left.
I dragged the crown prince and Diane into the cage the crown prince had prepared for us, and closed the screen.
‘What?! Holy Lady, what about me?’
‘Sir Leo is standing guard to make sure no one gets in.’
‘Saint? What’s with the sudden…….?’
‘Diane, muffle the sound.’
‘Yes, Saint.’
Dian enveloped the tent in her divine power while the crown prince panicked.
‘You may speak now. What happened to you?’
Hearing Dian’s calm voice calmed my pounding heart a little. I began to see my surroundings.
The crown prince and Diane, looking worried, stood awkwardly in front of me, one hand clutching the hem of my robe.
My other hand was clutched by Iros, who had taken his eyes off the jewelry and was looking at me.
I let out the breath I’d been holding and loosened my grip.
‘Pink, you said you wanted this, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
I lifted the gem again, and Iros’s eyes slowly relaxed. As if he was truly mesmerized by the gem.
‘Do you know what this is?’
‘All I can think about is that I want to eat it, no, I have to eat it.’
‘What is this conversation? Am I the only one who can’t follow?’
The crown prince ran a hand through his red hair and made a serious face.
Diane, who had remained still beside him, looked at the jewelry, pondered something, and then spoke up.
‘Iros, if you eat it, it will make you stronger, don’t you feel that way?’
‘Yes, I think so, almost.’
‘I also feel like if I eat that, I’ll live forever, or something like that.’
‘Diane, how do you know that, I feel like I’m having trouble thinking straight right now because my mind keeps going in that direction with that gem.’
Iros frowned, barely looking away from the jewel, and covered his eyes with his hands.
Iros frowned and looked away from the jewelry, covering his eyes with his hands. The crown prince seemed to need no further comment.
‘Lord Dian, answer me.’
After a moment of silence at the crown prince’s question, Dian glanced at Iros and spoke.
‘It’s probably because I’m the most like Iros of anyone here.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Literally. I have demon blood running through my veins, albeit pale.’
‘……!’
‘……!’
At Dian’s words, both the crown prince and I sucked in our breaths in surprise.
No, this is the sound of someone rolling over in their sleep and banging on the window.
‘So, Dian, what did you say?’
‘I have demon blood in my body, more like a quarter than a half, technically. I’m no different from anyone else except that I’m stronger and have more stamina than most.’
I opened my mouth to say something in disbelief at his blunt words, but then I saw Diane’s hands trembling slightly.
His hands were honest, in contrast to his calm eyes and dignified expression.
‘You’re nervous.
He looked more than nervous, he looked scared. To come out of the closet in a country that hates horses and kills them at sight.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much courage and fear that would take.
So I relaxed my body and said in a loose voice, ‘It’s okay.
‘It’s okay, because I picked it up even though I knew it wasn’t human, and after I realized it was a half-human-half-horse, I hid it in the temple.’
‘Is that okay?’
‘What? The temple didn’t find out, don’t worry.’
‘It’s not that, it’s that I have demon blood in me, doesn’t that gross you out?’
‘My pink has more demon blood in her than you do, and she’s even my lover, so what do you think I’m going to do about that?’
At my words, Diane looked like she’d been punched in the head and hung her head heavily.
‘You’re the first person since Ella to know who I am and still treat me like it’s nothing.’
‘So that’s why Diane cared so much for Eldrakis and considered her family.
I do. What a comfort it is to have someone who treats me as normal in a world where everyone is afraid of who I am.
‘I don’t think it matters much to me either.’
‘His Highness the Crown Prince?’
‘What’s wrong with demon blood? I’ve known women who were both human and more evil than demons.’
You bastard, why are you saying that while looking at me?
‘Just because she has demon blood doesn’t mean she hasn’t harmed people, but, strangely, you humans would ostracise her. There are many insane people among humans.’
‘…Thank you.’
‘Don’t. I was just telling you the truth.’
At the crown prince’s comfort, Diane smiled sheepishly and nodded.
‘In any case, it’s certain that that jewel arouses the desires of half-humans and half-demons, and the demon blood wants that jewel.’
‘So you’re saying it’s a piece of a real demon’s eye or heart?’
‘No, but it looks like it’s worth something.’
‘Dian, do you want to eat it too?’
‘No. I only have a tiny fraction of demon blood in me, so I don’t feel that strong of an urge.’
‘Aha.’
But Dian, if you only have a little bit of demon blood, how can you use divine power and be a Guardian?
Iros is also a guardian, but he rarely uses his holy power because it hurts him and drains his life force.
‘Diane, may I ask you a question?’
‘Yes.’
‘If you have demon blood in your veins, why aren’t your eyes red and can you use divine power?’
I’d heard in the books that only some half-demons with strong demon blood could change their eye color, but Dian’s eyes weren’t red from the start like Iros’.
No, I had never seen her with red eyes before.
Besides, if Diane could use divine power, he had a small hope that it would make sense for Diego to use it as well.
‘I know my grandfather was a mutant. They were both half-human and half-horse, and I heard that he was able to use divine power even though he was half-human and half-horse.’
‘If you can wield divine power while being a half-human half-demon, you’re a mutant. Who did you hear that from?’
‘I heard it from my late mother, who was human and didn’t live long.’
‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.’
‘It’s okay, it’s an old story.’
Diane smiled wryly and stepped back.
His words tilted her suspicions further towards the possibility that perhaps Diego was a mutant, capable of wielding divine power like her grandfather.
‘When the Empress showed me this jewel, High Priest Diego and all the priests and priestesses gathered here had the same reaction as Iros.’
‘You mean they are all half-man, half-horse.’
‘Yes, that’s right, they all have their differences, but there’s an unpleasantly strange aura about them, and I’m beginning to suspect that they’re a group of half-man-half-horse who want me dead.’
At my words, the crown prince’s jaw clenched in dismay.
‘That’s bad news. My father said he would post priests all over the hunting grounds, but I don’t know their exact locations. Only High Priest Diego will know.’
It was a total mess.
‘In any case, until the hunt is over, Sir Iros, Sir Dian, myself, Leo, and you. We’d better all stay together and be careful.’
‘Aye. I suppose I should since I’m the one they’ll be after first. It’s a good thing we got rid of the nerve sheaths and poisoned needles because now the only traps left are raids at best.’
‘Right.’
I slipped the Crimson Heart into my pocket, zipped it up tightly, and placed it in Iros’s arms.
‘Iros, you can keep this, and we can try it later when we get home after the hunt is over.’
‘Okay.’
‘Make sure you don’t lose it.’
‘Of course. I’m not exactly painted like a saint.’
‘Yuck.’
Then came the pooh-pooh of a horn trumpet.
It was the signal for the hunt to begin.