The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 15

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

“…Tessa?”
Timothy’s voice barely pulled me back to reality.
This wasn’t the time for that.
No matter how grim Timothy’s predetermined future might be, I couldn’t afford to lose myself in what hadn’t yet come to pass.
What mattered most to me right now was Timothy standing before me.
Not the Timothy who would die in his brother’s stead in some distant future.
“Let’s go, Timothy.”
I wrapped my arm around Timothy’s shoulder and turned away from the Duke’s family.
Timothy would never exchange another word with them.
“Vice Director Tessa Harrington.”
The Duke’s voice cut through the air with glacial coldness.
The barely restrained fury in his tone would have made most people flinch.
But I was no ordinary person.
I’d faced countless angry nobles before.
Especially those desperate to paint me as a villainess.
Thanks to them, there wasn’t a single Imperial Palace official who hadn’t heard rumors of my wickedness.
The Duke continued, his voice sharp as a blade.
“You will pay the price.”
Even as I felt blood trickling down my face, a laugh escaped me.
It must have been quite a sight.
Both the Duchess and the Duke himself flinched, their eyes darting away.
“I will bear the consequences of my actions.”
I could say this because I’d already paid the price for everything I’d done.
Ostracism, threats, demotion…
I’d endured them all.
Simply for doing what I believed was right.
This moment was merely one among countless others like it.
“And Your Grace will also pay the price for your actions. It seems you already have.”
They’d abused their own flesh and blood without understanding their worth, and now the gentle child who’d never once defied them had risen to his feet and walked away from his family.
Would they ever truly comprehend the magnitude of what had just happened?
I grasped the hesitant Timothy’s hand and hurried out of the Hotel, leaving the still-fuming Duke’s family behind.
I’d contact the Hotel later to have our luggage sent to my residence.
‘Thank goodness I packed everything so we could leave at a moment’s notice.’
Timothy opened his mouth tentatively.
“Um, where… where are we going?”
I answered while maintaining our brisk pace.
“To my home for now.”
Timothy’s voice grew slightly brighter.
“Does that mean I can… live with you, Tessa?”
“….”
I found myself at a loss for words.
I understood Timothy’s feelings well enough, but my life was utterly unsuitable for raising a child.
I would only deepen the loneliness of a boy who had already been wounded.
I shook my head.
“I’m sorry, Timothy.”
The truth was better learned sooner rather than later.
“That would be difficult for me.”
“…It’s alright.”
Surprisingly, Timothy answered with composure.
“I’ve researched orphanages quite thoroughly. They’re better places than I expected. There’s no need to learn swordplay there… Oh, and apparently they don’t hit children anymore!”
I stopped in my tracks and stared at Timothy intently.
“You researched orphanages? Why?”
“Well, that is…”
Timothy’s words faltered.
“Because I didn’t know when I’d be cast out.”
I was rendered speechless.
‘This child has lived his entire life preparing for the day he’d be expelled.’
To anyone’s eyes, the Duke’s command to leave the house was nothing more than a threat, yet Timothy had taken it as a genuine warning.
‘…It would have been better if he’d actually been sent away.’
Then he wouldn’t have joined the Border Knight Order in Leopold’s stead as in the novel, nor would he have died so brutally.
Instead, he could have grown up peacefully in an orphanage, entered the Academy with his sharp mind, and found his true calling.
“…”
But that version of Timothy—I cannot save him.
I grasped Timothy’s hand firmly and began walking faster.
“T-Tessa.”
Timothy called out to me again.
“Are you… angry?”
“I’m not angry.”
I shook my head.
“Not at you, at least.”
Timothy quickly grasped my meaning.
“…You’re angry at my parents.”
“Yes. Duke or not, they had no right to treat you that way.”
“B-but still…”
Timothy murmured in a small, pleading voice.
“Please don’t hate them too much.”
My throat tightened painfully.
What had the Duke’s family done to this kind boy all these years?
And what horrors must this gentle child have endured before his regression transformed him into the vengeful figure in the novel?
‘The Timothy who regressed… couldn’t trust anyone’s love.’
I was too busy pushing away even those who genuinely cared for me.
While part of it was to focus on revenge, the real reason was that I couldn’t trust people because of the trauma I’d acquired in my first life.
And on top of that, the Duke’s family kept clinging to me with regret—what more could I say?
But the price I paid was steep.
After completing my revenge, all that remained for Timothy was emptiness.
No love, no friendship, no affection.
I remembered the readers’ outcry over that ending—Timothy living such a lonely life until her final years, only to reunite with the male lead near the end.
‘…This Timothy will absolutely not end up like that.’
I would find the best parents for Timothy.
Parents who would embrace the child and pour unconditional love upon her to heal her wounds.
‘…It won’t be easy.’
I’m a realistic person.
Not many people want to raise an early-teenage girl rather than a young child.
There would certainly be those who tried to adopt with impure intentions.
So if I scrutinized everything carefully… and still couldn’t find anyone?
‘Then I’d really have to consider raising her myself… but I’d prefer to find her a new family if at all possible.’
It was a thought born from knowing myself too well—once I threw myself into something, I forgot food, sleep, and people alike.
“Where are you rushing off to so desperately, Tessa?”
I nearly fainted.
An ordinary carriage pulled up right beside the road, its door flew open, and Cain Inkaris jumped out.
‘Is this guy seriously a stalker?!’
…I thought that while trying to ask if he could give me a ride.
It was quite a distance to the City Center, after all.
“Is this guy seriously a stalker?”
But instead of asking what I should have, the words that suddenly popped into my head tumbled out of my mouth.
Cain’s face crumpled.
“A stalker? I stopped the carriage because I saw you walking with blood dripping down your face on my way back to Headquarters.”
He nodded his head with an arrogant air.
“Get in. Let’s go to Headquarters and get you treated. The Duke’s daughter can ride with us too.”
His voice was filled with an authority that was utterly impossible to refuse.
So he knew everything after all.
Timothy, her face drained of all color, began to tremble.
I sighed at the child and spoke.
“It’s fine, he’s someone I know. He was also my classmate at the Academy. Commander-in-Chief Inkaris—you’ve heard of him, right?”
She nodded repeatedly.
Well, if she didn’t know, she wouldn’t be an Imperial citizen. Especially not if she’d trained in swordplay like Timothy had.
The moment I climbed into the carriage, Cain clicked his tongue.
“I knew it would come to this. With your personality, could you possibly ignore children in difficult circumstances?”
…It had been a long time since I’d heard something so difficult to refute.
“And now you even have a title, so it’s obvious. Among all your predecessors in that position, not a single one would have cared about the title itself.”

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