The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 76

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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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I found myself biting my lip without thinking.
‘I’d like to search the Medical Office.’
There would certainly be proper records kept somewhere.
Ordinary doctors tend to maintain records with almost obsessive precision.
‘That’s right, there was a doctor, wasn’t there?’
I immediately requested a meeting with the Mage Tower Specialist, but was flatly refused.
“If he refuses, there’s nothing I can do about it, Vice Director.”
Wedge shot me a look that said ‘what do you expect me to do?’ as he spoke.
“Strictly speaking, he’s not even a member of the Mage Tower, so even if the Mage Tower Master ordered us to cooperate fully, our hands are tied.”
It seemed my role ended here.
What Fabian Beiretz wanted was to uncover the truth.
While I hadn’t gotten the complete picture, I’d grasped enough of the outline that the rest could proceed once Fabian Beiretz returned.
I had no intention of squeezing information out of someone who showed no willingness to cooperate.
‘Maybe I should go buy some stationery.’
* * *
“Stationery that magic can’t affect…? Do you think we’d sell something like that?”
At the ordinary Stationery Shop, I was openly treated like a fool.
“Ah, we don’t handle miscellaneous items like stationery.”
At the Magical Tool Shop, I was treated like a fool in a roundabout way.
‘The Black Market… that’s the only option left.’
I swallowed a sigh.
I didn’t want to go to the Black Market, but it seemed I had no choice.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem to give Mia something else of value instead.
‘She was scared but still took me all the way to the Training Ground just to get stationery—how could I break that promise?’
There was another reason too.
‘A clock and stationery… there’s something to this.’
The items Mia wanted were definitely not ordinary.
And perhaps they were somehow connected to the apprentices’ secret.
I pulled my hood down deeper over my head again.
The Black Market.
A place where unlicensed merchants gathered to sell all manner of goods while evading Imperial surveillance… though it wasn’t quite as sinister as its name suggested.
It was simply where those who didn’t want to be incorporated into the system gathered.
For instance, like how mages from the Mage Tower made and sold magical tools as a side business.
Even the Imperial Court frequently purchased items from this place.
But it was certainly not a place where Imperial bureaucrats should be seen.
Especially not a Child Protection Bureau Vice Director who was already walking on eggshells.
‘Is it this one?’
Fortunately, at the fifth Magical Tool Shop I visited, they pointed me toward a helpful store.
‘They said it’s run by a stubborn craftsman.’
A small, faded sign hung loosely from the window frame.
As I opened the door, the surprisingly well-organized interior caught my eye. A potent aroma—whether medicinal herbs or fragrant incense—wafted from within, and I found myself sneezing involuntarily.
“What brings you here?”
A lean man in his thirties standing behind the counter looked me up and down.
He seemed to be assessing whether I was a customer worth his time.
“I’m looking for stationery and envelopes that magic cannot penetrate. The kind that detection spells can’t find either.”
“…That’s quite an unusual request.”
The craftsman paused for a moment.
“Items like that come at a premium. Very few people make them.”
In other words, he’d name whatever price he pleased.
“Would you like to see them?”
The craftsman withdrew a small box from a drawer.
A bundle of stationery and a stack of envelopes lay arranged neatly inside.
Even to someone like me, unfamiliar with magic, the paper itself emanated a subtle, otherworldly presence—clearly no ordinary item.
“How much?”
“Per set…”
The craftsman hesitated.
“Twelve gold coins.”
Magical tool or not, stationery was stationery. Twelve gold coins for a single bundle of such paper? It was outright robbery.
Though it was highway robbery, I paid without haggling.
I’d learned that with items like these, the asking price was the only price.
The scarred hand holding the coins trembled slightly, but the craftsman quickly composed himself and skillfully wrapped the box before handing it to me.
“Thank you.”
I left the shop promptly.
I intended to deliver it to Mia right away.
* * *
Across the alley stood a small, quiet Tea House.
As the afternoon deepened, the only customers were two men seated by the window.
A shadow-like man in a rough coat with his hat brim pulled low spoke endlessly, while the nobleman across from him merely nodded along.
It was Marquis Dever.
“It seems the Commander-in-Chief and Tessa Harrington have indeed grown distant. They didn’t meet even once during the Foundation Festival period. In fact, when the Commander-in-Chief visited Tessa Harrington’s office, she was away.”
“Excellent.”
A bitter smile played at the corners of Marquis Dever’s mouth.
Tessa Harrington.
How utterly infuriating that woman had been.
But with the Commander-in-Chief’s protection, I couldn’t make a proper move against her…
“What about Timothy? Has he not met with her either?”
The shadow-like man—the Information Agent—answered promptly.
“Correct. Your son remained in the Capital, yet never met with Tessa Harrington. This makes their estrangement all the more certain.”
Marquis Dever’s grip tightened.
‘Can I finally get my revenge?’
Tessa Harrington had snatched his son right before his eyes. All this time, he’d been forced to merely watch as Timothy paraded about spouting that ridiculous nonsense about being the Commander-in-Chief’s successor.
But if the Commander-in-Chief’s connection had been severed, that was another matter entirely.
‘Hmm?’
As he gazed absently out the window, the very person who’d become the topic of conversation pushed open the tea house door and slipped swiftly through the alley.
‘Fortune smiles upon me.’
Marquis Dever immediately issued orders to the Information Agent.
“Target acquired. Follow them.”
The Information Agent didn’t even respond before bolting from the tea house.
Marquis Dever moved with equal swiftness.
The moment the Information Agent vacated his seat, he slipped into the shop across the way. The moment he entered, the pungent aroma of medicinal herbs assailed his nostrils.
‘So Harrington visited Grell’s shop… Fortune truly favors me.’
Matthias Grell.
The Marquis’s smile widened further.
To Marquis Dever, who possessed intimate knowledge of most black market merchants, Matthias was excellent prey.
The thick herbal fragrance permeating the shop was for treating Matthias’s ailing five-year-old son, yet cheap herbs could hardly provide any genuine therapeutic effect.
So he would surely capitulate for a pittance.
When the Marquis simply stood in silence, Matthias asked with a note of unease in his voice.
“Is there something particular you’re seeking?”
“Not merchandise. I’m here to purchase information.”
Matthias’s face hardened like stone.
“I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m no information broker.”
“True, you’re not. But you possess the information I require.”
The Marquis withdrew a small bundle and tossed it onto the counter.
“An advance payment.”
As Matthias unwrapped the bundle, his entire body trembled.
Three diamonds.
Enough to fund years of proper treatment for his son—treatment he’d been unable to afford.
And this was merely an advance.
If he provided the desired information, there would be more.
“W-what information do you seek?”
The Marquis’s eyes narrowed to slits.
With merely a handful of jewels, he now held the perfect leverage to completely ensnare Tessa Harrington.

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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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