Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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#1.

***

The Royal Palace Grand Ballroom was alive with the grandeur of an opulent soirée.
The moment the nobility caught sight of a certain woman, they raised their fans to their lips.
It was the signal of predators who had found their prey for gossip.
“Look, a nouveau riche commoner with nothing but money has graced us with her presence. We haven’t seen her in ages.”
“Is it any wonder they call her the Viper Lady? A beautiful face concealing the cruel tongue and venom of a serpent.”
Amid the nobles’ hushed murmurs, a melodious voice cut through like a discordant note.
“Are you speaking ill of me?”
The woman who posed the question was none other than Octavia Ludovisi, the very subject of their ridicule.
Yet she appeared as though she had heard good news and come rushing over in delight, not the target of their scorn.
“…!”
The nobles fell silent in shock, and she smiled sweetly at their stunned faces.
“Would you care to continue?”
Her tone was gracious, yet it carried the weight of a threat.
Octavia Ludovisi.
The youngest daughter of the Ludovisi Family, who had amassed vast wealth through magical engineering enterprises.
Her pale platinum hair and lilac-petal eyes, combined with her refined beauty, seemed far removed from the cold epithet of viper.
Everyone would think so—until they experienced her firsthand.
“How dare you interject into a conversation uninvited? Do you not know who I am?”
One particularly proud nobleman stepped forward, finding it beneath his dignity to yield to a mere commoner.
At this, Octavia’s expression hardened.
“And who are you? Speak only what is necessary for my consideration.”
The nobleman snapped his fan shut, his face flushed with anger.
“How dare you address me so casually? A rootless creature like you could never comprehend my station. Even if fortune blessed you with wealth, you remain the spawn of an alchemist house once scorned. Moreover, you are powerless—a blemish upon the Ludovisi name, are you not?”
“Because those are facts, they inflict no wound upon me. Do you lack even a single false accusation, sufficiently inflammatory and cruel enough to rob me of sleep?”
Faced with her unwavering composure as she dissected his insults with surgical precision, the nobleman’s expression turned bewildered.
Octavia continued in her measured tone.
“Your efforts amount to nothing more than the dialogue of a minor character humiliated in the opening act of a novel. Truly disappointing.”
“What in the world are you babbling about?”
The champagne flute trembled in the nobleman’s hand as though he might hurl its contents at this insolent commoner, yet nothing came of it.
Though she bore the station of a commoner, the Ludovisi Family’s connections in finance and politics made them untouchable.
Another voice rose from the crowd, dripping with mockery.
“Ha, one might think you were desperate to be insulted.”
At this, Octavia lifted her downcast gaze and assumed a grave expression.
“Is that so?”
The atmosphere around her froze as though ice water had been poured over the gathering.
“Step aside, you inefficient human resources.”
Octavia Ludovisi rose from her seat with a visibly disappointed expression. The nobles watching her departing figure wore looks of bewilderment.
“Was she rejected by Prince Dominic? Has she lost her mind?”
After being dumped by the prince just before their engagement was finalized, the “villainess Octavia Ludovski” who had wreaked havoc on everyone had grown peculiarly strange lately.
“She’s become like a complete psychopath. The way she only shows up in places full of people who despise her is proof enough.”
Their perception wasn’t without reason. The consciousness now inhabiting Octavia’s body belonged to someone entirely different.

***

Yes, that’s me. The villainess Octavia, despised by everyone.
‘Why of all places did I have to transmigrate into Ropan? I’d read so many more academic papers.’
In 2040, the modern era, I had died a withered existence as the chief researcher at a military research institute. When I opened my eyes, I found myself inexplicably in Ropan.
This world was the setting of one of the novels I’d read as my only hobby—”The Lark in the Cage.”
An industrialized world developed through supernatural abilities and magical engineering, a romance where the heroine meets the male lead and ascends to become a true saint.
‘And my role is the typical villainess who gets her neck and arms severed before meeting a miserable end.’
I would have preferred transmigrating into an academic paper, but the saving grace was that Octavia was essentially a second-generation chaebol heiress in modern terms.
‘Still, spreading modern knowledge to these primitive humans or building influence through wealth would be suicide.’

Current Total Favorability: [2,200]

Floating text, like experience points for leveling up.

When the total favorability reaches 0, you immediately lose your villainess status and die.

For this reason, I live the life of an active scoundrel—committing misdeeds while ensuring I never commit crimes serious enough that money cannot resolve.
“That commoner completely ruined Baron Gaspar’s family business, didn’t she?”
“Recently, she even committed arson on the mansion of a viscount who picked a fight with her.”

Favorability Increase [+10]

In short, it was a system for accumulating disdain.
The evaluation criteria seemed to be calculated based on social reputation and the target’s negative emotions.
For example, throwing wine on someone yielded +10 points, insulting a bald man gave +15—that sort of thing.
The system would notify me of direct contempt, but I’d sometimes see the points rise without my knowledge, suggesting that even hidden dislike counted toward the total.
‘This is far easier than trying to earn someone’s affection.’
I cast a subtle glance at the golden-haired man with crimson eyes standing at a distance.
‘Dominic Blake, the Second Prince.’
The male lead whom the villainess Octavia had desperately sought to win, and he bore a striking resemblance to the protagonist of Ropan.
‘She allied with the one called Chaos, committed countless crimes, triggered national catastrophes—all to possess that man—and was executed for it? Is that truly the extent of his worth?’
It seemed the original Octavia’s standards had been remarkably low.
The moment Prince Dominic turned his head and our eyes met, he swiftly averted his gaze with visible displeasure.

Disdain Increased [+20]

The problem was that such small increments were woefully insufficient.
Even if I meticulously accumulated disdain points, a single accidental act of kindness or moment of gaining affection would erase them.
In other words, I was a body destined to die if loved.
Because of this, maintaining normal relationships—not just with others, but even with family—was impossible.
‘Obsessing over the male lead to accumulate disdain hardly appeals to me. My taste runs toward black hair and military uniforms… Yes, that one.’
Just then, I spotted a strikingly handsome man with jet-black hair and dark eyes entering the banquet hall in a naval uniform.
Simultaneously, the noise in the hall subsided.
The crowd’s entranced gazes followed the tall, elegant figure.
“We are honored to receive Admiral Kelsedny Decart, Master of the Seas Where Sunlight Shines.”
That aloof, peerless beauty who merely nodded in response to their reverence was Admiral Kelsedny Decart.
He was worth explaining at length.
An undefeated naval hero and the Second in Line for succession to the Lucifer Empire that rules this Acedia Kingdom.
The Decart Imperial Family, descendants of the Apostles, were beings of extraordinary caliber—sovereigns of all espers and called the Omnipotent.
“They say in the last naval battle, he annihilated every warship with attacks several times faster than light?”
Someone’s voice praising the Admiral reached my ears.
‘Several times faster than light? So if you hit someone today, they’d feel it yesterday?’
Beyond the dazzling background of absolute power that even scientists couldn’t comprehend, what stood out most was undeniably his exquisite appearance.
My gaze was drawn to that devastatingly handsome face, draped in an air of ennui.
The sharply defined eyes, the lips closed with an effortless upward curve at the corners, the chiseled jawline and refined nose—all were nothing short of artistic.
Those long, graceful eyes and captivating aura emanated an aloofness that rarely bestowed attention on others.
‘Why wasn’t he the protagonist?’
In that moment of contemplation, my eyes met those of the Admiral passing before me.
Within those dark irises, an enigmatic golden gleam drifted like flakes of gold. Like the black gemstone called ‘darkness that has swallowed gold’—like Kelsedny himself.
I placed a hand over my heart and offered a proper bow.
“Your….”
Before I could even offer a greeting about the morning light, he passed by me with utter indifference.
He didn’t even nod his head the way he did for others.
For a moment, I thought I glimpsed contempt in his gaze.
‘So my type of man dislikes me?’
How delightful. I’ll add him to my collection of men I dislike.
I walked toward Admiral Kelsedny with elegant strides.
I was about to begin my genuine campaign of disdain.
“Oops.”
My body lost its balance as I passed beside him, tilting deliberately. It was an entirely intentional move.
Contrary to my plan to merely brush against his sleeve, a hand caught my arm to prevent me from falling.
Admiral Kelsedny held a champagne glass in one hand while his other gripped my arm, yet his gaze remained fixed elsewhere.
‘Didn’t he realize it was me?’
I’d always known he wasn’t the type to be kind to others.
“My heel twisted… Thank you for helping me, Admiral. This is our first meeting. I’m…”
His indifferent eyes settled on my face.
Then came his voice, dripping with ennui.
“Disappear.”
A brief silence fell.
I stood staring into empty space, my eyes wide with shock.
‘A glitch?’

Dislike increased [+1,000]

This was excellent news.
I’d found a dislike-generating machine operating on an entirely different scale—an authority on extending one’s lifespan.
Realizing I’d found a man I absolutely must not let slip away, my expression filled with elation.
“….”
He looked at me as though I were a pervert, but I didn’t mind in the slightest.
“Ah, I’m truly grateful beyond words…”
True, Admiral Kelsedny was a villain in the original work, a man who contributed to the execution of the wicked Octavia.
‘Trivial.’
Even if he dislikes me somewhat, as long as I don’t commit any capital crimes, it should be fine.
In other words, he’s a ‘handsome man in uniform’ with an extremely low probability of ever loving me.
I’ll become that ‘annoying, irritating presence that keeps appearing around him for some reason’ and exploit his disdain for my benefit.
I laughed like an obsessive, arrogant male lead.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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