I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 111

“Uh… hmm.”

 

Runart hurriedly looked through the medical records.

 

And Trevor shouted at the sight.

 

“What is this idiot doing in front of a sick person!”

 

Runart was momentarily at a loss for words — no one had ever called him an “idiot” before.

 

Trevor clicked his tongue and said,

 

“Hurry up and give me some medicine. I told you I had a headache. If you don’t know what it is, check that bag. My son gave me something.”

 

“Medicine…?”

 

“Yeah. Once I take it, I feel better. I can’t move well, so you do it.”

 

Runart began to search through Paul’s bag as if possessed.

 

After shaking out a few pouches, Trevor suddenly shouted, “Yeah, that one!” when he spotted the white pills.

 

“Ah, this is…”

 

“Just give it to me first.”

 

Trevor ignored Runart and swallowed the pill on the spot.

 

Runart looked at Trevor blankly and then spoke in an urgent tone.

 

“Since when have you been taking this medicine?”

 

“Since my son came back. Before that, he was off at war, so I couldn’t take any. I was lying there sick as a dog.”

 

Trevor gave a crooked grin.

 

It seemed like just taking the medicine made him better.

 

“Your Highness, would it be all right if I took one of these pills with me?

 

“Huh? Do you have a headache too?”

 

“No, that’s not it… I need to look into it.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Trevor clicked his tongue and waved his hand.

 

“Yes. Maybe if you study that, you’ll stop being such an idiot. It’s good that a young man wants to learn.”

 

“Yes, thank you.”

 

Having earned the title of Viscount solely on his medical skills, Runart humbly left Trevor’s room, becoming an ‘idiot’.

 

Then he asked his servant to tell Paul to come by when he returned.

 

Because he felt like he needed to find out where that medicine came from.

 

* * *

 

In the palace, the heads of noble families were regularly brought together for meetings.

 

It was to handle various tasks necessary to run various government affairs and rule the empire.

 

Historically, there had been three dukes in the empire, but with one of them having lost his lineage, only two were now able to attend the meeting.

 

The head of the Hyrad family, Yohan, and the head of the Medes family, Mariel.

 

Both were still young and had little political experience, so even though they were dukes, they did not have much influence.

 

The fact that neither of them came forward when discussing the affair also played a part.

 

Since the war had ended, this was the third major council session.

 

The first two had focused on postwar recovery — now, it was time to address domestic affairs.

 

That was when people started to gather one by one at the meeting place.

 

“Huh?’

 

As the door opened, the people who had arrived early and were sitting down started to murmur.

 

The already-seated nobles turned as the doors opened — the new arrivals were an unexpected combination.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Then someone spoke very cautiously.

 

“Ahem, this isn’t exactly the kind of meeting where you bring your lover, is it?

 

The people who appeared were Mariel, Yohan, and Yurika.

 

Mariel and Yohan’s presence was natural, but Yurika’s wasn’t — she had no reason to attend.

 

After all, the head of the Medes family was Meriel.

 

So everyone had no choice but to think that Yurika had come here as Yohan’s lover.

 

The emperor, who appeared immediately after that, also looked at Yurika with a surprised expression.

 

Mariel smiled brightly and began to speak.

 

“Ah, there’s a reason Yurika is here. Of course, it’s not because she’s Duke Hyrad’s lover.”

 

“Hmm, I see.”

 

Roymond said with a face full of enthusiasm.

 

“Let’s sit down. Whatever the reason.”

 

In the end, Yurika sat calmly in the seat next to Mariel.

 

Even though she received surprised looks from everyone, her face remained calm.

 

“Before we begin any other agenda items, let’s hear why Princess Yurika Medes has come to the conference room.”

 

Marquis Tedair, who was in charge of the meeting, pushed up his glasses and began the proceedings.

 

It was a polite way of saying her presence might complicate the later, more sensitive discussions.

 

Yurika nodded with a bright smile.

 

“Yes, I don’t want to stay in the meeting all the way through either. Thank you for your consideration.”

 

And then she continued speaking in a calm tone.

 

“I am here to discuss my reward.”

 

At those words, the conference room froze slightly.

 

The word reward felt strangely out of place coming from Yurika.

 

But there was one person who connected those words in an instant: the emperor.

 

Yurika smiled as she saw the emperor’s expression change and continued speaking.

 

“Yes. To be exact, it’s the reward my tiger deserves.”

 

At those words, everyone had an expression on their face as if they knew what was going on.

 

There was no one in the Empire who hadn’t heard about what happened at the royal hunting competition —

How Yurika’s tiger had saved the Emperor’s life.

 

The Emperor himself had even said: “I owe my life to that tiger.”

 

“I found it written in the official record,” Yurika continued smoothly,

 

“That both the responsibility and the reward for what my tiger did fall entirely to me.”

 

At that, the royal secretary gave a faint sigh.

 

He clearly wrote that part down in his own handwriting because he thought the tiger was going to do something.

 

“So, I have come to ask Your Majesty a favor.”

 

“Ah.”

 

And the rational and capable Crown Prince, Roymond, nodded with a serious expression.

 

Article 8, Clause 10 of the Special Provisions for the Hunting competition — yes, that’s a legitimate petition.”

 

Now no one could argue with those words.

 

Of course, the same was true for the emperor.

 

Even if he didn’t say anything, he had to establish Roymond’s authority to keep Yohan in check, who was exerting his presence here and now.

 

Even if Roymond was oblivious and overly fair-minded.

 

“Ahem, okay.”

 

The emperor glanced at the nobles’ faces and then quickly adjusted his expression.

 

“So, what is it that you wish to request?”

 

“It’s nothing much.”

 

Yurika smiled faintly and answered in a whisper.

 

“The truth is, that tiger listens to me very well and seems extremely familiar with the Medes estate. So we’ve been wondering if it might actually have some connection to our family.”

 

Everyone immediately recalled the image of the tiger at the hunting competition — so calm and obedient it had seemed fully tamed.

 

Several nobles nodded as if the idea made sense.

 

“So, I searched the Medes family’s ancient books, but there wasn’t much information. So, I’d like to ask Your Majesty for a favor.”

 

Yurika spoke politely.

 

“I found information in the Duke’s study that your Majesty, the Emperor’s personal library contains books on the history of noble families. Might I be allowed temporary access to your Library to look through them?”

 

The emperor was smiling kindly, but inside he was flinching.

 

It seemed like an innocent remark, but it had a hidden meaning.

 

Not long ago, Roimond himself had asked for permission to borrow a book from that private library.

 

So it was clear that the source of that information wasn’t the Duke’s study, but Roymond himself.

 

The blank expression on Roymond’s face as he gazed at Meriel confirmed that.

 

The book Roymond had requested at that time was clearly about “The Curse of the Noble Family.” It wasn’t about history.

 

By hiding from public view the two facts that were clearly known to each other, Yurika was delivering a warning without saying it outright:

 

If you give me permission right now, I will let this pass quietly, but if you don’t give me permission, I will reveal that there is a book about the ‘Curse of the Noble Family’.

 

And this place was where nobles gathered together.

 

There was no way to brush that off.

 

‘So she calculated all of this. Clever woman….’

 

If so, then it would explain why he went to the nobles’ meeting and asked for a reward instead of during the hunting competition.

 

“If you give me permission to enter through the attendant,  I can use the time during this meeting to wait for my sister and read the book.”

 

She had even chosen this moment deliberately — ensuring that the Emperor couldn’t hide or move the book elsewhere

 

The Emperor knew dragging this out would only hurt him.

 

If other nobles started wondering, ‘Why does the Imperial Family have the data about our families?’ things could get complicated fast.

 

It’s not that he feels guilty — he just prefers to maintain his power over others.

 

“Your Majesty,” Then Mariel spoke softly.

 

“Actually, because that tiger follows Yurika well… we’ve begun to think she might truly be my long-lost sister. There may be a truth hidden there — so please, show mercy to both Yurika and the tiger.”

 

At that, the Emperor realized he had no more reason to refuse.

 

It would be absurd to deny a favor that benefited both the beast that had saved his life and its master — and only asked to peruse a few books while the meeting continued.

 

Refusal would only make it seem as if he were hiding something.

 

‘Well… It’s not like there’s anything particularly harmful to the Imperial Family in there anyway.’

 

Finally, the emperor quietly rang the bell to summon his servant. Then he spoke quietly.

 

“Now, escort Lady Yurika Medes to my personal library.”

 

* * *