Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 39

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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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#39.

From my investigation of Octavia thus far, she possessed a peculiar indifference to her reputation while cultivating numerous enemies, clinging to those who harbored enmity with obsessive tenacity.
Her deliberate existence within Uncle’s Mansion—whether eating humble pie or not—followed the same pattern.
Yet she was no inherent villain.
She possessed such remarkable restraint that she committed only petty misdeeds solvable by money rather than imprisonment, and she had revealed an unexpected facet by rescuing young Prince Jeriel.
Observing her experience something akin to terror at receiving people’s gratitude, I became certain.
That affection and love rendered her helpless.
‘Perhaps human hatred serves as her engine.’
It might explain why Arseno showed interest in her.
Even without abilities, she possessed infinite potential as one of the Knowledge Lineage.
It seemed I was precisely the entity most efficiently supplying her with contempt.
Coincidentally, she served the same function for me.
As someone requiring only the body, not emotion.
‘Too defective to dominate, yet I harbor no desire to possess.’
I had squandered considerable time before acknowledging that the impulse I barely restrained upon seeing Octavia each time was merely male desire.
Now I understood it belonged to no part of myself—merely a byproduct of chaos.
I spoke.
“Earlier, you seemed to reject contact from another personality.”
“Keldi? That’s right.”
My gaze, fixed upon her lavender eyes, descended with my breath.
Was the impulse to touch the platinum hair cascading along her neckline also desire?
Even if it were a longing I experienced for the first time in my life, wouldn’t satisfying it merely dispel this trivial instinct?
“Will you reject me now as well?”
“No.”
The moment I observed Octavia slowly lower her eyes and curve her lips, my unconscious mind applied the brakes once more.
‘This is not mere desire for release and conclusion.’
Rather, it approached an yearning to fill this hunger to its absolute limit.
Not erasure, but noble deprivation.
‘I’m losing my mind.’
What exactly was she demanding of me? I grasped my front hair, then slowly released it.
Exclusivity.
Having finally discovered a plausible principle, I opened my mouth.
“I understand that lovers constitute a mutual exclusivity contract. If you find that distasteful, I have prepared less humane alternatives.”
“How intriguing.”
Octavia’s eyes widened.
Wasn’t this the refined expression for “obsessive confinement” that appeared in degradation narratives?
For someone of her curious nature, it was an excessively stimulating proposition, though confinement seemed rather suffocating.
“In any case, I understand. The Admiral with a damaged ability core desires freedom at all times, yet only refined physical contact—nothing base, correct?”
‘The original Octavia would have borrowed his power in exchange. Unable to receive an apostle’s strength without becoming a vassal, she must have allied with the Chaos Forces.’
She was intoxicated with the satisfaction of having uncovered the transaction that had transpired between the original Octavia and the Admiral.
“I shall become your personal repair specialist, sir.”
“Repair specialist?”
“A maintenance technician. Since it falls within the realm of repair rather than purification.”
“There is no need for you to volunteer for such a role.”
He exhaled a sigh, adjusting his loosened tie as he spoke.
“All that is required is that you do not vanish silently from my side or attempt to flee. Should such an occurrence transpire, you will have the opportunity to personally experience the inhumane methods I mentioned earlier.”
His quiet voice carried a chilling warning.
Octavia’s gaze remained fixed upon his still-crooked tie.
It was the moment when her perfect principles crumbled, giving way to a peculiar order shared between them alone.

***

Octavia slipped out of the Annex dressed as a maidservant, her hair pinned up to avoid drawing attention.
It would be troublesome to encounter the Favorable Bombing Squadron.

“Will you take me home?”
“That is not necessary.”

Though she could not fathom why she had acquiesced, the Admiral dismissed her with the excuse of pressing matters, practically ushering her out.
Octavia approached the automobile whose tire she had previously punctured.
She had attempted to make the car explode spectacularly, but had failed.
“It was repaired quickly.”
The Admiral possessed such a magnificent ability as teleportation—why did he bother keeping a car? Though it was said that all men, regardless of age, were fond of anything that moved.
She had just opened the car door, taken her seat, and begun extracting wires from the ignition box to reconnect them when—
“What are you doing?”
A Holy Knight, believing the maidservant was stealing the Admiral’s vehicle, suddenly wrenched open the car door.
It was Ewain, the Holy Knight commander under Chloe’s command.
Octavia showed no sign of alarm, offering a radiant smile instead.
“Good evening.”
“You are….”
Ewain, who had been gazing at her beautiful smile with a dazed expression, immediately furrowed his brow.
“Lady Octavia—why are you stealing the Admiral’s vehicle?”
“Life has become terribly dull. I received permission.”
Since she had given herself permission, it was not technically a lie.
“How do you explain the disguise as a maidservant?”
“It is the Admiral’s preference. Please do not interfere with our small indulgences.”
Ewain covered his mouth, his expression growing deeply displeased.
“Such irreverence is unthinkable.”
Beyond the bewildered Ewain, a clamorous sound echoed forth.
Those dressed in black were leading people in priestly garments along the corridor.
From the black hooded cloaks embroidered with silver thread, they appeared to be enforcers from the Black Priest Order, the inspection agency, escorting the priests away.
“Oh, Saint Uriana….”
The priests walked with clasped hands, tears streaming down their faces.
“What’s happening?”
In response to Octavia’s question, Ewain turned back and answered.
“These are priests affiliated with Saint Uriana, classified as impure. They will spend the rest of their lives in service. The younger priests will be sent to the Poorhouse, while the others will go to the Monastery of Night.”
Society was particularly harsh toward excommunicated priests because of an ancient adage that when a priest falls into corruption, they become a Mage and practice dark magic.
Providing a place for the abandoned to live was said to be the Temple’s final act of mercy.
“What about Saint Uriana?”
“She confessed her sins and was excommunicated. Because of that, her affiliated priests were spared from heresy trials.”
“I see.”
Octavia sighed.
So the upper echelon had pressured the Saint, even though I had maintained her status by applying the classified enhancement technology.
The Temple had likely kept Uriana’s condition secret to preserve its authority as “the only religious order branch possessing a Saint.”
But to draw the blade like this….
“Could it be that a new Saint candidate has been decided?”
“I’m not sure why I keep answering you, but based on the abilities displayed so far, Lady Chloe Arsenes is among the leading candidates.”
The criteria for achieving sainthood were overwhelming divine power and renown. Absolute strength was the world’s logic for divine revelation.
“But she didn’t particularly distinguish herself during the ceremony, did she?”
“It was a temporary phenomenon that occurred during the process of accepting overwhelming power. It’s said that stabilizing the divine essence will take time.”
The Protagonist’s mistakes were always smoothed over by those around her with convenient excuses.
“I heard that when I disappeared into the Shadow with Prince Jeriel, the Saint’s holy relic emitted light.”
“That was the result of the Saint Man and the Admiral stepping in. Otherwise, you would have been in danger too.”
Ewain added with a sympathetic expression.
“Moreover, in the last measurement, Saint Uriana’s divine power came back at Grade 5.”
So they measured it excluding the holy relic during the grading examination.
Thanks to Ewain’s willingness to explain, I could discern that Prince Dominic had simply covered up the truth through the intervention of the strongest.

In the end, Chloe had become nothing more than a bargaining chip between the Holy Temple Society and the Prince.
The Holy Temple Society would preserve its honor as the sole branch possessing a Saint, while Prince Dominic would elevate Chloe’s status—a mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties.
‘Well, it’s not my concern if she struggles in a position beyond her station. That’s her burden to bear.’
The Admiral and Saint of Mercury Matteo surely understood Chloe’s true capabilities.
However, unless the matter posed a significant threat to the Empire itself, they refrained from intervening without the independent branch’s request.
It resembled how major corporations rarely meddle in their subsidiaries’ affairs.
From the Saint of Mercury’s perspective, the confidential enhancement technology held greater importance anyway.
‘Then what of Saint Uriana…?’
According to the original narrative, the disgraced villain Saint would be bound in the Square for public trial and humiliation before being exiled to a monastery.
But in reality, she would be cast into the hands of her patrons as a tool, her body and mind rotting away in miserable servitude.
Since only a select few VVIP followers could enter, few knew the sordid secrets hidden within the Monastery of Night.
Ewain added his thoughts to Octavia, who had fallen into contemplation.
“Moreover, Saint Uriana faces charges of collusion with the Chaos Forces and the murder of your uncle. She may receive capital punishment.”
“Capital punishment instead of monastery exile? I had no idea. Thank you for the intelligence.”
So Prince Jeriel survives while the Saint dies instead?
‘How troublesome causality can be.’
Once heresy charges were leveled, public sentiment celebrating Prince Jeriel’s dramatic rescue became meaningless. No matter how powerful an individual was, they became a target for elimination.
‘I can’t afford to lose my high-performance human tool. I have far too many uses for her ahead.’
Bzzt.
As Octavia connected the wires in both hands, the engine roared to life.
“I’ll be going now. Please tell the Admiral I’m borrowing his car.”
“You mean you didn’t ask for permission?”
It was already too late.
She slammed the car door shut and vanished in a thunderous roar of the engine.
“That villain…”
Ewain muttered to himself, standing alone.
The Admiral’s taste in women seemed rather—no, decidedly peculiar.
“…Though I suppose she’s not quite a villain. Let’s call her a desperate car thief instead.”
He shook his head, recalling how Octavia had thrown herself into the shadows to save a child.

***

I returned safely to Uncle’s House and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“So, I simply cannot believe that he became entangled with such a wicked woman… Oh.”
“You saw the news?”
Now that word was spreading among the servants, one who had been cheerfully gossiping about me behind my back startled and collapsed upon seeing me.
Another servant’s face turned pale as she made excuses.
“Miss, I wasn’t cursing you! I was only listening!”
Seeing that scene made it all feel real.
I had returned to my peaceful sanctuary—a place with servants caught gossiping about me, servants trembling in fear of me, Uncle and Camilla on the verge of exasperation, and the adorable little Noel.
The two frightened servants bowed deeply at the sight of my satisfied smile and fled as if running away.
Then, someone tackled me from behind.
“Damn wench, you dare treat me, the heir of the Baron Family, like an experimental subject?”
It was my cousin, Cedric, gripping my wrist as though restraining me.
It seemed that reporting what had happened to him to Uncle had been of little use, for his face bore an expression of tremendous resentment.
“Without your arcane engineering toys, you’re utterly helpless.”
He apparently thought that if he seized my hand before I could retrieve anything, all would be well. I, who had been quietly observing him, immediately adopted a pitiful expression.
“Cedric, why are you doing this to me?”
He sneered and tightened his grip on my wrist.
“You don’t know? I’m teaching a commoner with lowborn parents to know her place. You don’t even know what your adoptive mother did in the past… Ugh.”
Cedric’s face turned ashen as he could not finish his words.
A shadow fell, and I saw the large hand of a man seizing Cedric’s throat.
His body was lifted into the air as if being uprooted.
“You bastard.”
The man with an imposing physique and a menacing voice was my eldest brother, Samuel.

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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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