I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 94

There was a large fire at the Olteva mansion, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

 

There were only a few servants, and they had all fled on their own.

 

As for the two elderly people who couldn’t move, they were saved by Yohan himself.

 

Of course, the property damage was extensive. The mansion had completely collapsed.

 

It was because Yohan, while blocking the path of the spreading fire, had intentionally and systematically brought down the house.

 

“You won’t have a place to stay for a while, even if I try to compensate you,” Yohan said gently.

 

“I will take care of you.”

 

Although the Count of Olteva and his son ranked lower than Yohan, a Duke, Yohan still treated them with utmost respect.

 

“Compensation? Nonsense… You saved our lives,” Paul said, his voice trembling.

 

“We were just waiting for death in our old age, but now you’ve helped us. We don’t know how to thank you.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Trevor, who had been supported by Paul, stepped in, grumbling.

 

“I’m not going to die. I’m going to live a long life.”

 

“Yes, please live long,” Yohan said cheerfully.

 

“Anyway, it looks like there’s no place to stay right now, so why don’t you come with me?”

 

And the people who were watching this scene all whispered.

 

“Wait, didn’t they say he has a bad personality?”

 

“I heard he’s a total jerk…”

 

“They said he was rude to the Duke Medes and the Temple, but he seems like a really nice guy in person.”

 

“He saved the elderly. He seems kind and proper.”

 

“Maybe all that stuff about him being a jerk was just rumors. Look at him now.”

 

Of course, Yohan was only being courteous because he judged that these two might be of help to Yurika.

 

Still, for those watching, it was enough to completely change their opinion of him.

 

Going into a burning house to save elderly people he didn’t even know and offering them a place to stay…

 

“That’s too much. We’re already in your debt for saving us, and now you want to take in two old men…?”

 

When Paul politely declined, Yohan replied lazily,

 

“Please. Come with me.”

 

“No. We can’t cause any more trouble.….”

 

“I am Yohan Hyrad. I am the war hero who allowed you to return home. Are you saying you’ll refuse my request?”

 

Paul’s eyes wavered.

 

He was speaking gently and kindly, yet it somehow sounded a bit like a threat.

 

“Th-Then… can we at least know where we’re going….”

 

“I am the wizard who saved you two from this great fire. I used a lot of magic to calculate the path and destroy the mansion. And you still don’t want to come with me?”

 

Paul felt a sense of unease, but he didn’t have the guts to refuse someone who said it like that.

 

Trevor chimed in, his eyes sparkling.

 

“Will there be a soft bed and three meals a day?”

 

“Of course. It’s the duke’s residence.”

 

“Oh. Okay, I’ll go. By the way, I like mushroom soup, so I’d like it if it came out once a day.”

 

“I’ll ask the chef to prepare the meal for you.”

 

“Are you an angel?”

 

“I am a wizard.”

 

In the end, Paul slowly nodded his head as if he had no choice.

 

‘If you mean Duke’s Residence, you probably mean Duke’s Hyrad House, right?’

 

Yohan signaled with his eyes, and his aide brought over a new carriage.

 

Paul had a strangely creepy feeling.

 

It was as if the adjutant was looking at him with pity in his eyes.

 

In any case, Trevor and Paul were helped into the carriage by Yohan’s men.

 

“Hmm? Aren’t you getting in, Your Highness?”

 

“Ah.”

 

Yohan smiled and closed the door himself.

 

Paul flinched for a moment, feeling as if he could never go back.

 

‘Are wizards… always this unsettling?’

 

Yohan shrugged and added.

 

“I have a conversation I haven’t finished yet.”

 

Another carriage was coming from far away.

 

It was the one he and Yurika had originally been riding—it was only now arriving.

 

* * *

 

When I arrived at the Olteva estate by carriage, everything was already over—because Yohan had rushed ahead so quickly.

 

The moment my carriage arrived, their carriage passed it on the road.

 

“I’ve sent both of them to the Medes Duchy for now,”

 

I got off the last carriage and was looking at the ruined house when Yohan came and explained.

 

“I figured we needed to keep them close by and protected.”

 

“Yeah… It’s strange that the fire started so suddenly.”

 

They had been living peacefully until now, and then a fire broke out the moment after Mariel stopped by? It was definitely suspicious.

 

If we sent them off carelessly, there’d almost certainly be a second attack. It was better to keep them in our sight.

 

The Medes’ duchy, being a powerful noble house, was more than capable of protecting them.

 

“I sent them there because I thought it’d be more convenient for you.”

 

It was a good choice. There was no point trying to have a quiet conversation in the burnt-out mansion.

 

If we needed another location to talk, and to protect them at the same time, the Medes Duchy was the best option.

 

“They didn’t object? I heard they didn’t like Medes.”

 

“I just said ‘duke residence,’ so I think they assumed I meant the Hyrad Duchy.”

 

Yohan was practically admitting, in the sweetest voice, that he’d tricked them.

 

‘Well… it wasn’t technically a lie, since he did say it was the Duke residence.’

 

“Hah….”

 

I looked at the ruins of the mansion with a heavy heart.

 

If I hadn’t come here with Yohan, I might have missed the only people who knew anything about the Artea barony.

 

“Yurika.”

 

Yohan spoke softly first.

 

“Would you like to take a look? There might be some information there….”

 

“Shall we…?”

 

The mansion had already mostly collapsed, but what Yohan said made sense.

 

‘We were looking for clues, and maybe, just maybe—there were important documents even the Count and his son didn’t know about.’

 

“It’s not a very big mansion, so let’s just take a look around together.”

 

I nodded at his suggestion.

 

Since there might be secrets about my family, it was better for just the two of us to search.

 

Even though the mansion was in ruins, the walls were still intact, so we were able to look around without worrying about people’s eyes.

 

Judging by how the Count and his son left without much hesitation, it didn’t seem like anything important was left.

 

Still, not checking at all would leave me feeling uneasy.

 

“Hmm… this looks like the library, but it’s completely burnt,” I said, not caring if my dress got dirty as I poked around.

 

“I think I know why they started the fire instead of using an assassin.”

 

Killing the two old men was not a difficult task, but it seemed that they set fire to the mansion in case there were any records left inside.

 

This incident only strengthened my suspicion that the Artea barony was somehow connected to the secrets of the Medes family.

 

“Nothing much here either….”

 

Since the two old men had lived with only a few servants, the house was sparsely furnished.

 

We had gone through most of it in a short amount of time, when suddenly, Yohan called out urgently from beyond the wall.

 

“Yurika, come here.”

 

“Huh?”

 

As I was looking around what seemed to be the living room, I quickly grabbed the hem of my dress and got up.

 

Then I ran towards where I had heard Yohan’s voice.

 

“Did you find something important?”

 

The room where Yohan was was still intact.

 

As I carefully entered through the doorway, Yohan looked at me and smiled with his eyes.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Brushing ash from my dress, I waited expectantly for Yohan to explain.

 

“It’s something important.”

 

The room looked like a small space where a maid might have stayed.

 

Nothing out of the ordinary, but the small space is filled with small household items, making it very difficult to move around.

 

Yohan gently took my hand and whispered to me.

 

“The walls are still intact—it feels like a sealed space.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

Yohan guided me over to a narrow, worn-out bed. Without thinking, I sat down on the mattress.

 

Then, Yohan knelt on one knee in front of me.

 

“Y-Yohan?”

 

“What I mean is…”

 

The chaos from earlier already felt distant.

 

The sounds from outside seemed far away, muffled.

 

Even the fact that we were supposed to be looking for something felt very far away.

 

Strangely, something felt unrealistic.

 

Furniture that was not intact because it was soot-stained or burned, blue sky visible above the disappeared ceiling, and a small, ownerless room that was pretty much collapsed but blocked the view outside.

 

It was as if we were the only two people left in a ruined country.

 

Even the sunlight shining equally on what had just been a scene of tragedy felt oddly miraculous.

 

“From now on, I….”

 

And in that dreamlike space, Yohan looked up at me with a deep smile and said,

 

“I’m going to finish what I started earlier.”

 

* * *