The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 24

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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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A carriage hard to find in a rural village at night? Nonsense.
Money solves everything.
Once I returned home safely, I fed Estella until she was full.
The child ate with such fervor that milk and biscuit crumbs covered her mouth, then dozed off while sitting in her chair.
I laid her on my bed and fell into contemplation.
‘I can’t send her to an orphanage right away.’
Though I didn’t show it, Estella was in an extremely precarious state right now.
After all, I hadn’t managed to extinguish all the flames in that warehouse before leaving.
Well, Gary Collins would handle the remaining embers, but a powerful fire mage unable to control her abilities was nothing short of a walking catastrophe.
‘The Mage Tower Master handles fire-attribute magic, doesn’t he?’
More precisely, there was no magic he couldn’t handle, but I’d heard he was particularly skilled with fire and lightning among them.
‘I should visit him.’
I carefully stroked the child’s curly red hair.
‘It’s so brittle.’
How malnourished must she have been for her hair to be so dry and fragile that even a gentle grip would cause it to break?
Fury toward Gary Collins surged within me.
And toward the fact that he could not be punished for it.
Imperial law explicitly granted the Child Protection Bureau authority to strip parental rights from parents, yet it contained not a single word regarding the punishment of parents who abused their children so severely as to warrant such deprivation.
So the best I could do was….
‘Estella.’
I murmured to myself.
‘I promise you. You will never return to that house.’
* * *
The next morning.
After forcing Estella, who shook her head saying she was full, to eat a slice of apple and drink a glass of milk, I set out immediately for the Mage Tower.
If a fire broke out while I kept Estella with me, knowing nothing about magic, it would be catastrophic.
Getting to the Mage Tower was easy enough.
Anyone could find the tower standing tall near the Capital.
But meeting the Mage Tower Master was an entirely different matter.
“He’s not in at the moment?”
“That’s correct. He is not here.”
“Then where is he….”
“I cannot disclose that information.”
I glared at the gatekeeper of the Mage Tower.
“Surely you can tell me when he’ll return?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Good grief.
Estella looked up at me with an anxious expression.
“What if I mention it’s from the Imperial Court and that it’s urgent?”
“That changes nothing. The Mage Tower Master’s rest must be absolutely guaranteed.”
Well, the Mage Tower Master certainly knows how to make an impression.
During my three years at the Ministry of Finance, I never even glimpsed a day off.
In the end, I had to leave the Mage Tower without achieving anything of note.
‘What am I to do?’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Back at the Ministry of Finance, I’d only clashed with mages—I didn’t have a single skilled mage I could turn to for help.
‘Should I contact Cain Inkaris?’
Since we’d parted ways, he seemed busy, so I hadn’t reached out. But if I explained Estella’s situation, wouldn’t he help?
‘Still, relying on the Military troubles me.’
Estella’s extraordinary gift was both a blessing and a curse.
Would only Gary Collins covet this child’s talent?
Cain Inkaris wasn’t the type to exploit a child, but I wanted to avoid Military assistance as much as possible, just in case.
Estella tugged at my skirt.
“Um, Tessa…”
“It’s alright, Estella. We can seek out another mage. Surely the Mage Tower Master isn’t the only skilled mage in the Empire?”
I offered reassuring words to calm the child, but truthfully, the Mage Tower Master was indeed the only mage capable of truly helping Estella.
Gary Collins had conducted all manner of experiments under the guise of awakening the child’s talent.
Even a highly accomplished mage would likely struggle to accurately determine what was happening within Estella’s body now.
Estella shook her head.
“I… I think I know where the Mage Tower Master is.”
“Really?”
My eyes widened.
It wasn’t surprising that Gary Collins had taught the child tracking magic.
Tracking magic was fundamental—something all mages learned regardless of their attribute.
But tracking magic refined enough to sense the Mage Tower Master himself?
“Where is he?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet, but it’s that way. I’ll know better once we get closer.”
Estella pointed toward the heart of the Capital.
I quickly instructed the carriage driver.
“Head toward the center of the Capital. I’ll pay you extra—just change direction as I direct you along the way.”
The driver, delighted by the unexpected windfall, agreed with a grin.
Following Estella’s guidance, after wandering through the Capital for roughly an hour, we arrived at our destination.
“It’s… right there.”
“Right there…?”
I took several deep breaths.
The massive mansion looming before us was none other than the Beiretz Duchy Mansion.
Among the Empire’s dukes, the Beiretz family wielded exceptional influence, and their heirs were equally renowned for their magical prowess…
‘How foolish of me.’
I cursed myself inwardly.
‘Why on earth didn’t I think to come here?’
The Mage Tower Master, Fabian Beiretz.
He had never once appeared in public, earning him a reputation as a man obsessed solely with magic, yet before he was the Mage Tower Master, he was the heir to the Beiretz Ducal Family.
* * *
“I am Tessa Harrington, Deputy Director of the Child Protection Bureau. I request an audience with the Mage Tower Master.”
The moment I revealed my position, a butler appeared swiftly—proving just as uncooperative as the gatekeeper of the Mage Tower itself.
“The Mage Tower Master is not here.”
“Then I shall see the First Young Master.”
“The First Young Master is also absent.”
I tilted my head toward Estella.
“Are you certain?”
“…Inside, I can feel it. A great flame….”
As Estella spoke hesitantly, the butler’s eyes widened.
“I shall inquire with the Doctor. However, if our First Young Master does not wish to see you, you must depart. Do you understand?”
“Of course.”
After all, even if I met the Mage Tower Master, it would be useless if he wouldn’t lift a finger to help.
I could only pray that the young Mage Tower Master possessed something called compassion.
That was when it happened.
“You’ve come because of this child?”
Before the butler could even take a step, a man appeared abruptly.
I stared at him blankly.
Though clearly an adult, he had not entirely shed his youthful appearance—he looked radiant and harmless, as if sculpted from spring sunlight itself.
Golden hair tied back framed his delicate features, and his clear blue eyes gazed at me with a faint warmth.
There was no need to ask who he was.
The butler’s reaction explained everything.
Fabian Beiretz.
The very person I had been seeking.
“Yes. Estella, greet him.”
I did not bother explaining the situation to him.
Surely he already understood Estella’s circumstances far better than I did at this moment.
“Hello….”
“Hello, Estella? What a lovely name.”
The man smiled warmly.
His voice was as clear and pure as his appearance.
“I’m Fabian.”
“Fa, bian….”
“If it’s difficult, just call me Pop. My younger siblings called me that when they were small.”
“…It’s not difficult.”
Estella shook her head.
“What a good child you are. May I hold your hand for a moment?”
Fabian asked for Estella’s permission before gently cradling the child’s hand in his own.
“…!”
Estella’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“It’s warm….”
“Not hot, though?”
“No, not hot at all.”
“I see.”
Fabian Beiretz continued slowly.
“This time, why don’t you try any magic you’d like? Anything at all. Whatever you prefer.”
Silence fell between them.
Estella said nothing, her gaze fixed downward.
“A magic I prefer, something like that….”
The child murmured in a hushed, almost inaudible voice.
“I don’t have any.”

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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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