The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 50

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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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Princess Melissa cracked open the door and slipped cautiously into the corridor. Not a soul stirred in the empty hallway.
I counted off the doors in my mind. One, two, three, four… the sixth one.
My brother had wanted to keep me in the room right beside his, but the others had insisted it was too dangerous with all those weapons nearby. So reluctantly, he’d settled me at the far end of the corridor instead.
Of course, he hadn’t left me completely unprotected and alone.
In truth, I possessed enough power now to level an entire castle single-handedly.
Not because I was naturally gifted, but thanks to the magical artifacts my brother had purchased with an obscene amount of money.
Standing before the sixth door, I knocked with all my strength.
There was no response.
“Brother?”
I called out loudly for Achilles, but no answer came.
‘….’
My mind raced through countless possibilities.
I turned the door handle forcefully and pushed it open. My etiquette instructor—the one who’d disappeared after teaching for only a week—had said it was rude to open a door without permission. But being rude to my brother was acceptable.
He often sighed at my antics, but unlike everyone else, he never looked at me with disgust or revulsion.
The room was dark and silent.
Using a magical artifact to illuminate the darkness, I peered cautiously around.
The chamber had multiple rooms within it.
“Brother! Achilles!”
I called for him several times, but received no answer.
Panic seized me, and I hurried to open every door I could find.
Finally.
I spotted Achilles stretched out on a sofa.
He was sleeping. Thank goodness.
Relief flooded through me as I approached him, but then—
“Ugh…”
Achilles groaned and shifted restlessly on the sofa. I stumbled backward in shock.
Without even touching him, I could feel the intense heat radiating from his body.
My brother was… ill?
The world spun dizzily around me.
My brother was always strong. Always healthy. The one who stood at the front to protect me.
There was no scenario in my calculations where Achilles Cardicha fell sick.
“Brother!”
I called out loudly, but he remained unresponsive.
“Hic… hic…”
A sob began to escape from my throat.
I had no way to contact Tessa.
My brother was suffering.
Now everything depended on me alone.
A useless crybaby who could do nothing.
* * *
In the conference room at the heart of Athos Fortress, urgent shouts erupted nearly every minute.
“Your Majesty! The Centaurs have launched a surprise attack….”
“The Western Wall is being breached right now!”
“Give the order, Sire. I’ll dispatch the military at once.”
“Your Majesty, we must send a messenger to the Capital immediately. We don’t have enough strength.”
“All the unit commanders have fallen! Please appoint replacements to take command.”
“Your Majesty, the order….”
My head felt as though it might split open.
While monsters descended from all directions, even the healthiest soldiers were falling ill.
The situation was so dire it felt like we’d walked into a trap.
A single misjudgment, one wrong command, could result in the complete annihilation of this fortress.
And if that happened, Princess Melissa, who trusted only me….
‘I shouldn’t have brought her.’
No matter how worried I was, I should have left her in the Capital.
I’d thought Athos would be safer, and that miscalculation had become the source of this disaster.
The more I dwelled on it, the more tangled my thoughts became….
“Your Majesty, are you alright?”
When I came to my senses, I realized I hadn’t answered my concerned aide for quite some time.
“I’m fine.”
Achilles cleared his throat and rose from his seat.
“W-where are you going?”
“To hold the line.”
Achilles answered curtly.
“Whether soldiers fall ill or walls are breached—if I hold them, that’s all that matters.”
“But….”
“If you have another solution, explain it.”
No one could offer an explanation.
Achilles strode out and soon stood at the Western Wall.
‘I’ve given all the magical artifacts to Princess Melissa… so you’re all I can rely on.’
A gleaming blade was drawn swiftly from its heavy scabbard.
Achilles fought without regard for his own life.
He had never fought with the thought of mere survival.
Rather, it was because he fought this way that he could hold his position now.
This moment was no different.
Before long, Achilles fell into a state of complete absorption.
* * *
‘…What… is that sound.’
Even with my eyes open, my vision was blurred, and a droning sound echoed as though I were submerged in water.
‘Yesterday… what happened?’
My memories wouldn’t come into focus.
All that remained were the fleeting sensations of each moment—slashing through the tide of monsters.
‘I’ve never faced an enemy like this before.’
Could I have suffered a serious injury?
If so, I wouldn’t be lying in such a comfortable bed right now.
‘…It seems I’ve somehow made it back.’
I tried to open my mouth and call out to someone, but no sound emerged.
‘My body feels so heavy.’
Only then did Achilles finally understand.
‘Have I caught that fever as well….’
Those who contracted it rarely recovered. They simply suffered through the high fever, delirious and groaning.
Though the patients had been thoroughly isolated because it appeared to be a contagious disease, somehow the infection had spread to me.
‘Princess Melissa.’
Even now, monsters must be pouring in.
To protect Princess Melissa, I needed to rise from this bed immediately and venture outside, sword in hand.
The phantom image of a small girl crying out for her brother was lodged in my chest—a splinter that wouldn’t come free, no matter how I tried.
But.
‘I can’t move….’
All I could do was breathe heavily.
I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move my body properly at all.
To think I’d become one of those patients.
‘I can’t give up here.’
Achilles thrashed desperately at his body. If only I could rise, if only I could regain my senses…!
Thud.
My body rolled ungracefully onto the floor.
Achilles managed to move enough to sit up on the sofa.
Though, having exhausted what little strength remained, I immediately collapsed and lost consciousness.
‘…Brother! Brother!’
From somewhere, I seemed to hear a familiar voice. Perhaps because I worried so much about Princess Melissa, she appeared even in my fever-addled dreams.
‘B-brother… what do I do? Without you, I can’t do anything….’
The sound of sobbing.
I wanted to comfort the dream-Princess Melissa and tell her not to cry, but my mouth wouldn’t open, leaving me helpless.
A small shadow seemed to move back and forth nearby, and then I felt a cool sensation on my forehead.
‘What a strange dream.’
My consciousness faded once more.
So much so that I couldn’t hear Princess Melissa’s voice as she nursed me with devotion, her resolve hardening with each moment.
“I will save you, brother!”

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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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