The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 33

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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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“…I didn’t realize time had slipped away like this. Do I really need to go look for Timothy?”
“Don’t change the subject, Tessa Harrington.”
His face flushed with irritation.
It felt as though my true intentions had been completely exposed.
“You always try so hard to do everything right. That’s the problem. You don’t need to wear yourself down like that, even if you insist on it….”
The last words came out as little more than a murmur.
My mouth had gone dry.
Throughout all this time, no one I’d become entangled with—whether deeply or superficially—had ever shown me the level of concern that Cain Inkaris did.
It was Cain who saw through me.
It was Cain who worried about me.
But precisely because of that, the past I wanted to sever myself from was also Cain.
If Timothy hadn’t opened the door and walked in at that moment, I would have found myself in quite a predicament.
Cain turned his head and regarded Timothy directly.
His golden eyes sharpened as he assessed the boy’s condition, and his firm lips curved into a small arc of satisfaction.
“Seems you’ve trained quite thoroughly.”
“Yes.”
Timothy answered with crisp precision.
“I should be able to complete the Second Manual by next week.”
“Is that so? Good work. Take a rest.”
Timothy, his tension visibly easing, found a small folding stool and settled into it.
I found myself exasperated by the fact that neither of them showed any sign of leaving.
“Cain… aren’t you busy? Don’t you have a schedule?”
“Ah, that.”
Cain answered readily.
“I postponed it.”
“When?”
“Just now.”
“….”
“I decided it was more important to see whether you’d collapse or not.”
“Miss Tessa, are you feeling quite unwell?”
Timothy’s worried response drew an involuntary sigh from me.
“It’s not something to make such a fuss over… I’m just overworked.”
“Overworked for just a day or two? Let me see that. I want to look at it too.”
“You wouldn’t understand it anyway.”
Cain let out a derisive laugh.
“Still treating others like fools, I see?”
He selected a report of appropriate thickness from the stack of documents and began reading it slowly.
‘At this rate, he’ll be reading that forever.’
I shook my head and returned to finishing my work.
And so, several dozen minutes passed.
Thud.
Something rolled across the desk toward me.
I caught it—a candy.
“Eat it.”
I rolled my eyes dramatically.
“Are you treating me like a child now?”
“Not a child—a patient. Come on, eat it.”
Next came a slice of apple thrust before me.
A single, oddly-shaped piece, clumsily carved with those thick fingers of his.
“What… is this?”
“Can’t you see? It’s an apple.”
“…Why did you carve it like that?”
“You like puppies, don’t you?”
It looked far more like a rock monster than a puppy, but since my stomach was growling, I ate it without complaint.
Then came a sandwich.
Then a cup of coffee.
‘…Wait.’
My stomach was already quite full.
“Wow, is it really this late already?”
Cain Inkaris had even taken on the role of an alarm clock announcing quitting time.
“We should go get dinner, Tessa.”
“Just a moment. Let me look at this a bit more…”
I was dawdling, trying to squeeze in one more page.
That’s when McGuffin opened the door and entered.
I’d thought he was taking the day off entirely, but it seemed he’d decided to just log his presence and leave, unwilling to skip work completely.
‘Oh no.’
I bit my tongue.
The Commander-in-Chief sitting in the Director’s chair as if it were his own, nodding his head, and his successor watching him with barely concealed terror—it was a situation where I’d have no excuse even if I got scolded.
There was nothing to say for myself.
But then.
“…?”
His usually drowsy eyes widened in shock.
It was an expression I’d never seen before. McGuffin was the type to remain indifferent in any situation.
Even if summoned to an audience with the Emperor, he would offer only perfunctory words with lifeless eyes before withdrawing.
Yet in that moment, a spark ignited in his gaze.
And that gaze was not directed at Cain Inkaris.
“Timothy?”
An indescribable tone flowed from McGuffin’s lips.
It sounded like joy, like mourning, like an apology all at once.
McGuffin’s face, filled with such complex emotion, seemed to bear countless hairline fractures, as though it might shatter into pieces at any moment.
“…MacGuffin, sir?”
Timothy stammered.
“H-how have you been?”
…So they did know each other.
From MacGuffin’s account alone, I’d assumed they’d only met briefly when Timothy was an infant.
Unlike MacGuffin, whose expression was contorting despite his efforts to maintain composure, Timothy seemed genuinely delighted.
“Yes. And you….”
MacGuffin regarded Timothy with a face full of unspoken words.
His gaze swept over Timothy meticulously. It wasn’t difficult to guess what he was searching for—rosy cheeks, no visible wounds, neat clothing….
MacGuffin was looking at a child he had saved but could not rescue.
“You’re doing well now, then.”
“Yes, it’s all thanks to Tessa. A-and thanks to Cain Inkaris too, of course!”
Despite Timothy’s heartfelt response, MacGuffin struggled to find words.
As the silence stretched, Cain Inkaris rose from his seat with evident displeasure.
Until now, he hadn’t spared MacGuffin a single glance, as though deeming him unworthy of notice.
And rightfully so.
Weak cowards were precisely the type Cain Inkaris despised most.
“I should be going. Tessa, I made a reservation at your favorite restaurant for seven o’clock, so don’t be late.”
Without even giving me time to respond, he half-dragged Timothy out the door.
It was a swift movement that seemed designed to sever any connection between the boy and MacGuffin—as though he couldn’t bear another moment in his presence.
Timothy’s lips trembled as if attempting to bid MacGuffin farewell, but Cain Inkaris pulled him away too quickly for him to speak, and they disappeared outside.
MacGuffin simply stared blankly at the door through which they’d left.
‘….’
Forgiveness and understanding were Timothy’s burden alone. This wasn’t something I could resolve by saying it was fine or offering encouragement.
Besides, MacGuffin probably wouldn’t want my forgiveness or encouragement anyway.
I checked the time.
6:10 p.m.
‘…Seven o’clock, huh. That habit of his—announcing things rather than asking—hasn’t changed.’
It would have been easy to ignore such a summons if only Cain Inkaris were involved, but since Timothy was coming too, I couldn’t postpone or dismiss it.
‘I should get as much work done as possible before then.’
MacGuffin’s continued silence was awkward, but that didn’t mean I could abandon my duties.
So I refocused on my work, and when I finally looked up at a time barely early enough to make the reservation, I found MacGuffin staring at me with a contemplative expression.
Oh no.
In my haste, I’d forgotten—I’d brought the Commander-in-Chief and his successor into the office without informing my superior, and I hadn’t even explained the situation.
“…I apologize for not reporting this beforehand. Today’s matter was….”
MacGuffin cut me off with a light gesture.
“I’ll assume everything the Vice Director does has meaning.”
“I’ll believe that everything the Vice Director does from now on has meaning.”

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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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