I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 109

It was utter chaos.

 

In the blink of an eye, the massive carcass of a boar was thrown in front of the imperial camp.

 

“Grrrr….”

 

The tiger, having killed the wild boar, raised its head and placed its forepaws on the boar’s body as if to show off.

 

The imperial knights who were rushing to protect the emperor were shocked and stopped dead in their tracks.

 

Though the imperial guards were technically closer in distance, the tiger had been far faster.

 

The one to pull himself together and assess the situation was the captain of the imperial knights standing right beside the emperor.

 

“Your Majesty, are you hurt anywhere? That was truly dangerous.”

 

The emperor also immediately came to his senses and answered.

 

“Oh, I’m fine. Are there any other injuries?”

 

Meanwhile, Rivena pretended to be startled as she quietly poured out the champagne she had been holding onto the ground.

 

It was a potion that was barely made and would excite the wounded beast.

 

She had told Johann that she had destroyed all remaining potions in the temple and had nothing left.

That was only half true.

The potions that could control or harm humans could not be created by Rivena alone.

 

The high-quality ingredients, which were difficult to obtain, were stored away in the temple and then destroyed.

 

Because it would have been a big problem if it had fallen into the hands of Roymond, who was destroying the temple under the pretext of investigating.

 

However, the situation was a bit different for potions that dealt with beasts.

 

Rivena had spent her entire life researching the secrets of the Medes family.

 

In fact, what she was currently engrossed in—in more exact terms—was experimentation related to the Medes bloodline afflicted with the Beastkin’s Curse.

 

Thus, she was capable of creating potions that affected creatures other than humans, at least to some extent.

 

‘I must never let that fact be exposed.’

 

She had managed to hide the evidence for now, but unfortunately, things were not unfolding according to her plan.

 

‘Theodore was supposed to save the emperor!’

 

Since it was Theodore who had injured the boar, she had assumed he would be the fastest to finish it off with magic.

 

But suddenly, a tiger was an unexpected variable.

 

‘I knew that the beasts of the Medes family had incredible reflexes, but still….’

 

The tiger had a proud expression and was wagging its tail.

 

And every time the tail moved, a pink ribbon bearing Medes’s seal fluttered along with it.

 

The Imperial Knight captain bowed his head.

 

“I apologize, Your Majesty. It’s been so long since we’ve had a hunting competition that I haven’t thought about these variables.”

 

Unexpected accidents would normally be overlooked given the rarity of such events, so Rivena’s prediction turned out to be correct.

 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t working out in a way advantageous to her.

 

No, as expected, even Yohan couldn’t react, but then a random tiger got involved.

 

“Now that everyone is surprised, how about we end the event here?”

 

The Empress, who had rushed in from another noble’s tent in the middle of tea time, spoke in a trembling voice.

 

“As the captain said, it seems preparations were lacking due to how long it’s been since our last event.”

 

The Empress, who witnessed a huge beast rushing before her eyes, seemed worried about Roymond.

 

So, she started urging them to hurry up and finish the hunting competition and everything.

 

Only after the situation was over did Roymond come running back with two deer. He, too, was surprised and quickly agreed with the Empress.

 

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m sure you’re quite surprised, so I think it’s best to call it a day. The mood has been ruined anyway.”

 

“Let’s do that.”

 

The emperor nodded, apparently very surprised.

 

Well, the experience of having a huge wild boar charge at him must have been quite terrifying.

 

Rivena sighed inwardly. The hunting competition’s cancellation meant there would be no more opportunities to plan for the day.

 

Regrettably, Theodore’s restriction would remain in place, and she would have to wait for another opportunity.

 

“It seems I owe my life to the tiger Lady Yurika brought.”

 

The emperor sighed faintly and shook his head.

 

It was then—

 

Mariel, who had been quietly keeping silent, smiled and intervened.

 

“Didn’t you say earlier that there was a clause that said if you saved the life of a member of the royal family, your request would be granted? I think Prince Theodore mentioned it.”

 

Rivena’s brow furrowed slightly.

 

It seemed that Theodore had mentioned that clause while she was away.

 

“Ah… yes, that’s right.”

 

The emperor nodded reluctantly.

 

It was a situation that was difficult to just ignore, as he had just said, “It seems I owe my life to the tiger Lady Yurika brought.”

 

“There was definitely such a clause.…”

 

Roymond, who had been giving instructions to sort out the situation, quickly nodded and intervened.

 

“Ah, that’s right. I believe it was Article 8, Section 10 of the special rules for the hunting competition.”

 

Roymond was so gifted that he was uselessly competent even in these situations.

 

“Since the tiger saved the entire imperial tent, it should qualify under that clause.”

 

When Mariel applauded and admired Roymond for being so smart, Roymond smiled proudly.

 

When Roymond got involved, it could no longer be ignored.

 

The emperor glanced at the tiger, now sitting smugly atop the boar’s corpse, and said,

 

“Once the event is over, I will give my tiger the reward I promised.”

 

Of course, it was just a formal remark to save face.

 

After all, a tiger could not speak—there was no way it could make an actual request.

 

He would likely just send some meat to House Medes in a few days.

 

And so, the hunting competition was promptly wrapped up.

 

The nobles, who had been enjoying a peaceful time in their tents out on the fields, were frightened as well and eager to return home.

 

If a boar could charge straight into the emperor’s tent, none of them could assume they were safe.

 

Roymond’s performance was the best, as he killed two deer shortly after starting the hunting competition.

 

Although the winner was quickly declared, it didn’t leave much of an impression on people because it wasn’t a great achievement.

 

Watching the whole thing, Rivena let out another sigh and, taking advantage of the confusion, discreetly summoned one of her subordinates and handed over a note.

 

The subordinate secretly accepted the note, nodded, and quietly disappeared.

 

After that, Rivena acted as if nothing had happened and quickly mixed in with the dispersing crowd.

 

Meanwhile, in the carriage returning to the capital, there was someone secretly smiling.

 

‘There’s no way Yohan would miss that moment.’

 

It was Yurika.

 

‘It was all planned out.’

 

Ever since Rivena’s people had secretly inserted a clause allowing the Emperor to grant anyone’s request, Yurika had anticipated that situation.

 

‘Even though I didn’t know the exact plan, I knew the Emperor would be in danger.’

 

And about that, she trusted the tiger.

 

She had heard that Oscar Medes was originally known for his quick reflexes and almost supernatural movements on the battlefield.

 

So in his tiger form, he should be even faster.

 

So, on the way to the hunting competition, Yurika kept telling the tiger to come and save the emperor if he was ever in danger.

 

The tiger had a calm expression, but after repeating it seven times, it nodded as if it understood.

 

‘Alright, now…’

 

Wearing a confident expression, Yurika leaned against Yohan’s shoulder beside her.

 

‘There’s only one step left.’

 

It wasn’t that she particularly hated the Emperor, but she didn’t like him either.

 

It was annoying how he had set the stage to spotlight Roymond more than Yohan.

 

The Emperor’s goal of openly suppressing Yohan was thwarted by a hunting competition that ended quickly. That was quite satisfying.

 

Of course, there was something more important than that.

 

‘See you at the next noble council, Your Majesty.’

 

Because the day will soon come when the Emperor, who is now thoughtless, will be in a very awkward position.

 

Originally, Yurika did not attend the noble council because she was not a representative of the Medes.

 

Usually, Mariel attended.

 

But that day, she planned to go in person. She had something to ask the Emperor.

 

“Yohan, there really isn’t much time left.”

 

Yohan smiled happily, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

 

His expression said that as long as she was happy, everything was good.

 

He even gently stroked the now-wilting flower bracelet.

 

Yurika smiled quietly, then wiggled her fingers and carefully began to speak.

 

“Hey, Yohan…”

 

Now that the important matters were over, it was time to talk about something trivial.

 

It was something that had been bothering her ever since she heard the news, even though it was a trivial matter.

 

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

 

Yohan widened his eyes, sensing something odd in her tone.

 

Yurika hesitated slightly and then asked.

 

“I heard Rivena came to your tent earlier? What did you talk about, just the two of you?”

 

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