The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 39

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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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“Are you in your right mind? How could you do such a thing…!”
He arrived faster than I expected.
I watched Count Clark thrashing about in fury and considered the situation.
“The morning edition hasn’t even sold properly yet, and you’re already so well-informed.”
Information must have leaked from somewhere.
With Duke Montina essentially missing, I’d assumed Count Clark alone wouldn’t have much power to wield.
‘So this man held considerably more authority than I’d realized.’
“What is the meaning of this? I’ll have every copy retrieved immediately! And I’ll shut down any newspaper that participated in this scheme of yours!”
“That will be difficult, I’m afraid.”
I twisted my lips into a smile.
“Unless you intend to shut down every major newspaper in the Empire. And among them is the Imperial Daily.”
The Imperial Daily was published by a media house with deep connections to the Beiretz Ducal Family.
‘I’d spoken well when I said it was time to make a fool of Montina.’
That remark had ignited Duchess Beiretz’s competitive spirit, prompting her to place a rather splendid advertisement.
Though the advertisement reeked of ulterior motives, I cared little as long as my objective was achieved.
“With the Duke absent, if you’re foolish enough to provoke the Beiretz Ducal Family, I won’t stop you. The welfare of House Montina is no concern of mine.”
I provoked him further.
“You’re utterly mad… Are you even human? How could you place such an advertisement? When you know the full circumstances!”
I placed it precisely because I know the circumstances.
“Count, wouldn’t you leave now? Everyone will be arriving for work soon, and if you keep shouting, I won’t even need to place advertisements—new articles about House Montina will write themselves in the newspapers.”
“…”
Count Clark glared at me with icy eyes, then slammed the door shut and left.
‘Phew.’
As I returned to my desk.
I heard muffled, quiet sobbing.
“Don’t cry, Cici.”
I spoke gently toward Cici, who was hiding beneath the desk.
“The scary man is gone. I chased him far, far away. He won’t come back.”
That last part was wishful thinking.
Fortunately, Cici soon stopped crying and sat on my lap, whimpering softly while humming a sort of melody.
I stroked Cici’s hair, then began organizing documents related to the Provincial Orphanage.
‘It will be difficult for her to arrive in just a few days.’
Regardless of where Duke Montina was now, she was likely quite far from the Capital.
Even with consistent newspaper advertisements, it could take considerable time for them to reach her eyes.
And even if she saw them immediately, it would still take quite some time to reach the Imperial Palace.
‘I provoked Count Clark considerably in hopes that he’d contact her somehow… I wonder if it had any effect.’
I rested my chin in my hand and gazed out the window.
Director McGarvin had long since left, and deep darkness had settled outside.
Glancing at the clock, it had already reached midnight.
‘I should head home now too.’
After hastily organizing the desk, I was about to wake Cici, who lay sleeping soundly on a mattress in the corner of the office.
Crash!
The sound of the door being torn from its hinges.
More precisely, the wooden door that had been ripped away crumbled to dust as it collided with the cabinet—courtesy of Duke Montina, consumed by fury.
My body went rigid.
I had anticipated her reaction would be severe, but not to this extent.
Yet there was no time to process it.
Duke Montina had closed the distance in an instant, now looming directly before me.
‘She’s… tall.’
I looked up at Duke Montina.
She appeared gaunt and worn compared to her portrait, as though hardship had taken its toll, yet her frame—standing a full head and a half taller than mine—remained imposing.
Not to mention the enormous greatsword hanging at her waist.
“Your Grace, please… calm yourself for a moment…”
“You dare mock me.”
Duke Montina glared down at me, her voice a low growl.
“Who put you up to this? Evangel? Debois? Surely not Count Clark?”
I opened my mouth to protest, but the agitated Duke Montina did not pause.
“How could you tell a mother to abandon her child! As though a single child matters less than a ducal title, and she should simply forget—and worse, you published it as an advertisement?”
To be clear, I had not published an advertisement asking Duke Montina to abandon her daughter.
I had merely suggested that since locating Duke Montina’s daughter was the Child Protection Bureau’s responsibility, she should return to her residence and attend to her affairs.
…Though I suppose the meaning was similar enough.
I waited for Duke Montina to finish speaking before I opened my mouth.
“Your Grace, I apologize for the disrespectful content of the advertisement. However…”
The Duke’s eyebrows twitched.
“So you want something.”
She appeared to have regained her composure, yet she could not entirely conceal the fury still roiling beneath the surface.
I licked my lips.
One misstep, and this would…
‘…end catastrophically.’
The Duke tilted her head toward me. Her scarlet eyes—identical to Cici’s—flickered with rage.
“Speak. What do you want? How dare you insult me and my daughter.”
I looked directly up at her. Fear gripped me, but this was the moment to be brave.
All of this was for her—to reunite her with her daughter.
And for the poor child who had suffered so long, to find her mother.
“This child, Your Grace.”
I turned Cici forward, the girl who had been clinging tightly behind me the entire time.
Cici’s eyes were squeezed shut in terror.
“…”
The Duke’s expression contorted.
“What does this child matter to me? The only child important to me is my daughter—Cecile!”
The moment that sharp, ringing declaration rang out through the air, the name “Cecilia” echoing in the void.
The child who had been trembling all along suddenly lifted her head.
Between the shaggy hair that fell across her forehead like bangs, the pink eyes that proved her identity as a member of House Monstina became starkly visible, fixing upon the crimson gaze before her.
In that instant, Count Clark’s words surfaced in my mind.
“That is precisely why the Duke searches for her personally. Only a Monstina can recognize a Monstina.”
The moment Duke Montina recognized Duke Montina.
The massive Duke’s frame trembled, and her entire body crumpled as though collapsing.
The Duke covered her mouth with trembling hands.
“I, I can’t….”
“Cici.”
The child opened her mouth for the first time.
“I’m Cici.”
Only then did I understand.
The child’s name had been Cecilia from the beginning. But because she had been so young, she had been remembered as Cici, and everyone around her had called her that.
“Cecilia Monstina….”
Her childhood name was Cici.
The daughter Duke Montina had searched for so desperately had been nowhere far away.
“Cici….”
Duke Montina called out to the child, her voice thick with emotion.
“Is it really you, Cici…?”
“Cici!”
The moment the child let out her first bright laugh, the Duke pulled her into a tight embrace.
Not a shred of doubt emanated from her.
Only profound regret and remorse.
“Cici… Mama is sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t know where you were. I’m so sorry we’re only meeting now….”
The Duke’s face was instantly drenched with tears.
Long pink hair fell over the child, yet the girl seemed not to mind at all.
“Mama?”
She merely tilted her head and called out to the Duke in a small voice.
“Yes, I’m your mama.”
The Duke answered through her tears.
“I’m so… late, aren’t I?”

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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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