I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain – Chapter 106

Author: Chewyy

Yurika brushed her lips softly against his ear and whispered,

“Then I’ll go before I get too embarrassed. See you later.”

And then she just ran away without even looking back.

Left alone in the tent, Yohan let out a long sigh.

It seemed as if the feeling of his large hands touching her was still vivid.

Her scent still filled the air, and he found himself reluctant to leave.

“How can you be like that…?”

Yohan muttered with a small, helpless laugh.

Yurika had a gift — she could lift him to heaven with just a few simple words.

When he was with her, he felt strangely like he was a normal human, not a wizard.

The things that once seemed sad no longer mattered; his heart was filled only with love and happiness.

He also felt a mysterious sense of certainty that everything would be okay in the future.

It was truly paradoxical.

To feel such emotions while being with a divine beast, of all beings.

It was true that he’d thought about Momo throughout the war.

He had loved her as a woman for a long time — dreamed of staying by her side forever in the Duke of Hyrad’s castle.

He didn’t want power, titles, or inheritance—he just wanted to keep that little squirrel and live quietly for the rest of his life.

But when the war ended and he faced her again — grown and changed — a different feeling began to rise within him.

It was enough just to see her.

Yet at the same time, there was a strange ache somewhere deep in his chest.

He only wanted her to be happy.

When she smiled, the world seemed to stop; when she was sad, it felt like the world sank with her.

The feeling was clearly different from the vague longing he had felt on the battlefield.

Yohan let out a faint sigh.

How… how could it be that the closer he got to her, the more desperate his heart became?

He was thinking about Yurika when he suddenly came to his senses, sensing a presence outside.

A maid from the Medes family was cleaning in front of the tent.

Right — this was Medes’s encampment, not his.

He couldn’t stay in someone else’s tent for too long.

As he slowly made his way back toward the Hyrad camp, his adjutant approached the entrance and spoke cautiously.

“Excuse me, my lord — a guest is waiting for you.”

“A guest? Who is it?”

Yohan asked casually.

He hadn’t been very active lately — mostly following Yurika around — but in truth, he was a highly influential noble from the capital.

Naturally, there were a lot of people who wanted to meet him.

From nobles hoping to form alliances, to merchants who want to do business together, to rebels who need to quickly build a force to counter the imperial family.

Of course, none of that was of interest to Yohan.

“That is…” The adjutant hesitated.

Yohan had intended to exchange a few polite words and send the visitor away, but the name that came next made him frown slightly

“It’s Lady Rivena Sevs, daughter of Count Sevs.”

* * *

After Rivena had left the royal camp, the next to rise was the Empress.

The empress was also a person who was at the center of high society.

That meant she had many visitors and numerous appointments already scheduled.

The Emperor looked at Meriel and Theodore, who were still there, and asked with a puzzled look.

“Are you planning to stay here?”

The first person to answer that question was Mariel.

“Yes.”

She said with a smile.

“Our engagement was only just announced. I think mingling with people right now would be exhausting — too many will want to approach me at once.”

It was an answer that pleased the emperor.

Although he had granted permission because Roymond wished it, he hadn’t really thought the Medes family’s daughter was the most suitable choice for the position of crown princess.

When Roymond had recently asked to enter the secret library, the Emperor had even felt uneasy.

At some point, the imperial family had stopped marrying into the high nobility.

Because the authority of the imperial family was strong even without an alliance with high-ranking nobles, there was no need to take such a risk.

However, the presence of Duke Hyrad after a long war was enough to make the Emperor wary.

Even the Duke of Hyrad is in love with the second daughter of Medes.

The union of the high noble families was not a very welcome thing.

So, for political reasons, he had reluctantly accepted Mariel as Roymond’s partner.

At least Mariel was kind and gentle, so it seemed unlikely that she would take advantage of Roymond, who was blinded by love.

‘But it’s not a good thing for the power of the Medes’ family to grow. I just wish they would live quietly.’

In that sense, Mariel’s decision to stay behind in the camp was a reassuring one.

“If I can take this chance to grow closer to Your Majesty, that would be nice too,” Mariel added brightly, making the Emperor laugh in delight.

His gaze, which had been smiling happily for a while, turned to Theodore.

“You?”

Theodore answered calmly, making full use of his kind face.

“Well… I’m under royal restriction, after all. By Your Majesty’s great mercy, I’ve been allowed to come out to see the sights on a day like today — but with so many eyes watching, I thought it best not to act rashly.”

That was also an answer that pleased the emperor.

The Empress, who happened to regard Theodore as a thorn in her side, was not present, the Emperor said with a slight smile.

“Indeed. Best not to give anyone reason to talk. Why don’t you join me and watch how many beasts your brother manages to catch today?”

Theodore rolled his eyes and replied in a friendly tone.

“I do worry for him. My brother is an exceptional warrior, but still… if he were to encounter a wild beast and suffer an injury…”

“Someone would save him, surely. There are plenty of knights around,” the Emperor said lightly.

“Even knights value their lives, I imagine…”

The Emperor frowned slightly at Theodore’s worried words.

“So why… wasn’t there some clause about rewarding anyone who saves a royal during the hunt?”

“Ah, yes! There is, now that you mention it.”

Theodore replied quickly.

In truth, that particular clause had been slipped in by a government official under Rivena’s orders.

It hadn’t raised any concerns at the time—nothing in it seemed problematic, and the wording was vague enough that no one questioned it.

“So don’t worry and just enjoy it.”

The emperor smiled and raised his glass of champagne.

* * *

“Your courage is admirable.”

Yohan sat in front of Rivena, crossed his legs, and spoke with a serene expression.

“You must not care about your life. You came all the way here.”

It was the first time Rivena had ever encountered Yohan so closely.

So she knew it right away.

Yohan resembled Theodore in aura, but the pressure he exuded was on an entirely different level.

He possessed powers far greater than those of ordinary wizards.

It was surprising that such a beast-like man could look so gentle in front of Yurika.

His eerie purple eyes gleamed sharply. An eerie aura hung over the entire tent.

“I came here because my life was precious.”

Rivena took a deep breath and answered.

“Many people saw me enter Duke Hyrad’s tent. If you don’t want to be suspected of murder and troubling your fiancée, you’d best let me leave unharmed.”

Unfortunately, that statement was true.

The fact that Rivena, who had been desperately trying to hide and avoid him, had come to his tent so openly meant that the plan was already set.

“Killing someone isn’t so easy, is it, Duke?”

At Rivena’s words, John snickered and made a sarcastic remark.

“Well, wasn’t it easy for you?”

“That’s not true. The temple completely collapsed at an unexpected time. The countless potions we’d been researching were simply discarded by the priests to prevent them from falling into the hands of the imperial family.”

Rivena cleared her throat briefly, running her hands through her red hair.

No matter how overwhelming the pressure Yohan exuded, she had to say what she had to say. Otherwise, all this risk would be for nothing.

“Duke, I’d like to make a deal with you. This is an offer even Prince Theodore doesn’t know about.”

Yohan clicked his tongue, looking at Rivena as if she were crazy.

That would be the case, since they had been enemies until now, even though it wasn’t revealed on the outside.

He was about to tell her to stop talking nonsense and leave when—

“As I said, nearly all the potions were destroyed. Except for this one vial I secretly took with me from Count Sevs’ estate.”

Rivena took a small vial out of her bosom.

Rivena smiled faintly as she looked at Yohan’s serious face.

“It’s a potion that turns people into puppets. It can be used in surprisingly many ways. For example,….”

Yohan’s purple eyes, looking at the vial, sank coldly.

Rivena continued, lowering her voice seductively.