I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 99

But Yohan did not break the conversation.

 

‘but…..’

 

I thought of Yohan, who described the wizard’s bloodline as a curse.

 

‘If it’s about famous families, Hyrad isn’t any less known…’

 

We didn’t even know the secret of our family, but because of the special nature of magic, Yohan was in a position where he couldn’t help but know about the power of his family.

 

“It seems someone suggested using that power to create a force beyond even the Imperial Family’s control.”

 

In other words, it was a proposal to conduct experiments hidden from the Emperor’s eyes.

 

“And to do that, they wanted to use children with Medes blood…”

 

“That’s insane! Who in their right mind would agree to something like that?”

 

I clicked my tongue in disbelief.

 

Paul, looking sullen, nodded slowly and spoke

 

“Of course, from the perspective of the entire family, agreeing to such a proposal might have seemed right. After all, unlike Hyrad, Medes ended up losing even the secret of its origin within a hundred years.”

 

Paul wasn’t wrong.

 

There were noble houses willing to sacrifice a few members for the sake of the whole.

 

“But, still….”

 

As I was moving my lips, Paul continued speaking.

 

“But the Duke of Medes did not accept the offer. Instead, they cut ties when they dissolved the Elder Council, calling the values of the Artea barony dangerous.”

 

I nodded slowly.

 

If I had been an ancestor, I would have cut ties with such a twisted household too.

 

“The journal noted that it wasn’t a great turn of events for the Artea barony, which had practically lived under the Medes family’s patronage.”

 

Paul continued speaking with a gloomy face.

 

“Because like any research, theirs needed major sponsorship… and the Artea family had the tendency to lock themselves away in labs instead of generating wealth.”

 

‘Hmm, well… that made sense.’

 

No one could survive on research alone, even if it was related to money.

 

They needed a sponsor and backer who could directly monetize that profitable research.

 

“They had a symbiotic relationship with Medest. They’d circulate the results, build wealth, invest again—a virtuous cycle. But once that cycle was broken, they must’ve immediately faced financial hardship.”

 

“So what happened to them? If it was just that, why did they disappear from every record?”

 

“I also wonder about that. My father’s journal doesn’t contain any story about what happened after that.” Paul said with a furrowed brow.

 

“It ends with the Artea barony vanishing from history and everyone going into hiding.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“And after that, strange things began to happen. The elder council members started dying—one by one, and in secret.”

 

That was a bit surprising.

 

Honestly, it was a bit too far back to start digging into it properly now.

 

But I had a vague guess.

 

The easiest way to kill someone secretly was with poison.

 

And the place where the most poisons were handled was the temple.

 

“But Viscount Olteva survived, didn’t he?”

 

“That’s…..”

 

Paul squeezed his eyes shut, as if the moment had finally come.

 

It was clear that he had something in mind, but he looked like he didn’t want to say anything.

 

Yohan, who had been listening to the conversation with his arms crossed, opened his mouth again.

 

“Yurika, did I tell you?”

 

“huh?”

 

“I believe you should always repay a favor.”

 

Even though he was on my side, his way of speaking was annoyingly smug.

 

“I got him discharged from that horrific battlefield, and even saved his life from a fire.”

 

I was smiling, but I was sighing inside.

 

‘Stop bragging already…’

 

But his bragging was the only thing that finally opened Paul’s mouth.

 

“I don’t even know how many times you’ve said that… Though, I guess, if it’s about life and death, saying it a hundred times would still be fair.”

 

Paul looked at Yohan and made a face as if he was about to cry.

 

The worshipful gaze he’d once had for Yohan was completely gone now.

 

Still, perhaps he couldn’t ignore the mention of “repaying favors” any longer, and he sighed deeply before speaking slowly.

 

“We were curious about that too.”

 

“Yes. Please tell me what you think.”

 

“My father was High Priest Patre’s godfather. Patre was an orphan and grew up with me. I was raised by my mother, so I don’t remember much from back then, but I heard he was raised like a real son.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“My parents were divorced. I started living with my father after I became an adult.”

 

There was silence for a moment.

 

Paul also mentioned ‘Patre’, indicating that the temple was involved in this matter.

 

“So even while all the elder council members were dying…”

 

Paul took a deep breath and said.

 

“My father told me not to worry. He must’ve heard something from Patre.”

 

The conclusion has been reached.

 

Back then, the Artea barony had been living under the temple’s protection.

 

They did research that could bring in money, while the rest—logistics, safety, funding—was all taken care of by their sponsor.

 

All that changed was that their sponsor switched from Medes to the temple.

 

“Artea must have held a grudge against Medes.”

 

Paul spoke slowly.

 

“After all, they were abandoned in an instant. People who are cast aside often tend to exaggerate their victimhood.”

 

The picture was becoming clear.

Artea likely hid themselves within the temple and continued the research they had originally planned—research that involved using Medes’s power.

 

‘The Medest child wasn’t obtained by Medes—but by the temple.’

 

Perhaps the temple erased Artea’s name from history because too many people still remembered them.

 

And even that wasn’t enough—they likely began eliminating anyone who knew about it, one by one.

 

That effort continued for so long… that later generations ended up being targeted without even knowing why.

 

“This is truly all I know,” Paul said, rubbing his eyes as if exhausted.

 

“I’m not from that time, so I don’t know the details. And my father… is no longer capable of coherent conversation. You probably won’t get much more.”.

 

Just as he said, he wasn’t a witness to that era, so pressing him further wouldn’t be helpful.

 

I nodded quietly and looked at Paul.

 

“Let me ask you one more question.”

 

Paul shrugged lightly as if to say he might not be able to answer.

 

I continued to ask without changing my expression.

 

“Then… why do you hate Medes?”

 

There was silence for a moment.

 

Looking uncomfortable, Paul ran a hand through his silver hair and answered,

 

“Because Medes, back then, was too soft and failed to protect the Elder Council.”

 

“.….”

 

“If they judged Artea a threat, they should’ve eliminated them. And if they couldn’t do that, they should’ve at least remembered those who died. Only then could we trust and rely on them.”

 

“.….”

 

“But what can you expect from a grand noble family that forgot even its own past? They lived like ordinary people and stayed silent even as their vassals—the Elder Council—were killed. How could I not resent Medest?”

 

I couldn’t answer that.

 

It wasn’t my fault, but according to Paul, Medes had lost even its essence over the last hundred years.

 

“You even forgot that we were once your vassal family, didn’t you?”

 

That was true. It had been over a century, and the Olteva family hadn’t had contact with Medest in a long time.

 

I was lost in thought for a moment, then stood up and bowed formally.

 

With my head lowered, I spoke.

 

“Though many generations have passed, I—Yurika Medes—offer my apology now.”

 

“L-Lady Yurika?!”

 

Startled by my polite apology, Paul jumped up in surprise. I calmly continued.

 

“It’s true that our family failed to act as the pillar for our vassals at the time.”

 

“N-No… still, that’s…”

 

“But just because our ancestors acted that way doesn’t mean all of Medes is the same.”

 

I smiled slightly, straightened my back, and looked straight into his eyes.

 

“It’s late, but I’ll do my best to make things right. I’ll recover the secrets of Medes’s family—and take revenge on both the temple and the Arteor barony who killed the Elder Council.”

 

Paul looked at me quietly. I added calmly.

 

“I’ll make sure your story wasn’t told in vain.”

 

I expected Paul to wave me off, saying it wasn’t necessary—but surprisingly, he remained silent.

 

Until we parted ways, he didn’t say another word.

 

He simply sat there, deep in thought.

 

* * *

 

That evening.

 

“You know that book the Emperor has? The one about the curses of noble families.”

 

I declared to Yohan.

 

“I have to see it.”

 

* * *