I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 88

Mariel and I exchanged somewhat awkward glances.

 

I mean, all four family members are gathered… but the problem is that our parents are, well, not exactly normal…

 

I answered with a worried face.

 

“According to Yohan, it’s not like he became a divine beast or anything. It seems the temple took some kind of measure, but.…”

 

“It’d be hard to find out what that was, wouldn’t it?”

 

That, too, left me feeling helpless. Since it was the temple we were dealing with, there was no real way to get help.

 

I rolled my eyes and asked cautiously.

 

“We don’t even know the secrets of our own family. Sister, are you sure the books in the duke’s estate are all that there is? Maybe there’s a villa or somewhere else?”

 

I had already searched through all the old books in the house. There was nothing left to take out of the house.

 

“Or His Majesty the Emperor’s room… we have no choice but to read a book about curses in there.”

 

“I heard that even if His Highness the Crown Prince asks, he won’t allow him to enter.”

 

Mariel tapped the table nervously with her fingers.

 

“So I did a little digging around myself.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I couldn’t just let you suffer through this alone. This is our family’s matter too. I tried asking around as much as I could…”

 

Of course, I was better connected to information guilds, but still, Mariel was the head of the Medes family.

 

So, when it came to the Medes family, it was possible to utilize more reliable connections.

 

Mariel said, carefully stroking the forehead of the tiger that had come next to her.

 

“I asked the last elder of our family.”

 

“The elder…?”

 

The elder system was something all noble families used to have long ago, but it had been abolished under imperial pressure about a hundred years ago.

 

I only knew of it as a tradition to ask for advice from the elders of the family.

 

“Yes. It’s a system that disappeared during my great-grandfather’s time. But one of the elders from that time is still alive, so I went to meet him myself.”

 

Mariel tilted her head and continued speaking.

 

“But he’s so old now that his memory comes and goes. His son is taking care of him alone. Anyway, we didn’t get much solid information… but he did say something strange.”

 

“Something strange?”

 

In my experience, the more ‘strange’ the words, the more likely they are to be very important words.

 

As my eyes sparkled, Mariel muttered in a voice of uncertainty.

 

“He said… it was a really good thing that we kicked out the Artea Barony.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“He said… even if it was tempting to ally with such a brilliant, genius family, it was never worth joining hands with such a wicked family from the beginning.….”

 

“Artea?”

 

It was a name I had never heard before.

 

And judging from words like “kicked out” and “joining hands,” they must have been related to the Medes family, yet I had never come across that name in any document.

 

“This is my first time hearing about it.”

 

“Yeah. I came back and looked through all the documents in the house, but I couldn’t find that name.”

 

Mariel sighed and continued speaking.

 

“This is clearly a family related to us.”

 

But since it doesn’t appear in any documents, it must have been intentionally deleted.

 

“I want to meet that elder. If we stay with him longer, maybe he’ll say something even more important.”

 

When I spoke with a voice full of enthusiasm, Maryel spoke with a dark face.

 

“But there is a problem.”

 

“Huh? What is it?”

 

“I told you his son was taking care of him, right? Since he is not in his right mind.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The son stepped forward and stopped his father from speaking any further. He clearly seemed to know what was going on, but he didn’t seem to want to tell us.”

 

So the elder’s son, who clearly knows the truth, is stopping his father from revealing it.

 

Of course, he must have some reason. From his perspective, we are not people he is obliged to help.

 

“Thank you for your hard work, sister.”

 

I smiled as I held Mariel’s hand.

 

“Now I will find a way.”

 

Now that we had a clue, it was time to take action.

 

I’ve finally returned to the Medes’s house after destroying the temple.

 

* * *

 

The next day.

 

I went out secretly. My destination was the Information Guild.

 

It was the most trustworthy and capable place.

 

As soon as I arrived, the guild master, Lean, came out to greet me personally.

 

“Oh, Lady Medes. You have returned safely.”

 

The look in Lean’s eyes was clear relief and joy.

 

“Of course.”

 

I sat down and smiled.

 

“There was no way I wouldn’t come back safely. I was with the most powerful wizard in the Empire.”

 

At my reply, Lean murmured with a bitter look,

 

“Well… I congratulate you on your safe return from Duke Hyrad’s house.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Didn’t I warn you secretly last time?”

 

Lean spoke with seriousness and concern in her eyes.

 

“Wizards are never ones to simply give you what you want.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Looking at Theodore, that warning seemed to fit very well.

 

“In any case, it’s a miracle you came back safely. I think….”

 

Lean continued speaking with a cautious expression.

 

“I think it would be best if you didn’t get further involved with wizards.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

I nodded slightly and tucked my hair behind my ear.

 

“I understand your opinion, Lean.”

 

It meant I heard her out, but I wouldn’t forget that it was just a personal opinion.

 

When I didn’t say something like “I’ll definitely stay away,” Lean sighed faintly with a complicated expression on her face.

 

“Surely, Lady Medes… you haven’t failed to notice that Duke Hyrad desires you, right? I trust you’re not that stupid.”

 

I lowered my gaze slightly and let out a sigh.

 

As Lean said, I’m not stupid, and I knew that Yohan was kind to me.

 

We had a connection when we were young, but we had already come too far to help each other.

 

Of course, Lean didn’t know that I was a divine beast. Naturally, she could only think of things in terms of a romantic relationship.

 

‘But… I have the ability to calm down.’

 

On the day of the assassination attempt, I had impulsively suggested a kiss in the carriage—only to be completely overwhelmed.

 

When I recalled that intense gaze and those persistent touches, my ears burned with embarrassment.

 

I had to admit it.

 

No matter how nonchalant we acted afterwards, that day we crossed the line between colleagues and friends.

 

If you ask me if I hated it, actually, I didn’t hate it.

 

In fact, I had been so open to a relationship with Yohan that I had even thought about marrying him instead of Mariel.

 

But the more time I spent with Yohan, the more difficult it became.

 

More precisely, my feelings were growing more complicated.

 

I muttered, fiddling with the hem of my dress.

 

“Yohan loves me. He does everything to be with me. He is a person who truly comforts me and worries about me.”

 

There was no doubt about that fact.

 

But when the relationship between ‘wizard and divine beast’ is included, things become more complicated.

 

‘Me being a divine beast… could very well be because of my family’s curse. And if that curse is ever lifted, I might lose my abilities entirely.’

 

‘And if that happens—if I can no longer calm him… would Yohan still treasure me the way he does now?’

 

‘Even if he says he still likes me… what if it’s not the same as before…?’

 

Still, I couldn’t simply ignore the curse that afflicted my family.

 

‘Wait… am I actually afraid of getting hurt right now?’

 

My mind was complicated. I think it was because I had been too attached to Yohan.

 

We had helped each other through so much, and now we were even physically entangled.

 

Everything had been fine before the kiss… but after that, my heart started to feel so uneasy.

 

I looked at Lean and slowly told her my true feelings.

 

“Still… I think we need to stay apart for a bit. We’re too close together now.”

 

Yohan didn’t need to use magic for now, and I didn’t want to feel obligated to calm him every time just because of guilt over making him use his powers.

 

If we could take a step back and meet not as a divine beast and a wizard, but simply as a man and a woman, maybe I could finally sort out my thoughts.

 

I needed to take a closer look at my own heart, too.

 

Until now, I’d oddly felt like Yohan was the one leading things emotionally.

 

“We should slowly stop this fake relationship. This situation is really not good for Yohan.”

 

Honestly, I couldn’t deny that Johan had helped me a lot. I couldn’t free myself from that sense of indebtedness.

 

“For now… we just shouldn’t get entangled any further.”

 

Since I had recently helped calm him down a lot, he should be able to manage for a while without me.

 

“Do you think he’ll accept that? He’s not going to get angry and go crazy, is he? I mean, he’s a wizard. What if he tries to involve himself with you again, no matter what? He really seems like that type of person.”

 

‘Hmm… I wasn’t sure. Honestly, I didn’t know what he would do.’

 

“Well, anyway, setting that aside,”

 

I cleared my throat and changed the subject.

 

“Did you look into what I asked for yesterday?”

 

* * *