I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 84

Rivena’s Secret Lab

 

Rivena was staying in the underground lab beneath Count Sevus’s residence, located in a quiet street of the capital.

 

She spent most of her time hiding, not knowing when she would be attacked by Yohan.

 

With her hair tied up tightly instead of flowing down as usual, and thick glasses on her face, she looked like a completely different person.

 

“There was an assassination attempt, but it failed,” her subordinate reported while she was holding a beaker.

 

“It’s a capable person, but… she was with Yohan Hyrad. It seemed like he was trying to get them to stay apart, but the two never separated. So they had no choice but to try one last time when they returned to the Hyrad estate.”

 

Rivena clicked her tongue while carefully measuring the contents into the beaker.

 

The reason why Yurika, who had been hiding her body, moved was probably because Yohan Hyrad was with her.

 

So, the assassination itself was reckless from the start.

 

Rivena continued her experiment, completely unfazed.

 

After all, it wasn’t her plan.

 

No matter how much they investigated or interrogated, there was nothing to link it back to her.

 

“There’s nothing I can do.”

 

Still, if the assassination had succeeded, it might have made things easier for her.

 

Yurika was, after all, the biggest obstacle to her plans right now.

 

“But we got the most important thing, so that’s enough.”

 

Rivena narrowed her eyes at the bubbling beaker.

 

The knight she’d sent under Theodore had done his job well.

 

He entered the temple, avoiding the eyes of the Knights of the Duke of Hyrad, and not only destroyed the key research documents, but also brought her what she wanted.

 

Since he was only permitted one day away from the palace under the excuse of “vacation,” he’d had to enter the temple without any weapons.

 

‘Not that going in armed would’ve helped… There’s no way one man could’ve brought back Duke Medes anyway. This was the best we could do.’

 

‘It would have been better if I had brought him here, but that wasn’t possible.’

 

That didn’t mean she could kill him carelessly, either.

 

Duke Medes’s blood was a really important ingredient in the experiment that Rivena was doing.

 

‘Let’s keep him in the temple for now… If the experiment fails and I need more, I’ll just send someone again.’

 

The theory was mostly complete, but making the experiment successful was another matter.

 

‘Once that damned victory celebration is over, the Hyrad knights won’t have any more reason to stay at the temple.’

 

Even if they weren’t particularly capable, having their eyes constantly on the temple was annoying.

 

In that sense, it was almost a stroke of luck that Rivena left the temple and began working as ‘Lady Sevs’.

 

She had stayed in the temple, it would’ve been almost impossible to leave unnoticed.

 

‘If I can just succeed in this experiment… I can turn everything back.’

 

Rivena swallowed dryly, her green eyes gleaming.

 

Her real name wasn’t Rivena Sevs.

 

She was Rivena Artaer—of the Artaer barony.

 

A family known for producing generations of brilliant scientists, and once loyal vassals of the Duke Medes family.

 

Now, it was a forgotten name, erased from history.

 

‘It was because of the Medes family.’

 

Rivena had been born and raised in the temple. She never forgot the teachings of her father, who had served the temple his entire life.

 

He always told her: “You’re one of the brightest minds the Artaer family has ever seen.”

 

“We will continue to take our revenge against Medes, proving from the shadows of the temple that we were right all along.”

 

Her first mistake in that long revenge? Sending Yurika to the Duke of Hyrad.

 

She was determined to make up for that mistake.

 

* * *

 

It was an ominous sound, to be sure—but one thing was clear: there was something alive here.

 

“Kyuung.”

 

Even this empty room clearly hadn’t been touched by humans in a long time.

 

And yet, a living creature was down here.

 

I stretched out my front paw resolutely atop Yohan’s head, telling him we should go.

 

“Alright, let’s check it out.”

 

Yohan nodded and walked slowly.

 

“Grrrr….”

 

Just hearing it made the fur on the back of my neck stand on end.

 

Even just listening to the sound, I could tell that it was a completely different beast from a lowly rodent like me.

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Yohan spoke softly, perhaps noticing that I was very nervous.

 

“Beasts cannot harm me.”

 

‘Well, sure. You’re an insanely powerful wizard…’

 

‘Nothing could hurt Yohan—not beasts, not humans, not anything.’

 

When I let out a grumpy squeak as if to say “Obviously,” Yohan added calmly,

 

“I’m serious. They don’t even try to attack me. I noticed it back when I was on the battlefield.”

 

“Kyuung?”

 

“It seems that beasts instinctively know who is strong and who is weak. Now that I can use magic properly, even the fiercest beasts start to avoid me.”

 

‘So you’re telling me they ran away just from seeing you? Is that even possible?’

 

I tilted my head skeptically.

 

Even though he is a wizard, Yohan’s appearance is just human.

 

Sensing my doubt, Yohan let out a low chuckle and said,

 

“You don’t believe me?”

 

“Kyuuung.”

 

“Shall we make a bet?”

 

His voice was light and playful.

 

“How about granting a wish?”

 

Because I was on top of Yohan’s head, I couldn’t see his expression.

 

But I could tell—he wasn’t nervous at all.

 

“If you’re okay with it, give me a hit on the head. If not, pull my hair.”

 

I couldn’t help but snort.

 

That was a pretty aggressive way of saying yes or no.

 

And then I lightly hit Yohan’s head.

 

After all, on the battlefield, it might’ve been the massive army behind him that scared off the beasts—not Yohan himself.

 

“Okay.”

 

Yohan smiled confidently.

 

“I’ll show you soon that I’m not a person who brags and talks nonsense.”

 

“Kyuung.”

 

“You may look like a tiny squirrel right now, but as long as you’re with me, you’ll be fine.”

 

His tone was teasing, as if he found my current form beneath him—but he wasn’t wrong.

 

I pouted in protest, but then realized… He was doing it to ease my nerves.

 

Because I got used to the growling sound while talking to him.

 

‘So that “wish” thing was just a joke, huh…’

 

Well, actually, in a relationship like ours where we help each other, it probably doesn’t really need it.

 

Just as I was quietly feeling grateful, Yohan’s low voice continued.

 

“I have to win.”

 

‘huh?’

 

“There’s a wish I really want to come true.”

 

‘So it wasn’t a joke?’

 

“Kyuuuung.”

 

“Why, is it ominous?”

 

Yohan laughed mischievously.

 

“It’s not a bad thing to be prepared.”

 

‘You too! You better prepare!’

 

I swung my little fists furiously.

 

Yohan saw my tiny punches from the shadow cast on the ground and gave a soft laugh.

 

‘Ugh, I must be losing it. Why does that laugh sound even better than usual?’

 

And then, out of the blue, I remembered the kiss in the carriage and secretly slapped myself on the cheek.

 

I definitely need to come to my senses. Spending too much time with this dangerous man is messing with my head.

 

Even though Yohan wasn’t going slow, it took quite some time.

 

There were a few forks along the way, but we just kept following the path where the growling came from. It made the choice easier.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Yohan stopped for a moment at one of the forks and muttered,

 

“It looks like there’s a passageway here. I can feel the air from outside.”

 

As Yohan had pointed out, there was a passage through which the fresh air from outside came in.

 

Of course, to operate such a large space underground, it is inevitable to create a passageway connecting it to the outside.

 

And the person Rivena had sent must have escaped through that route.

 

‘Probably a one-way entrance—you can leave, but not enter from the outside.’

 

I thought to myself as I stood over Yohan’s head, clutching his hair.

 

Since it was such a secret space, even if escaping was easy, they must have made sure not just anyone could get in.

 

‘Because no one should come to such a secret place… So, that person must have come through the temple.’

 

Yohan must have thought the same thing, as he muttered in a serious voice.

 

“If we ever need an escape route, we can just go out here. It’s probably big enough for an adult to fit through.”

 

“Kyuuung.”

 

“If it’s too narrow, I can just break it.”

 

Wizards really were simple yet convenient beings—free to use brute force whenever needed.

 

And then, not much farther down the path— Something suddenly glinted in the darkness. Iron bars.

 

“Kyuung?”

 

Behind the bars, which looked like part of a huge prison, a pair of gleaming eyes stared back.

 

As soon as I met those eerie eyes, I quickly grabbed Yohan’s hair and shouted.

 

“Kyuung!”

 

It’s a real tiger!

 

And not just any tiger— It was massive. As big as a house.

 

It was so big that I couldn’t even see its full size at a glance.

 

No, why is there a tiger this deep underground?!

 

* * *