Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 8

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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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#8.

The next day.
Beneath a high, azure sky, autumn leaves in brilliant hues drifted lazily downward.
I now stood before the Ludovisi Mansion—a grand, opulent estate befitting the residence of a great noble house.

“This is urgent. Come to the mansion at once.”

At last, I had received a summons from Father upon learning of the tremendous scandal.
“I cannot remain a pauper in a wealthy household forever.”
There was no choice. Only by achieving financial independence could I pursue my schemes without consequence. And I needed Father’s assistance to decipher the suspicious cipher letter from Prince Dominic.
‘Since I have ample disdain to spare, I should exploit it to my advantage without loss.’
Thanks to the scandal, I had accumulated a considerable reserve of inexplicable disdain upon waking.
I brushed the fallen leaves from my shoulders and made my way toward my most dreaded man’s study—Father’s.
Richard Ludovisi, the patriarch, was the type of father who was taciturn, indifferent, and lived only for work, destined to grow lonely in his twilight years. Consumed by grief over my mother’s death, he had devoted himself entirely to business, never offering me emotional support.
I had believed my mother’s death was my fault, and consequently, that Father despised me for it.
‘This must be why the rift between us grew so deep.’
Standing before the study door, I took several deep breaths, my face taut with tension.
“Father?”
After my knock, an emotionless voice came from beyond the door.
“Why are you so late? I told you to come at once.”
In that instant, my pupils trembled as I gripped the doorknob. It was not his cold response that caused this.

♥Affection Rising♥ [+2,000]

“Gasp.”
I broke into a cold sweat, staring at the disdain counter that had plummeted so cruelly from a single word—”Father?”
The man who had warped Octavia through his indifference was, in truth, a tsundere.
If the Admiral was a disdain-generating machine for prolonging life, then Father was the express train to a death ending.
This was also why I feared him most.
Ever since this tiger-badger-like disdain system appeared—that is, before Kelsedny Admiral emerged as my supplier.
I had never attempted to improve my relationship with the Protagonist or those around her.
Of course, I had once tried to adopt the standard villain-possession stance of reconciliation, hoping to benefit from Father’s magitech business.
‘It was to become an unscrupulous businessman—the finest profession for automatically harvesting disdain.’
At that time, I had been complacent, believing I had accumulated considerable disdain through diligent saving, and that any losses could be repaid through further misdeeds.

“Dad, would you like to have dinner together today….”
“Did you just call me ‘Dad’? And who gave you permission to take my hand?”

♥Affection Increased♥ [+1,000]

“…If I even think about doing it, I feel like I’ll die from the dread.”

If I hadn’t drifted immediately, I would have lost all my affection points and died.
Unfortunately, the family members showering me with such tremendous affection are the most dangerous to me.
Thanks to Kelsedny Admiral and my uncle’s family, I’ve accumulated quite a bit, but it’s a precarious number I can’t afford to be careless about.
If I were to open that door and apologize, those words might very well be my final testament.
‘Still, it’s something I have to do eventually.’
With my resolve set, I stared at the firmly closed Study door.
“I’ve come to convey that I will take full responsibility for and resolve all the unfortunate matters alongside my apologies, and I additionally require Father’s assistance, so I would be grateful if you could spare me some time.”
I then unleashed the words in rapid succession at the door.

♥Affection Increased♥ [+1,500]

Watching my life force points being drained, cold sweat broke out on my skin.
Soon, Father’s somewhat softened voice reached me.
“…Come in.”
I thought it would take being turned away at the door three times before this would happen, but surprisingly, permission came easily.
And the moment I opened the door, I found myself face to face with someone I never expected.

***

I stood before the door, my expression utterly bewildered.
“…?”
In the center of the office, a dark-haired man in formal attire sat on the reception sofa with his legs crossed, turning to look at me.
It was Kelsedny Decart, the Admiral, dressed with meticulous care as if he’d taken considerable effort.
‘What in the world am I looking at right now…?’
A bouquet of flowers rested in my father’s arms as he stood rigidly beside him.
I found it difficult to comprehend this insane situation immediately.
Wasn’t the usual response to scandal to issue a correction or summon someone for intimidation?
“Admiral? What brings you to our home… and why the flowers?”
“A gift.”
The Admiral answered nonchalantly as he lifted his teacup.
So why was he giving it to someone else’s father?
I’d known for some time that he was a madman who drank liquor from a teacup instead of tea, but I never dreamed he’d be creatively insane to this degree.
My father, holding the flowers, regarded me with an uncomfortable expression.
“…Octavia. The Admiral wishes to take responsibility for the scandal involving you.”
It was one thing that he’d told me to get lost and that he wouldn’t take responsibility, but why was he saying it while presenting flowers to the girl’s father?
The Admiral turned to face my father with a responsible expression.
“I will take responsibility as well, sir.”
“Ah, I see.”
My father seemed somewhat relieved that I had given up on Prince Dominic, yet his expression was one of sighing at having become entangled with an unbearable lunatic.
My father, his face screaming a desire to flee, spoke politely to the Admiral.
“I shall excuse myself. Please feel free to converse comfortably with my daughter.”
“This is not a conversation to be had here.”
It wasn’t something that should have been discussed in my father’s office from the start.
He drained the remaining liquor from his teacup and rose from his seat.
“Let us go to your room. Assuming one still remains for you.”
He spoke as if he knew perfectly well that I had been cast out of the house.
In the end, I made my way to the Annex where I originally stayed, accompanied by the Admiral.
As we walked, I felt the confused gazes of the servants and butlers upon us.
Upon entering my room in the Annex, the Admiral didn’t even suggest I sit—he simply found a seat for himself.
His gaze, which had been scrutinizing me meticulously and sweeping across every corner, lingered on the bandage wrapped around my hand.
“Where does it hurt? Perhaps you’re on the verge of death?”
“I suffered a burn from playing with fire. Are you concerned about me?”
“Merely curious why you didn’t die.”
What kind of insane thing was that to say?
He, who had inquired after my wellbeing in such a peculiar manner, broached the main topic.
“I didn’t expect you to create such a scandal.”
Had he come to the Ludovisi Mansion where my family resided to apply pressure of some sort?
Since he seemed to know the source of the scandal entirely, I decided not to bother lying.
“It’s not something that didn’t happen, after all.”
The moment I sat down beside him with a coy smile, he immediately rose and moved to the opposite side.

Favorability Decreased [+100]

Fortunately, it was clear that what happened that night hadn’t sparked any genuine interest or affection in him toward me.
“I don’t remember the details, but now that I think about it, I believe I did something. I came to verify.”
Verify what, exactly?
The Admiral, holding a delicate floral teacup, continued with a sigh.
“If that’s true, then I have no choice but to marry you.”
“Pardon?”
While despising me?
My face had gone pale.
No matter how much a nation valued efficiency and profit, I had assumed marriage would be with someone who could prove their love.
The relationship I envisioned was one where he was an annoying, irritating presence who kept appearing around me for some inexplicable reason—someone I’d accidentally hold hands with once in a while.
“It was merely a mistake. Please don’t concern yourself with it.”
“You don’t wish to marry me?”
“Getting married simply because we spent one night together seems rather archaic, wouldn’t you say?”
A faint shadow crossed the Admiral’s stern brow.
“You possess truly garbage-tier values.”
This was supposed to be a mutual agreement in the first place!
Why was I suddenly being branded as garbage?
He looked at me as I made a bewildered expression and added,
“Truth be told, I don’t wish to experience the disaster of marrying you either, but since I can’t kill you…”
He then sighed and wore an expression of utter resignation.
“It’s my principle.”
Could he possibly be a virgin who insisted on premarital chastity?
I never dreamed the one-night-equals-marriage cliché would activate in such a ridiculous manner.
“No, that day was a mistake, so just leave—”
“I knew you were lying. I’m not an irresponsible garbage person like you who takes only someone’s body and discards them.”
He emphasized the word ‘garbage’ with force, shamelessly contradicting himself.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
At my question, he nodded without hesitation.
“So I want to ask you something.”
His low voice—whether a sigh or a lament—settled with his breath.
“Would you want to sleep with a man who hates you?”
He suddenly asked a strange question.
I felt as though I were being treated as some sort of pervert with abnormal desires.
“Why are you even asking that…?”
At my question, he pulled something from his pocket and waved a neatly folded letter before my eyes.
I closed my eyes tightly upon confirming that what he held was indeed the letter Octavia had sent.
I had been watching for another chance to steal it, but in the end… it was because I dropped it that this man picked it up and read it.
‘But why is he showing me this?’
The moment confusion seized me, the Admiral uttered something shocking.
“I’m curious whether you’re in such a desperate situation that you’d proposition someone who hates you for a night together, or if you’re a pervert who gets excited by such circumstances.”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
‘The proposition Octavia made to this man was… a night together?’
I recalled something I had long forgotten.
That the original work was rated 18+.
I had thought it was an extremely explicit guide, but since only one episode showed any suggestive content and that turned out to be false advertising, I had forgotten that fact.
‘And the Admiral accepted the proposition?’
The 18+ scene that appeared only once in the original work… the villains did it together, and in secret from the readers?

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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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