Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 9

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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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#9.

“Wait, wait a moment.”
I hurried forward in front of him, trying to examine the letter’s contents in detail.
A sharp crackling sound.
I watched in a daze as the letter turned to ash in his hands, consumed by black flames and vanished.
‘He destroyed it with his own hands?’
The letter that would become decisive evidence to execute me later?
It was truly a relief that the evidence that would drive me to death had disappeared from this world.
‘What could he possibly gain from sleeping with the Royal Family?’
But surely he wouldn’t have been executed merely for proposing to ‘sleep together.’
I couldn’t very well ask now, ‘Why did I make such a perverted proposal? Why did you accept it in the original story?’
Given Octavia’s nature, she wouldn’t have rushed at him for marriage, nor would she have tried to trade with her body alone.
An honorable Admiral wouldn’t simply accept such conditions and become an accomplice.
‘There’s definitely something that doesn’t appear in the original story.’
In the end, would I only understand by testing this man who possesses the power of an Apostle? There might be something special about him.
My tangled thoughts were suddenly cut short by a hand gripping my chin.
I was leaning over him as he sat on the sofa.
“Are you regretting this now?”
He asked, tilting my head upward.
His voice was cold, but his fingers gripping my chin were relaxed.
I grabbed his tie and pulled him closer, meeting his gaze.
“But Admiral, can you manage it with someone you dislike?”
It was pure curiosity. His previously loose fingers began to press against my cheek. His lips curved into a slant.
“A man can do it with a woman he doesn’t like.”
Men are creatures whose control tower shifts—sometimes obeying commands from below rather than above their heads.
Noticing my gaze drift downward, he released my chin and spoke.
“Don’t expect human sentiment or consideration from me.”
I released his tie and stared into his cold eyes before smiling faintly.
That was precisely the ideal I desired.
“I have no interest in such luxurious emotions either.”
I’ve experienced every hardship imaginable—I’m not fragile enough to be miserable over someone else’s feelings.
“Besides, nothing actually happened that night without any emotions involved, right?”
“Then.”
His lips, which had been pressed into a line, parted as a raspy voice escaped his throat.
“Let’s try once more and see. What you want is just a sleeping relationship anyway.”
It seemed he appeared to be making excuses like garbage unwilling to take responsibility.
He deliberately intimidated and pressured me, wrapping one arm firmly around my waist and pulling me close as he continued.
“It won’t be particularly gentle.”
How amusing. What could he possibly do that’s so rough and vulgar?
I placed my hand gently atop his chest.
“As long as you don’t hit me, torture me, lock me away, mutilate my body, or use me for human experimentation, it’s fine.”
The strange current that had been floating between our mingling breaths seemed to recede slightly.
“…What kind of life have you lived, exactly?”
With a sigh-like murmur, the Admiral’s hand, which had seemed to be withdrawing, suddenly gripped the back of my neck.
His large hand nearly encircled my entire neck.
He moved his lips, drawing so close they almost touched.
“I won’t force responsibility or marriage upon you immediately. Of course, I bear moral responsibility as well.”
His cool voice continued.
“I’ll accept your proposal—that of a worthless creature who desires only my body. It’s hardly difficult, given that we’ve already spent the night together. In exchange, I hope you’ll keep the promise to give me what I desire.”
Was what I wanted something Octavia had proposed?
I had no idea what a man who lacked nothing could possibly want.
For now, since I needed his cooperation and favor, I decided not to refuse.
In any case, a partnership and transaction had been established, so I could learn what he wanted gradually going forward.
Even if he intended to betray me after getting what he wanted, I could simply escape before then.
“Understood. Can I use you freely from now on? Of course, within reason.”
“In what manner do you intend to use me? Petty jealousy? Advancement for revenge?”
It seemed he even knew about my past with Prince Dominic.
“Ah, I have no interest in the Prince. I just need you to meet me like this. Honestly, I’d be happy just holding hands.”
“Are you asking me to play the role of a lover?”
“Is that possible? Just pretending, not an actual romantic relationship.”
As I asked with sparkling eyes, he quickly shook his head.
“No.”
“Just… be on my side. There aren’t many people who support me.”
“Is that all you’re asking for?”
I thought he’d demand the position of Director of the Ability Management Bureau.
“To be precise, I want us to maintain a partnership where we sleep together without emotion, each obtaining what we desire, and then eventually divorce citing personality differences after marrying according to your principles. This is quite a concession on my part, so you should be satisfied too, shouldn’t you?”
At my clean proposal, he looked at me with eyes of contempt, as though regarding a worthless dog.
“Why did you choose me specifically?”
“You’re my type.”
The moment my words ended, he covered his mouth with one hand and furrowed his brow.

Favorability Decline [+300]

He really does hate me, it seems.
I drew a smile to my eyes as I continued speaking.
“Don’t worry—even if I died, I’d never come to like you.”
I might actually die, after all.
That man, who held the conviction that he must marry the woman he spent his first night with—why had he allowed Octavia to be executed?
I added with a graceful smile.
“I can manage just fine with a man I don’t like either.”
I’d thought we’d reached a mutually amicable agreement, but…
Why was his expression growing increasingly rigid?
He pulled away from me as he exhaled a long breath.
The look of disillusionment that flickered across his eyes lingered like an afterimage.
“There’s no shortage of men who dislike you.”
The Admiral seemed utterly convinced I was a pervert.
“If you wish to sleep with another man, that’s acceptable.”
His face showed complete indifference as he added in a chilling voice.
“However, you won’t die comfortably. Neither you nor the other man.”
Wasn’t that just saying he was fine with it himself?
“I’ll take my leave now.”
He rose from his seat as if his own feelings had been hurt.
I couldn’t quite understand that man’s psychology—he dislikes me, yet he dislikes the idea of me with another man even more…

***

After the Admiral left, I paced the Corridor before Father’s Office, calculating my remaining unfavorability points.
The Admiral had certainly given me quite a bit of unfavorability, but I couldn’t gauge how much would be deducted when I met Father.
Thud.
“Ow.”
Lost in thought as I walked, I bumped my nose against someone’s hard, thick chest.
I locked eyes with a tall man whose shirt seemed ready to burst from his muscular frame—he looked like a handsome crime boss. My eldest brother, Samuel Ludovisi.
He oversees the Ludovisi Family’s main business: the manufacture of weapons exclusively for ability users.
“Pathetic. So you’ve come back after all?”
Beneath hair the color of pale brown, inherited from Father, his cold eyes held no expectation whatsoever for me.

Favorability increased [+15]

In truth, he’s delighted that I’ve returned.
“You’ve run out of money, haven’t you.”
My second older brother, Vittore Ludovisi, who followed behind and manages an ergonomic business venture, chimed in as well.
With his long hair and monocle, he resembled a mad scientist version of Father.
Both of them inherited Father’s handsome features, but only I received Mother’s beauty and that platinum-blonde hair like sunlight.
“Trying to win over the Prince’s favor by even touching the Royal Family. You must have come to ask us to clean up the mess afterward.”

Favorability increased [+15]

My second brother Vittore, unaware that the Admiral had come saying he’d take responsibility, was drawing heart shapes with both hands in his mind while worrying about me with affection.
Father and my brothers didn’t actually hate Octavia. This wasn’t merely speculation or conjecture based on tropes.
In the original story, they die trying to save Octavia.

“My father and brothers die because of me? They all… hated me.”

Looking at it differently, only Octavia’s love was ruined.
Rejected by the male lead, abandoned by her allies, and the belated sincerity of her beloved family remained as irreversible regret.
‘I’m weak to family stories like this.’
My heart wasn’t in a good place for various reasons, but fortunately, I was someone who knew how to maintain reason.
“What do you want me to do? You two collect cars and seaplanes like children. Anyone would think you’re a self-made motivational speaker practicing thrift and frugality.”
I too was drawing hearts in my mind as I spoke.
That’s one thing, but let’s resolve the favorability issue first, then have a tearful reconciliation later.
I left quickly, leaving behind a melancholic barb.
If I stay with my family, who undoubtedly love me despite my harsh words, I’ll fall apart.

Unfavorability increased [+1]

The dislike meter climbing by a hair’s breadth compared to my favorability was equally tear-inducing.
“Miss.”
Just as I was stepping outside the Entrance Hall to escape my brothers, my secretary Lothear approached, pushing his glasses up with a swift motion.
“The Representative says he will provide the necessary funds for you.”
“Oh.”
“However, the conditions are improving relations with the Holy Temple Society and fostering royal connections. Given this recent scandal and the intention to clean up the mess from what you’ve caused thus far, he says you must resolve everything else on your own besides the financial support.”
That cold hot chocolate of a secretary had actually made an effort for poor me.
It seemed Father had heard about the miserable circumstances I’d endured at my uncle’s house.
In typical novels, family relationships only improve after one’s remarkable abilities are recognized.
I thought I’d need to build something like a self-destructing drone, but it ended with just a simple apology.
‘After all, family is a being that gives unconditional love.’
Though other emotions had dulled, there was still something left in me. One of those things was familial love.
‘Really, people who don’t know how to express themselves.’
And I had become someone who couldn’t express myself.
A geis was placed upon me—I could never reveal to anyone the fact that I would die if I gained favorability.
‘Even if I live my entire life being hated, as long as I don’t commit the sins of the original, they won’t die.’
In a world where I had no one on my side, they were my most reliable allies. However flimsy the seams, I didn’t want them to break.
As memories of my past life’s desolation began to surface, I hastily shook my head.
Whether I was the Protagonist or not had nothing to do with me—I just needed to stay out of unrelated affairs, accumulate dislike through the Admiral, and live my life adequately.
But this was merely optimistic thinking.
“It appears that Prince Jeriel has recently been showing signs of shadow encroachment syndrome. Since there are so many who seek to slander you, it would be wise to be cautious about suspicion.”
The moment I heard the information Lothear conveyed, I felt my face drain of color.
‘Why?’
The first crime revealed to have been committed by Octavia in the original—shadow encroachment syndrome that killed Prince Jeriel, the son of the Crown Princess, had begun.
Even though I had done nothing.

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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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