I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 107

Rivena smiled brightly and continued speaking.

 

“Just add a drop of the Duke’s blood and mix it into warm food. Lady Yurika trusts you, so it’ll be easy.”

 

She shook the vial slightly in front of Yohan.

 

“You know, right? You can’t truly own someone in a relationship like that.”

 

Yohan stared quietly at the vial that Rivena held out, then slowly extended his hand.

 

Then he asked in a sharp voice.

 

“Why are you giving this to me and not to Theodore?”

 

“When two people share the same goal, they’re on the same side.”

 

Rivena replied calmly.

 

“And if you look at it from a different angle, I thought our goals might actually align.”

 

It’s good for Yohan to have Yurika, and it’s good for Rivena not to be bothered by Yurika.

 

It was a suggestion she could make since she had no intention of keeping her promise to Theodore anyway.

 

“There’s only one vial of this. I’ve been saving it for the right time.”

 

“…….”

 

“The secrets of Medes are none of your business, Duke. Stop supporting such a fallen family.”

 

Rivena slowly handed the vial into Yohan’s hand. Then, with a grin, she continued.

 

“Today’s hunting competition winner will be Crown Prince Roymond. And the Emperor will take that chance to launch a grand public campaign. Thus, the war hero will be forgotten, and perhaps even sacrificed to establish imperial power.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

“All of that happened while you were too distracted by Lady Yurika to notice. Don’t you feel wronged?”

 

Rivena smiled as she handed the vial back to Yohan.

 

“Turn Lady Yurika into a squirrel and keep her by your side, so you can focus on more important things.”

 

Yohan looked at the vial with indifferent eyes.

 

A confident smile appeared on Rivena’s face.

 

It was an offer that a wizard would absolutely, absolutely not be able to refuse.

 

Of course, it would be tempting to be told that it would allow him to own the divine beast forever.

 

Yohan muttered, narrowing his eyes.

 

“The last vial….”

 

“Yes. This is your last chance.” Rivena said firmly.

 

“I see.”

 

Yohan opened the vial with a grin.

 

Then he poured it all out onto the dirt floor of the tent.

 

Rivena’s eyes widened as she thought everything was going well.

 

“W-What are you doing!”

 

It was when she was startled and shouted in a panic.

 

“Now go out.”

 

“It was as if he had never wavered from the beginning,” John said in a cool voice.

 

“Just being alone in a tent with a young woman for this long already makes me uneasy. I’m worried Yurika might be upset.”

 

The spilled potion could not be put back in.

 

While Rivena fumbled in disbelief, Yohan stood and confidently opened the tent flap himself.

 

“I’ve heard all your nonsense. I can’t kill you like you said, so just get out.”

 

Rivena took a deep breath, looking drained.

 

She had no idea that one of her secret weapons would disappear so meaninglessly.

 

‘I thought it would work, but why…?’

 

Ribena stared at the ground for a while, then slowly opened her mouth.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re actually having some sort of normal romance with Lady Yurika?”

 

A sneer crossed her face.

 

“Wizards can’t do that, you know that.”

 

It was essentially the same thing Ella said.

 

But unlike Ella’s outburst, Rivena’s tone was calm, analytical, almost chillingly detached.

 

“A wizard and a divine beast in a romance… amusing, really. But I’ll be watching to see how long it lasts. Love and possession are two different things, after all. I almost pity Lady Yurika, who still believes what she feels is love.”

 

Rivena’s cold words continued.

 

“I have a piece of laboratory equipment that I have loved since I was a child. Whenever someone touched them, I felt furious—because they were precious to me. I even brought them with me to Count Sevs’ estate.”

 

“What are you—”

 

“But that doesn’t mean I loved that laboratory equipment. Think about that story carefully.”

 

She turned to leave, her words cutting through the air.

 

“I’m sure there will come a day when you’ll regret your choice today. And when it does, things will start happening again and again. Goodbye for now.”

 

Yohan stared at Rivena’s back for a moment, then stood up.

 

‘I wanted to see Yurika…’

 

‘Even though she said she would be back soon, I still felt like I had to see her right now.’

 

* * *

 

“Well, you don’t have to work so hard.”

 

I stroked the tiger’s head and smiled faintly.

 

“Anyway, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Roymond will win.”

 

That was already decided when the rules prohibited Yohan from competing.

 

“I guess they’re afraid Yohan might threaten the royal family.”

 

I sighed, my expression complicated.

 

Does position make a person that way? The emperor was overly political.

 

Compared to him, how naive is Roymond, blinded by love.

 

“Anyway, it’s a pointless display of caution.”

 

I continued speaking, stroking the tiger’s back.

 

“I know exactly what Yohan wants.”

 

I thought about Yohan as a child for a moment.

 

A small boy trapped in a tower, curled up and groaning in pain.

 

In the original story, and even now, Yohan has never particularly coveted power.

 

After all, he’d continued his fake relationship with me, even though it didn’t do much to help his reputation.

 

And after we became lovers, I was able to know more clearly what he wanted.

 

“Yohan just wants to live a normal life. He wants to have a happy family like ours. He doesn’t show it, but he really wants to have a family of his own.”

 

What he truly wished for was to live peacefully with me, maybe even have adorable children together.

 

That must have been why he reacted so strongly when he heard the word curse.

 

It was the first time I saw him, who was usually indifferent to everything, step forward with such enthusiasm.

 

He’d always rejected the idea of a normal family—probably because of his constant pain—but deep down, that’s what he had always longed for.

 

So to him, things like power or political influence meant nothing.

 

And for the sake of granting that wish of his, I couldn’t help but dig deeper into the secrets that lay hidden.

 

“So, father…”

 

I spoke affectionately while gently stroking the tiger’s back.

 

“Please take good care of Yohan. Don’t be so wary of him.”

 

The tiger let out a displeased growl, narrowing his eyes as if to ask if that was really the point of all this.

 

I just hummed a little tune, feeling cheerful as I looked around.

 

Then, spotting some purple wildflowers that resembled Yohan’s eyes, I picked a few and made a flower bracelet.

 

Even if I couldn’t give the winner a crown, I could at least make him a bracelet.

 

I was planning to just kill time like this and then quickly go back.

 

‘All the real action’s happening back at headquarters anyway. I’m not going to win this hunting competition, so there’s no reason to stay here.’

 

As I was making it, I was having fun and looking around to see if I could mix in some pink wildflowers that resembled the color of my eyes.

 

“Krrrrrrrrrr…”

 

The first to notice the presence was a tiger.

 

The tiger lowered its body slightly and showed its aggressiveness.

 

It was when I looked back in a hurry.

 

“Long time no see, Lady.”

 

It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time. It gave me goosebumps.

 

“I missed you.”

 

The owner of the voice was Theodore.

 

‘What the hell…? Why is he here? He should’ve been staying at headquarters.’

 

When I didn’t respond and only took a wary step back, he smirked and continued.

 

“I said I had something to tell my brother, and came out for a bit. What a coincidence, running into you like this.”

 

‘Do you think I would believe that?’

 

I opened my eyes wide and placed my hand on the tiger’s back.

 

“I don’t want to talk to the kidnapper. I’ll go now.”

 

“Ah, fine,” he said with a grin, shrugging his shoulders.

 

“I shouldn’t be away for too long either. Let’s head back together.”

 

‘What?’

 

“Together…? Why on earth would I go anywhere with a kidnapper?”

 

I said with a sharp voice and glaring eyes.

 

“And I assume you’re well aware of who’s standing right beside me.”

 

The tiger let out a low, threatening growl, its claws digging into the ground.

 

But Theodore asked calmly.

 

“Aren’t you going back?”

 

“What are you—”

 

“I’ll keep following you,”

 

He continued speaking proudly.

 

“So wouldn’t it be better to just return to headquarters? Rather than wandering through the woods alone with me.”

 

It was insane—but annoyingly enough, he had a point.

 

If this lunatic had decided to stalk me, being alone with him for too long would be dangerous.

 

To be honest, I wanted to order the tiger to kill that man, but it was obvious that the tiger would be executed for murdering the royal family.

 

I turned away abruptly, not wanting to engage in any more conversation.

 

And then I started to quickly return to headquarters with the tiger.

 

It hadn’t been long since I left, so the distance wasn’t far.

 

Theodore followed behind me, humming a tune.

 

‘As soon as I get back, I’m locking myself in Yohan’s tent.’

 

It was when I was running like that and heading towards the field of headquarters.

 

I suddenly stopped walking when I saw a man with a scary aura.

 

“Yohan…?”

 

Yohan, who was supposed to be in the tent, was already at the entrance to the forest.

 

* * *