I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 120

‘W-What is going on? Did they all take some kind of drug together or something?’

 

The way they all rushed at me without any context was downright absurd.

 

In fact, if you were to judge someone by their beauty, which was enough to capture everyone’s attention, Mariel was several levels above me.

 

She was beautiful enough to be exempted from military service, after all.

 

“My lady, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve never felt emotions like this before… may I ask your name?”

 

But anyone could see that those eyes directed at me were sincere.

 

What was even more surprising was that these people didn’t even know me.

 

Even though I wasn’t close with them, I knew most of the high-ranking nobles in the capital.

 

But the people who approached me now were all faces I’d never seen before.

 

They said that all the wizarding families from the borderlands had gathered because of Theodore’s enlistment, and it was definitely them.

 

Fortunately or unfortunately, Yohan hasn’t arrived yet.

 

If Yohan had seen this, all the wizards on the border might have been injured.

 

I needed to deal with this quickly before he arrived. Just as I was about to step forward with a firm expression—

 

“You’d all better get lost while you still can, in front of my daughter.”

 

My father stepped in front of me and spoke in a chilling voice.

 

“If you don’t want those eyes of yours flying off after trying to flirt with her under the excuse of love at first sight.”

 

I never thought my father, who always had a kind expression on his face, could say such chilling things.

 

Thinking back to his days as a tiger, it actually felt entirely in character.

 

And while the border wizards might not know me, they certainly knew my father.

 

“Ah… Duke Medes?”

 

It seems that my father was quite famous among them, perhaps because they had fought together on the battlefield.

 

Well, he had been known as a fearsome warrior in the war.

 

Instead of being able to use magic, he specialized in strong and agile movements with the senses of a beast.

 

Come to think of it, I was instinctively good at using my body as well. I was great at throwing acorns, and I was quick to dodge things without thinking.

 

One of the young men who had been babbling in front of me muttered with a look of disbelief on his face.

 

“Then… is this Lady Mariel Medes? My goodness, I heard she was so beautiful she could blind the Empire!”

 

“…. I’m Yurika Medes.”

 

It was such an absurd situation that I couldn’t help but click my tongue inwardly.

 

I mean, sure, I was fairly pretty—but not to the point of deserving that kind of description

 

“Our daughters are very popular.”

 

Then my mother said indifferently.

 

“Just enjoy it, Yurika. If they like you, what can you do?”

 

Since this was a ceremony announcing Father’s return, Mother—who hadn’t appeared much in high society—had no choice but to attend as well.

 

Although she was somewhat mentally unstable to the point where she couldn’t manage household affairs, not to the extent that she couldn’t function socially at all.

 

My mother, who had dressed up nicely and gone out for the first time in a long time, seemed to have lost all of her previous activities, but everything she did seemed natural.

 

After glaring sharply at the wizards lingering around me, Father leaned in and whispered,

 

“I didn’t realize it myself… but Yurika, I think they can faintly sense the aura of a divine beast from you.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Wizards can’t help but love divine beings. They haven’t seen one in a very long time, so they’re instinctively attracted to you—someone who was once a divine beast.”

 

“Oh.”

 

His explanation made sense.

 

I’d never encountered wizards powerful enough to settle in the border regions before, so I hadn’t anticipated anything like this.

 

Although Theodore and Yohan liked me, I thought it was because of our past relationship.

 

“I don’t know everything, but as far as I’m aware, there’s no precedent for someone becoming a divine beast and then returning to being human. This might be a phenomenon related to that. They’re probably being drawn to you without even knowing why.”

 

Watching the young men, cowed by Father’s fierce gaze yet still hovering nearby because they couldn’t bring themselves to leave, was honestly baffling.

 

Of course, it wasn’t just men.

 

“Hello, Lady. My name is Lilia from the Alamodna region. Could we possibly be good friends?”

 

“My lady, I’m sorry to say this upon first meeting you, but… while we’re staying in the capital, we’re planning a tea party. I’d love to invite you. I want to get to know you better.”

 

The female wizards were no different. In fact, since they didn’t risk being labeled as flirtatious, they were even more forward.

 

It was half-voluntary, but anyway, it was a rather unfamiliar sight, as I had been secretly ostracized from social circles for a while.

 

And then something occurred to me.

 

[Lady Yurika will be loved by many people.]

 

A note that must have been sent from Rivena to Johan.

 

‘Wait… did “many people” not mean family after all?’

 

For a moment, I felt a chill.

 

Could it be that Theodore had called all the border wizards under the pretext of enlistment to create this situation?

 

“I’m sorry—I’m late. The carriage suddenly broke down….”

 

To make matters worse, Yohan arrived just then.

 

He quickly came to us and immediately sensed something strange.

 

“Why are all the wizards of the border looking at you like that? It makes me want to kill them all, one by one….”

 

Yohan came to me with a very wary expression on his face and placed his hand on my shoulder as if to show me off.

 

Father’s eyes sharpened instinctively, but Jayden quickly calmed him down, muttering,

 

“If those wizards are going to come after her anyway, wouldn’t it be better if it’s at least the strongest one?”

 

I thought to myself that it was fortunate that today’s plans were all things Father had set in motion. This situation, at least, was an unpredictable variable unrelated to him

 

Rivena stood elegantly beside Theodore from afar.

 

Yohan muttered quietly.

 

“Can’t we just pretend it was an accident and kill her now?”

 

“No, Yohan. Magic leaves traces when investigated. Are you trying to make me visit you in prison?”

 

When I hurriedly soothed him like a puppy, Yohan’s eyes softened instantly.

 

“…You would?”

 

“Then should I skip visiting you in prison and just marry another man instead? It looks like I could pick anyone here.”

 

Naturally, that made his gaze turn sharp again.

 

I sighed softly and looked at Rivena.

 

My father, who had been listening to our conversation, spoke quietly.

 

“In the worst-case scenario, we will have to kill her. But I’ll do that.”

 

My father had similar thoughts.

 

“They say she’s conducting dangerous experiments on Yurika. Then we can’t let her live a moment longer than necessary. If we’re going to deal with her, it should be at a formal occasion like this.”

 

In fact, Rivena kept herself safe by secluding herself in a completely unknown location.

 

It had been a very long time since she had appeared at such an official event.

 

Naturally, the best course of action would have been to capture her alive or formally expose her crimes.

 

There was still so much we didn’t know. Interrogating Rivena might reveal things we had never even considered.

 

There were too many unanswered questions.

 

Divine beasts were said to have no desire to become human—so why had I, from the very beginning, remained conscious and struggled so desperately to become human?

 

What was the identity of the voice that resonated in my head, telling me that I had to become human?

 

Only Rivena, who had kept me by her side all that time, might know the answers.

 

Besides, capturing Rivena was the best way to thoroughly investigate the relationship between the Medes and the temple.

 

But when the best option wasn’t possible, one had to settle for the second best. If we let today pass, there was no guarantee when Rivena would show herself again.

 

“I’ll be the one to kill her—and I’ll pay the price myself.”

 

She was the Crown Prince’s fiancée. Killing her outright without first exposing her crimes would naturally carry a high cost.

 

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be standing here anyway.”

 

Father muttered in a low voice.

 

“I’ll take care of everything before I go. You don’t need to make further sacrifices to this filthy history. Live your own lives. I won’t let that filthy water splash onto you as well.”

 

Even Yohan became solemn at those words. They carried real weight.

 

“Hey.”

 

I forced a smile and lightened the mood.

 

“Everything will go according to plan. Let’s not think about the worst. We can think about that when the time comes.”

 

Even so, I knew better than anyone else.

 

Rivena had come here fully prepared to be killed by my father or by Johan.

 

Whatever plan she had, she must have staked her life on this moment.

 

‘Did the experiment succeed? Did it succeed just enough for her to dare something this reckless? Though, to be fair, she probably didn’t have many choices left…’

 

Trevor had said, “That experiment can never succeed.” and I wondered if that was true.

 

‘They must have planned a scheme against me too.…’

 

Before I realized it, Theodore had turned his head and was smiling at me.

 

It was a strangely ominous smile.

 

Like a vague warning that this might be the last time I would be standing here with my family and with Yohan.

 

The ceremonies were about to begin.

 

If it didn’t end with my father and came to me, I was confident I could respond well.

 

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