The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 23

Isaac visited the orphanage.

He was holding a large gift bundle in his hands.

"““Wow!””"

The effect of the gift was immense.

The children's faces were full of excitement. Their eyes sparkled like jewels. They couldn’t take their eyes off the gift bundle.

"Ahem!"

When Isaac cleared his throat, the children finally snapped out of their dazed state, their focus returning to the gift.

Isaac looked a little sulky.

The children, embarrassed by how absorbed they were in the presents, exchanged glances before finally welcoming Isaac with bright smiles.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at their behavior. I wonder if they liked Isaac or the presents more.

In the warm atmosphere, I glanced behind me at the person standing there.

Red was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, looking somewhat displeased.

Though her expression was the same as usual, the children didn’t seem to notice. But if you looked closely, you could tell—the subtle difference.

It was clearly an uncomfortable expression.

I knew why.

It was due to the unexpected visitor.

I wasn’t sure what had happened between them, but it seemed that Red was uncomfortable around Isaac.

Meanwhile, Isaac didn’t seem to care about Red’s attitude at all.

Anyway, it would be rude to leave a guest standing at the entrance, so Red reluctantly let him in. After that, the children and I gathered in the room to open the gifts.

The children gasped in amazement, and even I couldn’t help but be wide-eyed.

Toys, dolls, picture books, snacks—these were all new products that had just come out. And all of them were expensive items.

The money spent on one of those toys could feed us for a week. The rest of the items weren’t much different in price.

Quite a generous man, indeed.

He brought such expensive things for the children. Or maybe, he just cares for them so much that he doesn’t mind spending the money?

"I like this one."

"I’ll choose this one."

"Hehehe..."

Everyone was excited, picking out the things they wanted.

The children smiled happily, beaming with joy.

As I looked over the items, I realized two people were missing.

Wondering where they had gone, I quietly slipped away under the pretense of using the bathroom.

As I walked down the hallway, I overheard voices coming from the office.

"Thanks for the invitation."

"Yeah, you must’ve had a long trip. So, what are you going to do now?"

"I’ve prepared a surprise performance that the kids will love."

"A surprise performance...? Fine, just don’t make a mess, and hurry up. You’re busy anyway, so I doubt you’ll have time to stick around here."

"To tell someone who just arrived to leave quickly... that’s harsh."

"..."

"You don’t have to worry about me. I purposely avoided my busy time, so I have plenty of time."

What a friendly conversation.

Poor Isaac.

It’s clear that Isaac has feelings for Red. Perhaps this visit was even intended to get closer to her.

The problem is, Red doesn’t like Isaac. She doesn’t even try to hide it.

She blatantly shows that she doesn’t like him, but Isaac is still smiling, acting as if everything is fine.

If it were up to me, I’d want to tell him to let go of this impossible love and give up quickly.

‘There’s no chance.’

As I was consoling Isaac in my mind, I stopped when I heard another voice.

"Red, I don’t think it’s right to treat him that way. He didn’t come with bad intentions; he just wanted to see the kids."

Was that the woman behind Isaac? She must be a fixer as well.

She was speaking frankly, displeased with Red’s attitude.

The atmosphere was becoming tense.

"My attitude? This is just how I am. You know my personality well."

"I still don’t understand. What exactly did Isaac do to you that made you treat him like this? Could you just tell us the reason plainly?"

"You don’t have to worry about it. I’m fine, so calm down."

"Isaac is being so humble, and that’s why Red is acting this way."

"The kids will hear. Lower your voice."

I realized that I didn’t belong there.

I could easily guess what the mood in the other room was like.

I quietly slipped away from the conversation.

When I returned to the room with the kids, it was like a breath of fresh air was released.

Rena, noticing something seemed off with me, looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Lily, what’s wrong? Did you see a bug in the bathroom?"

I nodded.

Rena’s face turned pale with shock.

Adults’ issues are things the kids don’t need to know.

They should solve it on their own.

*

We stepped out into the yard.

It was to watch the performance Isaac had prepared. The children, wrapped in blankets, comfortably sat on the grass, eagerly waiting for the show to begin.

Whispers filled the air as the children talked excitedly.

"I can’t wait!"

"I’m so excited, it’s been so long since we saw a performance!"

"Thump-thump..."

The children’s faces were filled with excitement and anticipation.

I felt the same way, looking forward to it.

Come to think of it, I had read in a magazine that one of the reasons Isaac was so popular with the children was because he put on fun shows for them.

At that moment, Rena lightly tapped my arm.

I turned my head to her.

Rena gave me a small smile and said softly.

"This is your first time, right? Isaac’s ice performance?"

I nodded.

"It’s really beautiful. I’m sure you’ll love it too, Lily."

Her words made me even more excited.

I hoped it wouldn’t be a disappointing performance.

Suddenly, the events in the room came to mind, and I glanced briefly at Red and Nina, the fixers.

They were quietly standing, as if nothing had happened. It seemed like they were hiding their emotions in front of the children.

Well, they shouldn’t fight in front of the kids, anyway.

At that moment, music began to play from the machine placed on the grass.

With the soft, sweet melody, Isaac began to move.

Isaac snapped his fingers.

Tiny ice particles gathered in his hand, taking shape and quickly forming an ice bird.

The bird, seemingly alive, began to move.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

When Isaac sent the bird into the air, it flew up high.

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The bird spiraled above ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) us, and white, delicate ice particles slowly fell, like snow.

The children held their breath.

Snap!

The children’s gazes were locked on Isaac.

When Isaac clapped his hands, a cold breeze rose at his feet and spread quickly.

It brushed past our bodies, but it didn’t feel cold at all.

‘Incredible.’

While I was marveling at this, new sculptures began to appear one after another during that brief moment.

Isaac created various sculptures, and as he moved, he began to weave a story in time with the music.

A sad, beautiful, yet wistful story.

With the dazzling and dreamlike visuals, none of us could take our eyes off it.

‘Amazing.’

We were all captivated by the story he created.

Even the children’s breathing seemed to vanish.

Perhaps the children wished that the performance would never end.

Like someone asleep in the cold, forever stuck in a dream.

But stories that never end don’t exist. It’s time to wake up.

No matter how much you wish, the pages must come to an end.

When the last page is turned, like closing a book, Isaac’s performance also reached its conclusion.

As with every story, it ended on a happy note.

All the ice sculptures shattered at once, and ice particles floated in the air.

Sparkling.

The particles shimmered in the sunlight.

I heard a sniffle. Some children had tears in their eyes.

As the other children immersed themselves in the lingering feelings of the performance, I found myself thinking about how Isaac had fought earlier.

His martial arts skills were basic, but his control over magic was pretty impressive.

Let me correct myself. It was in the realm of talent.

I couldn’t help but admire his almost divine skill.

And in the back of my mind, I made a note not to underestimate him.

If he became an enemy, he could become a troublesome one.

The yard fell into silence.

Soon, cheers erupted, and applause followed.

I too gave Isaac a round of applause for the amazing performance he had put on.

*

After the performance ended, Isaac spent more time with the children.

He played with them and showed them more magic, making them even more excited.

The children’s clear laughter echoed through the orphanage for a long time.

But Isaac seemed especially interested in me, as he kept asking the children about me.

"When did Lily come here?"

"How did she end up at the orphanage?"

"Do you know what kind of life she had before coming here?"

Of course, the innocent children answered Isaac’s questions honestly.

Though there were many things they didn’t know, there was a hint of disappointment when they couldn’t answer fully.

Even in the evening, Isaac’s curiosity didn’t stop.

"She’s wearing a mask again, just like when I first saw her."

"She doesn’t like showing her face to others."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"I’m not sure, but I don’t think it’s for a good reason."

"Have you ever seen what’s under her mask?"

"No."

He also asked Red about me.

Was it because of that attitude?

I found Isaac a little uncomfortable.

Of course, it felt strange that he kept asking about me. And even while playing with the kids, he kept glancing at me.

It felt like he was too aware of me.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. When I saw him being kind to the kids, I thought it was fine. But now, something felt off.

I couldn’t help but wonder why Red didn’t like him so much.

‘Could he be a lolicon...!?’

Shudder.

If that were true, everything would fall into place, but I knew better than to jump to conclusions.

Still, I kept that possibility in the back of my mind.

After his first visit, Isaac started coming to the orphanage more frequently.