Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 26

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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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#26.

“What the hell are you talking about, you lunatic!”
Cedric lunged forward with a crude grab for Octavia’s hair.
Then he noticed his wrists bound by crimson ribbons and laughed dismissively.
“Are you joking? No matter what equipment a non-ability user wears, there’s no way you can defeat a true ability user….”
Cedric, speaking with such arrogance, suddenly fell silent in confusion.
Crackling electricity erupted from the ring on his wrist—his exclusive equipment inherited from his maternal family’s lightning ability—yet nothing happened.
“What?”
Cedric’s face went pale as he watched a blue light spiral and rotate along the ribbon binding his wrists.
It was different from the standard ability-suppressing rope used to restrain criminals.
Octavia kindly explained.
“I stole the ability-suppressing rope from Uncle’s Laboratory and gave it a pretty little modification. Instead of blocking the source directly like before, it works by consuming magical power and trapping the energy inside.”
“What are you saying? How is that even possible for a non-ability user!”
“When the essence of the greatest arcane engineer and the knowledge of advanced civilization converge.”
Octavia pressed an ordinary pistol against Cedric’s head, smiling pleasantly.
“Let’s go, you utility pole. You have quite a lot to experience.”
That smile bordered on the madness of a deranged scientist.
She was exhilarated at the prospect of honing her knowledge through various experiments and studies, crafting an array of weapons and tools.

“Why don’t you let me use you this time?”

I needed to prepare means to protect myself before meeting Ginesa Royal, who would be confined in the Princess’s Handsome Men Facility later.
Similarly, I had to prepare for the Chaos Gate—a catastrophe I would later be falsely blamed for causing.
“You psychopath! What are you planning to do to me! Is anyone there?!”
Octavia dragged Cedric by the hair as he wailed and clawed at the carpet like a cat, heading toward Uncle’s Laboratory.
Her whistling echoed through the quiet corridor.

***

The Temple of Order.
Through the car window, I gazed upon the grand and imposing temple building that seemed to demand flowery descriptions of its majesty.
I had been summoned to investigate the truth behind the incident with May and the Chaos Commander, and to determine credit allocation.
In the original story, only Chloe was called, but this time ‘Chloe too’ had received the summons.
‘As I expected. The protagonist’s blessing truly is….’
“Get out.”
Samuel, my eldest brother who had somehow ended up riding in the car with me, turned to me and spoke coldly.
Vittore, my second brother sitting beside me, stared straight ahead with an expressionless face.

Favorability increased [+25]

Favorability increased [+25]

My brothers were delighted at the honor of escorting me.
As it happened, they had also been summoned regarding Prince Jeriel’s shadow possession affliction, so accompanying me was convenient.
Of course, I didn’t mention that I was going to receive praise.
I glanced at Lothear sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Get out, Lothear.”
“Why should I?”
He pushed his glasses up with a reluctant expression, clearly unwilling to follow my lead.
I gestured with my chin for him to hurry down.
“As my personal attendant secretary, you need to come along. Make it look impressive.”
He exited first and opened the car door for me, then asked.
“You mean the role of a well-groomed secretary carrying the young lady’s bag?”
“Isn’t that far more dignified than being a driver?”
“Yes. I’m honored.”
The well-groomed secretary accepted my bag and answered without a shred of enthusiasm.
After my brothers’ car departed for the Main Hall, I encountered Countess Hertan on my way to the Temple Council Chamber.
“Good day.”
She dismissed my greeting lightly and continued her conversation with the women beside her, apparently discussing how she hadn’t seen Prince Jeriel in some time.
“For someone without abilities, what exactly has she done to be poking her nose around?”
“She’s been acting as though throwing herself in front of the Princess was some great feat.”
Their conversation naturally shifted into gossip about me.

Unfavorability increased [+30]

Thank you for the kind words.
“My goodness. What on earth is that?”
Countess Hertan’s startled voice rang out as she caught sight of something.
In the distance, a child came rushing toward us, draped in white cloth like a tiny ghost.
Crash!
Unable to see where she was going, she collided directly with Countess Hertan.
“What sort of household lets their child run about like a wild colt in this sacred place? Apologize to the Countess at once!”
As a noblewoman helped the fallen Countess to her feet and scolded the child, the small figure in white cloth bowed her head.
“Sorry.”
Her voice carried exhaustion rather than contrition.
Yet there was something familiar about that voice….
“Remove the cloth and apologize properly! And speaking in such a casual manner—do you wish to face severe punishment?”
The noblewoman who had been roughly grabbing at the cloth suddenly recoiled in horror, releasing her grip.
“What is this? How grotesque!”
Upon seeing the child’s hand, darkened as though charred, she hastily withdrew a handkerchief and scrubbed her own hands frantically.
“Is it contagious? She must be one of the sick who’ve come to the Temple seeking healing.”
“Then she should go to a Priest immediately!”
The other noblewomen shuddered as though witnessing filth and disease.
They had apparently mistaken her for one of the afflicted who came to the Temple seeking a cure.
The child hid her hand and lowered her head, and even beneath the cloth, her dejection and wounded spirit were evident.
I walked past the noblewomen with an air of dignity and approached the child.
“Do not take their words to heart. Those people are actually the patients here. They suffer from an affliction that makes everything appear repugnant to them. A sort of mental illness, you might say.”
The child did not respond, keeping her head bowed. Lothear, who had been standing quietly nearby, added his own words.
“There was just a report that patients escaped from the Ward. It seems these must be them.”
Where on earth had that report come from?
Though I paid little mind to adults, I had always been weak to animals and children, and seeing the dejected child stirred my compassion.
Then I noticed a finger protruding slightly from beneath the cloth and realized something.
‘Shadow Blight?’
Skin darkened as though burning away—that was a symptom of Shadow Blight.
“How dare you speak such nonsense to Countess Hertan, you commoner?”
The noblewoman, maintaining her distance, raised her voice and pointed at the child accusingly.
“You will stand there quietly until the guards arrive. Your parents, who failed to control you properly, deserve punishment as well!”
At the word “parents,” the child flinched, the white cloth fluttering as she stumbled backward, attempting to flee before losing her footing entirely.
Lothear, moving with quick reflexes, threw my bag from his hand to cushion her fall, sparing her head from injury.
“It’s all right. They’re merely delusional patients causing a disturbance. Do not be frightened.”
I was gently comforting and helping the child to her feet when it happened.
Shhhhh….
The sound of wind rustling through the garden’s trees and the cries of birds taking flight in flocks seemed ominous.
“Eek!”
A rat that appeared from nowhere sent the noblewomen shrieking in alarm.
But there wasn’t just one.
“Squeak squeak!”
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
Everyone except Lothear and me turned pale as a torrent of rats surged forward like a dark river.
“Countess, what’s happening—kyaaah!”
The guard who had just appeared at the summons—a man with a menacing expression and imposing build—shrieked upon seeing the swarm of rats.
“How can you scream like that when you’re supposed to protect us! Hurry and burn them or do something—drive them away!”
“Using abilities inside the Temple of Order requires permission… aaaah!”
The Countess and the noblewomen fled in panic as rats crawled up their bodies.
Seizing the opportunity, I scooped up the child, who immediately curled into a tight ball to avoid touching me as much as possible. He seemed concerned about his illness.
I watched the rats pass by in single file, their tails linked like a train, and they looked like fluffy round cotton balls rolling along.
“Those aren’t mice—they’re moles! How adorable.”
Then I realized the moles were moving with orderly precision toward their destination as though following commands, and I lifted my head.
“Why do they keep clinging like this!”
The moles were crawling up the Countess’s and noblewomen’s bodies.
‘If this is a subjugation ability… Prince Jeriel?’
I had dismissed it as impossible that the darkening of the body was a symptom of shadow corruption.
The child who had attended May’s birthday banquet wearing a cat mask must have been Prince Jeriel after all.
“Lady.”
The child, who had been resting quietly wrapped in white cloth, finally spoke.
“If you take me and escape.”
The child continued in a calm, commanding tone.
“I suppose I’ll have no choice but to marry you.”
…?
Was he trying to shackle me in exchange for saving him?
I had no intention of marrying a young prince, but it seemed I needed to leave this place immediately.
“Lothear, I’m counting on you to handle things here.”
Lothear, who had been staring intently at me, nodded.
“Yes.”
My capable secretary Lothear, who understood even vague instructions, sighed as he looked at the adorable little mole that had climbed onto his shoulder.
I began running while holding the little prince (confirmed) in my arms. The tide of moles parted like the Red Sea, clearing a path.

“Ugh, this is exhausting….”
Intellectual pursuits were manageable enough, but physical exertion was entirely outside my wheelhouse.
Upon reaching the secluded Garden, I steadied my breathing and carefully set the Prince down.
In truth, those who dared show such disrespect to the Prince ought to be the ones fleeing, yet for a child unwilling to reveal himself, the entire ordeal must have been unbearably taxing.
“Prince Jeriel, where shall I take you?”
“How did you know?”
The child whose identity had been exposed clutched the cloth wrapped around his face, utterly at a loss.
Then his small shoulders sagged in defeat.
“I have nowhere to return to.”
He followed this with a sniffle before continuing.
“That’s an order—take me far, far away. I don’t want healing or ceremonies.”
So he had fled before the afternoon ceremony.
The Prince’s voice grew quieter, laden with desperate pleading.
If I took him with me, I would surely be accused of kidnapping him, of infecting him with Shadow Consumption Syndrome.
I bit my lip, then released it with a sigh.
“Your Highness, you must receive treatment to prevent further suffering. Your mother, the Crown Princess, would be devastated.”
I had no desire to speak coldly now, regardless of what the Favorability System demanded.
“But nothing ever improves. And no one grieves for me anyway.”
His voice carried the familiar weight of resignation.
“I know I’m going to die anyway. If that’s the case, I’d rather stop hurting.”
The child hidden beneath the white cloth finally wept, dark tears seeping through the fabric.
Perhaps it was the memory of the children I had seen in that facility in my previous life, but my heart ached with a dull, throbbing pain.
In the original story, despite the tireless efforts poured forth by the Kingdom’s Holy Ability Users, including Chloe, the young Prince ultimately perished.
This would become the stepping stone upon which Chloe, the Protagonist, would expel Saint Uriana and solidify her own position.
I carefully embraced Prince Jeriel and patted his back gently.
“Your Highness will live a long, long life. I will make certain of it.”
As the villain who would obstruct the Protagonist’s path.

Favorability increased [+130]

In a world where far more people despise me, this much affection means nothing.
Rustle.
Then, someone emerged from the shadows.

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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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