The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 55

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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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My strength had completely drained away, and the descent brought several vertiginous moments, but by moving carefully, I eventually reached the ground.
‘So high…’
Looking up from the earth, the treetop where Cedric sat appeared impossibly distant.
Descending safely without magical assistance was nearly impossible.
‘Right, the only one who can help in this situation is…’
I hastily climbed back into the carriage and headed toward the Main Hall.
A servant who saw my face immediately rushed inside and brought the butler, who promptly guided me to the person I sought.
“Tessa…?”
Her red curly hair immediately perked up and trembled, while her blue eyes widened in surprise.
It was Estella.
“Tessa!”
Estella, who had been reading a grimoire with a downcast expression just moments before, approached me with an expression of disbelief.
It seemed she had not anticipated my visit at all.
I knelt down to meet the child’s eyes and smiled.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?”
“No, not at all.”
Estella hurriedly closed the grimoire and answered.
“I really, truly wanted to see you…”
Estella cautiously extended her hand toward me.
The hesitation in her gesture, as though openly expressing joy might be improper, pierced my heart.
“I’ve missed you too. I wanted to see you so badly, but I’ve been too busy to visit.”
“I thought that might be the case.”
Estella answered in a small voice.
“I wanted to send you a letter, but I never did.”
“You can send me a letter anytime.”
“But you’re so busy…”
“I’m never too busy to read a single letter.”
Estella no longer carried the acrid scent of smoke, but rather an elegant floral fragrance.
Her once rough and pallid skin now gleamed smoothly with a rosy glow.
The image of the unfortunate, abused child I had brought to the Duke’s Residence was barely recognizable.
‘She’s receiving proper care.’
Yet why did Estella still not appear happy?
I had certainly given the Duke and Duchess sincere counsel.
‘I didn’t think they were the sort to dismiss my words lightly.’
I wanted to ask Estella various things, but there was a more pressing matter at hand.
“Could you help Cedric, Estella? That fool climbed a tree and can’t get down.”
“Cedric…?”
Estella’s eyes widened even further.
“Yes. He says he absolutely can’t get down on his own.”
“You mean the tree at the entrance…?”
“Correct.”
“…!”
Estella bolted upright from her seat.
“Let’s go quickly!”
It was an unexpected reaction. Estella seized my hand firmly and began hurrying down the Corridor with desperate urgency.
‘Does she care for Cedric that deeply…? Or is she simply kind-hearted?’
The reason became clear without much difficulty.
“C-Cedric taught me magic. He was the one who gave me that grimoire. Everyone else was busy, but he told me that to become a true member of the Duke’s Residence, I needed to reach this level. And because my power could hurt me as well, he said I had to master it quickly… He taught me directly.”
Ah.
I remembered now.
In the original novel, it was mentioned only in passing, but Cedric had not been hostile to Estella from the beginning.
Rather, he had been delighted to have a cute younger sister.
But everything changed once Estella began to show remarkable talent in magic.
Everyone’s attention poured onto Estella, who had surpassed his abilities in an instant, and when even their parents displayed a distinctly different attitude, Cedric began to ignore her completely.
And that was not all.
He even sealed the Library with magic he had learned at the Mage Tower to prevent Estella from accessing the grimoires.
Within days, The Duke noticed and ordered the seal removed, but still.
After that, he did not torment her directly, but he spread vicious rumors about her to others, hurled cruel words at her whenever she came into view, and would leave the room.
‘So I naturally assumed Estella would hate Cedric….’
Yet it was the opposite.
Even inside the rushing carriage, Estella clenched her fists so tightly that her palms grew damp with sweat as she murmured.
“I have to save Cedric. If it weren’t for him, I still wouldn’t know how to control my magic.”
“Didn’t the Mage Tower Master help you? And The Duke surely has deep knowledge of magic….”
“It was too difficult.”
“….”
Only Cedric had explained things at a level a nine-year-old child could understand.
‘Pretentious fools, the lot of them.’
Still, it was good news that Cedric had treated Estella well at first.
The carriage soon arrived directly beneath the tree, and Estella opened the door and leaped out even before I could.
The problem was that Cedric showed no welcome for her whatsoever.
“Why, why did you come? Why!”
The boy nearly panicked, beginning to shout in distress.
“Why did you bring her here? I, everything is because of her…!”
I quickly glanced sideways at Estella. The child tried to hide it, but tears welled up in her large eyes, already glistening with moisture.
“You, you!”
Cedric pointed his finger at me.
“You were mocking me too, weren’t you? Saying I’m good at nothing. That I climbed up but can’t come down on my own…! That’s why you brought her, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”
Before I could deny it, Cedric continued to shout.
“I absolutely won’t accept her help. I’ll come down on my own power!”
And with that, he began attempting to descend without giving me a chance to stop him.
The servants all panicked and began screaming. A few of them even attempted to climb the tree, but of course, reaching the distant top was impossible.
Cedric was trembling so violently that even from his considerable height, his limbs shook visibly enough to be plainly apparent.
“Please stop, young master!”
I too attempted to persuade Cedric.
“There is no shame in accepting help from others.”
Though I failed miserably in the attempt.
“Absolutely not. I won’t accept her help. I’ll accept anyone else’s, but not hers.”
A lie.
He wouldn’t accept his father’s help either, even if it killed him.
“If I can’t even come down from this alone, everyone will laugh at me…!”
With a sharp crack, a branch broke loudly, and terror seized Cedric’s expression.
Though it wasn’t a branch vital enough to threaten his life, the sudden fright caused his legs to tremble so badly that he lost his footing and slipped.
And then came several seconds of falling.
As screams erupted from all around.
The earth convulsed, and the soil near the tree began surging upward.
‘Estella….’
I bit my lip.
Estella, her face drained of color and cold sweat beading her brow, was desperately chanting an incantation.

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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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