I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain – Chapter 67

Author: Chewyy

“Seriously…..”

Leaving the Duke of Hyrad’s house without any particular achievement, Theodore clicked his tongue.

“All I did was help someone else and ended up with nothing.”

He had thought she was pretty clever, but she didn’t even pretend to listen to his proposal.

When Yurika kissed Yohan, he had gritted his teeth inwardly.

It was obvious that Yurika’s decision was impulsive, while Yohan had an expression on his face that looked almost like he had gone to heaven.

“Well…”

Theodore muttered cynically, remembering Yohan who carefully embraced Yurika with a face filled with happiness and despair.

“In that state, I’m sure the calming effect felt amazing.”

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t jealous.

No, honestly, he was so envious that it made his blood boil.

“He has a crazy expression on his face.”

Theodore couldn’t forget the calming effect he had once felt long ago from that squirrel, which is why he was acting like this now.

But it’s something that can be taken away.

If Yurika wouldn’t come to him willingly, he would have to force it.

“As soon as she comes to the imperial palace, I’ll put the imperial seal on her.”

Once sealed, divine beasts couldn’t leave the palace.

He was concerned that the palace was a bit too big, but he still wanted her within his territory.

‘I’ll just build a sturdy cage. Then hide her deep in a room.’

So Yohan Hyrad couldn’t even dream of laying his hands on her.

Even if he went mad and tried to destroy everything to find the squirrel, he wouldn’t be able to take her outside.

‘If he’s caught for treason and executed, even better. Wizards can’t attack royalty anyway.’

It was also the duty of the royal family to punish the crazy wizard.

No matter how much Theodore thought about it, kidnapping Yurika seemed like the best option if possible.

That’s when Theodore was making up his mind again.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the back of his head throbbed. Something had struck him.

“What is this… ah!”

Before he could even look back, something hard hit the back of his head again.

It wasn’t painful enough to kill him, but it was enough to make him clutch his head as something rolled under his feet.

“Acorn….?”

He frowned and turned around quickly.

But there was no one on the street.

There were only thick trees lined up.

The escort next to him also reported with a bewildered look on his face.

“Um, I think… it was just an accident. There’s really no one around. Maybe it was carried by the wind….”

Theodore was about to scold his escort for missing something so simple when—

“Ah!”

This time, a large chestnut hit him right in the eye. A perfect hit.

It stung so much that he couldn’t even open his eye properly.

“What the hell is going on…!”

Of course, no one could explain what had happened.

So Theodore had no choice but to return to the palace with a big, bluish bruise around one eye.

* * *

As soon as Theodore left the mansion, the Duke of Hyrad had to receive another guest.

It was Jayden.

“Yohan, what should I do?”

I sighed deeply, looking truly sorry.

“Because of me, the Hyrad estate is way too busy today….”

The once quiet Hyrad mansion had been swarmed with three visitors just this morning:

Me, Theodore, and now Jayden.

“It’s okay.”

Yohan’s aide answered politely.

“Thank you very much for visiting. We sincerely hope you’ll stay for a long, long time.”

“Oh, for a long time?”

“Yes. Even forever would be fine.”

‘Wait, what…?’

“It’s been a long time since the Duke has shown such a relaxed expression. The number of complicated items in the garden has decreased, so the servant’s workload has eased a lot.”

I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but I had to greet Jayden, who had come running in a hurry.

* * *

“I’m sorry for coming to you without a letter.”

Jayden was at a loss as he met the butler at the front gate.

“When Duke Yohan Hyrad barged into Duke Medes’s house without warning, I was the one who cursed more excitedly than anyone else. Life sure is funny.”

“Well… Usually, you send at least a short note in advance…”

“Instead of a letter, I brought this.”

The butler, who had looked a bit troubled, accepted what Jayden handed over with a furrowed brow.

“What is this…”

“A small token of my affection toward the Hyrad estate.”

They knew well how Jayden solved problems—As a merchant, he used a mix of big money and small gestures.

Sure enough, the stern-looking butler bowed deeply and said,

“Please, come in.”

“There are some personal matters, so I’d like to speak with Yurika alone ….”

In other words, he was saying he wanted to speak with another guest privately inside someone else’s home.

That was clearly bad manners.

The butler looked a bit flustered, but then Jayden pulled something else from his coat.

“This is a small apology.”

Once again, the butler bowed and replied,

“The Duke is in a very good mood right now. I believe it’ll be allowed.”

* * *

And Yohan, upon hearing that I wanted it, willingly stepped aside.

“Yohan, I’m really sorry about earlier.”

Of course, I was a bit disappointed that we hadn’t even had a proper conversation about what had happened before I was off to speak with someone else again.

“It might’ve been unpleasant, but the situation couldn’t be helped…”

“Unpleasant, Yurika. How could that be unpleasant?”

“Well,”

I sighed and nodded.

“Honestly, I thought it would be good. I knew you’d like it.”

His magic had been surging like crazy—of course, it felt good once it was calmed.

But that was a different matter from a calming touch in the body of a divine beast.

“Even so… maybe it was a kiss you didn’t agree to. I just hope you’ll value your lips a little more.”

“Yeah,”

Yohan answered gently, smiling.

“To your eyes, I must seem like the easiest person in the world.”

“No, I wouldn’t say easy… just, um…”

“You made me like that…”

It was another mischievous remark.

“What can I do? You’ll have to take responsibility.”

It was an awkward comment that was strangely hard to respond to.

After all, it is true that I was the one who kissed him first.

He called himself an easy man, but honestly, it was harder than ever to face him now.

Even though he looks really happy.

“Talk to you later, Yurika.”

Yohan looked at me with dark eyes and spoke quietly.

“We have plenty of time now, and the night is still long.”

Something about it made my whole body tense up, but I couldn’t keep Jayden waiting any longer, so I just gave a small nod.

After that brief conversation with Yohan, I was left alone with Jayden in the living room again.

As soon as he saw me, he became visibly flustered and started rambling.

“Yurika, I totally understand that you’re upset because of Lizzy. Sure, you tripped her, hit her, and cut up baby clothes to bury them—those were a bit extreme but still, understandable…”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Jayden’s words.

“Yes? How is any of that understandable, Uncle?”

“Of course it is! Totally understandable!”

Actually, I couldn’t tell Jayden the whole truth.

Mostly because Lizzy had stuck to him like glue the whole time.

She knew how to manipulate his guilt well.

With Mariel acting lukewarm and Sienna openly hostile, the only person Lizzy could cling to was Jayden.

In a situation where you are expressing hostility, you can stick to it.

And while he couldn’t push her away, he kept glancing at me nervously, full of anxiety.

“Since His Highness the Crown Prince visited and the house’s been chaotic, Lizzy’s nowhere to be seen. So I took the chance and came right over.”

If so, that would explain why Jayden came to the Duke of Hyrad’s house so quickly without any letter.

I thought everything was going according to plan, but then Jayden continued

“If you are uncomfortable at the Duke of Medes’s house, why don’t you come with me to Count Abert’s house?”

“Yes?”

“Just some time to rest. And if you don’t like the name, we can change it. Either way, I really don’t like that you’re staying in this scoundrel’s house.”

“S-Scoundrel?”

“Yes. A thug who barged into the Medes Duke’s house without notice.”

Jayden, who had barged into the Duke of Hyrad’s house without notice, spoke with shining eyes.

“If your father had seen this, he would have challenged Duke Hyrad to a duel right away.”

“What did Yohan even do wrong?!”

“He’s a guy hitting on my niece, that’s what!”

I involuntarily held my breath at the word niece.

‘No, so does that mean Jayden still thinks of me as his niece while believing that Lizzy is the real Yurika?’

“Thank you, uncle.”

I spoke with a voice full of emotion and grabbed Jayden’s hand.

“Thank you for saying so.”

“Ahem! Well, of course, we’re family….”