I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain – Chapter 58

Author: Chewyy

The woman with light brown hair continued speaking in a somewhat timid voice.

“I didn’t really grow up hearing much about noble families… I only found out because Baroness Verini mentioned it at the banquet yesterday. I work at the Berini estate.”

Mariel stood silently in front of her.

Since her back was to me, I couldn’t see her expression clearly.

“She said I look too much like Lady Medes, so just in case, the baroness suggested I come here…”

“Hmm.”

Mariel’s mouth, which seemed somewhat stiff, opened cautiously.

“First of all… um, what should I call you?”

“Yes?”

“There must be a name you’ve used before. I was asking what your name was.”

Oh, right. I hadn’t yet told Mariel that I was the real Yurika. I hadn’t had the chance to speak with her separately since the banquet.

So I thought she’d immediately say, “Come in,” and be welcoming, but her voice was calmer than I expected.

In fact, the way she used honorifics with a woman in shabby clothes didn’t really feel like respect—it felt more like drawing a line.

“For now…. In Baron Berini’s house, I’m called Lizzie.”

“I see, Miss Lizzie.”

I quietly raised a finger to my lips for the maids around me, silently telling them not to reveal I was there.

Luckily, I was wearing a white nightgown that didn’t stand out much from a maid’s outfit.

Surrounded by maids like this, it would be hard for anyone downstairs to see me.

And then, Jayden’s voice was heard from downstairs.

“What?”

Jayden ran out in a hurry and asked in an urgent voice.

“Who came?”

At that moment, Lizzie took something out of the cloth bag she was holding.

“I…I hope this helps…”

It was a very old baby’s clothes.

“I heard that it was the clothes I was wearing when the Baroness took me in.”

As soon as he saw the baby clothes, Jayden started shivering.

“Oh…”

Then he took the baby clothes and said nothing.

“It’s a story that even Mariel doesn’t know, but I was the one who escorted Yurika to the temple to be baptized….”

So it was natural that Jayden remembered what Yurika was wearing when she disappeared.

At this point, even the maids started murmuring in curiosity.

‘Rivena, you’re smart.’ I thought to myself with shining eyes.

‘If I didn’t know I was the real Yurika, I would have been completely fooled.’

So when she said she went home early yesterday to “prepare,” what she actually meant was sending in a fake in my place.

I’ve always known I was quite clever. I believed I could survive anywhere, no matter where I was thrown.

In other words, I’m not the type to cling to someone else’s place out of desperation.

If the real Yurika had returned, I’d have walked away without any hesitation.

Of course, as a human, I may feel a little empty, but I won’t cling to the position of Lady of Medes so shamefully.

But now that I knew the full truth, I couldn’t just go along with their game.

“Uncle.”

But if there was a reaction that was a bit unexpected, it was Mariel.

thought she’d be more emotional than Jayden, but surprisingly, she was cold and calm.

“Baby clothes can be faked easily. Nothing is certain yet.”

“W-What?”

“Besides, it’s a well-known fact that the second child of the Medes family disappeared. It’s a bit strange that she showed up now…..”

She mumbled quietly, then stopped herself and apologized politely to Lizzie.

“Oh, I’m sorry. But I shouldn’t have said that in front of the person involved.… I was so reckless. Will you forgive me?”

Well, Lizzie had no choice. She stammered and answered that she was okay.

‘Honestly, anyone can see that it’s suspicious…’

As Mariel said, it was a very old story that the second daughter of the Medes family went missing.

The woman with a similar appearance who suddenly appeared looked suspicious to anyone.

But, as someone with strong pride, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. It would’ve looked like I was afraid of losing my place.

‘They probably didn’t count on kind-hearted Mariel being the wild card. But this is surprising… I’ve never seen her this cold before.’

Anyway, I’m really glad I knew the whole truth.

They came at me with a dirty trick I wouldn’t have been able to expose on my own.

‘Taking a risk like this…. I guess they were in a hurry too.’

But of course, this method had many weaknesses.

The fewer people who knew about this kind of thing, the better. Still, they needed to include the noble family called Baron Berini.

Even exposing my clothes that were kept in the temple could be used as evidence later to reveal the truth.

‘Evidence that the kidnapping was actually behind this fake.’

With the baby clothes, even if it was later revealed that Lizzie was a fake, it wouldn’t just end with an excuse like, “She just looked similar and got greedy because she wanted a better life!”

In that sense, Rivena had definitely taken a bold move.

She must’ve felt pressed for time after seeing me in person, prompting her to finally act.

But I already knew the whole truth, and sending fakes like this was like throwing weapons at me one by one.

‘They kept singing the fake’s praises just to tear me down…’

Watching it all from atop the spiral staircase, I smiled secretly.

‘Maybe I’ll make good use of this fake too.’

Simply chasing her out wouldn’t leave me with anything.

They had sent a spy right into my domain—I had no reason not to use her.

There was only a week left until the reform event that Yohan had requested from the temple.

I planned to get as much information out of that fake as I could within a week, as well as destroy it.

* * *

As Jayden headed to the living room with Meriel and Lizzie, he licked his lips, fidgeting inwardly.

Light brown hair, pink eyes, and even the old baby clothes she was wearing when she disappeared.…

‘Those baby clothes are definitely it. That’s undoubtedly my sister’s handiwork.’

He hadn’t said anything earlier when Meriel, unusually cold, cut him off—but inside those clothes was embroidery Sienna had sewn herself.

And the embroidery was exactly as Jayden remembered it, because Sienna was terrible at embroidery.

It’s one thing to replicate a well-made item, but faking something poorly made is actually much harder.

Even if it was a fake, it was certain that it was copied from the real Yurika’s clothes.

They don’t usually do such hideous embroidery on baby clothes.

‘But why is Mariel so calm? Is it because she’s worried about Yurika?’

That made sense. Even while Jayden believed Lizzie might really be Yurika, he kept thinking about the girl he had long considered his niece.

That’s when they arrived right in front of the living room.

“Mother…?”

Mariel opened her eyes wide in surprise when she encountered Sienna.

Mariel thought Sienna was still in the room with Yurika, but Sienna was already out in the hallway in front of the living room.

A flicker of dismay crossed Mariel’s face.

Of course—after seeing Yurika and rushing to her, convinced she was her long-lost daughter—how would Sienna react now, seeing Lizzie who looked just like her?

Jayden was also very nervous because he knew better than anyone that Sienna wasn’t in her right mind.

Breaking everyone’s expectations, Sienna frowned and asked in a nonchalant tone.

“Who on earth is that girl holding our Yurika’s clothes?”

“Yes?”

Mariel asked back with a somewhat shocked expression.

“Mother.”

Mariel blinked, then took the baby clothes back from Lizzie and asked.

“Do you… remember these clothes?”

“Of course. Yurika was wearing them the day she disappeared.” Sienna said as she was handed the baby clothes.

“I even did the embroidery myself.”

“Ah…then….”

While Lizzie trembled in visible shock, Sienna casually handed the baby clothes back to Mariel and continued,