Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 69

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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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#69.

Lothair Winchester, bearing the letter toward the Acedia Kingdom, gazed upon the landscape that had grown cold with winter’s pallor—a far cry from the season when he first forged his bond with the Ludovisi Family.
It had been around this very time of year.

“If you could determine the direction of your life, which would you choose—capital or honor?”

Standing on the precipice of graduation and commissioning from the elite military academy, Lothair Winchester had received this singular question from Richard Ludovisi, a man of considerable wealth.

“Capital, naturally. Humans can survive without honor, after all.”

His choice to pursue a career as an information officer had not stemmed from some lofty patriotism.
He was merely following the orthodox path of self-made success that those of gentry birth typically traversed.

“Would you consider working for our family?”

Richard Ludovisi, the family representative at that time, had been striving to recruit talent across various fields to erase his family’s dark past.
Operating a scholarship foundation to cultivate capable individuals was part of the same endeavor.
A special recruitment into the core positions of the Information Bureau—achievable only by the elite among elites—and a promising second-tier esper destined for rapid advancement: Lothair Winchester.
Yet he ultimately made the utterly dishonorable choice to pursue wealth beneath someone from the Underworld Weapons Organization.
‘This too was my choice.’
He accepted without objection his transformation from a man of society’s expectations into the nominal secretary—in truth, the caretaker—of a fierce and rebellious fifteen-year-old young lady.

“My daughter is beautiful and clever.”

The Ludovisi Representative, unable in good conscience to call her kind, had spoken thus.

“My daughter has no trustworthy friends around her. Her temperament is poor. Yet those who approach her first are almost invariably rotten at their core.”

Attendant, driver, errand boy, servant, handler of accidents and their aftermath—and now, friend.

“Lothair, what do you think of these shoes?”
“They appear to complement the two-piece you purchased a week ago quite well.”

The capable secretary had discharged every assigned role with unwavering diligence.
The reason was simple: appropriate compensation had always followed.
‘Yes, it was merely work.’
There could be no room for personal sentiment or faith.
Yet suddenly, an image surfaced—Octavia entrusting a puppy to Mayor Mirabel.

“Admiral Kelsedny Decart’s puppy. I can’t return it right now, so I’m asking for your help.”

The way she entrusted him with a letter to send home and placed her beloved puppy in his care… it resembled someone preparing for a cause worth staking one’s life upon.
The selfish young lady he knew was not like that.

“Lothair, the money in your account—that’s sufficient compensation for delivering the letter, isn’t it?”

A young lady who knew nothing but herself and squandered money thoughtlessly would never undertake something that risked her life.
‘Is it merely my hope that she remains that way?’
Lothair’s brow furrowed deeply as his eyes closed.

Lothair arrived at the Ludovisi Mansion in the Acedia Kingdom and made his way toward the study.
The Ludovisi Representative, visibly gaunt from worry over his youngest daughter, rose abruptly upon seeing Lothair’s return.
He had been enduring the wait, clinging only to his daughter’s message that there was something important she needed to accomplish in the Kingdom, and to wait until she contacted him.
“How is Octavia faring? Is she eating properly? Is she unwell?”
He had been anxious about how his fastidious daughter—one who insisted on only the finest linens down to the smallest detail—could possibly endure such conditions.
Even if others called it a luxurious villa, the Western Border itself was an environment of unrelenting harshness in his eyes.
“Representative, Miss Octavia has sent a letter.”
Rather than conveying her regards, Lothair presented Octavia’s letter.
“A letter?”
The Ludovisi Representative’s eyes widened as he accepted it.
It was the first letter he had ever received from his daughter.
With a peculiar sense of reverence, he unfolded the letter, his eyes moving swiftly across the contents.
His gaze, moving downward, came to a halt at some point.
In the cold, heavy silence, only the sound of wind rattling the window could be heard.
Soon, the Ludovisi Representative’s subdued voice emerged.
“Lothair.”
“Yes.”
The Ludovisi Representative, still fixed upon the letter, spoke to Lothair, who stood at attention.
“Have all media outlets publish articles about the transition to self-sufficient special alloy production and the successful development of new materials. The overall director and primary contributor: Octavia Ludovisi.”
As the value of special alloys rose due to price increases and supply restrictions, speculation among the nobility had intensified, followed by overheated investment in special alloy-related ventures.
In particular, investment capital was concentrated on Count Hertan, who held the largest reserves.
Now it was time for the endless bubble to burst simultaneously across the board.
“And Lothair.”
Lothair, who had been gazing downward at his shoe tips with an expressionless face, lifted his head.
The Ludovski Representative continued, pressing his eyes with the hand that had been brushing back his bangs.
“From now on, ensure the utmost vigilance in protecting Octavia’s safety…”
Octavia would become a hero who elevated national industry and national prestige, but conversely, she would become the object of universal resentment and hatred.
Those who had mortgaged everything, even borrowing to speculate, would inevitably face bankruptcy.
“I’m asking you.”
The Ludovisi Representative made a request for the first time—not an order.
My father had chosen to trust my decision.
The two older brothers currently in the Precious Metal Territory felt the same way.

“Father, it seems our youngest has finally found something she wishes to pursue. Surely we must support her with all our resources, both material and otherwise.”

‘To share responsibility for what family members do.’
That was their definition of family.

***

Octavia had come to Chloe Squadron’s Barracks.
She had instructed Logan, Febrien, Ewain, and Julia to each guard the stone coffins stationed in their respective sectors.
In the original story, the gate opens only after all five points of the pentagon are unsealed—beginning with the north at the top, then the southwest, southeast, northwest, and finally the northeast Chaos Realm.
But Octavia harbored no naive assumption that events would unfold exactly as written.
Since I was acting as a ‘variable,’ the original narrative would inevitably twist and diverge.
Unable to predict the exact timing, Octavia had created a natural detection chart with Prince Jeriel’s assistance before coming here.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
And if one interpreted the language the forest conveyed, calamity seemed imminent.
‘Communing with nature, are we? Quite the curious little lamb.’
Matteo, the Saint of Mercury who had followed Octavia, watched her crouched form with quiet observation.
He neither interfered nor concerned himself overmuch, merely observing the situation like a spectator.

“Matteo, a new order will emerge from Acedia. It might be worth observing the woman the Prince has placed in the Saint’s seat.”

Acedia referred to the Acedia Kingdom, and what the Emperor had spoken was not a command but a suggestion. Yet Matteo had been captivated by the Ludovisi Family’s enhancement technology, and had somehow ended up here to fulfill the Emperor’s words.

“A new order is either despair or hope.”

This was no prophecy or revelation—it was a scenario predetermined from the moment the Apostles of Order came to dominate humanity.

“That means an evolution of ability will occur, one that uses human emotion as the source of power.”

If the Kingdom were to walk the path of ruin through calamity, the Apostle of Despair would appear and bestow apostolic powers upon the chosen one.
The most likely candidate was Chloe Arsenes.
Yet from what he had observed thus far, it seemed not entirely so.
Octavia Ludovisi was likely erasing the despair of others—the very catalyst for Saint Chloe’s awakening—as if she already knew everything.
Like a destined rival, forced to move in opposition to Chloe.
In another sense, Octavia was an invasive species disrupting the ecosystem, yet the Saint merely allowed events to flow as they would.
He had aided in rescuing Prince Jeriel because he witnessed salvation’s path opening within the shadows of Chaos, and judged it to be the will of the God of Order.
‘Could Octavia Ludovisi also be a human whom the God of Order regards with favor?’
She was an extraordinary human, lacking only in supernatural abilities.
She had made even Kelsedny—that man who never blinked even as someone died before his eyes—into her lover, drawing him to rush all this way.

“Would it not be wise to return with Octavia’s follower? We may be unharmed, but that fragile lamb will surely perish otherwise.”
“Whether she lives or dies.”

The typically indifferent being was subtly seething with anger. Anger meant, ultimately, that he cared deeply about her.
‘He may well disobey the Emperor’s order not to intervene.’
As he pondered this, Prince Dominic appeared with his men in tow and pointed directly at Octavia.
“Octavia Ludovisi, were you planning to aid the Chaos Forces’ invasion using the sarcophagus that seals the demon?”
Chloe had learned that Octavia had taken the sarcophagus and relayed this to Prince Dominic.
“As the price for obtaining the power you so desperately desired—you have always believed yourself unchosen because you lack supernatural abilities.”
Matteo’s expression showed little agreement with the Prince’s assertion.
To be frank, that woman needed neither supernatural abilities nor a prince.
Was she not already wielding powerful ability users as she pleased?
Of course, that included himself, lured here by enhancement technology as bait.
It was the Saint’s conclusion from all his observation, yet he remained silent, watching events unfold.
“Bind that demon at once and imprison him. At first light tomorrow, send him back to the Kingdom for trial.”
The Prince’s ruthless command followed.
Octavia seemed less startled than irritated at having her work disrupted.
Then suddenly, her index finger pointed toward Matteo.
“If you’re going to judge based solely on someone else’s subjective claims, then this person is an accomplice too—lock him up with me.”
Octavia’s eyes narrowed with a smile.
“He’s been following me around the whole time. There are witnesses. At minimum, it’s complicity, isn’t it?”
Caught off guard by this unexpected reversal, Matteo’s eyes widened before he burst into laughter.
“Quite right. I shall accept willingly.”
Prince Dominic, who had suddenly found himself imprisoning the Empire’s Saint, wore an expression of bewilderment.

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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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