I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 32

I asked dumbly.

‘Why, Pink?’

“Because I want to touch you. Because I think I’m going crazy.”

It was then that I realized that the novel I’d read in my previous life, Crazy Saint, was not the usual fatalistic fiction, but a novel with a nineteen gold red scab on the front.

And why I had been so crazy about Iros, asking him to play guard for me tonight on a fictional night.

How could I win him over with a face like this, with his whole body flirting with temptation?

‘If he wants to do it, and not because I told him to, won’t it be okay?

I’m twenty-one, he’s twenty-three, so we’re both adults, and I suppose that’s fair enough.

I put the thought of the circle out of my head for a moment and brought my hand to Iros’s cheek, stroking it gently.

‘I’m not about to punish an innocent man who hasn’t done anything wrong, so what do we do?’

‘Then…….’

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Iros buried his face in my hand stroking his cheek, biting my fingers slightly painfully.

‘Ah.’

“I dared to ask for the owner. I’m a dog, and you’re going to punish me for this?”

I couldn’t help but giggle at Iros’s cautious behaviour, mixed with anticipation.

I had meant to ask him to have a normal relationship with me, not the punishment one we had before, but he hadn’t even realized it.

I brought my lips to Iros’s forehead, which was somehow warm and ripe, and spoke softly.

‘I’d love to, but you’ve got a fever again.’

‘Fever?’

‘Hotter than a hand-warmer. Are you so feverish you don’t know what you’re talking about, Pink?’

‘I’m fine.’

He says he’s fine with a face full of aura, but her eyes are already out of focus, her pretty violet eyes cloudy.

My fever was rising, probably from the residual divine power in my body working again, but at this rate, I was sure I would lose my memory later.

I smiled sweetly and spoke softly so only he could hear.

“It’s because you’re sick. When you wake up later, after a good night’s sleep, you won’t remember what you just said.”

‘No. I’ll remember everything, and I mean it…….’

‘Shh-’

‘…….’

I put my index finger to Iros’s lips as he started to wake up, and he fell silent.

I pressed my lips firmly to his and pushed him back down.

Then I stroked his hair and soothed him, smiling compassionately.

“No, no. Forget it, you only want me instinctively because of the fever, and you don’t like me normally.”

‘Why. Why do you make up your mind about that?’

‘Because it’s true.’

‘…….’

Then Iros opened his mouth to speak, his cloudy eyes glaring at me resentfully.

‘You don’t want it to be true, do you? Why do you have so much control over my mind?’

‘Because I know.’

‘…….’

‘I’m telling you, Pink, I know everything.’

You hate me, and you’ve been brainwashed by me into thinking you like me. You said it yourself.

I can still hear Iros’s dialogue from The Crazy Saint in my head, not a word of it wrong.

[Sierra Elgraton. She always brainwashed me into thinking that she was the only one, that she was my only master.

She locked me in the places I feared the most and whispered sweet nothings to me as she terrorized me.

That’s why I hate her. Or, more accurately, I love her].

I grew a love for her due to brainwashing, but at the same time, I grew an unending hatred for her.

So she would kill me in the end, with a pure white sword that looked like mine.

With such a white and pretty face, so calmly.

‘The saint is truly an unknown person.’

‘Don’t hate me so much.’

I smirked, kissing the corner of Iros’s tear-stained eyes. Unbuttoning his shirt, I whispered in his ear.

“Let’s go to bed. You’re sweaty, and I’ll get you changed.”

‘Okay.’

He obeyed, his eyes full of resentment, and I carefully picked him up and carried him to the bed.

I stripped him of his sweaty clothes and changed into his own, which blended seamlessly into my wardrobe.

From a drawer locked with a key, I pulled out a special potion I’d customized for him, gave him a dose, and tucked him under the covers.

‘Get a good night’s sleep and wake up, and you’ll forget all about it.’

‘It’s not because I’m sick. I won’t forget…….’

I laughed languidly as I patted Iros’s chest, who was shivering from the fever and speaking with unfocused, dazed eyes.

“Okay. Let’s say it is. Go to sleep.”

‘…….’

Iros squeezed his eyes shut for a long time, but sleep finally overcame him, and he drifted off into Sleep.

When his breathing finally evened out, I pushed myself off the bed and sat up.

“I’m afraid of the divine power misfit side effects. For a second there, I almost thought you liked me.”

I clicked my tongue and pinched my cheek. A sharp pain jolted me back to reality.

“Phew. You shouldn’t take a patient’s word for it, Pink, you’re lucky, my patience saved your life.”

I smiled proudly and imagined a future where Iros would wake up later, shaking off the side effects, and marvel that I thought I was a debauched saint.

Perhaps my credibility would be boosted by the fact that I hadn’t touched him except for a kiss?

‘Hoo hoo hoo, I’m a man of my word.’

Smiling to myself, I picked up Mei’s dropped keys, grabbed my robe, and headed out the door.

As I opened the door, Mei was squatting beside me. When their eyes met, she jumped to her feet, still red-faced and angry.

“What the hell, Saint, you’re out already?! Is it all over already?!”

‘…Mei, nothing happened between us.’

Except for the kiss.

I scratched my cheek and lightly ruffled Mei’s imaginary red-scabbed head.

‘Pink had a fever again, so I had to change her and put her to bed, so we were a little late.’

‘Oh.’

I coughed a couple of times and jingled my keys at Mei’s openly regretful expression.

‘Do you want to come with me to the archives?’

“Can I come? I’m not a priest, I’m a maid.”

‘It doesn’t matter, you’re my only maid anyway. If the books are heavy and I need someone to lift them, I’ll let you in.’

‘Wow, that’s great, because I love to read!’

Mei grinned and clapped her hands.

‘Yeah, well, you can see other good things in there besides books.’

‘Other good things besides books?’

I smirked at Mei’s innocent shake of her head and lowered my voice to a whisper.

‘The paladins’ private training grounds.”

‘……!’

Mei’s wide eyes widened. Her nostrils flared, and I smirked at her blushing face as she snorted.

‘Girls your age have knightly aspirations, I suppose?’

‘Yes, saint, I love them!’

“Phew. Sounds like you like them more than books.”

I chuckled softly at Mei’s frank response.

For some reason, I thought I could hear Iros’ voice from inside the room, muttering, “Oh, no……..”

‘Well, shall we go then?’

‘Yes! I’ll lead the way!’

‘Ahhhhhh. Okay.’

Looking at Mei’s majestic stride, I started walking with a slightly lighter step.

When we arrived at the library, the librarian recognized me and fainted, biting into a bubble.

It’s a reaction I’ve become accustomed to, so I slipped past the fainted librarian and made my way inside.

I found a seat with familiar steps, laid my robe on the desk, and pulled back the curtains by the window.

‘This is the best view of the training grounds.’

“Hmph. You’re right about the view, hmmph. What a place.”

Taking a seat by the window, Mei calmed the corners of her mouth from twitching and rolled her catlike orange eyes to take in the view.

It was personal training time, and there were a half-dozen paladins in sweaty tops and sword-swinging swords.

I shrugged lightly as I watched Mei gradually lean closer and closer to the window, staring out through glazed eyes.

‘Then I’ll be stuck to the window.’

‘Wow, they’re training knights, and they’re so powerful, swinging their swords like that. It’s like a prince on a white horse!’

‘Hoo hoo hoo. Is it that good?’

‘Yes!’

‘Then stay a while longer and I’ll go get some books about magic circles.’

‘Okay.’

Mei’s cheerful backside merged with the window and the water islands, and she walked through the stacks of books in search of information about the magic circle.

“Wow, look at those muscles. How do they build those muscles?”

Creepy. Suddenly, I sensed something sinister.

I lifted my head and peered between the bookshelves, and I could hear Mei laughing hysterically, spying on the paladins’ training.

Mei’s enthusiastic cheering must have been mistaken for the sound of someone waking up. She smirked and turned back to her book.

“Haha. I can hear Mei’s laughter from here. By the way, there are so many books. Ancient Summoning Circles, Demons and Summoning, Basic Magic Circles and Summoning Theory.”

I looked at the overwhelming pile of ancient texts and picked out a few that were thick enough to read today.

I returned to my seat with my arms full of books, Mei still clinging to the window.

But there was a strange sense of otherness. I spoke quietly, feeling that ominous sensation of something not quite right where it shouldn’t be.

‘Mei.’

“Yes, yes. Saint.”

‘Where’s your robe?’

“What? Robes? The robe was on your desk earlier. Did it fall on the floor?”

Shaking her head at the empty desk, Mei leaned down and looked under it.

‘Huh? It’s not there. Uh, where did it go? Yikes!’

Mei panicked, scrambling to her feet and slamming her head on the desk. and fell back down.

Slowly raising her head, Mei looked up at me, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, and shook her head.

‘Saint, robe is missing, but I’m not really, I haven’t even touched it!’

The robe, the only relic of Eldrakis, the robe with the magic circle that could summon Nivas, the High Demon, was gone.

You think calmly.

‘Mei was busy watching the paladins train. I can’t doubt it, as I heard her admiring them the whole time.’

So Mei had neither the presence of mind nor the motive to steal the robe.

Even if she knew it was a relic of Eldrakis and an important clue in the hunt for demons and warlocks, she would not steal it.

‘I’m not stupid enough to steal the robe, especially when it’s the one thing that would arouse the most suspicion here.

‘If he was serious about stealing the robe, he would have made his escape without being seen by me.

‘Then the culprit has already made off with the robe while Mei was distracted. It would have been easy for him to hide his tracks because of Mei’s voice, and I was too busy looking for the book to notice.’

‘The killer must have known what was on the robe. He must have known the value of the robe, and that it existed in the first place.

Furthermore, someone who knew or could have guessed that I would be coming to the archives.

That person would be the killer.