Disqualified as a Villainess - Chapter 96

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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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#96. Echoes of the Past (5)

Crash—!
The serving tray the Restaurant Staff had been holding clattered to the floor and rolled away.
Kelsedny Admiral, standing with an expressionless face, turned to look at the employee whose complexion had drained to white.
“I’ll borrow this place for a day.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“We can’t have someone dying by accident, can we?”
“Y-yes! Yes, of course!”
The trembling employee signaled the remaining patrons to leave quickly.
People fled, stifling their screams. Only Octavia, Kelsedny Admiral, and Deckerman Count remained.
“This man isn’t your type, is he?”
The Admiral continued, gesturing toward the Count with ash-gray hair and features far removed from beauty.
“You, who demand proof—you would never choose a man who has already failed at marriage.”
I didn’t know how he’d learned this, but I could be certain of one thing.
‘This man doesn’t feel jealousy.’
His face reflected in Octavia’s violet eyes grew increasingly dark and shadowed.
Not an emotion born of love, but possessiveness, exclusivity, and fury that someone dared covet what was his.
To him, Octavia was a particularly treasured possession.
‘Yet I have become capable of human jealousy.’
Because of the many scandals and rumors surrounding him, I often witnessed women approaching him with possibility in their eyes.
He had built walls because he grew up watching his mother suffer from a father who distributed equal affection among his mistresses, yet still I felt jealousy.
Jealousy petty enough to demand that to prove love, he shouldn’t even exchange glances with other women.
“I am of the collateral royal line! Even if problems arise with the Ira Kingdom, it matters not! Moreover, with the Kirke Royal Family of the Northern Continent, the apostles of balance….”
Deckerman Count cried out in terror upon seeing the blade aimed at his throat as if to pierce it.
But his cries were in vain.
“Aaaaagh!”
With a sickening sound, the Count clutched at one of his ears. Blood trickled between his fingers.
The Admiral looked down at him with emotionless eyes.
“If you’re of the collateral royal line, does that make it acceptable to flirt with my future wife?”
The Count’s face went pale—he’d never dreamed the Admiral had actual marriage intentions.
“What? I-I didn’t know you were engaged! Please, spare me…!”
‘I didn’t know either.’
Octavia tilted her head in confusion.
The Admiral slowly lowered the hand holding the blade and asked him a question.
“What ability do you possess?”
“I-it’s just common telekinesis. It’s not worth recovering, so please….”
“I see.”
The Admiral’s golden eyes narrowed as he looked down at the cowering Count.
“Abilities are abundant enough as it is.”
The sword in his hand transformed into a pistol in an instant.
Bang—!
The gunshot echoed through the air, and the mana bullet pierced through the Count’s head.
Octavia’s face gradually hardened as she watched.
“Admiral, that doesn’t mean you had to kill him….”
“Are you going to keep calling me that?”
He covered his original cynical expression with an affectionate mask and approached her. He crouched down in front of her, whose shoulders trembled slightly.
“Am I frightening you?”
He asked while resting both hands on her knees as she sat in the chair.
The Admiral, observing her as she delayed her response, let his eyebrows droop and wore an expression of regret.
“There’s no helping it. You’re the one who chose a man who has killed countless humans in war, Bia.”
Killing was an essential duty of the Royal Family for gathering abilities, and war was nearly a legitimate means.
It was difficult to truly comprehend a being born with a cruel nature until you witnessed it with your own eyes.
With his exceptionally beautiful appearance and charming demeanor, coupled with how tenderly he treated only her, she had failed to recognize it all the more.
Octavia’s self-deprecating gaze turned toward the empty air.
‘I have no right to say anything anyway.’
He brought Octavia’s cold hand to his lips and spoke in a languid voice.
“No matter what you do, even if you meet another man, I will understand unconditionally.”
As he recited these tender words, he slowly lifted his eyelids.
Soon his voice grew chillingly cold.
“But I will kill the other person without fail. You said it yourself—that’s what love is.”
The Reaper’s favoritism applied only to Octavia.
“Keldi, I didn’t speak so lethally.”
He rubbed Octavia’s clasped hand against his cheek and smiled.
“Whether it’s a man trying to prove himself to you or a man you come to love, they will die. That’s my choice, unrelated to any proof.”
‘I knew his possessiveness was extraordinary, but….’
This marriage seems ruined in this lifetime. Octavia thought so inwardly.
“Bia, we’re lovers, aren’t we?”
His eyes held a poignant longing for confirmation of their relationship. Despite completely erasing his murderous demeanor, bloodstains remained on his cheek and shirt.
“Yes, we are.”
She swept her flowing hair behind her ear, then gently stroked his jet-black hair, which contrasted with her platinum blonde.
Innate nature might be a constant, but choices and their consequences are variables.
‘Then I just need to utilize him as he is, appropriately.’
Octavia had already familiarized herself with his specifications.
“Can you do everything I want?”
“Yes. Feel free to use me.”
He nodded without hesitation, and his eyes formed soft curves.

***

The next day, I was summoned to the Royal Palace regarding the death of Deckerman Count.
“I had arranged this gathering to forge a good connection, and it’s most unfortunate that it has come to this.”
Lady Roxan, the King’s mistress, wore an expression of regret.
She hailed from the Eastern Continent—a woman exotic and youthful, with merely a ten-year age gap between herself and the twenty-year-old me.
Though the Ira Kingdom had yet to issue an official statement, the internal atmosphere already pointed toward blaming me as the cause.
“I share your regret. Had you given me even a hint beforehand, I would have stopped him. It’s not as though I couldn’t have foreseen such an outcome.”
At my composed demeanor, Prince Dominic stepped forward with a furrowed brow.
“Lady Roxan was merely trying to help you.”
“Why would you help me?”
Lady Roxan dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, feigning hurt.
“You misunderstood—you thought I hated you. That’s why this happened… I was simply worried you might be deceived by the Royal Family’s fleeting amusement and suffer for it.”
“Why would you suddenly concern yourself with me?”
Watching me carelessly repeat “why?” Prince Dominic suddenly raised his voice.
“Octavia! This is a matter that could escalate into a dispute between Federation States! You must grasp the gravity of the situation!”
“Intimidating a woman is something only base men do, Your Highness.”
Lady Roxan smiled, restraining the Prince.
“Octavia, I shall smooth this matter over. I hope this incident becomes an opportunity for us to resolve our misunderstandings.”
Just as Lady Roxan was attempting to coax me with conditions, the Queen Regent appeared.
“Why are you attributing the death caused by the Empire’s Second Prince to Octavia?”
Her copper-colored hair was bound neatly, and her amber eyes gleamed with unwavering resolve.
The Princesses who followed their mother each offered their own words.
“Knowing the Royal Family’s nature, arranging such a gathering was clearly a deliberate intention, wasn’t it?”
“Moreover, she went because she believed it was at the Queen Regent’s request. The deceiver is the problem here.”
I had already explained the circumstances to them beforehand.
The Queen Regent’s cool gaze fell upon Lady Roxan, who smiled with ease.
“The one who delivered false words is already dead, it seems.”
The Queen Regent uttered an ominous warning before turning her gaze to me.
“Octavia, come with me. There is no need to explain yourself to these people.”

***

The Queen’s Chamber.
Octavia was in private audience with the Queen Regent.
The Queen Regent, who had assumed the regency in place of the King incapacitated by grave illness, now found herself in a precarious position.
The Saint had been expelled, Prince Jeriel was dead, and misfortune had accumulated.
“Octavia, you understand as well as I do—the situation is dire.”
Prince Dominic maintained a particularly intimate relationship with Lady Roxan, the King’s mistress.
Meanwhile, his lover Chloe had demonstrated remarkable influence, and she had even healed the King’s illness, which had been deemed terminal.
Through Chloe’s extraordinary accomplishments, both Prince Dominic and Lady Roxan were experiencing a resurgence in power.
‘To be honest, political neutrality would have served our family well. Chloe Arsenes was no ordinary figure.’
A prince with ambitions that exceeded even the wealth and skill of his household would not have chosen a noblewoman fallen to the lowest rank without reason.
Thus, Octavia had refrained from involvement in major political struggles, limiting herself to assistance born of personal acquaintance.
‘I wanted to save Prince Jeriel, but….’
Octavia clenched her fist, recalling the innocent smile of the dead child.
Of course, the Queen Regent already understood Octavia’s thoughts.
“Lady Roxan is extraordinarily cunning. That arrangement with Deckerman Count wasn’t merely meant to provoke childish misunderstandings.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I understand.”
From now on, anyone who approached her—whether with impure intentions or genuine affection—would meet their end.
‘Using this, attempts to eliminate specific individuals or deliberately incite conflict will continue.’
With her at the center of the storm, it could escalate into civil war among six nations.
“Octavia, the actions of one who wields overwhelming power become consequences, not causes.”
To be slain by the Royal Family was akin to an inescapable act of nature.
“However, the Ira Royal Court cannot ignore the nobility’s gaze. They will seek the cause of death and demand accountability.”
“Yet they cannot hold the Ludovisi Family responsible either. From their perspective, she was a commoner, so there’s no face to save, and Kelsedny Admiral won’t stand idle.”
Octavia’s expression turned regretful.
“They will direct their accusations at the Acedia Royal Court. Ultimately, Your Majesty will be deemed responsible.”
“Yes, by invoking the moral obligation to take responsibility for what one’s people have done. Simultaneously, they will make me resent you.”
It was an extraordinarily subtle design, meant to circle back and sow discord between the Queen Regent and the Ludovisi Family.
Fortunately, the Queen Regent was a perceptive woman and harbored no resentment toward Octavia.
‘In the end, I’ve reached a point where I must choose sides over mere acquaintance.’
Octavia sighed, having wished to live ordinarily without being entangled in political intrigue and factional strife.
But the fact that the other side had bared its fangs first was tantamount to a declaration that if she didn’t become their ally, she would be driven over a cliff.
Octavia exhaled and spoke.
“Kelsedny Admiral may appear reckless, acting without regard for consequences, but that’s not truly the case. If it were, Lady Roxan would have been found as a corpse.”
“You mean he has a hidden agenda?”
He had known about Deckerman Count. His timely appearance at that location meant he was already aware of their scheme.
Yet the fact that he killed the Count regardless….
“He issued a warning to outsiders and taught us the rules.”
Octavia clasped the Queen Regent’s hand.
Those chosen by Kelsedny Admiral can receive protection.
Moreover, one can eliminate rivals and ascend to the desired position.
“Your Majesty, please support and bless my marriage to the Admiral.”
‘What a cunning man. He acted like a great hound before me, yet he was a calculating wolf all along.’
He had ultimately manipulated her into arriving at marriage as her own conclusion.
In another light, the Admiral was a madman who had exploited Lady Roxan’s schemes to obtain what he desired.

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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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