I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 89

“Oh, yes.”

 

As soon as I changed the subject, Lean immediately smiled brightly.

 

After hearing the whole story from Meriel yesterday, I have sent a letter straight to the Information Guild.

 

In any case, what we needed was information, and the most accurate way to get that was from a competent information guild.

 

“First, about Baron Artea…” Lean said as she flipped through some documents.

 

“The last record dates back nearly 60 years. There were barely any surviving records, so it was tough, but we did confirm that they lived in the Medes territory.”

 

“Really? They were probably a vassal family then?”

 

“Looking at various circumstances, it seems like that… but we couldn’t find out who erased the records or why. No trace of descendants either.”

 

If they couldn’t find them, that basically meant no one knew.

 

If even this information guild doesn’t know about it, then it means someone had either gone to great lengths to hide them or destroyed the records entirely.

 

“Oh, and there’s news about the last elder of Medes… Count Trevor Olteva. He’s 94 years old this year.”

 

I hadn’t known his exact age—94, wow.

 

That really showed just how ancient the Elder Council system was.

 

He was supposedly the youngest of the elders, and the only one still alive.

 

“Count Olteva is currently living with his only son, Paul Olteva. Paul just turned 70 this year. Apparently, the two of them live together at the Count’s estate.”

 

Even though he was called a “son,” Paul was quite old.

 

He was, in fact, the key to all of this.

 

Viscount Trevor Olteva was already out of his mind. If he could stop his father from talking like that, it meant that his son knew a lot.

 

If I could just convince him, I thought I could hear Paul’s story about Artae Baroni.

 

Of course, Mariel had already failed to do so.

 

I was considering talking to Jayden and bringing along some money as a bribe when Lean said,

 

“Paul Olteva is a very wealthy man, so money won’t be enough to convince him.”

 

Oh, I’m screwed.

 

I quickly began running through alternatives in my head.

 

‘Then, if I pretend to be friendly and ask for a favor based on intimacy,…’

 

“He’s reportedly a reclusive and grumpy man who dislikes people. I doubt approaching him as a friend will work either.”

 

That doesn’t work either?

 

If money and personal connection were both out… how the heck was I supposed to win him over?

 

When I made a bewildered expression, Lean sighed and said.

 

“Paul doesn’t have any close friends or people he particularly likes. Well—except one.”

 

“One…?”

 

“It is said that he is in favor of Duke Yohan Hyrad.”

 

I opened my mouth wide at Lean’s words.

 

Why is Yohan’s name mentioned here?

 

“Originally, Paul was also fighting in the war according to imperial law at that old age. But thanks to Duke Yohan Hyrad, the war ended early, and he was able to be with his father in his final moments.”

 

It was something that often happened to war heroes.

 

They didn’t end wars for anyone in particular, but their actions still changed people’s lives.

 

As I sat silently, fidgeting with my fingers, Lean continued with a troubled expression,

 

“If you’re truly determined to ask something of Paul Olteva, it may not be a bad idea to go with Duke Yohan Hyrad.”

 

“…….”

 

It wasn’t that it wasn’t a bad idea—it was the only idea.

 

“Since everyone in the entire Empire knows that the two of you are in a relationship, even pretending to be in love can help you be viewed more favourably.”

 

“…….”

 

“Of course, as I mentioned earlier… personally, I can’t really recommend it.”

 

Judging by her face, it wasn’t just that she couldn’t recommend it—she desperately wanted to stop me.

 

“Wizards always choose a conclusion that favours themselves when it matters most, Lady. Do not assume that he will remain loyal to you until the end. This is a completely different story from romantic feelings.”

 

I slowly touched my forehead.

 

Why are there so many people in the world who hate wizards?

 

But then again… when I thought of Theodore, I can not blame them. That race scared me.

 

‘It’s fine. Yohan isn’t like Theodore. I know that better than anyone.’

 

Anyway, stripping Lean’s words down to the useful bits, it meant that in the end, the only way was to ask Yohan for help again.

 

It hasn’t been that long since I said I wouldn’t get involved with Yohan and that I would stop fake relationships.

 

“But I guess there’s no other way.”

 

Lean said gloomily.

 

“Even if you don’t fully know what kind of dangerous man that wizard truly is.”

 

I could only nod with a heavy heart.

 

Yohan acted like the gentlest man alive in front of me, but I had a faint feeling that wasn’t his true self.

 

Still, the reason my heart kept fluttering like this was probably because part of me was starting to fall for him.

 

‘If I keep staying by his side like this… I might really end up falling for him someday…’

 

Just thinking about Yohan made my stomach ache.

 

Trying to shake him out of my head, I quickly changed the subject again.

 

“Have you found the whereabouts of Rivena Sevs?”

 

Officially, Rivena was staying at the Sevs’s estate.

 

But Lean had told me before—it didn’t seem like she was actually staying there.

 

She was probably in hiding because she was afraid of Yohan.

 

After all, Yohan was someone capable of hurting others easily with his magic.

 

After returning from the temple, Yoham had even casually asked me whether he should just destroy the entire Sevs estate.

 

Of course, I was frightened and shook my head.

 

“If you use magic, it leaves traces that point to you. How could you kill the prince’s fiancée without any justification?”

 

“I’ll just claim it was a magic overload and serve a few years in prison, whatever.”

 

“A few years? Try a few decades. It’d be murder.”

 

“So what? If it means you’ll be safe, what’s a few decades for me?”

 

The more we talked, the more I felt that common sense wasn’t working.

 

“If I miss you, I can just escape from prison sometimes.”

 

“Then you’ll be serving a life sentence soon enough…”

 

In any case, no matter how great a wizard he was, he had to keep the law and order while living with the people of the empire.

 

So, it was impossible to kill the innocent noble daughter and the prince’s fiancée without any reason.

 

‘Actually, I wanted to destroy at least the laboratory.’

 

She was definitely doing bad experiments—but unless Rivena was a fool, she wouldn’t have kept her lab in Count Sevs’s estate.

 

‘I need to find out what she’s up to and take action fast.’

 

The thought of those dangerous experiments actively going on somewhere sent a chill down my spine.

 

So, even though I felt a little uncomfortable with Yohan, it was right to ask him for help again.

 

‘This time… This is truly the last time.’

 

I sighed and made a promise to myself.

 

* * *

 

After Yurika left the Hyrad estate, it quickly returned to silence.

 

It was only in an instant that the smile on Yohan’s face, which always had a smile, disappeared.

 

It was a chilling expression—one Yurika, who had only ever seen his gentle side, could never have imagined.

 

And now, Yohan looked colder than ever before.

 

He was headed somewhere he hadn’t visited in a long time—avoiding it until now because of Yurika.

 

“Yohan…?”

 

As soon as he appeared, a terrified voice leaked out in a whisper.

 

The place his footsteps led him to was the underground prison where Tezen and Ella were locked up.

 

* * *