I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 50

“What…?”

 

Roymond chimed in, grinning.

 

“We must get married quickly if we want to make Duke Hyrad’s wish come true early.”

 

At those words, people’s mouths opened again.

 

That was the most important statement made at that banquet.

 

Mariel and Roymond’s marriage… In other words, the marriage between the Duke of Medes and the Crown Prince!

 

For a long time, Mariel was only considered a match for a war hero, so she was not a major variable in social circles.

 

So, when she arrived as the Crown Prince’s partner, everyone assumed that Roymond had merely escorted the Lady of Medes due to the symbolic significance of the war’s end.

 

That would be the case, since Mariel and Roymond had been meeting secretly due to the conditions imposed on them.

 

‘And with this….’

 

Yurika thought confidently.

 

‘The Second Prince’s engagement will be buried.’

 

Scandals had erupted one after another, immediately following the Second Prince’s engagement announcement.

 

In terms of the importance of the characters, the scandals involving the crown prince and Duke Hyrad had a much greater impact.

 

If both marriages were to proceed, it would mean an alliance between Medes, the Imperial Family, and even Hyrad.

 

Besides, this so-called “engagement” was still tentative—unlike Theodore and Rivena’s, which was already finalized.

 

People naturally prefer to discuss possibilities rather than facts.

 

By tomorrow, every social gathering will be abuzz with one heated debate:

 

‘Will both of the Duke Medes’s daughters really get married?’

 

‘Now I’ve succeeded in bringing the topic here.….’’

 

Yurika smiled brightly and linked her arms tighter around Yohan to begin her next plan.

 

“Anyway, Yohan.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I’ve decided on my engagement gift. Will you buy it for me?”

 

“Of course. Just say the word. Whatever jewel you desire, I’ll fill your room with it..”

 

Yohan answered sweetly.

 

“If your room is not big enough, remove the wall of the duke’s house and make your room bigger.…”

 

His purple eyes filled her.

 

“If even your room isn’t enough, I’ll use magic to break down that wall and then use those jewels to build a new wall like a castle.”

 

His seductive voice was slow and deliberate.

 

His voice was not loud, but it naturally attracted people’s attention.

 

Yet, even as countless eyes turned toward them, Yohan’s expression made it seem as if he only saw Yurika.

 

“You know, Yurika. If I could win your heart with those things, I would give you anything in this world, endlessly.”

 

There was a moment of silence.

 

It was an absurd idea, but Yohan’s serious face made it seem like he truly would do it.

 

‘This is such excessive cooperation.’

 

Yurika clicked her tongue inwardly, but she had to admit—it was a powerful statement.

 

“N-not jewels.”

 

Yurika, who was momentarily captivated by that sweet expression, quickly came to her senses and smiled brightly.

 

“I heard from my uncle that these days, artificial leather products are really popular.”

 

“Artificial leather?”

 

“Yeah! It’s similar to real leather, but it’s also good for the environment because you don’t have to kill animals.”

 

Yurika continued speaking with a bright smile.

 

“There’s a legend that the first head of the Medes family was a beastman. So, I don’t like the idea of harming animals unnecessarily. But now that there’s a substitute, isn’t that great?”

 

At those words, Rivena’s face turned pale for a moment.

 

She had pre-purchased a massive amount of leather goods from the East.

 

She had believed there was no way she could lose money.

 

But now, because of Yurika, the tables have turned completely.

 

Since Yurika had attached moral reasoning to using artificial leather, no one could openly oppose it.

 

Meanwhile, the temple has been spreading malicious rumors about Yurika, calling her an arrogant orphan who enjoys the favor of Mariel and Yohan and has her nose in the sky.

 

And yet, even that ‘arrogant orphan’ was now advocating for a moral cause.

 

As the ‘wise fiancée of the Second Prince’, Rivena couldn’t possibly argue against it.

 

To make matters worse, Yurika has linked her stance to the legendary story of the Medes Family, which openly expresses contempt for leather goods.

 

With Medes potentially linking with both the Imperial Family and Duke Hyrad through marriage, no one would dare defy them by continuing to use leather products.

 

‘No. Artificial leather? That stuff is of terrible quality. There’s no way it can be a real substitute—absolutely not.’

 

Even in the midst of all that, Rivena held onto a glimmer of hope as she recalled the artificial leather she had seen before.

 

And then—

 

“Indeed, artificial leather goods have improved significantly these days.”

 

Jayden, who had been standing far away, approached Yurika with a grin.

 

“It must have left quite an impression on you. But if you had just told me, I would have given you a lot without having to destroy the duke’s residence.”

 

Jayden took off the gloves he was wearing and handed them to Yohan.

 

“This is artificial leather. You should examine it yourself before giving it as a gift.”

 

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to Jayden’s gloves.

 

Even at first glance, it looked shiny and smooth like real leather.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Yohan, who was handed the gloves, squinted as he examined them and exclaimed in admiration.

 

“It’s wonderful. It’s hard to tell if it’s real or artificial.”

 

At those words, not only Rivena, but even Theodore, who had trusted Rivena and bought leather goods, stiffened.

 

Of course, Yurika, who saw that sight without missing it, smiled inwardly.

 

People tended to remember a single good deed from a person who had committed countless wrongs.

 

Not wanting to kill animals for luxury was the only good thing she had ever said.

 

And now, people—who had once ridiculed her—would avoid leather products just to avoid seeming more cruel than her.

 

After all, luxury items weren’t necessities.

 

And now, with an indistinguishable yet cheaper alternative available, leather has lost even its value as a luxury good.

 

At that moment, the second dance began.

 

People, having gathered in groups to gossip, returned to enjoying the banquet.

 

* * *

 

The second dance was with Jayden.

 

Yohan had refused to dance with anyone else, saying he had someone to keep an eye on.

 

“I think there’s an unexpected wizard.”

 

“Wizard?”

 

“But I have a feeling that the wizard is going to do something really annoying today.”

 

It was a vague statement.

 

“Do wizards have any kind of connection with each other?”

 

“Not exactly… It’s just an instinct.’

 

“Okay, I get it. But how are you going to watch over that wizard?”

 

“By being as obnoxiously obvious as possible.”

 

Yohan raised his brows and smirked darkly

 

“I’ll make it clear that I’m on guard—so they won’t dare try anything foolish.”

 

Before I could ask any further questions about what was going on, the song started.

 

I had no choice but to start dancing with Jayden, leaving Yohan looking at Theodore and Rivena.

 

Oddly enough, Theodore and Rivena also danced the second dance together.

 

It was unusual. According to social etiquette, partners didn’t dance two songs in a row—especially not the first and second dances.

 

‘Did something urgent come up? Well, it’s too late to overturn everything now.’

 

I smirked slightly, glancing at the two, who looked rather serious.

 

Of course, there was Yohan who was looking at them with even more wary eyes than I was.

 

“I did well, didn’t I?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Meanwhile, Jayden asked anxiously and I nodded vigorously.

 

“It was perfect.”

 

It was a success, as I could see the expressions on Rivena and Theodore’s faces momentarily collapsing.

 

The mere fact that Rivena brought the image of a ‘merchant’s daughter’ to her debut in high society indicated that she was already planning to make a big profit from this banquet.

 

Especially since she could no longer sell divine beasts, she must have been desperate for money.

 

Of course, it wasn’t as if I had entered Rivena’s mind, so I hadn’t expected the product to be leather goods.

 

However, I had already coordinated with Jayden in advance. No matter what product was introduced, we would use the same strategy to ensure it didn’t gain attention.

 

“Uncle is a successful merchant known to everyone. So whatever you say carries credibility, making it enough to sway public opinion instantly.”

 

“Ahem, well, I was a pretty successful merchant! To the point that there are people who are after my life.”

 

No matter what Rivena said, our original plan was to cite some moral reasoning and spread the idea that a cheaper alternative existed.

 

If it had been jewelry, we would have mentioned mining accidents. If it had been handcrafted goods, we would have pointed to labor exploitation.

 

But leather? That was the perfect excuse to invoke Medes’s name.

 

‘In a way, we were lucky. It was an excuse that fit perfectly.’

 

Of course, there is no such thing as an artificial leather product that is exactly the same as real leather.

 

In reality, the technology wasn’t advanced enough to actually make artificial leather.

 

The leather gloves that Jayden gave to Yohan were made of real leather.

 

However, the key was to spread the message that ‘cheap leather alternatives exist’—just enough to make people lose interest in leather as a luxury item.

 

* * *