Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 68

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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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#68.

“But how can you trust the word of a 9th-rank consecration mage? It could be a misunderstanding.”
Octavia raised her voice as if demanding to be heard.
Count Mirabell’s hand, which had been stroking the puppy, came to a halt.
“9th-rank? What are you talking about? Saint Chloe Arsenes, a 2nd-rank consecration mage, told me herself.”
She tilted her head and let out a deliberately audible sigh of exasperation.
“That person is not 2nd-rank—she’s 9th-rank.”
“How dare you slander her! She purified an entire vast Contaminated Zone in a single stroke!”
Mayor Mirabel erupted in anger. Octavia approached the Count with a serious expression.
“The power you witnessed then? It was merely a temporary surge.”
“Temporary?”
Octavia’s eyes deepened, suffused with a rich blue-violet hue. Her piercing gaze fixed upon the room where Chloe resided.
“It seems you requested a consecration. Rather than a thousand words, if you observe with your own eyes, Mayor, you’ll understand.”
The Mayor gazed down at the puppy sitting on his lap, its tail wagging, lost in thought.
The Western Region was a land ravaged by countless maladies and Chaos contamination. Even purification yielded only temporary effects, and even the most renowned saints could not locate the source.
The unknown was often dismissed as the work of an unconfirmed entity.
Thus, the ancestors of Mirabell, who were Demon Fanatics, had even offered living sacrifices.
‘Yet Saint Chloe’s consecration was different….’
The area she had purified still maintained its pristine spiritual essence.
But at some point, whenever requests for consecration were made to Saint Chloe, she would send someone else with excuses of being busy, or postpone her response indefinitely.
This time, the request was for a simple consecration—blessing Mirabell’s children, something even a 9th-rank mage could perform.
Only then did Chloe arrive with her consent.

***

In the Reception Room connected to the Study, Chloe sat with impeccable posture, her long hair reaching her waist bound neatly back.
Contrary to her composed expression, as though nothing were amiss, her complexion had turned a sickly pale.
‘I must….’
I needed to step out immediately and explain myself.
That I possessed latent potential as the daughter of an exceptional Holy Ability User.
That I was merely waiting for the day my powers would awaken….
‘But when will that be?’
The world blurred before my eyes beneath the weight of hope without promise.
I had thought I’d escaped hell itself, yet since my descent back to Grade 9, a far deeper hell of self-doubt had begun.
The past, when I had accepted my place and lived accordingly, felt far more merciful by comparison.
Then, beyond the wall, Octavia’s voice reached my ears.
“Saint Chloe is in that room, isn’t she? If my words are mistaken, she’ll come out to explain herself. She must be listening to everything.”
Chloe rose from her seat without thinking, then sat back down again.
‘Why do you always make me feel so small?’
Chloe’s green eyes fixed on the entrance where light footsteps could be heard.
They sounded like the footsteps of a demon intent on pushing her into misfortune and mocking her.
The door opened.
“Saint Chloe?”
Octavia called her name with a slight smile. Behind her stood the Mayor with a stern expression.
“By the most recent measurement, what is your grade?”
Chloe hesitated to answer, her lips moving soundlessly.
How much longer would I need to offer meaningless excuses about waiting?
Seeing her pallid face, the Mayor understood that Octavia’s words were true. He then released a heavy sigh and spoke.
“The children have been waiting for you. They wished to see you again. Even if you cannot perform a consecration, I would be grateful if you visited nearby more often.”
Though the Mayor was quick to anger and prone to outbursts, his years of life had granted him both wisdom and compassion.
“Thank you.”
Grateful for the Mayor’s consideration, Chloe rose and bowed respectfully before leaving the room.
After Chloe departed, the Mayor turned to Octavia with a bitter expression.
“She has still helped our city. I have no desire to drive her into a corner.”
“I intend to help as well. Wouldn’t you consider stopping the pressure?”
When Octavia extended her bound hands to show him, the Mayor’s expression returned to that of a cantankerous old man.
“Help? What help! The way you speak shows you have a truly wicked nature!”
“I only spoke the truth. What’s wrong with that?”
“A person’s grade means nothing! I acknowledged Saint Chloe because she personally cared for plague patients that everyone else shunned! That is what saves lives!”
The Protagonist is fundamentally virtuous.
But from Octavia’s perspective, she was a plunderer wearing the mask of virtue, dispensing so-called justice by stealing from others and annihilating families.
“I understand. Leave the warm humanitarianism to Chloe, and I will present the physical methods of saving lives.”
“Does this relate to your reason for purchasing a sarcophagus?”
“Would I spend money buying such an eyesore for decoration in my room?”
“I thought you meant to curse the Mirabell Family and the city.”
“Wasn’t that argument already refuted earlier?”
The Mayor, who had initially dismissed her as either having ulterior motives or possessing eccentric tastes, decided to hear her out.
Octavia tapped the domestic map pinned to the wall.
“Allow me to present my hypothesis on why the Western Region suffers from plague and contamination issues.”
Mirabel, meaning “Star’s Tomb,” had experienced a meteor shower in the distant past when they rained down like precipitation on the outskirts of the city.
It was also why the Precious Metal Territory contained vast quantities of meteorite sand—essentially a collection of elemental matter.
Among the meteorites remaining in the problematic region, there was a high probability that some contained core nuclei emitting radiation or harmful magical energy.
‘Since the nature of this world differs from the one I inhabited, what substances they contain remains unknown.’
The Mayor’s eyes widened as he listened to the explanation, and he struck the desk with a loud thud.
“Ah! So it wasn’t the demons’ stone-throwing that ended it, but rather the cursed stones remaining here that are the problem!”
“Not demons, but rather fragments drifting through space that were drawn to Earth’s gravity… yes, that’s right.”
Octavia added, abandoning further detailed explanation.
“The sarcophagus is also made from the same material. Given that everyone who’s been near it enjoys good health, it’s not inherently harmful—but we need to acquire and study it to resolve various issues.”
Since the Mayor already knew the story of how the Alchemist had used stars as material when crafting the sarcophagus, he fell into contemplation, tapping the desk thoughtfully before finally speaking.
“I’m a former military man who worked with my body, so I may not fully grasp your intentions. But will this truly save people? I’ve spent my entire life ensuring I don’t repeat the foolish mistakes of my predecessors, who sacrificed innocent lives.”
Octavia nodded.
In the original work, Mayor Mirabel’s death was dismissed in mere sentences before turning the page, but this excellent veteran had likely stood his ground until the end, protecting his citizens without fleeing.
This was the persuasion method suited to someone who valued human life.
“According to Saint Chloe, there’s a prediction that the probability of catastrophe occurring is significant.”
Octavia borrowed the words of Chloe, whom he trusted as a person.
“When the time comes, the Ludovisi Family will provide transportation. Evacuate the people to the Precious Metal Territory. The settlement will be completed soon.”
Her words, which indicated both prediction and preparation already completed, carried both the weight of imminent crisis and strong practical efficacy.
“And I intend to use the Star’s Sarcophagus to minimize damage as much as possible.”
Chloe would have attempted to evacuate people only when danger was at their doorstep, to lend credibility to her claims.
That people cannot sense crisis until they experience it directly was a truth she had learned through her arduous life.
“Now that I think about it, building houses on such a massive scale in an environment with nothing but the gold mine to see… you had a complete plan all along.”
The Mayor, as the one who had approved the development, sighed as he realized the scale was vast enough to accommodate the entire city’s population.
‘It must be quite a catastrophe.’
“If you’re a mage-engineering family trusted by the Royal Family, then I can trust you. Take the sarcophagus. Just remember that it’s dangerous.”
“Thank you.”
Octavia smiled warmly as she watched the puppy sleeping in the Mayor’s arms.

Following the Mayor down into the damp, shadowy Underground, Octavia gazed upon five stone sarcophagi arranged in neat rows.
“May I open them?”
“What? You’re saying a demon is sealed inside? We’ll be cursed with some terrible hex! We’ll all die!”
The Mayor jumped back with a loud cry.
Octavia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she illuminated the sarcophagi with her magitech flashlight. The memory surfaced of the special containment vessels that had once permanently isolated those who died from radiation exposure in her past life.
“Yes, they must never be opened.”
Indeed, these coffins contained a demon that scattered plague and death.
‘Perhaps it’s similar to radioactive materials like uranium or plutonium.’
Centuries ago, a wise Countess had abandoned any attempt to persuade the Demon Fanatics, instead shielding these high-risk materials under the guise of false offerings to deceive the demon.
‘The demon is sealed by us, so rest assured,’ she must have concluded.
“Mayor, we’ll collect all the fragments from the Contaminated Zone as well.”
“I’m grateful you found the cause, but… you’d take on such danger? You’ll be cursed! Why would you go so far?”
‘To obtain such abundant semi-permanent power sources of high efficiency, and for free no less. I could even manufacture nuclear weapons.’
While the Mayor fell into contemplation, Octavia’s mind raced with excitement at the prospect of utilizing such remarkable resources.
The fact that the aura disappeared from the area Chloe had purified—did it mean she had converted unstable radioactive material into a stable state, or had she simply removed the properties harmful to the human body?
‘The title of growth-type protagonist certainly seems fitting.’
Octavia gestured to the attendants who had followed her and to Lothear.
“Transport them carefully. The hazardous materials are perfectly contained, so there’s no need for excessive concern.”
Lothear’s expression showed discomfort, yet he complied without protest.
Outside the Mansion, as Lothear watched the sarcophagi being loaded onto a large transport vehicle, he asked.
“Where should they be taken?”
“Place one in each of the five regions showing signs of Chaos Realm emergence. And…”
Octavia withdrew a letter from her bosom and handed it to Lothear.
“Deliver it to Father by today.”
“Yes, I’ll send it via priority mechanical transport.”
“Go there yourself and deliver it.”
Lothear adjusted his glasses, observing Octavia’s suddenly serious expression.
“But I must attend to the Young Lady. I don’t say this out of reluctance—how could I leave you alone when you can’t even tie your own shoelaces?”
Ninety percent of that was sincere. After all, she herself had spoken of a great calamity about to befall this place.
Her safety was his priority in any circumstance.
Even when she had been cast out from her home and stayed at Baron Ravishi’s Estate, he had remained nearby, watching over her.
“Lothear.”
Octavia covered her mouth with her hand and laughed with her characteristic innocent expression.
“I’m not a child.”
He had been her attendant and guardian since she was a young lady.
Since she had no friends, he was essentially the person who accompanied her through nearly every moment of her daily life.
“You’re the most trustworthy person here.”
Lothear stared at the letter in her hands for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood.”

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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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