The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 16

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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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“….”
Even if Cain verbally berated me, I had no proper rebuttal to offer.
After all, I didn’t have any real plan—I was simply walking forward while holding Timothy’s hand.
My only intention was to reach the City Center, where long-distance carriages operated, as quickly as possible, and then depart for the Capital with Timothy.
‘I should have asked the Hotel to call a carriage for us.’
But I couldn’t risk leaving Timothy in the same space as the Marquis Family for even a single second.
‘…I’m fortunate to have met Cain.’
I could vividly imagine how smug he would become if he knew, so I could never let those words escape my lips.
“We need to disinfect this right away. Sit here.”
“There’s no need. Won’t we arrive at Headquarters soon anyway?”
“If it gets infected in the meantime, your facial skin might need to be debrided entirely. It’s not my face, so it doesn’t matter to me, but it matters to you, doesn’t it, Tessa?”
“….”
There it was.
That infuriating manner of speaking again!
But since his words weren’t wrong, I silently took a seat beside him.
In the cramped carriage, as Cain leaned his body close toward me, that distinctive heat—fierce and predatory—washed over me in a wave.
‘…This hasn’t changed.’
That intensity of warmth, better described as scorching rather than merely warm, was exactly as I remembered it.
Yet there was one difference.
Unlike my Academy days, when it was merely the scent of sweat, now the sharp notes of leather and faint gunpowder reached my nostrils.
“It’s worse than I thought. You were just walking around in this condition….”
Cain clicked his tongue disapprovingly as he retrieved first aid supplies from a drawer in the corner of the carriage.
“Ugh….”
Cain’s touch was remarkably gentle as he cleaned the wound with cotton soaked in disinfectant.
His hands were large and rough, callused from years of swordsmanship, so I couldn’t help but wince repeatedly.
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s bearable.”
“You need to be honest. You have a problem with enduring too much.”
That’s right.
Despite our relationship not being particularly poor, this was precisely why I had avoided meeting with him.
Regardless of differences in status or rank, Cain knew me far too well.
Whenever I tried to hide something, he would immediately see through it and press for answers.
“Tell me what happened on the way. How did things end up like this?”
And so, faced with Cain’s question now, I had no choice but to be honest.
“I had an issue with the Marquis Family. I simply couldn’t bear to watch Timothy being treated that way…and Timothy wanted to stop living that life too. I was bringing him out when I hit my head.”
“…A lot is being left out. Who did it? The Marquis himself?”
“You don’t need to know.”
I spoke firmly, but Cain’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Sigh.
I swallowed my frustration silently.
If Cain set his mind to it, uncovering what actually happened would be as easy as eating cold porridge.
‘Leopold, you’re truly finished.’
Cain never released prey once he had seized it.
Leopold’s future, enlisting under that bloodthirsty Commander-in-Chief, painted itself effortlessly in my mind.
Of course, I felt not the slightest pity.
Behind Leopold stood the Marquis and his wife.
No matter how harshly Cain treated Leopold, there was no possibility he would face a fate like Timothy’s.
After finishing the disinfection, Cain skillfully wrapped a bandage around my head.
“Bringing out the Marquis’s daughter like that… you certainly caused quite the accident, Tessa.”
Cain shook his head side to side, though his voice carried unmistakable laughter beneath it.
Strangely, seeing him like that put my mind at ease.
It wasn’t that I suddenly believed the Imperial Commander-in-Chief would protect me.
Cain and I weren’t that intimate.
But Cain possessed an uncanny ability to slip free from any predicament.
If he ever wore a grave expression, then I’d have reason to worry—but his languid laughter now was proof this was nothing serious.
Though that reassurance was short-lived.
Cain’s expression abruptly turned grave.
“Even so, you tried to walk that long distance with an injured body. You should have cried out in pain the moment you were hurt and asked for a Doctor. And what were the others doing? Just standing there gawking? The Hotel staff too?”
“It wasn’t that serious, I’m telling you.”
“What are you saying? If it becomes infected, we’re in real trouble!”
As we bickered back and forth, the carriage arrived at the Headquarters before I knew it.
The Doctor who came running at Cain’s command unwrapped the bandage, examined the wound, then produced an ornately crafted jade-colored case and spread a thin layer of salve across it.
I drew in a sharp breath.
‘That craftsmanship on the case…!’
It was the finest salve available—one that healed even the most severe wounds without leaving a single scar, traded at prices exceeding gold.
“Apply more.”
At Cain’s command, the Doctor’s expression turned troubled.
“Commander, this amount is sufficient. Since you must apply it daily, using too much will deplete it in no time.”
It was a reasonable objection.
Such an expensive salve couldn’t be wasted.
I accepted the salve from the Doctor’s trembling hands.
“How much does that cost? You think I can’t even afford that much for you…?”
“Stop it, Cain. I’ll use it carefully as you’ve instructed, Doctor.”
I offered the Doctor a bright smile.
Strangely, he now looked utterly terrified.
‘I knew the salve was precious, but it seems far more valuable than I realized.’
I turned back toward Cain to ask him to send Timothy to the Capital with me.
‘…?’
I blinked several times.
Cain’s lips were pressed firmly shut as he stared at me.
For a moment, sparks seemed to dance in those golden eyes, his gaze turning sharp and cutting.
“Are you angry?”
I asked carefully.
Well, carefully by my standards, at least.
“…No.”
A curt reply came back.
‘He’s definitely angry.’
Oh no.
An angry Cain Inkaris was not someone easy to handle.
“I don’t even know why I’m angry at someone like you…”
It seemed he was thoroughly upset with me for reasons I couldn’t fathom.
And “someone like you”?
‘He’s really sulking hard about this….’
Still, I am who I am.
The woman who tamed Cain Inkaris…or so the rumors went about Tessa Harrington.
It sounded like some scandalous affair when put that way, but in reality, it was just gossip born from the fact that Cain, who acted like a rabid beast toward everyone else, behaved normally only around me.
“Cain, I’m not sure what I did wrong, but please don’t be like this. I was grateful for your help today.”
I offered him a bright smile.
Surprisingly, his anger didn’t simply melt away as he smiled back at me…nothing of the sort happened.
“You, you think you can smooth this over with just that…!”
Of course, I never expected a smile alone would resolve everything.
I wasn’t some peerless beauty whose smile could melt the hearts of thousands,
but according to Tessa Harrington’s first principle of handling Cain Inkaris, treat his mercurial moods as if they were nothing at all.
“I’m sorry, but I need to ask for more help. I’m planning to return to the Capital with Timothy, and I was wondering if you could assist us. I’m worried about the Marquis Family.”
Cain’s expression darkened, and he muttered something.
“…go.”
It was strange. Cain wasn’t the type to mumble, but he spoke so unclearly it was hard to hear.
‘Did he bite his tongue?’
I leaned toward Cain.
“What did you just say?”
Fortunately, this time his words came through clearly enough.
“…If you apply more ointment, I’ll arrange a carriage for you.”
Huh.
Could he really be angry over the ointment?
But if that were the case, this would be easy to resolve.
“That’s no problem at all.”
I carefully squeezed out more ointment and spread it thinly over the area.
Unfortunately, Cain only grew more agitated.
“Apply it thickly. Your…”
Cain’s words cut off abruptly.
I tilted my head with a puzzled expression, gazing up at him.
For whatever reason had kindled his anger, Cain Inkaris’s ears had flushed a vivid crimson.

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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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