I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 76

“If I destroy everything and start another war—”

 

“Kyuuuuung!”

 

I yelled at him to stop talking nonsense so seriously, but thinking about it, in the original story, he really was villainous enough to consider rebellion.

 

‘Ah… I guess villain habits never really go away.’

 

In the meantime, a group of imperial knights arrived right in front of us.

 

“Kyuung!”

 

But the person leading the Imperial Knights at the front was completely unexpected.

 

It was none other than Crown Prince Roymond.

 

“Kyuung?”

 

Roymond, who had brought the knights near us in an instant, shouted solemnly.

 

“Take him and investigate!”

 

‘Wait, hold on! Let me at least explain what’s going on…!’

 

‘No matter how much he messed up the prince, our Yohan was on the same side as you!’

 

Even though I looked insignificant now, I stretched out both arms and stood in front of Yohan.

 

Of course, no one paid any attention to me.

 

Only Yohan looked at my back with eyes full of emotion…

 

‘Huh?’

 

The Imperial Knights rushed past Yohan and arrested Theodore instead.

 

Roymond said proudly.

 

“He was a wizard. He was hiding it, wasn’t he?”

 

Of course, there was no way the now-unconscious Theodore could respond.

 

“More than a few people witnessed Theodore using magic. Detain him immediately.”

 

‘Oh, so… Did you just witness Theodore use magic because of Yohan?’

 

Roymond lifted his chin and continued:

 

“I already had suspicions. The Duke of Hyrad was acting under my secret orders, so don’t worry about that.”

 

‘Wh—what? There was a secret order?’

 

But seeing the surprised look on Yohan’s face, it seemed like he was even hearing this for the first time.

 

While the Imperial Knights were diligently handling the aftermath, Roymond came closer and whispered to Yohan:

 

“I did well, didn’t I, brother-in-law?”

 

‘hmm.’

 

Did Roymond just help Yohan because he was a guy who got along well with Mariel’s sister?

 

Anyway, he was a really helpful lover.

 

“It’s a shame that Lady Yurika is at the Duke of Hyrad’s house. She should have seen this sight with her own eyes.”

 

He still didn’t know who I really was… But even just following Mariel’s instructions without knowing the full plan was something to be thankful for.

 

Roymond didn’t even give a glance at me, the little squirrel, as he held Yohan’s hand tightly.

 

“Tell Mariel through Yurika, will you? That I’m this serious about her.”

 

‘Um… yeah… Maybe he’s too much of a romantic?’

 

Yohan glanced at me with a puzzled look, but I just shrugged my shoulders.

 

It was fortunate that I was a mute squirrel right now.

 

Well, I guess what’s good is good.

 

“Come here, Yurika.”

 

As I stood there dumbfounded, I heard Yohan’s low voice.

 

Since I was in the shape of a squirrel and had nowhere to go, I climbed onto his hand.

 

Yohan looked into my eyes and whispered.

 

“Every time you try to protect me like that, I see no one else in the world but you.”

 

Then, careful not to draw attention, he gently tucked me into his pocket and added:

 

“I’m not sure if this is really good for you.”

 

* * *

 

Soon after, the Duke of Medes’s house became noisy.

 

“W-what is going on…?”

 

Suddenly, the Imperial Knights stormed in.

 

“Why on earth are the Imperial Knights here at the Medes estate?!”

 

While Jayden was in a state of confusion, Mariell spoke calmly.

 

“Calm down, uncle.”

 

“Ma–Mariel?”

 

“There must be a reason for everything. As long as we’ve done nothing wrong, all we have to do is cooperate.”

 

Mariel added with a grin.

 

“Those who have committed crimes are the ones who should be nervous.”

 

Jayden instantly calmed down at her calm attitude.

 

“Yeah… That’s right.”

 

Then, with a furrowed brow, he added,

 

“But why are you so calm saying all that? It doesn’t suit you.”

 

Whether Jayden was suspicious or not, Mariel calmly responded to the Imperial Knights’ investigation.

 

Soon after, the knights dragged out Lizzy.

 

The knight commander bowed respectfully to Mariel.

 

“We’re taking her into custody due to multiple testimonies from the maids.”

 

Several maids had seen Lizzy secretly eavesdropping when Roymond, Mariel, and Runart were having a secret conversation.

 

From the beginning, the garden was built in such a way that it could be seen from the upper floors of the house.

 

Mariel’s claim that it was a secret location had been a lie all along.

 

Lizzy, having only recently arrived at the Medes house, wouldn’t have known that.

 

“Sister!”

 

Lizzy cried out, clinging to Mariel.

 

“I’m innocent! This is a false accusation! Please protect me, Sister. Okay? You can’t lose me twice!”

 

Tears were falling from her eyes.

 

In front of everyone, Lizzy screamed while holding onto Mariel’s clothes.

 

“That fake did all this because she wanted to stay at the Medes house! I don’t know how, but we’ve all been trapped!”

 

Lizzy screamed and cursed.

 

“There is no one in the capital who does not know how arrogant she is at the banquet, claiming to be the lady of Medes! Can you imagine how much she must’ve hated me? I’m sure she went to the Duke of Hyrad and plotted this whole thing!”

 

Only then did Mariel, who had remained calm, opened her mouth.

 

“That’s right…”

 

Her tone was distant, almost blank, and Lizzy looked at her with hopeful eyes.

 

Mariel continued speaking slowly.

 

“It was all the work of the fake who wanted to stay at the Medes house.”

 

“Yes, that’s right!”

 

Lizzy nodded enthusiastically.

 

At that moment, Mariel pulled her dress from Lizzy’s grasp.

 

And she said it clearly.

 

“That fake is you.”

 

Jayden, who had been watching in confusion, suddenly had a thought.

 

‘What?’

 

Even in that urgent moment, the thought struck him.

 

‘Why does she remind me of Yurika? Now that Meriel has that firm expression, the two of them look so alike.’

 

He had never seen Mariel with such a cold face before.

 

And that realization was quickly overtaken by another one.

 

“What did you say?”

 

Jayden trembled as he spoke.

 

Just now, Mariel had said something very important to Lizzy.

 

“A fake….?”

 

In truth, Jayden had been nearly convinced that Lizzy was the real Yurika.

 

The baby clothes had made a deep impression on him.

 

But seeing Mariel—of all people—speak so coldly made it seem like Lizzy really was the fake.

 

“F-fake? Really?”

 

Then Sienna, standing nearby, replied bluntly.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you? Where have you been keeping your brain?”

 

“Uh, sis. I really didn’t want to hear that from you….”

 

Jayden muttered dazedly, then shouted with a frown,

 

“Then—what about those baby clothes?!”

 

“It must be connected to whoever’s behind her.”

 

Mariel said with a slight smile.

 

“What do you think it means that Lizzy’s backer had Yurika’s baby clothes?”

 

Jayden’s jaw dropped.

 

Things were getting way more serious than he’d expected.

 

He had overheard earlier that the one who tried to assassinate Roymond was none other than High Priest Partre.

 

That meant Lizzy’s backer was Partre—and that he had Yurika’s baby clothes.

 

“N-no way… From the temple…?”

 

“Yurika is almost certain of it.”

 

“Yurika? Are you talking about the Yurika who went to Duke Hyrad’s house?”

 

“Of course. She’s the real Yurika, after all.”

 

As Jayden stood there too shocked to properly respond, Mariel sighed and added,

 

“If she weren’t the real Yurika, why would the temple go so far as to send a fake just to drive her out?”

 

Sienna, still standing nearby, looked at Jayden in disbelief.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you, Jayden? I told you that our Yurika came back. When did my little brother get this dumb?”

 

Jayden was a little saddened, aside from being shocked by the sudden revelation of the truth.

 

Looking at Sienna and Mariel staring at him as if he were pitiful, he murmured sadly,

 

“There was a time when I was the smartest person in this family.… Since when did I become like this?”

 

* * *

 

Naturally, the victory celebration was immediately canceled.

 

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Daisy Village.

 

Patre was taken to the imperial prison, and a trial date was set without delay.

 

Not only the people who were there, but the entire empire was shocked.

 

“No, does this make sense? That old man actually pulled a sword to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince?”

 

“Maybe he’s senile? That’s what I think.”

 

“God has taken away his common sense. Was he neglecting prayer?”

 

Meanwhile, the nobles knew a little more about the situation.

 

They knew this incident was related to Lizzy, who had claimed to be the second daughter of Duke Medes.

 

To make matters worse, the Baron Berini residence where Lizzy was working had a huge fire that night, killing everyone.

 

There was no one left to investigate further.

 

In this situation, the temple was literally turned upside down.

 

* * *