Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 40

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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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#40.

Cedric was terrified of his older cousin Samuel.
When he was young, with the arrogance of a child, he had once declared, “I’m a noble, so you should speak to me respectfully”—and that was how he first got beaten.
After that, he entered a private academy and challenged Samuel again, leading a faction of his own, only to suffer a complete defeat that settled their hierarchy once and for all.
Samuel, who was physically superior regardless of status, asked Cedric a question.
“Have you been tormenting my brother like this all along?”
“No, older brother, that’s….”
Crack—!
Samuel struck Cedric’s head with brutal force, and the sound of a watermelon shattering echoed through the air.
“An apology comes before excuses.”
Cedric’s eyes rolled back from the impact of Samuel’s fist—a fist that could strike down a Chaos Entity with bare hands.
Samuel possessed an exceptional physique to begin with, and with his tempering ability specialized in physical enhancement, he was a man who had received recruitment offers from the Royal Division and the Military Department since he was fifteen.
“It’s fine if you lose an arm or a leg or two. I’ll have you fitted with a new prosthetic. It’ll look impressive, I’m sure.”
Behind Samuel, his second older brother Vittore adjusted his glasses and wore a chilling smile.
Cedric, barely regaining his senses, found himself questioning even through the bone-rattling impact.
‘These guys who never even looked for their brother before—why did they suddenly show up unannounced?’
Then he saw someone standing behind the Ludovisi brothers, and his face went deathly pale.
Richard Ludovisi stood with his arms crossed, his eyes sharply raised and gleaming with murderous intent.
“Educate him as you see fit. That bastard has no future anyway.”
Not only was entry into the Holy Knight Order finished for him, but his entire social life going forward was effectively over.
Having entrusted Cedric’s handling to the two brothers, he approached Octavia.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes?”
His voice was tender, as if speaking to a small child.
He, who never bowed his head even to nobles, lowered his posture to meet his daughter’s gaze.
Octavia lifted her head again as she watched him slowly curl the hand he had placed on his bent knee.
‘Did he come because he was worried?’
His sudden arrival, combined with the news that she had nearly died caught in a rampage, made it clear he had heard.
“I’m fine.”
Beyond the troubling level of affection, something about this felt strange.
She had even felt a twinge of envy watching the Crown Princess embrace Prince Jeriel as he returned alive.
She had thought that even in this new life, she would never receive such warmth until death.
A peaceful life with a home to return to and someone waiting for her there seemed equally impossible.
She flinched as she watched her father carefully take her hand, but she did not pull away.
“You don’t need to push yourself so hard just to earn the trust of the Royal Family and the Holy Temple Society.”
“This incident wasn’t because I was trying to fulfill your conditions. It was just an accident.”
She quickly made an excuse, noticing his guilty gaze settling on her wrist, marked with red bruises.
“I only had a minor conflict with Cedric. I’m doing well here.”
She made another excuse, sensing the atmosphere that suggested he might forcibly take her home.
“Is there a reason you need to be here?”
Vittore, who had been casually rotating the unconscious Cedric’s arm back and forth, posed the question with characteristic directness.
“It’s because….”
Just as Octavia was about to answer, a sharp voice cut through the air.
“Could you please stop dumping your problems on us and take her away? That old saying about misfortune befalling those who shelter the wicked didn’t come from nowhere.”
It was Camilla, barely restraining her fury.
“Our family is the one who’s been tormented, isn’t it? I don’t think you realize what kind of atrocities she’s committed—it’s not just mischief, it’s criminal behavior.”
Camilla began pouring out the resentment that had accumulated within her.
“Because of her, servants have fled, been dismissed, or arrested. No one wants to work at the mansion anymore. She’s committed arson twice, and two male servants plus Noel’s most beloved tutor have all gone missing.”
The Ludovisi Representative, who had aided in concealing the arson and disposing of the tutor through his secretary Lothear, let out an awkward cough.
Seeing his sheepish expression, Camilla rapidly continued.
“And she locked my brother in the research laboratory and treated him like an experimental subject! A non-ability user spouting insane nonsense about ‘hypothetical experiments in biological equipment utilization.’ Recently, she claimed she needed parts and dismantled not just Father’s automobile but household items like batteries. She destroys everything and struts around like she owns the place—what harassment could she possibly be suffering?”
Upon hearing Camilla’s revelations, the Ludovisi Representative and the two brothers turned to look at Octavia.
“I can’t even fathom how well she’s been managing.”
Vittore’s voice was astonished. After a brief silence, the Ludovisi Representative opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“She’s worked hard without sparing any means or methods. I’ll buy her a yacht.”
‘Is that something to be proud of?’
Camilla’s expression turned dumbfounded. The words “No wonder the child turned out like this” were right on the tip of her tongue.
Those who had witnessed Octavia’s brutal conduct had reached a point where they considered her acceptable as long as she didn’t commit serial murders or commit treason.
Samuel covered his mouth and lowered his head.
“To think she never stopped striving to learn even in such difficult circumstances….”
“That vicious child is the one who put us in difficult circumstances!”
Camilla burst out shouting.
Octavia, who had been regarding Camilla—who had provided such favorable testimony—with admiration, spoke.
“Recently, while planning a collaborative project with the Saint of Mercury, I needed Uncle’s research materials and equipment. I intend to focus my efforts here for the time being.”
At Octavia’s words, Vittore stroked his chin with an expression of intrigue.
“So there was a plan all along.”
Camilla, who had been observing, found herself at a loss for words, her mouth slightly agape.
It was utterly absurd—they were lavishing enthusiastic praise on something trivial, as if commending a child taking their first steps in reading.
“Shall we head to the research laboratory? I’ll show you the fruits of my efforts.”
Having accumulated considerable goodwill through the Admiral, I had now become capable of demonstrating my competence. The three handsome men nodded and began following Octavia obediently.
“Why are you using our father’s research laboratory like it’s yours?!”
Camilla protested sorrowfully from behind, but it was to no avail.
“Our youngest, interested in unethical human experimentation? I’ll recommend a good prison. Since they house violent criminals, you don’t need to worry about human rights.”
Vittore’s excited voice rang out.
In their eyes, their youngest, Octavia, was still a child. A little thing who managed so competently on her own, and even showed off something she’d crafted with her small hands to Father and her older brothers.
It was truly a heartwarming affair.

***

The Ludovisi Representative sat across from Octavia with a sofa table between them, lost in complicated thoughts.
At first, he had felt moved simply by the fact that his daughter took an interest in magical engineering.
That’s why he had planned to applaud whatever she created in the research laboratory and buy her another yacht.
That was before he learned she had constructed a “precision-guided bomb” capable of designating exact targets and detonating them using materials sourced from her surroundings.
He knew she was a talented problem-solver, but this went beyond shock—it was a revelation.
Beyond mere knowledge and creativity, it meant she understood the very essence of war down to the abyss itself.
‘If that girl had awakened her abilities, she might have engineered the worst weapon of human annihilation imaginable.’
Even now, she could retrofit the yacht she’d been gifted into a torpedo boat and obliterate some poor noble’s garden party at sea.
“Father, there’s something urgent I need to discuss with you.”
Octavia’s voice pulled him from his reverie.
Her purpose in revealing her dangerous potential to her father under the guise of seeking counsel was something else entirely.
“As you saw just now, I cannot become a magical engineer, but I can become a designer. So going forward, I’d like to receive your counsel and assistance regarding the work I’ll be undertaking.”
By revealing rather than concealing, she intended to gain both caution and trust simultaneously.
“What sort of help do you need?”
“First, help me bring Saint Uriana here. Though she’s lost some of her sanctity, given the effects of the enhanced holy artifacts, she remains the Kingdom’s greatest holy ability user without question.”
“I heard a holy ability user appeared who could be considered a candidate for sainthood.”
He was someone who, to prevent troublesome matters in various ways, merely made large donations and took little interest in religious affairs.
So he didn’t know the deeper circumstances as well as Octavia did.
“Chloe Arsenes? Not anymore. That was merely a temporary amplification through enhancement technology.”
“Enhancement technology was used on Chloe Arsenes as well?”
Saint Uriana had directly applied enhancement to the holy artifacts upon receiving the commission, but there had been no such occasion with Chloe.
Octavia held out her violet bracelet to him.
“That’s right. Before the ceremony, at the tea party, the bracelet suddenly gleamed and activated without my awareness. I suspect I was affected by the Apostle’s power. I was practically inseparable from the Admiral.”
She deliberately omitted mention of the affinity rating and equivalent exchange.
“Surely you didn’t become a servant of Kelsedny Admiral?”
“I’m not the servile type. Whether it was temporary or not, I’ve tried again and it doesn’t work anymore.”
She gazed at her father’s complicated expression, then continued with a faint smile.
“As a result, Uriana became the first saint in the Kingdom’s history to deploy a sanctuary within the Abyss and resolve shadow infestation syndrome.”
The Saint of Mercury and the Admiral’s assistance were significant, but it was she who opened the path to return.
Though affinity was consumed as the price for amplifying holy power.
Moreover, it also meant that ability users could indeed be converted into magical engineering equipment, and that it was possible to utilize affinity as a power source instead of magical power.
‘Though the system’s variables are entangled, it could serve as a trump card when the Chaos Gate appears in the future.’
A sort of ultimate technique, one might say.
“If we were to spirit her away, wouldn’t we be acquiring a saint-level holy ability user?”
Octavia presented a proposal first that would appeal to a businessman’s instincts.
If she’d demanded a secret military research facility and bombing test grounds from the start, they’d think she harbored the dreams of a terrorist.
“Mother, who fell to shadow infestation syndrome, was once a candidate for sainthood before being driven to the Monastery of Night. If you’re the father who saved such a mother, then I believe you’ll show me wisdom.”
‘Did she already know?’
The Ludovisi Representative’s face, which had kept discussion of his wife forbidden all this time, hardened rigidly.
“Anyone can place money on the board, but few are those who can move the board with money.”
In Octavia’s calm gaze, there was no trace of resentment or sorrow.
She smiled with a cool yet gentle face that held only rational insight.

“So it was you. The one who bought me with money.”

He recalled the eyes of a woman who had never hoped for tomorrow—eyes like the depths of winter.
Marcelina.
A name meaning “the dancer of March,” she had said. In those days when he was a young entrepreneur, the spring he had obtained by paying nearly his entire fortune had not lasted long.

“Is it because of the memories from that hell? The happier I become, the more afraid I grow. Afraid it will all vanish in an instant….”

His eyes darkened as he recalled his wife, tormented by the ghosts of her past.

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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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