The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 78

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Cedric quickly changed the subject.
“Heading home?”
“No, I thought I’d check out the Medical Office.”
Cedric’s eyebrows shot up.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“Just looking around.”
….
The boy swept his gaze over me with suspicion, then let out a short laugh.
It was the first smile I’d seen from him.
His irritation hadn’t completely vanished, but at least his mood seemed considerably lighter.
“Do you know the way?”
“More or less.”
Tch.
Cedric tucked the book back under his arm.
“I’ll take you there.”
I had no reason to refuse.
Cedric led the way ahead. The Medical Office for trainees was located in a secluded corner.
“Here it is.”
I tried turning the handle slightly, but it was locked.
“The Doctor must be away.”
“The Doctor?”
Cedric scoffed.
“There is no Doctor.”
“What…?”
“The trainees just treat themselves. They just keep records and leave. As if there were a Doctor here.”
I recalled the confrontation I’d had with Wedge Instructor over meeting with the Doctor.
‘…That damned bastard.’
The Doctor had never existed in the first place.
How absurd I must have looked, obsessing over a meeting with a Doctor who didn’t exist.
“Then you can open it?”
“Yeah.”
A faint light emanated from Cedric’s hand, enveloping the door, and the lock clicked open with a soft sound.
‘I would’ve been in serious trouble if he hadn’t come with me.’
The Medical Office was clean, yet somehow filled with an unsettling atmosphere.
I made a thorough circuit of the interior, examining everything carefully so as not to miss this opportunity.
“…Something’s odd.”
“What is?”
“You said trainees treat themselves, right? But there are traces of a proper Doctor having stayed here.”
I pointed to the table.
“Or do the trainees know how to use scalpels and suture needles?”
“If they were injured that badly, it would cause an uproar, so they wouldn’t come here at all….”
Cedric’s face was flustered.
‘This is really strange.’
Though not filthy, the surgical equipment scattered throughout the space showed considerable wear. Some had handles so polished from use they gleamed.
‘And there’s something else that’s odd.’
I was able to obtain blueprints of the Mage Tower from the Library.
They weren’t blueprints of the floor where apprentices stayed, but of a general floor—though surely the Medical Office would be constructed similarly across all levels.
‘The blueprints showed the consultation room and treatment room as separate spaces.’
I wasn’t certain whether the space we occupied now was the consultation room or treatment room, but according to the blueprints, there should be at least one additional room.
I tapped lightly against the inner wall.
‘Just as I thought.’
Cedric, who had drawn close without my noticing, widened his eyes at the wall, then let out a soft chuckle.
“Move aside.”
Cedric placed his palm against the wall without hesitation.
A pristine white light was absorbed into the wall.
“I’m way better at this than my older brother.”
He spoke with unmistakable pride.
“What is that?”
“Magic that erases existing magic. In other words… camouflage magic like this.”
The smooth wall rippled, and the layered illusion spells that had been stacked shattered in unison.
From the gap in the musty stone wall, a narrow passage just wide enough for a single person to squeeze through was revealed.
Then.
Cedric, who had been boasting that it was fortunate I wasn’t the older brother and urging me to express gratitude quickly, fell silent.
The child’s face betrayed instinctive terror.
“Th-this place… something’s wrong.”
Even I, who knew nothing of magic, could sense that this passage was far from ordinary.
“The air is too cold… my older brother would never permit something like this. It’s been completely hidden from him. H-how could something like this exist in the Mage Tower….”
The child spoke incoherently.
‘There was something that needed to be hidden.’
What on earth were they concealing?
A foul stench emanated from the passage—a mixture of filth, mold, and blood.
One thing was certain.
Had I remained ignorant, that would be one matter, but now that I knew, I could not simply leave it as it was.
“Cedric, is there a way to contact the Mage Tower Master?”
“…I’ll try.”
Cedric squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.
‘Is he attempting to make contact?’
Even if contact succeeded, it would be difficult to return to the Mage Tower immediately.
The thought occurred to me that whoever had arranged this space might destroy all evidence before then.
‘I need to find out.’
I stepped inward as though entranced. Glancing back, Cedric still had his eyes closed, murmuring something under his breath.
“I’ll go take a look and come right back.”
“…!”
Cedric’s eyes snapped open.
The child’s face was utterly consumed by terror.
“Aren’t you… scared…?”
Of course I was terrified. Terrified enough to want to grip Cedric’s hand tightly.
But if I waited for Fabian Beiretz and missed the chance to discover what the apprentices’ secret was?
“I’m an adult, so I’ll be fine.”
I forced a smile.
“I’ll be back quickly. Even if I don’t return, you mustn’t follow me. Understood?”
“B-but….”
“Contact the Mage Tower Master right away. That way he’ll come faster.”
“…If you don’t come back, I’ll pull out all your hair. And I’ll tell Estella never to see you again.”
I let out a soft laugh.
“Even if all my hair falls out, Estella will still love me, I’m sure.”
“….”
“Please, Cedric.”
Cedric glared at me with tears glistening in his eyes, then barely nodded and closed them again.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the passage.
‘…Let’s see.’
If something went wrong, Cedric would explain the situation to Fabian Beiretz.
I squeezed through the narrow passage and walked perhaps fifty paces.
The passage suddenly opened up slightly.
Against the wall of a space barely larger than a single room, I saw a figure huddled in the darkness.
‘…A person?’
My heart stopped.
A person—whether female or male, I couldn’t tell—wearing only tatters that hardly qualified as clothing, their skeletal ribs exposed, their emaciated frame a testament to unimaginable suffering.
‘Are they… alive…?’
No, “merely alive” would be the more accurate description.
Fingernails completely torn away, one foot blackened and necrotic, burn scars layered upon burn scars across their body….
‘W-who… who are they….’
I descended into panic, unable to form a coherent thought.
Who? Why? How?
I could fathom nothing, yet one fact became unmistakably clear.
‘They’re imprisoned.’
A collar inscribed with a magical seal adorned their neck, and iron chains bound their ankles.
Both neck and ankles bore the unmistakable marks of repeated cycles of raw flesh and scarring.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
I knew I should say something.
After witnessing such a shocking sight, I couldn’t think of a single word to say.
It was the first time in my entire life I’d encountered anything like this.
My abilities as a Ministry of Finance bureaucrat, as a Child Protection Bureau official? Or perhaps being somewhat good at studying?
But faced with the utter hell unfolding before my eyes, such trivial skills were utterly useless.
‘I… I need to get them out of here… They need medical treatment.’
But how could I possibly extract someone imprisoned by both magic and physical restraints?
Moreover, merely imagining the perpetrator who had reduced this person to such a state made my head spin.
‘The culprit must be somewhere inside the Mage Tower. If they discover me…’
That was when it happened.
As though sensing my presence, the person lying on the ground forced their eyes open and spoke toward me.
“A… a new apprentice?”
The words came out between ragged, wheezing breaths.
And then.
“Burn me with fire and get out of here. Don’t worry—I won’t resist.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————