I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 118

“How admirable this is.”

 

The emperor was greatly pleased with Theodore’s decision.

 

“Keeping peace is as important as war. It must not have been easy for a member of the royal family to decide to go to the frontier, but it’s truly admirable.”

 

After Rivena left, Theodore begged the emperor to send him to the frontier battlefield.

 

He had been hiding his magician status in the capital out of vague fear, but after reflecting on it alone, he realized that he felt ashamed of it.

 

So, even now, he declared that he would serve the empire by taking the lead in protecting the border.

 

For the emperor, who was anxiously trying to somehow strengthen his power, this was very welcome news.

 

Having failed to highlight Roymond in the hunting competition, the Emperor was already looking for other means.

 

He wanted to show the people of the empire that the royal family was working harder than Yohan Hyrad to ensure peace in the empire.

 

How could he not be happy when Theodore volunteered to protect the empire?

 

“I’m just not sure about my abilities, and I don’t know where to go.”

 

Theodore said with a soft smile.

 

“I would like Your Majesty to advise me on which frontier would be best. While I’m at it, I also wish to interact with other wizards.”

 

The empire’s frontiers were usually guarded by wizards.

 

The Hyrads, who continued to produce high-ranking wizards, had established themselves in the capital, but the other magic families did not.

 

Usually, families with decent magical abilities stayed in the outskirts and wielded influence in those areas.

 

They judged that it would be more advantageous for them to settle down in a suitable place and increase their power rather than come to the capital and be pushed back by Hyrad.

 

“Good decision.”

 

The emperor said with a smile on his face.

 

“Then, let’s take this opportunity to celebrate the prince’s volunteer enlistment. How about gathering the various wizard families from the border regions and deciding where you will be stationed?”

 

And the emperor gave a secret order to make the celebration even more splendid than Yohan Hyrad’s victory banquet.

 

“By the way….”

 

The Emperor tilted his head slightly.

 

“Does Duke Hyrad still refuse to take the calming potions?”

 

“Yes. It seems he has plenty in reserve.”

 

“Huh.”

 

While Patre committed suicide and the priests were in turmoil, Roymond quickly took control of the temple.

 

All of the secret drug research monopolized by the Temple was discarded, but the manufacturing method for the calming potions—produced in large quantities—remained.

 

For the sake of the wizards defending the frontier, the calming potions had to continue being produced.

 

So, Roymond placed the royal family members inside the temple and ordered them to continue making and distributing the calming potion.

 

The Temple had effectively been reduced to nothing more than a “calming potion manufacturing facility.”

 

This also meant that the distribution and management of potions truly became the authority of the imperial family.

 

The Emperor, who had hoped to gain the upper hand over Yohan Hyrad through this opportunity, was growing somewhat irritated that Yohan had never once come to request calming potions.

 

Most believed he had a large personal stockpile, but even so, it was unsettling how calmly he went about his days.

 

The Emperor found it faintly grotesque—surely Yohan must be enduring his pain by sheer force of will.

 

Of course, Yohan had been sufficiently calmed down by Yurika, so his expression was relaxed, but very few people knew that.

 

“Anyway, let’s take this opportunity to make sure that Theodore gets more attention than Yohan Hyrad.”

 

The emperor gave the order with a grin.

 

“The past is bound to be forgotten, and history always belongs to those who have power now.”

 

So, a banquet was quickly scheduled to gather all the wizarding families of the border region and celebrate Theodore’s enlistment.

 

“We can officially announce Duke Oscar Medest’s return at that time as well. Don’t you think so?”

 

The Emperor smiled in satisfaction, hoping even Oscar’s return would be buried beneath the event’s spectacle.

 

Then Theodore cautiously spoke.

 

“Your Majesty, I have one thought regarding the venue.”

 

“Really? What is it?”

 

“What if we hold it at the Temple?”

 

It was an unexpected remark. The Emperor raised an eyebrow, but Theodore quickly spoke.

 

“Aren’t all the wizards of the frontier favoring the temple? They truly believe that the development and distribution of potions is the temple’s greatest achievement.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Unlike Roymond, who openly expressed his hate toward the temple, the emperor never made a strong statement about the temple.

 

It was out of fear of the temple’s retaliation, and it was not a meaningless fear, given how badly Roymond had nearly been undone by Partre.

 

However, this did not mean that the emperor was friendly towards the temple. He always considered the strengthening of imperial power as his greatest desire.

 

“How about we take this opportunity to announce that the temple has been completely taken over by the imperial family? It wouldn’t hurt to let them know that the imperial family, not the temple, is the true distributor of potions. They’re so slow to catch up with news from the capital.”

 

“Oh.”

 

The emperor smiled as if he liked it.

 

Although he didn’t have the courage to openly destroy the temple like Roymond, he was tempted to use the already destroyed temple.

 

“I think it would be a good idea to fill the vacant position of the High Priest and hold events there.”

 

Theodore spoke fluently.

 

“The Temple has long been run in an extremely closed manner. Even the fact that it prepared an event venue at the imperial family’s request would send a powerful message. If my enlistment is decided there as well, the frontier wizard families will clearly understand who now stands above the wizards.”

 

“That’s a very good idea. I hadn’t even thought of that. That’s quite a clever idea.”

 

The emperor clapped his hands with a pleased face.

 

Knowing the recipe for the calming potion, now that the divine beast has disappeared, could be seen as a weapon that could strangle the wizards.

 

Yohan’s arrogance, his refusal to bow even while remaining in the capital, had made it easy to overlook, but fundamentally speaking, weren’t wizards always beings who needed calm?

 

“Then I’ll plan it that way. That’s excellent.”

 

And the emperor, feeling better, immediately lifted the ban on Theodore on the spot.

 

Not long afterward, the position of High Priest—long left vacant—was finally filled.

 

The appointing authority was the Emperor himself, and astonishingly, the appointee was a thirteen-year-old boy.

 

Everyone guessed that the child was a puppet being played with by the imperial family.

 

Then, from that Temple which had long been closed off, invitations were sent out—summoning all wizards to attend Theodore’s enlistment ceremony.

 

Along with the notice came another piece of news: the High Priest’s appointment ceremony would take place on the same day.

 

* * *

 

“Anyone can see that it’s a trap.”

 

Runart groaned with a pained expression on his face.

 

“Out of nowhere, an opportunity to enter the Temple just appears. And what’s this about Prince Theodore’s enlistment?”

 

Jayden also hit the table with an angry face.

 

“And to think that my brother-in-law’s return is being passed over like this? honestly, it’s like they’re just trying to wipe their mouths clean and pretend nothing happened!”

 

Jayden, who had briefly been away dealing with matters in his county, had been stunned upon returning to the Medes ducal estate a few days earlier.

 

The tiger was gone, and Oscar—whom it had followed so devotedly—was nursing Sienna instead.

 

Just like that, Meriel was no longer the head of the family.

 

Oscar had reclaimed his position as the Duke of Medes.

 

What was even more surprising was that even though news of Oscar’s return began to spread throughout the capital, no one came to properly greet him.

 

It was Oscar himself who immediately analyzed the reason for that phenomenon.

 

“I told you,” he said in a low voice, arms crossed.

 

“His Majesty dislikes the very idea of war becoming a topic of conversation again. That’s why my return makes him uneasy.”

 

“If my return becomes a topic of conversation, people will wonder what happened, and the war will become a topic of conversation again.… Then, the influence of Duke Yohan Hyrad, who is still silent, will increase. After all, he ended a war the imperial family couldn’t resolve for nearly twenty years—in one decisive move.”

 

“But even so,” Jayden protested,

 

“is it really okay to just ignore someone who came back alive and well?”

 

“His Majesty simply wants it to pass over naturally.”

 

Yurika, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, also sighed softly.

 

The emperor didn’t do anything particularly bad, but everything he did was so annoying.

 

This time, he hadn’t just granted Theodore’s request—he had even chosen the Temple as the venue, inviting all the nobles there.

 

The problem was that a few days ago, Runart had said that he thought he knew how to cure Sienna, and that the ingredients for the cure might be in the temple.

 

“If it’s due to the temple’s medicine, there are limits to how well it can be cured through medical treatment. I’ve never been inside the temple, so I don’t know for sure, but I heard a story from my time studying at the Academy…”

 

In the somewhat solemn atmosphere of the family meeting, Yurika spoke slowly.

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

The family’s gaze turned to Yurika.

 

She smiled brightly and pulled out a note.

 

“I think I know what that trap is.”

 

* * *