Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 86

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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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#86.

‘They said they wouldn’t intervene because of the Kingdom’s autonomy, right? Besides, his condition….’
By Octavia’s assessment, the Admiral was indeed critically ill.
Insomnia, migraines, emotional instability, personality fragmentation, symptoms ranging from the harbingers of chaos to complete collapse—he was experiencing all of it.
Though unintentional, I had even deployed transcendent formulas using the apostolic power he possessed.
It would have been fine to simply rescue him each time he faced death’s threshold, but why did I take direct action to annihilate them instead?
Suddenly, she recalled the Chaos Entities exploding in the sky above.
‘Could it be because of me?’
There was some truth to that.
While he was conflicted over whether to return to Octavia or not, Class-2 Chaos Entities appeared, and in eliminating the Chaos Entities circling above the forest where Octavia was at a distance, I had wiped them all out.
She diligently made her way into the Quarters, leaning on her crutches, and stood before her chamber door.
The hesitation grew as strong as the intuition that had drawn her here. It was the weight of guilt.
‘After all, he’s just upset with me, isn’t he?’
Octavia, who had reduced the Admiral’s complex emotions to something simple, knocked gently on the door. Tap, tap.
“Admiral? Shall we try to resolve this through conversation?”
She spoke in a gentle voice as if coaxing a child, but received only silence in return.
“May I come in?”
Creak—.
As she carefully opened the door and stepped inside, she found the Admiral sitting in a chair with his back to her.
With his jet-black hair tilted back, he sat in a languid posture and did not turn to acknowledge her presence.
A cold breeze seeping through the open window rustled his hair.
Tick, tick.
In the silence where only the ticking of the clock’s second hand could be heard, he slowly lifted his head and spoke.
“Serkan, haven’t you sent a reply to Octavia yet? She’s waiting.”
Octavia’s eyes widened as she glanced around the room. There was no one here but him and her.
“Pardon?”
“I’m tired of sailing.”
He was speaking of things entirely unrelated to the present moment. His tone resembled Keldi’s, yet he didn’t seem to be quite the same person.
“Admiral? What do you mean by that….”
“Shouldn’t we return to the Kingdom now? The great calamity is over, after all.”
He seemed like someone existing in an entirely different world.
He slowly turned his head to look at Octavia.
The pale violet light of the evening glow cast itself upon his refined features.
Rather than his usual dry, expressionless face, he wore a soft smile.
“The Inferno Naval Battle has been concluded as well.”
The moment Octavia heard the words “Inferno Naval Battle,” her face drained of color.
He was speaking of something only she knew—an event that had not yet occurred.
The Inferno Naval Battle was a future conflict where the Admiral would hold back the Chaos Army attempting to land on the Acedia Kingdom, which would be on the brink of annihilation due to the great calamity.
In the original story, it was the very battle from which the Admiral departed after making a promise to Octavia that he would surely return.
She struggled with cognitive dissonance, her lips parting with difficulty.
“…You’re really going back to the Kingdom?”
His golden eyes narrowed as though he were gazing at someone other than Octavia.
“When I return, I intend to propose to her.”
Octavia’s quiet breath caught in her throat.
Upon hearing words that felt like a hidden revelation, her thoughts began to scatter wildly.
“A proposal? What on earth does that even….”
You never return—not even after I’m executed in that horrifying manner, not even after death.
Though it wasn’t something she had directly experienced, the sorrow and resentment cut deeply.
She barely swallowed the surging emotions and forced her mind to cool.
‘Since I cannot discern his current state, I must not confuse or provoke him.’
Octavia gazed into his golden eyes as one might peer into the Abyss—silent and unwavering.
After a moment of silence, he slowly closed his eyes, then opened them.
His gaze had transformed.
“Why have you only just arrived?”
Now he finally recognized Octavia before him.
She could not discern what scene he was witnessing.
Yet he wore a tender smile.
Rising from his seat, he approached her and bent his upper body forward, his gaze meeting hers with affection.
“Octavia, is something wrong?”
Receiving his worried gaze, Octavia felt her chest ache.
‘Can he wear such an expression for someone he deceives?’
Octavia had always harbored the possibility that he might one day betray her.
Yet somehow, even the vigilance she constantly carried was crumbling away.
He took her hand and interlaced their fingers.
She flinched, biting her lip. The sensation of his fingers threading between hers was strangely intoxicating.
“Don’t you need me?”
His golden eyes, their edges flushed crimson, curved seductively.
To spare him confusion, Octavia quickly nodded.
“I do need you.”
Was this what enchantment felt like?
Octavia’s lilac eyes, which had been vacant, suddenly widened as they perceived something.

Affection increased [+1,000]

The being that existed beyond the realm of consciousness was truly a bewitching demon that consumed all it touched.
“Huh?”
Startled, Octavia instinctively swatted his hand away.
He stared at his rejected hand with an expressionless face, then looked down at her with a wounded gaze.
“Why? You said you needed me.”
“I…”
His lips twisted into a crooked smile as he leaned closer, cutting off the scream rising in her throat.
“Are you just going to use me and throw me away?”
The sudden coldness in his eyes was enough to carve primal terror into her very being.
“No, that’s not it.”
Crushed beneath his oppressive presence, her words came haltingly. She found herself backing away.
“You’re lying.”
He closed the distance as she retreated, gently grasping her wrist as he spoke.
“If you’ve driven me mad, you have to take responsibility.”
It was what he had said when she first hid in his room to steal the letter.
‘So he really meant he was going mad?’
Whether it was entanglement with the original world’s dimension or being caught in Chaos Space itself, she couldn’t say for certain.
Before she could gather her thoughts, his jet-black hair began to sway.
The intense aura he emanated made her breath catch in her throat.
“Do you want to watch all the men around you die? I was already annoyed with them anyway.”
His ominous voice made her body shudder involuntarily.
Crack—!
The window fractured with a sharp sound, and the entire room trembled as furniture shook. The violent energy suggested he could destroy this space at any moment.
“Actually, no.”
He continued speaking with a languid smile, as if he’d lost his mind.
“I don’t care if everyone dies except you.”
A sinister gleam flickered in his golden eyes.
Those eyes—the eyes of a murderer who had lost all humanity.
Octavia desperately grabbed his cheek.
“What you’re seeing right now isn’t real.”
What kind of Chaos was he witnessing to act like this? She resolved to awaken his true consciousness.
“Whether you’re Keldi or the Admiral, come back here! You’re in danger too!”
If she left him abandoned in Chaos Space, there was no telling what catastrophe might befall him.
When no sign of calming appeared, she made a difficult decision.
‘It’s all or nothing.’
The only way to restore order from chaos was through contact.
She rose onto her toes and wrapped her arms around the neck of the man who towered above her. He obediently bent his waist toward her.
With their faces nearly touching, Octavia spoke with determination.
“If you keep growling like that, I really will abandon you.”
“By the way.”
He let out a soft chuckle and wrapped one arm around her waist.
“You can’t abandon me. No matter what kind of dog I become.”
Octavia watched as his golden eyes slowly dimmed, then claimed his lips.
The soft, warm sensation transmitted through her tongue, tinged with a subtle sweetness.
She had knocked on the door, but he was the one invading.
He freed her hands from around his neck, then seized both her wrists and lifted them above her head.
A dull clatter—the sound of the crutch toppling over.
Pinned helplessly against the wall, she tilted her chin upward.
Her newly liberated hand reached out and clung to him desperately.

Affection Increased [+13,000]

Current Total Disfavor [16,628]

***

It was precisely when Octavia felt a surge of alarm watching the disfavor drain away so rapidly.
“….”
He suddenly ceased his actions, pulling his lips away urgently.
The surrounding air grew cold and still, yet his glistening, moistened lips bore witness to the heat of moments before.
As the Admiral lifted his head, black and gold flickered across his pupils in alternation.
Beneath eyelids opening slowly, golden light drifted through his darkened eyes.
Then came a hollow, emotionless voice.
“Move away.”
His eyes, partially obscured by his hand, had grown disturbingly cold.
“Or you will die.”
Boom—!
Octavia was hurled backward by an invisible force, crashing to the floor.
“Ugh….”
Lifting her head from where she had fallen, Octavia’s eyes reflected the scene of his surroundings being consumed by pitch-black erosion.
“Admiral?”
Could he be losing control?
But mercifully, along with a long exhale, the erosion melted away and vanished.
Then came his composed voice, reason restored.
“…I would appreciate it if you would leave.”
Pressing his hand to his eyes, he retained no memory of what had just transpired. Only the aftermath of a tempest remained, scattered traces and the lingering warmth of their kiss.
The aftermath of his chaotic state had twisted his senses into disarray.
Her distinctive scent, even her worried gaze and breathing, repulsed him so intensely he feared he might turn away.
“Now.”
Not only had he pushed her away, but he was issuing a firm order for her to leave—yet Octavia’s expression remained unbothered.
She considered herself fortunate that the rampage of the “currently strongest mentally ill patient” had ended to this degree.
“I understand. We’ll talk next time.”
“There will be no further conversations between us. Please leave at once.”
Octavia attempted to rise, only to sink back down again.
“I’ll leave slowly.”
It was a response tinged with defiance, though she had her reasons.
He only noticed the bandages wrapped around her legs when she rose and limped out of the room.
Click.
Light seeped through the closing door’s gap, slicing through the darkness before vanishing.

[“Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”]

At the sudden hallucination, he pressed his hand to his ear and furrowed his brow.
He had overcome the Other Personality’s attempt to control him into pursuing her, but now it had escalated to speaking directly to him.

***

Octavia, who had been walking down the corridor leaning on crutches, suddenly stopped and turned around.
“…Did he like me?”
She murmured in a forlorn tone.
“Whimper.”
The Admiral’s puppy, now small again, approached and nuzzled the tip of its nose against her leg.
“Should we give you a name that’s just ours? Calling you ‘dog’ doesn’t feel right.”
“Woof.”
“Come to think of it, you’re a girl?”
Octavia scooped up the puppy and buried her face in its fluffy fur.
“How about Samwol?”
“Woof woof!”
“Do you like the name your sister gave you?”
“Woof!”
She was a precious being whom no one could love, yet who allowed her to love freely.

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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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