I Reject the villain’s ending.

Chapter 81.

I returned to the mansion and immediately sent the crown prince a map marking where the half-elves had sown the nerve roots and poisoned needles, along with the evidence I had gathered.

Then I brought Iros back to the room and sat him down.

‘Saint?’

‘Pink.’

‘Yes.’

‘I won’t ask you about the pouch and the moringa. It saved your life.’

‘…….’

‘Instead.’

I took a deep breath, feeling my heart still thumping for a moment.

‘In exchange, we won’t sleep together. We won’t kiss. Let’s not even hold hands.’

‘Saint.’

‘Stay as far away from me as you can.’

‘Sierra.’

‘Because of me…….’

Tears streamed down my face as I spoke. My pretty pink face was distorted by the flood of tears, and Iros looked up.
‘I could have killed you. I’m the reason you collapsed, I’m the reason your eyes changed color, I’m the reason this never happened before the regression!’

I screamed, growing more and more emotional, and Iros pulled me into a tight hug.
‘……!’
I felt a lukewarm body heat, and then a wisp of light pink hair fluttered in front of my eyes, and a cool, soft scent hit my nostrils.

My eyes widened for a moment, and then I came to my senses.

‘It’s not the saint’s fault.’

‘Get off me! Get off me! If you stay with me, you’re going to…….’

I shoved Iros harder and harder like I was having a seizure, but no matter how hard I pushed, he wouldn’t budge.

For some reason, Iros, who usually pushes back easily, remained still with his body pressed against mine.

He sighed heavily and walked over to the bed and grabbed a futon.

‘Why the blanket?’

‘Because she’s so afraid of touch, I thought I’d do this.’

I fluttered the blanket over me and wrapped it around me, and when I saw Iros grinning at me, I hugged him tightly.

‘This way we won’t touch, right? Divine power is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact.’

Oh, that’s true. With the duvet between us, our skin never touched.

Instead, the warmth was lukewarm.

Iros closed his eyes languidly and spoke slowly.

‘My saint, what have I become, a crybaby and a coward, a fool to think of such a thing as this?’

‘No. Just because you have a quilt like this doesn’t mean you don’t have divine power.’

‘I’m half-human, half-demon, and somewhat immune to holy power, so it’s fine.’

‘You’re lying.’

I muttered softly, and Iros smirked.

‘No, really, I don’t lie, unlike you, so don’t worry, I’m fine now.’
Iros’s eyes fell to the pouch of jewels.

‘You do realize, don’t you, that the reason you have to eat one a day is that your body can’t handle the power contained in the gem?’

‘Yes. That’s what Moringa told me.’

‘So if you eat one of those and feel a little weak, you can eat a few more, right?’

‘What?! Are you crazy, what if you blow up!’

I yelped in horror, and Iros gave me a wry smile, then lowered his voice to a whisper.

‘Somehow I don’t think I’ll die if I eat all that.’

‘Stop thinking about it. Just eat it.’

‘Okay. I’ll eat it.’
‘Pinkie! Yay!!’
Iros quickly grabbed a handful of gems from his pocket and popped them into his mouth.

I jumped at the sight of it, grabbed his chin, and opened my mouth, only to find that it was all gone.
I looked up at Iros in shock and muttered.

‘Hey, is your body going to explode and kill you now?’

Iros looked at me affectionately, like I was cute, and shook his head.

‘No. I’m more convinced now that I’ve tasted it. I’m not going to die if I eat all of this.’
‘……?’

‘See? I’m fine.’

‘Well, it is, huh? It’s not popping, is it?’

Like an over-inflated balloon, I thought I was going to pop, but I’m fine.

‘What? You’re not dead?’
‘Do you want me to die?’

‘That’s impossible, you’re my lover, and I can’t touch you or kiss you anymore.’
‘…When you put it that way, it sounds like I have a sexual problem.’

‘Because you can’t anymore, right?’
‘…….’

‘Rain, let’s say something like that.’

At my words, Iros cringed, craned his neck, and laughed quietly.
I kept quiet, not wanting to offend him.

‘So why isn’t your body exploding?’

‘Perhaps the amount of energy Moringa can hold is different from the amount I can hold.’
‘You mean the bowls are different sizes.’

‘That’s right.’

At Iros’s words, I quickly rolled my eyes.

‘Maybe, even though we’re the same half-demon, Pink has a larger basic bowl than your parents, perhaps because your mother is a high-ranking demon.’

‘Why are you so sure my mother is a demon?’

‘Because all demons are beautiful.’

‘That’s true, but……. I guess it’s all about the face.’

‘Well, my father was a commoner, and my mother was said to be more noble than noble, so that’s one answer.’

Iros’s jeweled eye, which glowed red in the hunting grounds, proved it.

To have such a beautiful gemstone despite being of human blood.

‘Perhaps your mother was a first-class demon. Most likely a demonic duke, a marquis.’

‘You deduced this by looking into my eyes?’

‘Yes. Jewel eyes are rare.’

‘Considering the books I’ve read in the archives, I’d say that’s the most likely guess.’

So it was that, depending on his bloodline, Iros had a greater capacity for power and a greater need for it.

‘So if I eat all the gems, will my strength fill up?’

‘It will also replenish my lifespan. I should be able to live another twenty years at the most.’

‘And if I consume more energy and vitality?’

‘You’ll live longer and healthier.’

‘The problem is, how do you collect it?’ …….

Succubus and incubus, or in other words, mongma, enter dreams and suck the energy and life force out of people.

It becomes their nourishment and source of power.

But we still don’t know what kind of demon Iros is, or what he can do with his half-human, half-demon abilities.

‘You cannot suddenly become a half-demon and enter and leave dreams like a half-demon. The only way to do that is to gather your energy and vitality directly from the real world…….’

‘Gather?’

‘Because I have divine powers, and if you go and do that to another woman, I’ll kill you.’

My expression became very strange.

Of course, up until now, I hadn’t been jealous because Iros had only looked at me and whispered that he liked me.

But now that I thought he might have to be with another woman, I felt like I could punch someone to make myself feel better.

‘Do I tend to be possessive and exclusive?’

‘Do you feel possessive of me, do you want to monopolize me?’

‘Stop laughing and get serious. I’m serious.’

Now that I knew for sure that Iros would not die because of me, I stopped crying and relaxed enough to think of other things.

‘Is there anything I can do to liven things up?’

I was thinking hard and seriously to myself when Iros chuckled softly. I caught the subtle chuckle without missing it.

‘You know, a way?’

‘Yes. I realized it instinctively after I first changed my eyes and ate the gem.’

‘Instinctively?’

‘Yes. Earlier, when Sir Leo was in danger, you turned into a shadow and traveled in an instant, like a half-man-half-horse.’

‘Ah, yes.’

And just like that, Iros vanished before my eyes and reappeared in Leo’s presence.

Iros’s fall was so shocking that I’d forgotten about it, but when I thought about it again, it was amazing.

‘That’s when I subconsciously disintegrated my body into tiny darkness and used the shadows to move around, and I realized it instinctively, just like that.’

‘What is it, tell me quickly.’

‘I think I can do anything a mongrel can do.’

‘That means, you can’t possibly……!’

Iros nodded as my eyes widened in surprise.

‘I guess my mother must have been a succubus. They say that half-humans naturally realize their abilities when they reach a certain age, and I guess that’s true.’

‘So that means you can enter dreams?’

‘In dreams, they’re less susceptible to divine powers.’

‘So I can do it in a dream?’

‘Yes. I’m the son of a succubus, and I’m not exactly a holy man.’

Wow. Iros’s eyes burned brightly. I had only meant to tease him, but he had taken it to heart.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t tease him next time.

Either way, Iros looked pretty freaked out. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have to live in fear of death anymore.

Iros ate the gems in his pocket as if they were candy, popping them all into his mouth at the end.

His eyes turned red as he inspected every inch of his body.

I tensed and asked cautiously.

‘What do you think? Your eyes have changed again. Are you sick?’

‘Not at all, I’m as energized as ever. I can change my eyes at will, just like I can breathe, so don’t worry.’

Iros laughed softly as if trying to reassure me.

But it was…….

I blushed, avoiding Iros’s gaze.

‘You’re a succubus half-breed, by a long shot.’

‘What?’

Iros asked, tilting his head. He didn’t seem to know, and neither the soft smile he’d just given me nor the tilt of his head –
‘May the Sea of Japan and Mount Paektu dry up and wear out…….

Originally, Iros was ecstatic when he laughed at a beautiful woman and when he cried on the bed. He was more neat, but he had a fox-like side.

But now, it’s as if I’ve written on my face and body that I’m a fox.

Those shining red eyes made Iros, who usually looked like a well-spoken and well-groomed schoolboy, look like he was going somewhere and there was a bewitching man in front of him.

What is it about him that makes him look like he’s going to unbutton his shirt and start flirting with her at any moment?

‘A saint?’

‘Donghae and Baekdu Mountain.’

‘Seafood?’

‘No. It’s nothing. But what about this color? I can’t afford it.’

‘What?’

‘Yeah. Come with me.’

I led Iros to the mirror and pressed him firmly against it.

Iros looked at himself in the mirror opened his mouth in a daze and blinked like someone who had forgotten what to say.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

I can’t believe you’re asking me that.

It’s hard enough keeping my wits about me for fear I’ll fall for you.

What if you explode with beauty like this? Hallelujah, hurrah!