I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 91

He hadn’t ended the war for anyone in particular, and often found the title of “war hero” terribly annoying—but at least for now, he was glad to be the one who ended the war.

 

Because it made him useful to Yurika.

 

Because it meant he could see her more often, and their lives could keep getting tangled up.

 

Yurika seemed to carry some guilt and a sense of indebtedness, but that made Yohan genuinely happy.

 

Honestly, if he could keep piling up emotional debts like this, he felt like he could do anything.

 

After all, in a way, it meant Yurika’s heart was tied to him.

 

‘Even if you think it’s awful, it can’t be helped, Yurika.’

 

Yohan thought, narrowing his eyes.

 

‘Because I can never let you go.’

 

And maybe this was the last chance.

 

Yurika had regained what she’d lost. Not everything was resolved yet, but the Temple had fallen.

 

“I’m not like my parents.”

 

Ella’s curse still lingered in his mind, but Yohan had no intention of backing down because of it.

 

‘I can keep it hidden forever.’

 

Just as he had always acted gentlemanly toward Yurika, he could live his whole life that way.

 

He could endure worse pain without flinching. So surely, he could also hide the intense possessiveness and desire that surged inside him.

 

To some extent, his seduction was working—Yohan could tell by instinct.

 

Because Yurika would sometimes glance at him with a conflicted expression.

 

‘She’s probably trying to put some distance between us…’

 

But Yohan had a very hard time accepting that distance.

 

And he was never the type to endure hardship needlessly.

 

With the Temple gone, the immediate crisis had passed.

 

So now, it felt like the right time to boldly tempt her—ask her to see him as a man.

 

* * *

 

Rumors spread throughout the capital that Patre had committed suicide.

 

Everyone thought it was unexpected.

 

Patre was caught at the scene, but they expected that he would not be sentenced to death since he had not laid a finger on Roymond.

 

No one could guess how Patre committed suicide.

 

In truth, the ink in a letter passed through Theodore from Rivena was laced with poison.

 

Patre committed suicide by eating the letter.

 

And perhaps in his final moments, he’d tried to assassinate Yurika, hoping it would help Rivena somehow.

 

‘High Priest, I won’t let your sacrifice be in vain.’

 

Rivena thought as she locked herself in the secret laboratory.

 

‘If I can just change the past a little… and that changes the present… then you can come back to life.’

 

The letter sent by Rivena also hinted at such content.

 

To make it happen, she needed more time for her experiment.

 

Once Roymond began digging into the Divine Beast, there was no telling when her identity might be exposed.

 

However, it was clear that once Patre died, all investigations into the temple would lose their momentum.

 

That’s why he had chosen suicide after receiving her letter— because he believed in the possibility that Ribena’s experiment might succeed and bring him back to life.

 

‘I will definitely change this reality.’

 

Rivena had no one to trust but Patre.

 

No—truthfully, the Baron family of Artae had no one to rely on but the Temple in the first place.

 

‘I have to control Yurika Medest. I can’t afford to lose the lead now.’

 

Rivena vowed, eyes fierce.

 

Even if Yurika seemed to be winning now, Rivena had no intention of giving up.

 

She also believed that someday, Yurika would suffer greatly because of Yohan.

 

Because believing in a wizard is stupid.

 

Even Yurika, who has true power, cooperates with Yohan on equal terms?

 

That was something that could not happen to a wizard.

 

Obviously, the moment Yurika tried to get away from Yohan even a little, Yohan could have been more wicked towards her.

 

Knowing the nature of wizards well, Rivena planned to use Yohan the same way one day.

 

The person who allowed Yurika to truly manifest her abilities was none other than Rivena.

 

If she could use that to eliminate Yurika, everything could be set right again.

 

‘In return for kicking out Artea, Medes must remain in our hands forever.’

 

At this point, almost no one even remembered Artea.

 

‘Ah… wait for a sec.’

 

Rivena’s brow furrowed slightly.

 

‘Wasn’t there still Count Olteva and his son?’

 

The last member of the Medes family.

 

Count Olteva had passed ninety years of age a few years ago and was rumored to be senile.

 

Anyone who knew about the relationship between Artea and Medes disappeared long ago except him.

 

‘His son probably knows nothing… but didn’t Meriel Medes visit them a few days ago?’

 

Rivena bit her lower lip.

 

There was no way the Olteva family held any fondness for Medest. Even if they knew something, they wouldn’t talk.

 

Still, now that things had come this far, she didn’t want to leave any loose ends.

 

In the past, everyone who knew the name of Artea was killed, except for one person, Count Olteva.

 

And the reason he survived was because of Partre.

 

So now that Patre is dead, there is no need to consider it.

 

‘For the sake of the High Priest, I have to tie down Yurika as quickly as possible and succeed in the experiment. There’s no room for sentiment now.’

 

Her rationalization was swift.

 

‘And if I do well, all these things will disappear.’

 

She paused her experiment and rang a bell.

 

A subordinate arrived with a report: Mariel Medes had once again visited the Olteva estate.

 

After hearing the report, without hesitation, Rivena ordered them to eliminate the Count and his son.

 

* * *

 

“So…”

 

Yohan sat across from me, smiling softly.

 

“Should I just pretend to be your lover? Like I’ve always done?”

 

“Yeah. And if he doesn’t answer something, you can ask the questions for me.”

 

We were riding in a carriage together, headed to the Olteva estate.

 

When I asked if he could help me one last time, Yohan readily agreed.

 

‘I knew he would actually accept it, but…’

 

Yohan looked happy, but I felt uncomfortable for some reason.

 

It was just because I didn’t like the fact that I had to keep asking Yohan for favors even though I knew he wanted me.

 

‘At first, I thought shamelessly that since I helped him before, I deserved this much help.… In many ways, I lost my original intention.’

 

“This will be the last time.”

 

I spoke cautiously, wiggling my fingers.

 

“I feel sorry for asking you to do this all the time.…”

 

“You saved my life—what are you even saying?”

 

Yohan smiled brightly and answered lightly.

 

“Don’t think like that. Just call me whenever you need me.”

 

There was silence in the carriage for a moment.

 

His reply was polite and gentlemanly—but something about it felt off.

 

We were still officially lovers, but no one else was watching us inside the carriage.

 

And yet, we weren’t even touching fingertips.

 

I couldn’t understand why I was so tense, so conscious of him.

 

Yohan looked just as handsome as always, radiating both noble elegance and a hint of decadence.

 

I carefully examined the face of Yoham sitting across from me.

 

His long, graceful eyes… the high bridge of his nose… even his lips—

 

‘What is wrong with me?’

 

Suddenly, I remembered the kiss we shared in the carriage the day of the assassination attempt.

 

I’d made the first move and got completely overwhelmed.

 

Now that I was thinking about it, I couldn’t stop.

 

I cleared my throat several times and turned my gaze to the window.

 

“What are your plans for the future?” Yohan asked softly.

 

And why did his voice have to sound so nice, even now?

 

“First, I need to find a way to turn my father back into a human. There’s definitely a secret in our family, so I have to look into that.”

 

I answered without even looking at Yohan.

 

“Today I’ll ask about Baron Artaea… and then I want to find the book said to be in His Majesty’s private library.”

 

“A book?”

 

“Yeah. It says something about the curse of the noble family, but the Medes family doesn’t even know they’re under the curse.”

 

“Curse?”

 

Now that I thought about it, Yohan didn’t know about the book Roymond had told Meriel about.

 

“Yes. It’s supposed to be about curses placed on noble families. But honestly, until Mariel met me, she didn’t even know that the Medest family might be cursed…”

 

As I turned to Yohan to explain briefly, I noticed something strange in his expression.

 

I blinked and cautiously asked,

 

“Why that face?”

 

At my question, Yohan gave a faint smile.

 

“No… I just remembered what Ella said.”

 

“Ella?”

 

* * *