The Villainess in the Childcare Story Doesn’t Hide Her Personality - Chapter 80

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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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“This insolent brat. I’ve wanted to teach him a lesson for quite some time.”
“Your Grace, please feel free to report us to your brother. Oh, perhaps you can’t because your memory is gone?”
The apprentices snickered.
My blood ran cold.
Their purpose wasn’t merely to erase Cedric’s memories.
‘…They’re using Cedric, his younger brother, as an outlet for their resentment and jealousy toward Fabian Beiretz.’
My mind raced.
They saw me as nothing more than a powerless Imperial Bureaucrat and dismissed me entirely.
Even now, that was evident.
They focused solely on preventing Cedric from using magic, paying no attention whatsoever to my movement toward the entrance.
“Trying to leave?”
It wasn’t.
The moment my foot touched the corridor, a rigid stone wall materialized, completely sealing off the exit.
“Stay still. You’re digging your own grave.”
I clenched my teeth.
I wasn’t afraid.
No matter how capable they were, what could they possibly do to an Imperial Bureaucrat and the youngest son of the Beiretz Ducal Family?
At worst, they could only steal our memories.
But the helplessness of being unable to do anything crushed me.
‘Like this, unable to lift a single finger…!’
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, a pressure so intense that breathing became difficult filled the entire chamber.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant, and the air solidified.
A white light began to shimmer like an aura across the rough stone walls.
“…!”
The apprentices’ faces twisted in horror.
“No, that’s… He completely left! We were told he left the Empire… Already?”
Cedric cried out.
“Big brother!”
Crash—!
With a deafening roar, the walls crumbled entirely.
From behind the collapsed debris emerged a refined man with familiar golden, curly hair.
But Fabian Beiretz bore none of his usual warmth or gentle consideration.
His gaze swept coldly between my brother and me, and the moment he confirmed we were unharmed, he extended his hand toward the apprentices.
All three of them collapsed unconscious, their limbs completely shattered like broken marionettes.
It happened before they could even beg for mercy.
Sheer, overwhelming power.
I stared at him blankly.
I should have said something, should have reported what I’d discovered… but everything happening to me in this moment felt far too overwhelming.
‘I’m… getting dizzy….’
My last thought before losing consciousness was, ‘Of all people, I had to collapse in front of Fabian Beiretz again….’
* * *
“…The cause appears to be severe shock. You’ll recover quickly if you simply rest adequately. Your body is quite weakened, but since you’re still young, proper recuperation should restore you soon.”
I blinked my eyes.
Surely he wasn’t talking about me?
What kind of child faints from shock?
“Tessa!”
At the same moment something warm dripped onto the back of my hand, a familiar voice reached my ears.
“S-sob… I thought you weren’t going to wake up!”
It was Estella.
The girl gripped my right hand tightly with her small fingers, refusing to let go.
“I’m sorry.”
I apologized to the child. It wasn’t my fault, but somehow the atmosphere seemed to demand it.
“I’m always causing you worry.”
“Tessa….”
“You should recover within the day.”
The Royal Physician of the Beiretz Ducal Family, standing beside the bed, spoke as he organized his medical instruments with a soft clink.
“However, I recommend at least a week of rest. You haven’t rested once since I last advised you on this, have you?”
“…Yes.”
“It seems you truly don’t value your own life.”
The Royal Physician regarded me with an expression of utter exasperation from behind his spectacles, then finally released a deep sigh.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do. I’ll take my leave now.”
I heard the door close.
Only then did I notice that Fabian Beiretz was sitting in a chair across from the bed, his hands folded neatly upon his lap.
Who could possibly imagine that this seemingly docile man was a monster who had severed the limbs of three people with overwhelming force in an instant?
I quickly opened my mouth.
“Thank you for saving me, Mage Tower Master. If you hadn’t arrived then, I would have woken up somewhere near the Mage Tower without understanding anything.”
“….”
Fabian stared at me with his lips firmly pressed together.
Though he said nothing outright, his expression made it abundantly clear he wanted to say something along the lines of ‘Are you insane?’
“No, I’m not insane. I went to that dangerous place of my own volition, and I was aware of the risks involved. If anything, it’s my fault for putting Cedric in danger as well.”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“But you were thinking I was insane, weren’t you?”
“….”
Fabian closed his mouth again.
“What about Cedric….”
“He was quite startled, but he’s fine.”
“And Ariel?”
Fabian hesitated.
A moment later, when he opened his mouth, I could sense pain in his voice.
“Ariel is currently hospitalized. The Royal Physician said it’s uncertain how long her recovery will take. But I intend to stake everything on restoring her completely.”
I swallowed hard.
Ariel had likely been a scapegoat long before Fabian Beiretz became the Mage Tower Master.
“This isn’t something mere apprentices could accomplish. There must be someone orchestrating this from behind the scenes.”
Ariel had said that everyone of rank in the Mage Tower—except for the Beiretz Family—knew about the scapegoat system.
‘By witnessing the scapegoat’s blood, they reinforced their bonds, and by instilling the fear that any of them could become a scapegoat at any moment, the system proved remarkably useful.’
But could children raised to accept such customs as natural ever become psychologically healthy adults?
The answer was evident in the apprentices I’d seen before losing consciousness.
“I share that assessment. I intend to dispose of anyone even remotely involved in this matter using my authority, so you needn’t worry about that.”
I didn’t need to ask what kind of disposal he meant. The sinister gleam in Fabian’s blue eyes suggested that the fate those three apprentices had met was almost merciful by comparison.
Then.
“Vice Director, there’s something I must tell you.”
Fabian declared with a hardened expression.
“I intend to dismantle the Mage Tower.”
Beside me, Estella let out a sharp gasp of shock.
“At the very least, the Mage Tower in its current form must cease to exist. People are suffering through horrific ordeals, yet no one can even report it….”
Fabian paused for a moment.
For him too, the ‘scapegoat system’ must have been a profound shock.
After all, unlike me—an outsider—he had endured the Mage Tower’s training process firsthand.
“As the Mage Tower Master, I failed to grasp even a single thing happening beneath my authority. An organization like this… must be destroyed.”
Could such a thing truly be accomplished, even by Fabian Beiretz?
While I stood stunned by this bombshell declaration, Fabian didn’t hesitate to drop a second one.
“If the Mage Tower disappears, we’ll need a new institution to educate and cultivate young mages in its place. Will you help me?”

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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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