The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 13

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

“Timothy, what kind of vile language is that!”
The Marquis immediately rebuked him, brandishing his cane.
Timothy flinched but did not retreat.
“Leopold accused me of theft, Father!”
“Then you deny it. How dare you raise your voice at Leopold? What gives you the right to do such a thing?”
Timothy said nothing in response.
His eyes gleamed with such intensity that it revealed the magnitude of the anger the boy had accumulated over time.
Suddenly, the Marquis’s seething rage seemed to vanish in an instant, his voice becoming utterly devoid of emotion.
“Leave.”
“F-Father?”
Timothy’s face was utterly bewildered.
“Don’t even call me Father. From this moment on, you are no son of mine. If I ever hear you breathe the name Timothy Dever anywhere, I’ll have your tongue ripped from your mouth.”
Leopold’s face twisted into a repugnant smile as he grasped the turning tide of events.
He jabbed Timothy’s ribs repeatedly, sneering with glee.
“Timmy, why aren’t you begging for forgiveness? Maybe I’ll forgive you if you get on your knees.”
Timothy’s pupils trembled violently.
He turned his pleading gaze toward the Marchioness, but his own mother’s eyes were equally cold.
“What are you doing? Leave at once.”
The Marquis’s cane struck the ground with a sharp tap, tracing an arc.
Timothy’s face drained of all color.
I barely suppressed the roiling fury within me, forcing myself to think rationally.
‘Perhaps… this is for the best.’
If the Marquis cast Timothy out entirely, I could protect him without any friction with House of Dever.
But the situation before my eyes only continued to deteriorate.
“I-I’m sorry!”
I bit my lip hard.
Every ounce of my self-control was needed to keep from screaming.
Timothy had dropped to his knees, wringing his hands in a posture of desperate supplication.
I felt my nails digging into my palms, but even that pain was insufficient to suppress the rage boiling up within me.
“I’m sorry, Father… I’m sorry. Please, forgive me. I’ll do anything…”
When the Marquis pointed his cane at Leopold, Timothy, still on his knees, turned his body toward him.
“I’m sorry, Leopold. I… I must have lost my mind. I went mad for a moment and did this…”
He let out a hollow laugh.
Leopold openly mocked Timothy.
“You tuck your tail between your legs at one word from Father? Doesn’t seem like you have confidence in surviving out there. You’re useless, utterly worthless.”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m w-worthless…”
Timothy hung his head low.
His shoulders trembled visibly—even from a distance, it was clear the boy was crying.
Leopold dangled a dolphin keychain in front of Timothy’s face.
“Then what’s this, huh?”
Timothy opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He had something to say, but it withered before he could speak it aloud.
“Hmm? Go on, speak.”
Leopold spoke in a bright, cheerful voice.
“If you tell me the truth, I’ll forgive you.”
“…From Miss Tessa Harrington, as a gift…”
“Hmm?”
Leopold tilted his head in confusion.
“That woman is a commoner. How could a commoner buy something like this for you? Think again. Wait—is that it? That woman stole it!”
Leopold continued with tremendous self-satisfaction.
He seemed delighted by the idea that had just occurred to him.
“So she bought it and gave it to you. Yes, you’re right. You’re not a thief. She’s the thief!”
“No, that’s not… Miss Tessa Harrington isn’t a thief…”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
Leopold laughed aloud.
“I should call the authorities right now. Tell them to arrest that woman, Tessa Harrington.”
Timothy’s body trembled violently, and his barely audible whisper echoed through the lobby.
“I… I stole it.”
“Oh!”
Leopold clapped his hands.
“Finally, you admit it! Then this is mine, isn’t it? You stole it, so you don’t deserve to have it.”
Timothy gazed at the keychain with desperate eyes.
“What? I can’t hear you well.”
“…Y-yes. Yes, you… you take it.”
Now Timothy was sobbing completely. I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t confront House of Dever right now.
House of Dever wielded far greater influence in the empire than Marquis Willis, who had demoted me to the Child Protection Bureau in an instant.
For Timothy’s sake, I had to endure.
“I don’t need this cheap trash anyway.”
Leopold dropped the keychain to the floor, spat, and stomped on it hard with his spiked shoe.
Crack.
The sound of obsidian shattering filled the air.
The expression that appeared on Timothy’s face in that moment—I would never forget it for the rest of my life.
It was the face of someone who had tasted hope, ever so briefly, only to have it torn away entirely.
Something shattered inside my mind.
Damn it. Damn it all.
Yes, caution is fine.
But what good is all that caution if the child is completely destroyed in the process?
I stepped out from behind the sculpture I’d been hiding behind and approached House of Dever with quick strides.
Consequences, responsibility—none of those grand considerations crossed my mind.
Only one thought remained: I had to protect this child.
“…Tessa, Miss Tessa?”
Timothy called out to me in great alarm, but I didn’t spare the boy a single glance.
If I looked at the child who had paid the price for my inaction, I feared I would simply fall apart.
“That keychain was a gift I gave to Timothy. I paid for it directly, and I have the receipt.”
Leopold quickly retreated behind the Marchioness when the atmosphere grew tense.
Though his broad frame made him entirely visible regardless.
The Marquis slowly opened his mouth.
“…So you’re the commoner in question. What exactly are you trying to say?”
I drew in a single breath and released it.
It wasn’t fear.
I simply needed to steel myself.
“Marquis, Marchioness, and both your children—I witnessed all four of you abusing Timothy.”
“That was merely discipline. On what grounds do you slander us? Are you aware that slandering nobility without basis carries a minimum sentence of ninety days imprisonment?”
“I have grounds.”
I glanced around the area.
‘The hotel staff are here. That’s sufficient for witnesses.’
In fact, several guests had been passing through and observing House of Dever’s spectacle since earlier.
They all seemed shocked, yet not a single person stepped forward.
If fortune favored me, at least one of them would testify on Timothy’s behalf, indifferent to House of Dever’s wealth.
If none did, then this would become a lonely battle.
But I had confidence in fighting alone.
If I couldn’t demonstrate the temperament of someone known as the Ministry of Finance’s villainess in a situation like this, wouldn’t that be a waste?
Vile-tempered. Peculiar. Ruthless. It was time to fully unleash the personality for which I was so infamous.
Ah, and my hollow title as well.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tessa Harrington, Deputy Director of the Child Protection Bureau.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————