"I have my reasons for coming to see you," Daeli said calmly. "As for this matter, thank you."
She didn’t blame Diana for killing Elvire and Sean.
She knew the whole story. The three of them, Sean included, had to die. A blade straight through the heart was the least painful way to go.
The thanks was for Diana, who had deliberately shown herself earlier to make Daeli come to the Golden Coast.
First, she had seen Sean on the Golden Coast.
Then, she had seen the Undead Army here.
If Diana hadn’t taken advantage of Sean’s refusal to listen to advice and orchestrated tonight’s events, Daeli would have never known that Cadola Royal City was a city of the dead.
The Potter Family had hidden their secrets deep.
Austinburg State was right next to the Medanzo Flame Territory.
The intention behind secretly assembling an Undead Legion in such a location was self-evident.
And since the Potter Family worked for the Church Court, their attitude was a reflection of the Church Court’s own.
Even after several hundred years, the Church Court was still on guard against the Blazing Angel Family.
Diana gently swirled her wine glass. "If you came just to thank me... then a single ’thank you’ isn’t enough."
Back when the Church Court ordered the siege on the Hall of Truth, if she hadn’t found an excuse to trick Daeli away, the Blazing Angel Family would likely have ceased to exist.
This was actually a very simple matter. Diana didn’t believe Daeli couldn’t see the stakes involved. But Daeli still hated her—a hatred that had lasted for centuries. If a certain man hadn’t suddenly been "resurrected," Daeli might still be unwilling to speak to her to this day.
"You’d do best not to mention that," Daeli said, her voice laced with killing intent. "Not everyone is as cold-blooded as you."
"Cold-blooded?"
Diana shook her head. "No. It’s called being rational."
Daeli sneered, "Do you know why I still hate you, even though you were saving my life?"
"Because not everyone puts their own life first."
"There are some things in this world more important than life."
"You tricked me away when he needed me most. That wasn’t a kindness, Olivia... That’s a grudge!"
Daeli would have rather died with Sean than be separated from him and live a life of regret and remorse.
"Is that so?" Diana retorted. "Then why didn’t you stop me when I killed your sister just now?"
"..." Daeli was momentarily speechless.
"I’ll say it for you," Diana said. "It’s because you knew I was saving her—and saving your Blazing Angel Family."
"Ultimately, you and I are the same kind of person, whether you admit it or not."
Perhaps you weren’t before, but you are now.
The Daeli of today carried the weight of the entire Blazing Angel Family. The burden on her shoulders no longer allowed her to act on emotion; otherwise, it wouldn’t just be her and Elvire who died.
"Don’t lump me in with you," Daeli said, looking her in the eye. "At least I wouldn’t be so heartless as to treat Elise like an enemy."
It was true that she had deliberately left Elise for Diana to handle, but she hadn’t expected Diana to be so ruthless.
The Soul-Seeking Spell.
Two consecutive Soul-Seeking Spells, at that.
The slightest misstep, and it really could have killed Elise.
If anything had happened to Elise because of this, what would Sean do?
Diana had shown no regard for Sean’s feelings whatsoever.
"She herself said she was willing to die for Sean," Diana said. "I was merely obliging her."
On the other hand, she also wanted to see just how much this woman, Elise, truly loved Sean.
If Elise had shown even a shred of hesitation while taking the hit, Diana wouldn’t have stopped at two strikes.
"That’s the difference between you and me," Daeli scoffed. "You always think you’re doing what’s best for him, helping him see the people around him for who they really are. You always use your self-righteous logic to measure a person’s feelings, but feelings themselves are irrational. Aren’t you afraid Sean will hate you for it?"
"He won’t."
Diana didn’t pour a drink for Daeli. She lifted her own glass, took a sip, and a complex emotion surfaced in her eyes as she said softly, "And if he were to..."
"...that might not be a bad thing either."
Daeli: "?"
She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
"It’s nothing. It has nothing to do with you."
Diana shook her head, set down her glass, and said, "Let’s move on to another matter."
"My father is coming out of seclusion. Your Blazing Angel Family... would be wise to prepare."
Daeli gave a cold laugh. "Does that mean I can kidnap you to threaten the Pope?"
"You can," Diana nodded, then added, "Assuming you can defeat me."
Daeli read between the lines, her voice growing cold. "So you intend to be my enemy?"
"You may have misunderstood something, Miss Daeli," Diana said mockingly. "We were never friends to begin with."
"When we researched the Reshaping Technique together, it was only because you and I shared the same goal."
"We both wanted to wait for him to come back."
"Now he’s back, so things are just as they were."
In other words, she wouldn’t go easy on Daeli, nor would she indulge Elvire, and she certainly wouldn’t care about Elise.
She was the lofty Church Saintess. She would handle everything her own way, and no one could stop her.
Not even Sean.
"You’ll regret this," Daeli said, looking directly into her eyes.
"Let me," Diana chuckled. "I have plenty of regrets. What’s one more?"
Like the Reshaping Technique.
Like the Path of Divinity.
Like how she once loved her father very much.
"Let’s hope you can still smile the next time you see Sean."
There was nothing more for her and Diana to discuss. Daeli left that one last sentence hanging in the air and departed from the hotel.
Diana was left alone, sitting on the sofa where Sean had sat, drinking her wine one sip at a time.