The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 69

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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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“So what are you planning this time? Going off to hunt a dragon?”
Cain Inkaris had accomplished all manner of feats during this time, but I’d never heard of him actually slaying a dragon.
I’d even been caught red-handed scribbling fantasies about how he’d boast once he earned the title of Dragon Slayer.
“No, this time I was thinking of heading to the Northern Territory.”
The Northern Territory.
My stomach lurched in that instant.
‘Did he really send Grand Duke Cardicha to Athos on purpose?’
I asked without revealing my turbulent thoughts.
“Which part of the Northern Territory?”
“I’m considering the Border Territory for now. The monster activity there has been unusually suspicious.”
My blood ran cold.
The Border Territory was precisely where the Athos Mountain Range was located.
“Isn’t that where Grand Duke Cardicha was until recently? Weren’t all the monsters supposed to have been exterminated?”
Cain let out a scoff.
“If that were truly the case, there wouldn’t be all these suspicious requests coming from there lately, would there? Well, for someone sent on such a light assignment, he did return having accomplished quite a bit.”
“….”
My throat went dry.
Sent on a light assignment, yet returned having accomplished quite a bit.
I shoved my cold hands into my pockets.
“Do you know they nearly got wiped out there?”
Cain stared at me intently.
“You’re trusting Grand Duke Cardicha’s word? Even in the worst case, it’s just a pack of Centaurs. I would have handled them alone.”
“…The Grand Duke might have had no problems if he’d gone alone.”
I’d intended to hold back at first.
But I simply couldn’t contain myself.
“But there were ordinary people there. There was even a young princess!”
My voice rose with emotion unbidden.
It didn’t matter if Cain Inkaris found it strange. He surely knew that Grand Duke Cardicha couldn’t have gone to Athos alone.
Even if he hadn’t anticipated bringing along his younger sister, he must have foreseen that innocent people could die.
Cain appeared utterly bewildered.
“Tessa… Is this because of that princess? I know you’re soft on children, but taking the princess along was the Grand Duke’s choice.”
“No, the choice was yours.”
I spoke curtly.
“You could have sent reinforcements. But you didn’t. The Grand Duke, the princess, the others—whether they lived or died meant nothing to you.”
“…Tessa.”
Cain called my name in an extremely low voice.
Was it an illusion?
A deep fury seemed to surge from the depths, flickering like an afterimage in his golden eyes.
As if on the verge of eruption.
“Are you taking Grand Duke Cardicha’s side in front of me? Do you even know what kind of man he is?”
It wasn’t a misunderstanding.
Cain Inkaris poured out words without pause.
“Do you know he doubled his private forces over the past year? If we don’t reduce them now, how much larger will they grow? And where will those soldiers ultimately be directed?”
…So the rebellion was already well underway.
It was fortunate that Cain was aware of it.
But.
“What about the people who originally lived in Athos? The innocent ones conscripted, who died meaningless deaths to monsters beyond expectation, who nearly perished from a disease of unknown origin?”
“In the end, Grand Duke Cardicha simply wasn’t strong enough to protect his people. If you must blame someone, blame him.”
My head spun. The world seemed to flip upside down in an instant.
To Cain Inkaris, the young princess, the innocent residents, the Northern Territory knights—none of them were anything more than chess pieces on a map that held no value.
My heart pounded wildly, and I gasped for breath as though the air itself had grown thin.
“…I understand your thinking.”
I barely managed to move my tongue.
“You actually wanted Grand Duke Cardicha to die there together with his people.”
“….”
“Did you ever stop to think how many innocent, wronged people were among them?”
“That’s an unavoidable sacrifice. I’m sorry you were so shocked, but….”
“Sorry?”
My body trembled. Now it was my vision that blurred with rage.
“You’re sorry because I was shocked? That’s all you’re sorry for?”
“….”
“Is my shock something you should apologize for? Shouldn’t you be apologizing to the people who died without understanding why?”
Cain Inkaris stared at me without moving.
I could no longer sense anger from him.
Only bewilderment and helplessness.
‘He doesn’t even understand what’s wrong….’
Sorrow washed over me more than rage.
Even knowing the future, I had never once entertained such thoughts.
Especially not the idea that all those innocent people could die alongside Grand Duke Cardicha.
People say minor sacrifices are inevitable in war, but this isn’t wartime.
If Cain truly suspected Grand Duke Cardicha, he could investigate, gather evidence, and then arrest him.
He could execute the Grand Duke for treason and confiscate the titles and assets of his entire family.
That would be the unavoidable sacrifice.
Not driving these ordinary, unknowing people to their deaths.
‘…How did he become like this?’
The Cain Inkaris I knew was never this way.
Of course, even during Academy days, he wasn’t a paragon of virtue.
He repaid everything he received with an eye for an eye, and he didn’t shy away from underhanded tactics to achieve what he wanted.
But his nature was never truly evil.
If he had truly been evil, he would never have approached me first when I was alone.
There was no way he could have matched with me and become my friend despite everyone’s objections.
‘…I don’t know. I really don’t know….’
Truly, I could no longer fathom what kind of person Cain Inkaris was.
But one thing was certain.
I could not match with him anymore. I did not want to match with him. I did not want to gaze into the depths of his abyss.
…Though I had never shown it to him, the time had come to sever a bond I had yearned for—a second time.
The first time, it was beyond my control. This time, it was my choice.
I forced my voice to emerge as rigid and cold as I could manage.
It was an extraordinarily difficult feat.
My throat tightened as though I might burst into tears at any moment, and my voice kept threatening to break.
“Don’t contact me anymore. Not through Timothy either.”
“Tessa!”
Cain Inkaris’s already turbulent expression completely fractured. He contorted his face in bewilderment and shot to his feet.
“I can explain everything. You’ll understand me eventually. There are things I can’t say right now….”
First he said he could explain, then he said he couldn’t.
I turned away from him as he spoke in contradictions.
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say those words while looking at his face.
“I find you… repulsive.”

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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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