Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 64

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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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#64.

I tilted my head back, my eyes widening in surprise.
“By the way, how much did you see?”
Surely you didn’t witness my entire display of affection toward the puppy?
“From the moment you started making those strange lisping sounds.”
It seemed he had already witnessed my full embarrassment.
Judging by his tone, his demeanor, and the darkness of his eyes—nearly black—he hadn’t come here in his feral Keldi state.
“Were you in a terrible hurry? Or did you simply want to see me?”
At my attempt at humor to mask my mortification, his gaze swiftly shifted to the puppy sitting on my lap.
“…Looking for the dog.”
“You were actually keeping a puppy? How could you never show it to me?”
I pouted, gazing down at the puppy on my lap as its tail wagged.
He stepped forward from where he’d been standing behind me and spoke.
“I’m not its true owner. It simply appeared one day and started following me, so I’ve been keeping it. The collar was put on by my adjutant.”
Wasn’t that what made him the owner?
To have traveled all this distance searching for it….
I smiled, gently stroking the puppy’s soft fur.
“It must have accidentally gotten into a supply crate. How lonely and frightened it must have been.”
His eyebrows rose with displeasure as he quietly observed my sympathetic expression.
“What of my suffering?”
“Your suffering? Were you lonelier and more frightened than this puppy?”
“No, without you….”
He seemed to find his own words strange and closed his eyes with a frown. Then he continued with composure.
“You know this creates difficulties.”
It was an unavoidable symbiotic relationship, after all.
When I handed the puppy to him, he accepted it with extraordinary care, as though handling a fragile newborn.
He was surprisingly gentle with animals.
“I noticed last time that you seem to possess teleportation abilities. Please take it home quickly. It might be stressed in this unfamiliar place.”
The Admiral, cradling the puppy’s hindquarters with practiced ease, shook his head.
“I came by transport vessel. Among the humans I’ve killed, there was none with long-distance teleportation abilities.”
He then gestured with his chin toward somewhere.
“Let us return to the Capital.”
“Why?”
“I heard you were forced to take on this responsibility. I’ll handle it myself, so let’s go back.”
“Do you think I’m someone who would submit to forced orders? I agreed willingly.”
I had intended to come here directly anyway.
The Admiral stared intently at my face, which bore not a trace of resentment or worry.
But why was the puppy in his arms looking at me with that same expression?
He carefully set the puppy down from his embrace and pointed toward my Quarters.
“Dog. Go wait at that house.”
He already knows where I’m staying.
“Woof.”
The clever puppy, understanding human speech, turned and bounded away.
I exhaled slowly, habitually reaching for a cigar, when he approached with a frigid expression.
“Returning to the Capital is not a suggestion—it’s an order.”
“I told you ten seconds ago that I don’t follow other people’s orders.”
The coldness that had lingered across his expressionless face gradually intensified into something lethal.
His gaze cut like a blade, sharp and piercing. As if every nerve in his body had tensed.
He drew closer, pressing near, and spoke in a lowered voice.
“You seem to be under the illusion that our contractual relationship is equal.”
Suddenly, his words felt as though they were being forcibly etched into my mind.
Like meeting the gaze of a predator in the dead of night, a chilling sensation rippled through me, and my entire body froze.
“If you persist here, you will die.”
It was an elegant threat. With each syllable, I felt the icy edge of a blade pressing against my throat.
‘Oppressive force.’
The ‘oppression’ of the Decart Imperial Family, born rulers from the start, imprints primal fear upon those who face it and compels instinctive obedience.
‘I’ve never seen him use it directly before.’
There was little reason to use it, and besides, fists came before words for him.
I had never witnessed such overwhelming oppressive force—strong enough to render a frail human unconscious.
Whether he had been restraining himself out of consideration for my ordinary humanity, or whether it was due to Keldi’s personality, I couldn’t say.
“While I’m still being reasonable, tell me you’ll return.”
“G-good….”
Words contrary to my will kept spilling from my lips.
‘A form of mind control. Ordinary human willpower cannot resist it.’
But what if I wasn’t an ordinary human?
“I’d die from how much I want to stay and turn back.”
‘?’
As if the command had malfunctioned, a strange confession tumbled out instead.
“….”
A silence fell that even subdued the lethal oppression.
Bewildered, he irritably swept back his pitch-black bangs. Then he opened his narrowed eyes wide.
“I dislike you.”

Favorability Decreased [+250]

Am I losing my mind?
This situation was absurd, yet I felt wronged.
“Did you do that on purpose? Force me to confess just so you could reject me and watch me suffer?”
“Darling, it’s not like that… I’m losing it.”
The Admiral covered his mouth with his hand, then wiped his face as if washing it dry.
That man has broken down too.
Was that the reason he hadn’t attempted intimidation or mental manipulation on me? Because we’re both malfunctioning?
Suddenly his breathing became ragged and rough. His firm chest rose and fell sharply as he turned his head to stare into empty space.
When he faced me again, he slowly lifted one hand and placed it against my cheek.
“The reason I keep doing this….”
His voice had taken on a more clipped, military tone than usual.
“Is because of this damned curse that binds me to you.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not a curse. It’s just a situation where we’ve become each other’s complement.”
His expression suggested that if it wasn’t a curse, then what was it?
From my perspective entirely, that face—reddened around the eyes, barely holding together—gave me a peculiar sense of guilt.
I noticed how much he was struggling, but I refused to abandon my shameless attitude.
“I thought I could come and go as lightly as visiting a neighbor’s house.”
I spread both arms in an invitation to embrace, and he was drawn toward me as if pulled by gravity, pressing his body against mine.
The firm arms wrapped around my back tightened and loosened repeatedly.
“You should have asked permission before coming.”
“Are we that kind of relationship?”
“I asked for permission before going to the Imperial Capital, as I recall.”
His announcement about going to the Imperial Capital was actually a request for permission, not a notification?
Even as he reproached me, his expression remained one of restraint.
His self-control, which didn’t easily succumb to instinct, seemed truly remarkable.
If he were a man who indulged his instincts freely, I might have witnessed true devastation.
“Why are you always so willful?”
He pressed his face with one hand and exhaled a sigh.
Through the gaps between his fingers, his darkened eyes touched my lips before immediately meeting my gaze again.
His hand, which had been gripping my back in patient restraint, slowly relaxed, then pressed gently as if testing the sensation.
“Ah.”
Despite the shallow contact, a thrill shot through me and my shoulders trembled slightly.
Soft hair mixed with warmth carrying a soap-scented fragrance touched the nape of my neck.
After remaining motionless with his face buried there for a long while, he suddenly lifted his head as if nothing had happened.
“I understand you’ll be returning tomorrow.”
“I’m not going.”
My resolve was firm enough to withstand the Royal Family’s mental manipulation.
But he pretended to listen while ignoring me, pulling away and heading toward the Quarters where I was staying.

***

The Admiral barely suppressed his desire and regained his composure, sinking into contemplation.
He had nearly caused considerable trouble.
He had always believed that such vulgar behavior—biting and licking a woman indiscriminately like some deranged fool oblivious to others’ gazes or surroundings—would never occur in his lifetime. Unless, of course, the mad personality dwelling within him took control.
But if he exhausted his mana and mental strength using Omnipotence, there was no telling what kind of base beast he might become.
The Admiral looked down at Octavia, who hurried to keep pace with his quickened steps.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, she lifted her delicate face immediately. Her lilac eyes became vivid as her long lashes rose gracefully.
Her small, plump lips uttered resolute words.
“I’m not going home.”
Such a small creature possessed extraordinary stubbornness.
The matter was sealed by the Emperor’s command, so he couldn’t even warn her of the impending catastrophe.
‘If she continues to resist, I may have no choice but to resort to physical measures.’
The Admiral, lost in thought, gazed at the luxury villa that stood in stark contrast to everything else around it.
‘Could she be using this place alone?’
In the Admiral’s assessment, Octavia was certainly the type to do so.
She would never concern herself with others’ dissatisfaction or worry about their opinions.
But the moment they entered the entrance hall, what greeted them were two muscular, shirtless men.
Both stood with wet hair and bodies, engaged in heated argument.
“That’s precisely why I said I would do it.”
“You only built muscle mindlessly, and it’s obvious you’d sink in the water, so I… huh?”
The two had just rescued a dog that had fallen into the swimming pool.
Logan, who had been criticizing Ewain’s swimming ability, turned to look at the Admiral and Octavia.
It was then that the Admiral alternated his gaze between her and the two men.
“Octavia, I’ve been waiting in the bedroom this whole time, so why are you only now… huh?”
A small, pretty man with pink hair widened his eyes upon seeing the Admiral, then instinctively shrank back in fear. In his arms lay a wet puppy wrapped snugly in a towel.
‘He won’t recognize me, right? Even the Holy Knight with his beastly instincts isn’t saying anything, nor is the Duke who discerns true nature, nor the Saint.’
Behind the wary Febrien, Saint Matteo appeared in a loosely draped robe, wine glass in hand.
“Hmm? Has the voice of God guided you here, General?”
It was a pointed question about why he had come.
The Admiral, who had remained expressionless throughout, looked back at Octavia and asked.
“Is this why you won’t go home?”
She could easily be mistaken for a harem queen enjoying a vacation at a luxury villa with beautiful men.

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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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