Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 92

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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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#92. Echoes of the Past (1)

The ∞th Interrogation
The Eighth Sin

***

Octavia Ludovisi of the Mage Engineering Family displayed an awakening unlike any other after losing her mother at a young age.
“I have knowledge in my head from a country where science has advanced tremendously.”
At first, it was dismissed as the cute imagination of a seven-year-old.
“Did I oversimplify it too much for a child’s understanding? I meant knowledge at the level of a higher civilization.”
The child held up a workbook with an apple drawn on it, her expression displeased.
“I’m sorry, but I simply cannot bear counting numbers with apples.”
The Ludovisi Representative felt something was amiss when he watched her solve advanced-level problems on the first attempt.
Afterward, Octavia proved her words by effortlessly solving not only Academy graduation exam-level problems but also difficult questions that had plagued ability scholars.
‘A genius.’
A possessor of overwhelming knowledge that would advance the mage industry by a century, the manifestation of The Sage from legend.
“I’m a commoner, so what? Between a commoner who established probability and quantum ability theory to improve weapon accuracy, and a noble who was simply born and breathes—who do you think has greater human value?”
In the rumors, she was called a lunatic who straddled the line between genius and abnormality.
Emperor Phalanes, who invited the rumored Octavia to the Lucifer Empire and conversed with her, was quite taken with her.
He even recognized her as the first-ever First-Class Knowledge Ability User.
Along with rumors that the Emperor had marked her as his future daughter-in-law, the Religious Order also sought to recruit her, calling her the ‘Saint of Knowledge’ sent down by the God of Order.
In response, the King of Acedia hastily announced her as the pairing for Crown Prince Dominic.
In a sense, it could be seen as possession from a novel, but at that time, she was unaware of novels with such content. Therefore, she understood herself to have undergone a consciousness transfer to a different dimension.
“I don’t need some grand ability that everyone recognizes. You’re not my sibling anyway.”
Initially, her family treated her coldly, believing another entity had taken over Octavia’s body.
“Please, where has my daughter gone? I beg you, return her to me.”
They pleaded desperately.
She felt sympathy and tried to convince her family that her past self and present self were the same being.
“The universe is infinite, destiny takes countless forms, and beings identical to us exist in other dimensions. The self is the continuity of memory. Another memory from a future dimension has simply interfered with this place.”
But familial bonds could not be filled by knowledge and logic alone.
“Father, could you teach me about mana dynamics?”
Understanding the meaning of family, Octavia made efforts to bridge that gap.
She wanted a family.
The Ludovisi Representative, grieving the loss of his wife, gradually opened his heart as he taught her the knowledge of this world.
Watching Octavia strive to be recognized as family, even Samuel and Vittore, who had been difficult, began to accept her.
However, from the beginning, her extraordinary nature prevented her from having an ordinary childhood.
“Young pioneer, grant me your teachings.”
“I believe your great knowledge will bring peace to the world.”
For her, the old world was inconvenient, and war was utterly tedious.
She imparted her knowledge to the continent’s finest scholars and engineers.
She conserved the world just enough for her own convenience.
The words “genius” and “innovation” were permitted to her alone.
Everyone anticipated what Octavia would accomplish once she reached adulthood.
Yet after transmitting only knowledge befitting the consciousness level of this civilization’s people, she announced her swift retirement.
“I shall now return to where I came from. The memories will remain, but I will become a human of ordinary intellect.”
Of course, it was a lie.
A declaration that she would withdraw after finishing the cultivation of her successors, that she would henceforth live an ordinary human life. She knew perfectly well this declaration would prove meaningless.
She wished to experience a life different from the fierce existence she had led before.
It meant attempting things she had never done until now.
“Father. Older Brothers.”
When the Other Personality that had been dwelling within her departed, Father and my Older Brothers wore subtle expressions.
“Bia, have you truly… returned?”
“Welcome home, Octavia.”
In truth, this was the greatest reason for choosing to become “an ordinary human.”
No matter how much effort I expended to open my heart, I could never become a true family with them.

***

Prince Dominic was less a lover or fiancé to her than a childhood companion who had grown up alongside her.
Though not her preference, his handsome features and gentle nature, combined with the years they had spent together, were sufficient to conjure the illusion that love was possible.
Following the ordinary cycle of life, building a family after marriage was also among her objectives.
That remained true until he bid her farewell.
“Octavia, as you know, I am a Third-Class Ability User. The innate ability I was born with is a gap that cannot be bridged even with money, yes?”
“So? Just tell me the point.”
“You are no longer a knowledge ability user, nor a genius. If I marry you… I will ultimately remain the husband of a wealthy commoner.”
“Ah, so it was an inferiority complex after all?”
So she had crafted ability-enhancement equipment, presenting it as a secret family technique.
With this, the Prince rose to Second-Class, and she believed the problem was solved.
But it was not.
“You should have noticed when I said it then, Octavia.”
Because the Prince had fallen in love with a woman named Chloe Arsenes, Octavia’s plan for continental salvation crumbled.
Relations between men and women were more complicated than one might think.
“Because you are without ability and a commoner. And though you are beautiful… we cannot converse. You lack the gentle touch of a woman who elevates a man’s spirit. Speaking in casual tone from beginning to end as well.”
In short, it meant “you lack charm as a woman.”
Rather than being wounded, Octavia nodded with an expression of sudden understanding.
“I see. I sensed something was lacking, but it was the absence of romantic feeling.”
“What?”
“It means there was no love between the Prince and me.”
She laid out her conclusion to him, whose expression had turned bewildered.
“All I have to offer is bloodline, and I whine all day besides. I’m broke, talentless, and we’re not even on the same conversational level. On top of that, you’re not even my type. So, as the Prince suggested, let me find someone who’ll respect me while using formal speech. I’ll search for someone on my own level. Problem solved, right?”
It was a remarkably straightforward conclusion for such a lengthy relationship spanning over a decade.
Ever since Octavia declared herself an ordinary human, public opinion of her had shifted dramatically.
Emperor Phalanes of the Empire, who had cherished her, died at the hands of his own son, the Crown Prince, in a coup d’état.
With circumstances taking such a turn, there was no longer any need to tread carefully.
Now she was merely a wealthy, arrogant commoner woman.
‘I don’t care.’
True to her my-way nature, unbothered by others’ gazes, she set herself a new objective.
‘Let me try falling in love.’
It was at a Royal Ball, attended in search of a suitable romantic prospect, that Octavia laid eyes on Kelsedny Decart Admiral for the first time.
‘Black hair, uniform, beauty, a superior man without a trace of inferiority complex.’
He was precisely her type.
‘Marriage to the Royal Family may be impossible, but as someone to awaken my dopamine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin—he’s more than adequate.’
Octavia, her face concealed behind an open fan, began stealing glances at him as he stood surrounded by women.
Most people couldn’t even meet the gaze of the Royal Family due to their overwhelming presence, yet Kelsedny Admiral seemed exceptionally skilled at controlling his aura.
“It’s an embroidered handkerchief I stitched while praying for your safe campaigns, sir.”
“I wanted to give you a brooch that would suit your uniform.”
“These are cookies I baked myself. I put my heart into them.”
As expected, he was a popular man showered with gifts.
“Thank you.”
Though his smile seemed somewhat perfunctory, the seductive gleam in his eyes suggested he wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with women.
Soon, the dance time began, with couples pairing off.
She paid no attention whatsoever to whether Dominic danced with Chloe or performed a samba.
‘All right, I’ll ask him to dance first thing.’
Assuming it would be first-come, first-served, she quickly approached the Admiral.
But he seemed uninterested in dancing, rummaging through his coat before promptly disappearing.
“Where did he suddenly go?”
“Ah, I was hoping to ask him to dance first.”
She heard sighs from others who’d harbored identical thoughts.
‘He’s gone to smoke a cigar.’
Octavia recalled the faint scent of cigar that had wafted from him as she’d passed nearby.
She envisioned the terrace where gentlemen smokers gathered for conversation and promptly headed there.
“I didn’t prepare a gift or anything, but that should be fine.”
I myself am a gift descended upon wretched primitive humanity.
Octavia arrived at the terrace with such peculiar rationalization.
There he was, as expected. Beyond the terrace glass, silhouetted against the dark night sky, stood his solitary figure.
As she naturally stepped inside, she caught sight of something that made her eyes widen in surprise.
“Oh….”
It was because she witnessed the brooch someone had gifted him being carelessly discarded into a cigar receptacle.
Having sensed her presence long ago, he turned to face her.
The man’s face, shadowed by moonlight, was captivating and elegant.
Her gaze, fixed on his face with its loose smile, drifted toward the tip of his hand holding the handkerchief.
It was a handkerchief gifted by yet another lady.
Octavia blinked in bewilderment as she watched it burst into flames and vanish.
‘A psychopath wearing a mask of sociability. If I had stepped forward claiming to be the gift myself, perhaps I would have met the same fate….’
“If you’re going to throw away those cookies, give them to me instead. I’m curious what love-infused cookies taste like.”
Of course, she was far from ordinary herself.

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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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