The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 22

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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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“The mage is a good person.”
Surprisingly, the first villager to be interrogated defended the mage firmly.
“He would never harm his own child.”
“But we did receive a report.”
“Ha! It must be the work of those trying to frame the mage.”
“Have you seen the child?”
“Four or five times? He’s introverted, so he doesn’t even greet people properly. I wonder if that’s why there are more misunderstandings, but it’s a perfectly normal household.”
“I see.”
I recorded his words casually without showing any reaction.
“But if the child is nine years old, shouldn’t he be attending the Village School? Why have you only seen him four or five times?”
“Of course it’s homeschooling.”
The man’s tone was quite self-satisfied.
“Why would someone as brilliant as the mage need to send his child to school? Bad influences could rub off on him. It’s best to teach at home.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I spoke with several more people, but they all said similar things.
That the mage was too good a person for such a thing, that the child looked ordinary the few times they’d seen him, and who would make such a false accusation.
‘Then who filed the report?’
The Child Protection Bureau was a minor post within the Imperial Palace, but to a small village like this, it was clearly a central authority.
‘It’s possible someone really did file a false report.’
But it was too early to judge. Above all, I needed to meet the child directly before making my next decision.
That evening, the mage’s house was located in a forest some distance from the village.
‘Not a single neighbor.’
An ominous feeling washed over me.
Isolated from the outside world, with a guardian who received something close to worship from those around him, and an introverted child.
And if the child didn’t even attend school, it hardly seemed like a normal environment for growth.
I pressed the doorbell.
No sound came from within, but soon a man opened the door.
‘So this is the mage.’
Gary Collins, the mage, appeared to be a rather ordinary, rotund middle-aged man on the surface.
Despite a stranger visiting, he wore a smile that gave off a warm impression.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Tessa Harrington, an Imperial Bureaucrat.”
I deliberately concealed my exact identity.
There was no protocol requiring me to disclose my precise department, so there was no problem with it.
“From the Imperial Palace?”
A flicker of wariness crossed Gary Collins’s round face.
His eyes carefully scanned my uniform, lingering long on the Imperial crest of the cape I wore.
It was the moment his wariness transformed into deep vanity.
“An Imperial Bureaucrat has graced me with a visit? I’m truly honored. What brings you here?”
“May we talk inside? I’m rather parched.”
Gary Collins quickly ushered me inside.
I moved at a deliberately measured pace, observing the interior with careful attention.
‘There’s not a single thing that looks like it belongs to a child.’
Surely, in a household raising a young child, one would expect to see at least a fairy tale book or toy somewhere.
Yet in Gary Collins’s meticulously arranged home, I detected not the slightest trace of raising a daughter.
I sipped the tea he had brought and opened my mouth.
“I noticed you have quite deep connections with the villagers. Seeing how much everyone adores you, Mister Collins, I came away with the impression that you’re a good man.”
“You flatter me.”
Gary Collins shook his head.
“My abilities are unremarkable compared to other mages, but since this is a small village, they tend to hold me in higher regard than I deserve.”
“Humble as well.”
I leaned back slightly in my seat.
“I heard you have a daughter. Is she at school right now?”
“Yes.”
Gary Collins lied without so much as blinking an eye.
“She’ll be returning home late from school. Fortunately, it seems we’ll be able to enjoy our tea undisturbed.”
…Caught you, you bastard.
Without revealing anything, I sipped my tea slowly and exchanged various pleasantries with him.
‘He’s fallen right into it.’
The Imperial Court frequently scouted talented mages who had been overlooked in obscurity.
Naturally, each time they did so, Imperial Bureaucracy officials were dispatched to assess their character.
Though I had said nothing, Gary Collins had already convinced himself that he was undergoing Imperial scrutiny.
Before long, the short winter sun had set, and dusk descended upon the land.
I opened my mouth, carefully crafting a tone of apology.
“The conversation has been so delightful that I’ve lost track of time. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, might I impose upon you for lodging tonight? Otherwise, I can seek out an Inn.”
Gary Collins immediately waved his hand in protest.
It was only natural—he wanted to make a good impression on me.
“If you have no objections, please stay at our home. As it happens, we have several vacant rooms.”
I rose from my seat and followed him, naturally surveying the house as we walked.
‘There’s no trace of anything anywhere.’
Had I entered without knowing better, I never would have imagined this was the home of a nine-year-old child—there was not the slightest sign of a young child’s presence.
I opened my mouth as though a thought had suddenly occurred to me.
“Now that I think about it, your daughter still hasn’t returned. It’s nearly nightfall—you must be worried.”
“Ah, she probably came in through the back entrance.”
For the first time, Gary Collins stumbled over his words.
“She’s rather shy by nature, you see.”
I smoothly changed the subject.
“Have you ever considered relocating to the Capital? It seems it would be better for both your daughter and yourself.”
“That is….”
Gary Collins hesitated for a moment.
“Of course, I would prefer to go if I could. However, I’m in the midst of completing crucial research, so I must remain here for the next several months.”
If the Imperial Palace was summoning him, requesting a few months’ grace was tantamount to asking for a reprieve.
“I understand.”
I nodded slowly, then followed him into the guest room he indicated.
‘Quite ordinary.’
Of course, there was no reason for anything suspicious to lurk in a guest room.
I thanked Gary Collins and closed the door behind me, my mind turning inward.
‘A back door—nonsense.’
The child had likely been in this house all along.
‘I need to find them.’
But how?
During my years working as a Finance Ministry official, I’d had multiple opportunities to interact with the Imperial Palace’s mages.
While I couldn’t match their prowess, given the respect I commanded in the village, they’d surely placed some simple surveillance magic on me.
‘I must move without raising suspicion.’
I pulled the blanket over myself and, keeping my eyes closed, breathed in steady, measured rhythms as though already asleep, waiting for the right moment.
Several hours passed before complete silence descended.
Then I rubbed my eyes groggily and sat up.
All the while, I remained conscious of any surveillance magic that might be layered around me.
“Ah, I’m so thirsty….”
My throat was genuinely parched, and my drowsy voice emerged naturally.
Gary Collins, clearly unaccustomed to properly hosting guests, had neglected to leave a pitcher of water beforehand.
I rose and made my way out of the room with unhurried steps.
As expected, the kitchen was located at the very back of the house.
After pouring cold water into a cup and drinking it down in one go, I poured a second glass with deliberate slowness to buy time.
“Sniff, sniff, sniff….”
A faint, muffled sobbing reached my ears.

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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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