The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 74

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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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“What do you think?”
Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
Wedge took pride in this grotesque appearance.
“…It’s perfect.”
I answered a beat too late, but Wedge didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.
“Is there anywhere else you’d like to see? The Mage Tower Master ordered me to guide you wherever the Vice Director wishes.”
I fell into brief contemplation.
In this state, wandering around would accomplish nothing.
“I’d like to have a direct conversation with the apprentices.”
“Ah, the apprentices.”
Wedge answered with a tone of disapproval.
“They’re all devoted to their training, so individual interviews would be difficult… especially since there are younger ones among them.”
“I need to conduct interviews with those younger ones.”
I decided to stop using tentative language like ‘if I may’.
“They’re apprentices the Mage Tower Master takes special interest in.”
“Yes, and as an instructor, I strictly prohibit apprentices from going outside or conversing with outsiders.”
My eyes narrowed involuntarily.
They were preemptively blocking apprentices from any interaction with outsiders? Why?
‘Cedric seems to move about freely outside, though. Or is he an exception?’
After all, who could order the youngest prince of House Beiretz not to speak with others or venture outside?
Still, I had no choice but to appear to accept Wedge’s authority.
“If that’s the principle, then so be it. I suppose it would be acceptable to explore more of the Mage Tower’s interior?”
“As you wish.”
Wedge nodded.
“Where would you like to go?”
“I’d like to see the Training Ground you mentioned earlier.”
Something felt off.
One corner of Wedge’s mouth twisted for a moment.
As if I’d said something utterly trivial.
“Ah, this way then.”
“You must be busy, Instructor. Since I already know the location, I’ll go alone.”
“Outsiders are forbidden from wandering the Mage Tower unaccompanied.”
…So this man was indeed assigned to watch me.
Was this also Fabian Beiretz’s intention?
‘It doesn’t seem like it.’
Fabian Beiretz had actually wanted me to explore every corner of the Mage Tower.
Had he been here, he certainly wouldn’t have prevented me from speaking with the apprentices.
But I didn’t bother to argue against Wedge’s words.
I knew all too well that invoking Fabian Beiretz’s absence would accomplish nothing.
I followed Wedge into the Training Ground.
‘That’s strange.’
The Training Ground, which appeared no different from the Training Grounds on the surface, stood completely empty.
Even if some apprentices were attending classes, there’s no way the total number would be this small—they weren’t training at all?
‘Not a trace of training anywhere. It’s remarkably pristine.’
I’d never seen a mage’s training facility before, but I’d visited the Training Grounds countless times.
‘They were always a complete mess.’
And magic, which could be far more destructive than swords, should naturally leave even more damage in its wake.
Having found nothing of note, I was leaving the Training Ground when—
A young apprentice came walking from the opposite direction, her arms laden with books.
‘She’s different?’
My eyes snapped open.
Unlike the other apprentices, she wasn’t standing in a military posture.
She was simply an ordinary teenage girl, busy carrying her load—nothing more.
The girl caught sight of me and Wedge, froze for a moment, then averted her gaze and hurried past us with quick steps.
I waited until the apprentice disappeared from view before speaking.
“Who is that girl?”
“Interviews with apprentices are….”
“Yes. I have no intention of interviewing the girl. But surely the Mage Tower Master instructed you to answer my questions.”
“….”
Wedge chewed out the words as if grinding them between his teeth.
“Her name is Mia Getran. She’s an apprentice who joined not long ago. She’s a complete novice regarding the Mage Tower, so there’s nothing for you to concern yourself with.”
An apprentice who joined recently.
Her age appeared to be between twelve and fourteen—the range with the highest dropout rate.
‘A perfect subject for investigation.’
The question was how to approach her….
‘That’s something I can ask Fabian Beiretz about once he returns. For now, I need to dig into what I can.’
I nodded as if in agreement.
“I see. The facility tour seems sufficient at this point… and since the Mage Tower Master granted me access to records, I’d appreciate your help in locating the materials I need.”
“What materials are you referring to?”
I paused for a moment.
“Well, there are so many… I’ll need some assistance.”
Wedge’s brow furrowed.
“I can only help if you specify what materials you’re looking for.”
“A list of apprentices who left the Mage Tower over the past five years, attendance records, evaluation reports… essentially everything related to the apprentices.”
Wedge shook his head with obvious irritation.
“I don’t even know where those records are kept.”
“But you can certainly guide me to the records room where they’re stored, can’t you?”
Try saying you can’t even do that.
Once Fabian Beiretz returns, you’re finished.
Whether Wedge understood the silent threat or not, he muttered under his breath with a sour expression.
“We don’t have a separate archive, so we keep all our documents gathered in the Library….”
Bingo.
I smiled.
“Then, would you mind showing me to the Library?”
* * *
As expected, Wedge suddenly remembered urgent business while I was sifting through what appeared to be useless old documents in the Library, and he excused himself.
‘My watchdog has finally left.’
I merely flipped through the roster of apprentices across the years—something I could have found relatively easily. Since no one had told me otherwise, I couldn’t even determine which of them had dropped out.
‘I’ll just have to pretend to investigate until Fabian Beiretz returns.’
But one never knows.
If luck were on my side….
“W-who are you?”
Luck was on my side.
Mia Getran.
The girl I’d seen earlier in the day was staring at me with a frightened yet curious expression.
“Hello? I’m sorry for startling you.”
I deliberately offered a gentle smile.
“I’m Tessa Harrington, an official of the Imperial Bureaucracy. And you’re… Mia, aren’t you?”
The girl flinched in surprise. She clearly hadn’t expected her name to come from an outsider’s lips.
“Y-yes… that’s right….”
Mia was still holding a stack of books in her arms.
Half of them were general miscellaneous works with no connection to magic whatsoever.
In short, a bookworm.
When I’d encountered her near the Training Grounds earlier, I’d caught a glimpse of the books she was carrying and thought I might run into her again if I waited in the Library.
‘It was worth staking out this place with her in mind.’
“Um, but why are you here, ma’am….”
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I bring up Fabian Beiretz or not?
‘Let’s keep it hidden for now.’
For a young, newly arrived apprentice like Mia, the sheer weight of Fabian Beiretz’s presence would be far too overwhelming.
There was a high chance she’d simply become frightened.
I deliberately flipped through the attendance records and offered a vague explanation.
“Ah, sometimes I need to conduct these kinds of investigations. It’s just a formality, but it’s an inspection I can’t overlook, so it’s rather tedious. Would you be interested in earning some pocket money?”
“…p-pocket money? But we….”
“Ah, it’s difficult to spend money here at the Mage Tower?”
I quickly grasped the situation.
“How about this? I’m planning to visit the Mage Tower again in a few days. I’ll bring you whatever you need then.”
Mia seemed quite conflicted.
“Um, I have to train too….”
“Couldn’t you help me for just an hour or two right now?”
Mia fell silent for a moment, lost in deep thought.
Then she spoke.
“…I need a pocket watch.”
I was genuinely surprised.
A simple portable pocket watch was inexpensive enough that even commoners carried one as an essential item.
And here was a mage of the Mage Tower—someone who could craft a timepiece herself if she wished—claiming she didn’t have one.
“Understood. Is there anything else?”
Mia nodded and sat beside me, examining the documents together.
“This is just… our names, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
I answered calmly.
“Now tell me everything you know about these apprentices. Even the smallest details are fine.”
Mia hesitated at first, but once I began praising her for even the simplest observations—’this one is the third child at home, that one is the eldest, this one came from the Southern Island’—she gradually grew animated and spoke more freely.
And finally.
“This one was quite talented, but she couldn’t endure it.”
I had caught the big fish.

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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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