The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 37

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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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“Cici!”
I broke into a broad smile.
“What do you need? Are you hungry? Should we get you something to eat?”
“Kyeeing….”
Cici shook her head. It was a clear refusal.
“Then, what do you need?”
The child stared at me intently, her eyes rolling as if she were thinking hard about something.
And then she began to move closer to me.
“…!”
Could it be.
‘…Is this it.’
My voice trembled as it escaped my lips.
“Would you like me to hold you?”
“Kyuu!”
Cici made a delighted sound. The way her small lips curved upward made it clear I’d guessed correctly.
I carefully drew the child into my embrace.
Though I’d braced myself for possible resistance, Cici instead nestled against me with soft whimpering sounds, my concerns proving unfounded.
Her fur was fluffy, but she was simply a child who had longed for human warmth.
Joanna had done her best for the child, but she wasn’t in a position to provide one-on-one care.
The orphanages before this one would have been the same.
Perhaps Cici’s deteriorating condition stemmed from an entirely natural cause.
‘That’s why she became increasingly isolated. They must have thought the child simply disliked contact with others….’
In other words, they had all failed to understand what Cici truly needed.
‘How difficult it must have been for her all this time.’
I carefully laid the sleeping Cici beside me and pondered this.
If Cici truly was Duke Montina’s daughter, and if Duke Montina ever learned of everything Cici had endured….
‘Her heart would ache. She might even rage. And perhaps the fallout would reach me as well.’
Still, I had to find Duke Montina.
It was the only possibility that could bring happiness to two people who had known only misfortune.
* * *
One fact I discovered just two days after taking Cici under my protection.
Cici was a child with very expressive emotions.
And physically active too.
As if releasing long-suppressed energy, she constantly committed mischief befitting her age, both great and small.
I was delighted that she seemed to have opened her heart, yet simultaneously anxious.
The Academy had never taught me childcare!
“What am I going to do with you….”
I muttered toward the fluffy child tearing through books—Cici, that is.
I’d even had her examined by the Imperial Palace’s Doctor while we were there, but he only shook his head.
【I believe this is not an illness, but rather a form of magic.】
…along with that clue.
So I sent inquiries simultaneously to the Mage Tower and the Beiretz Duchy Mansion, but replies had yet to arrive.
“Squeak, squeeeak. Squeak.”
Suddenly, Cici made a sound similar to a puppy whimpering.
I hastily opened the desk drawer and retrieved a candy.
After unwrapping it, I handed it to Cici, who began happily sucking on the sweet.
I gazed at the child with an unsettled heart.
Cici was six years old.
The same age as the missing duchess’s daughter.
Even a three-year-old could have noticed that connection.
But since Count Clark, who held the real power in the Duke’s Mansion, said he couldn’t verify her identity, confirming who she was would be impossible unless I found Duke Montina.
‘And… there’s the matter of her speech.’
Originally, Cici had been able to speak simple phrases like “me, Cici,” or so I’d been told.
But after wandering through several orphanages, she had lost the ability to speak entirely.
I recalled Joanna, who had broached the subject so carefully with a somber expression.
“I don’t know the details myself, but when she was first discovered, her condition was unspeakable. Her entire body was shaved bare, and on top of that, she was covered in hideous scars…. She would have died without treatment.”
Joanna had spared no effort to save this small child, to heal her, to make her happy.
It was simply beyond her capacity, which is why she had reached out to me in desperation.
And there was yet another problem….
“We can’t keep her here long.”
The Director, who ordinarily paid no mind to whatever I did, had shown obvious discomfort.
“This is our responsibility.”
“Our job is to stay hidden and keep things buried quietly. We don’t go around picking up every pitiful child we see.”
“If problems arise, I will take full responsibility.”
It was no empty promise.
In fact, I was already prepared to resign immediately if the entire Child Protection Bureau faced censure because I had brought Cici here.
The Director pressed his forehead.
“That’s exactly the problem. The Vice Director got hurt! And Duke Beiretz will want my head. Good grief, my head….”
I stared at the Director. I had been relieved that the Beiretz Ducal Family hadn’t sent any word, but his words carried significant weight.
“Has the Beiretz Ducal Family made contact?”
“More of a warning than contact.”
The Director grimaced.
“To treat you well.”
What?
Was I planning to adopt Estella smoothly by appearing favorable to them?
Since I had no intention of canceling Estella’s adoption anyway, I brushed it aside lightly.
“You’ve been treating me more than well already, Director.”
“That’s what I told him too, but he didn’t seem to believe it. Next time you go to the Duke’s Residence, tell him for me. Tell him what a good superior I am.”
“Of course.”
I had to visit the Beiretz Duchy Mansion anyway to ask Estella for her consent.
Whatever misunderstanding the Duke harbored, I could clarify it when the time came.
“H-hic… hic-hic.”
I quickly turned toward Cici. The child’s eyes were streaming with tears.
“Cici, what’s wrong?”
I drew closer and examined the child carefully, but outwardly, nothing seemed amiss.
Yet seeing Cici continue to cry, something had to be wrong.
“Cici.”
I spoke firmly.
“I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. Come now, where does it hurt? Is something aching?”
But from Cici’s throat came only sobs—no coherent words.
I crouched down to meet the child’s gaze.
‘…Ah.’
Then I understood the problem.
Looking more closely, blood was trickling from the corner of Cici’s mouth.
The dark fur had simply obscured it from view.
“Cici!”
I called out urgently to Director McGuffin.
“Bring the first aid kit, please! Quickly!”
Fortunately, Cici’s wound wasn’t deep.
The child had been sucking on candy intently when a sharp edge had cut the mouth.
I applied salve to the wound, affixed a bandage, and held Cici close.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so dangerous.”
Nestled obediently against me, Cici whimpered softly and burrowed deeper into my embrace.
Something swelled in my chest at the sight of the child’s complete trust in me.
Unusual in appearance though Cici might be, the child was nothing more than an ordinary youngster in truth.
Thinking of those years wandering after losing family, the wounds inflicted by being treated as a monster…
‘…I need to find Duke Montina as soon as possible.’
I took Cici back to the Montina Duchy, but this time they wouldn’t even open the door.
But I wasn’t one to give up so easily.

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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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