Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 51

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

#51.

“Ethan Arces, brother of Saint Chloe, known as the ‘Miracle Consecrator.’ Evidence emerges of priest recruitment trafficking involving the criminal Uriana….
Suspicions of Saint Chloe’s involvement in harboring and concealing the criminal.”

Ethan had ultimately dragged Chloe through the mud as well.
The only saving grace was that Ethan’s accusations—that Chloe and the Prince had orchestrated everything—were dismissed as the ravings of a madman, given his demonstrated conduct thus far.
The ban on visits and contact with Ethan was almost a blessing.
As Chloe emerged from the Investigation Room and made her way back to the Main Hall, I heard voices condemning her.
“Blinded by greed, trying to sell off clergy members facing execution… Absolute filth.”
“I suppose she’ll be cleared of charges again this time? Claiming something went wrong while rescuing Prince Jeriel, making excuses to evade responsibility—isn’t that suspicious?”
“Normally, even the Night Monastery wouldn’t have accepted her, but has the Holy Temple Society’s authority really diminished so much that they’re deferring to the Prince?”
The Saints, accompanied by their priests, crossed their arms and spat out their words one by one.
No matter how many good deeds Chloe had performed, no matter how virtuously she had lived—the fatal stain of sharing blood with such a contemptible human could never be erased.
Splash—!
A junior priest carrying a bucket hurled filthy water at Chloe.
“Dian and Janes were good people! They simply served the wrong master, so why must they be treated worse than animals? They would have been better off executed!”
Tears streamed from bloodshot eyes. These were the colleagues Ethan had sold out.
“I apologize on their behalf.”
Drenched in filth, Chloe bowed her head in apology and turned toward her chamber.
Then, spotting someone standing at the building’s entrance, Chloe’s hands clenched tightly around her skirts.
“Octavia….”
Octavia, holding a lace parasol, turned with a radiant smile.
“Hello.”
“This was your doing, wasn’t it?”
Chloe confronted her directly, her conviction absolute.
She had not forgotten Octavia’s declaration that she would block her path forward.
Only she possessed the cunning to manipulate someone’s family and corner them so thoroughly.
“Is it really necessary to drag things this far just because you lost one prince? After all, you’ve ended up with a far superior man, haven’t you?”
Watching Octavia smile like an angel while harboring such ugly intentions, resentment and indignation surged within me.
“Breaking up with the Prince didn’t cause your family to collapse, nor did you lose anyone precious, so there’s no reason to conduct this revenge like… ah.”
Chloe, who had been firing words relentlessly, let out a low chuckle.
“Of course—those with privilege cannot bear to see someone inferior possess something they don’t.”
Octavia, who had been quietly observing Chloe reach her own conclusion, smiled with her eyes.
“Do you perhaps think you’re beneath me?”
“What….”
“Rather, you believe me to be the inferior one.”
Chloe felt as though a nerve had been struck.
Octavia closed her parasol and approached with delicate steps.
“Wealth, a family that spares no support. Why does such blessing fall upon such a worthless human? You must have raged against this unjust reality.”
Her violet eyes suddenly gleamed with an enigmatic light.
“That would certainly justify trampling and destroying your opponent.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
The woman who had wiped away the tears staining Chloe’s cheeks with a handkerchief spoke.
“It means you could become such a target as well, despite your parachute appointment.”
“A parachute appointment? I climbed to this position through my own abilities.”
Chloe remained unaware that she was suffering from false hope through temporary ability enhancement.
“Isn’t the false hope of harboring potential growing rather precarious?”
Those violet eyes, which seemed to pierce through to one’s very soul, sent shivers down my spine.
“Why do you think the Holy Temple Society treats you so generously? You are merely a convenient conduit between the Temple and the Prince—a miraculous substitute filling the void left by the Saint. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Octavia let the handkerchief she had used to wipe Chloe’s cheek fall lightly.
Chloe’s green eyes lingered on the fine silk handkerchief rolling across the floor. Octavia, having delivered her elegant insult, withdrew her hand and added:
“For me to bring you down, I would need to be at least on equal footing with you, wouldn’t I? Just look at how you speak to me with formal respect despite my being a commoner.”
For a fleeting moment, Chloe’s green eyes wavered.
It was the instant she realized that the opponent she had thought easy to trample was in fact a formidable adversary.

***

In the dim chamber, Chloe sat perched on the edge of her bed.

“You don’t use the Prince—you live as a tool, always trembling at the thought of being discarded.”

Though deeply infuriated, Octavia’s provocation held truth.
The immediate crisis had been resolved, but if her sanctity did not return and her reputation continued to plummet, there would be no future left.
She would have to bear the weight of collective punishment for her family’s sake indefinitely.

“Chloe, shouldn’t you help your brother as his sister?”

Baron Arses, her father, had already visited and issued threats cloaked in familial affection.

“It would be unfortunate if you had to bear the burden of your mother’s collaboration with the Chaos Faith. If that truth were revealed, even the Prince would abandon you.”

Chloe’s father possessed irrefutable evidence.
‘How am I supposed to escape this?’
The despair was enough to make her shudder.
Though she wished to erase these cursed ties from the world, there was the precedent of Uriana, who had severed her bloodline and lost her sanctity.

“You desired a position beyond your station, so now you pay the price.”

The resignation to reality—that one’s position is determined from birth—rose up again, alongside a defiant urge to prove otherwise.
I desperately wanted to demonstrate that my place was not at the bottom.

“Chloe, I’ll handle everything myself, so don’t interfere. There are those who would use you against me.”

Turning over Prince Dominic’s words in my mind, I immediately sought out Count Hertan, who had exposed my brother.
Count Hertan had purchased the Precious Metal Territory—the land the Ludovisi Family had lost to the Holy Temple—and just recently, when another had received it as a gift, the Royal Palace’s large-scale development of that land was confirmed.
Moreover, there was the Night Monastery explosion, and Marquis Winterford’s price increase on special alloys.
To anyone’s eye, it appeared the Ludovisi Family had seized the Precious Metal Territory under a false name after obtaining leverage over both Count Hertan and Marquis Winterford.

***

Sitting in the reception room of the Count’s residence, I regarded the haggard Count Hertan directly.
“I know you’re my brother’s accomplice, Count. You’re deeply involved with the Night Monastery as well. It’s only a matter of time before it all comes to light.”
The Count, whose shoulders sagged with apparent helplessness, withdrew a cigar and lit it.
“Are you asking me to return someone harmful to Saint Chloe to the Holy Knight Order? Why do you keep protecting him like this? Your family loyalty is remarkable.”
To anyone unaware of the circumstances, this would have been incomprehensible.
Moreover, the Count harbored a persistent anxiety—that he must not cross the intentions of the unidentified faction.
I shook my head.
“That’s not it. You transferred the Precious Metal Territory, which contains veins of precious metals, to another. It didn’t seem like a voluntary gift, did it?”
“Are you here to interrogate me?”
The Count asked irritably.
“No, that’s not it either.”
I spoke in a measured tone.
“People accept injustice and move on because they understand that no matter how much they struggle, they only end up hurting themselves.”
“Having experienced it yourself, Saint Chloe understands well, it seems.”
“I understand it very well. That’s why I’m suggesting that those in difficult circumstances join hands.”
I continued with my purpose, unmoved by his sarcasm. Someone’s shadow seemed to overlap with mine in that moment, but I paid it no mind.
“There’s intelligence that the Allied Nations may invade the western border of the Acedia Kingdom. To prepare for this, development is proceeding in the adjacent Precious Metal Territory.”
The Royal Court and the Holy Temple anticipated only the opening of a new Chaos Realm, judging it not a national-level catastrophe.
“Doesn’t it seem Marquis Winterford raised the prices of key raw materials knowing this? Whoever monopolizes the special alloys first gains the upper hand.”
The Count’s posture, which had previously regarded me as an incompetent woman relying solely on the Prince’s assistance, softened somewhat.
There seemed to be reason why the woman of the secret faction had recited the scenario of “Saint Chloe’s ascension to sainthood.”
‘Which means I must cooperate with Saint Chloe’s plan.’
“Can I reclaim that land for myself?”
“In the end, yes. The current owner of the Precious Metal Territory appears to be the Ludovisi Family.”
The Count’s expression grew puzzled.
Could it be that the owner of the false name had transferred the land to the Ludovisi Family?
“So, Count, you should purchase and monopolize the domestic special alloys in large quantities.”
I continued, lifting my teacup.
“If you do that, Count, you’ll become both a victim falsely accused and stripped of the land where resources are buried, and a hero who contributed to national security with specially prepared alloys.”
“However, to purchase such a large quantity, I would need to spend nearly my entire fortune.”
Chloe smiled with ease, knowing that honor without wealth was something no one desired.
“I’m talking about hoarding. The Ludovisi Family has caused diplomatic and economic damage through friction with the Empire’s Marquis, so they can’t escape responsibility, can they?”
At her words, color returned to the Count’s face as he grasped the turning tide of the situation.
“In the end, the entire Ludovisi Family will bear the burden. Of course, the same applies to the costs of preparing for attacks from the Allied Nations.”
The commoner upstart would shoulder all the money and technology, while he would reap the honor and profits.
Moreover, if he negotiated with Marquis Winterford and completely controlled the special alloys, he could demand several times the amount he’d purchased, and they would have no choice but to pay.
‘The foolish Ludovisi Family tried to reclaim their land and ended up taking the fall themselves!’
The Count set aside any concerns about his money evaporating into thin air, his mind spinning with infinite optimism.

***

Royal Palace State Council Chamber.
Richard Ludovisi, summoned to what amounted to a hearing, surveyed the Queen Regent, the royal family members, and high-ranking officials surrounding him.
“Taking full responsibility for the current situation, the Ludovisi Family will undertake complete responsibility for the development project in the Precious Metal Territory and military preparations against potential threats.”
Though it appeared to be a massive loss at first glance, it was actually the moment when the Ludovisi Family seized control over the “catastrophic gate incident”—a disaster of national proportions.

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