I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 123

John’s eyes widened, his gaze wavering slightly.

Grasping his hand tightly, I said,

“My sister is engaged too, you know.”

“But…”

“I know you want to break the Hyrard family curse and marry me normally. But you can break it after the engagement.”

Looking at John’s surprised face, I smiled brightly.

“Why?”

I playfully added,

“I like you even if you’re a wizard. You know that.”

“……”

“Even if the Hyrard wizard bloodline continues, it doesn’t matter. I decided that from the start when I took your hand. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

John was silent for a while before letting out a soft sigh.

“Yurika, you sometimes… really surprise me.”

His voice was low and deep.

“And every time I’m surprised, I fall even deeper in love with you. I wonder if I can love you more, and then I realize, ah, I can love you even more.”

“Thank you.”

I laughed lightly.

“Please love me a lot in the future too.”

“I’m confident about that.”

“Be affectionate too.”

“That too.”

“Let’s get our rings together for the engagement ceremony.”

“I’ll get the prettiest rings.”

“I’ll look forward to it. I like delicate and pretty craftsmanship. Let’s go around to many famous workshops together.”

I smiled and added,

“We’ll have plenty of time after today, won’t we?”

In fact, I had been too busy dealing with the things right in front of me until now.

If everything goes well today, only days for John and me alone will remain.

“Thank you for always being with me because of my circumstances. Let’s go on a lot of dates when it’s all over.”

“You’ll have to take responsibility for that.”

John whispered deeply.

“Because we’re really going to do a lot.”

While we were whispering and talking, Theodore stood on the platform.

What followed were predictable words. Theodore had volunteered to enlist and guard the frontier, so the ban would be lifted.

“I hope Theodore can interact well with the wizards on the frontier on this occasion.”

The Emperor said with a proud smile.

“An imperial family member directly protecting the empire—isn’t that a beautiful picture? Peace is more valuable to protect than to obtain.”

My eyes narrowed involuntarily at those words.

No, shouldn’t we obtain peace first before protecting it?

It felt like he wanted to praise Theodore more than John, who had brought peace, and I felt very bad.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Theodore replied softly.

“If I ever prevent a war again, please give me a reward. I will not refuse the promised reward like Duke John Hyrard.”

In an instant, Meriel and Roymond’s expressions hardened.

After all, it was true that Meriel was going to marry a war hero.

And looking at their faces, Theodore smiled kindly.

“Of course, Princess Meriel is going to be the Crown Princess, so I can’t even dare to mention her. Ah, I think you two should stand over here. It’s also to inform the guests who came from afar about your engagement.”

He cheerfully led Roymond and Meriel to the center of the platform.

The Emperor also seemed to like the attention the two were receiving, as he didn’t say anything and only wore a pleased expression.

“They look good together, right? Well, Princess Meriel is so beautiful. It’s not for nothing that the duty of national defense was exchanged for something else. Everyone must have worked hard in the war to win Princess Meriel.”

Theodore joked once more. Meriel and Roymond had quite uncomfortable expressions.

Then, Theodore looked straight at me and continued,

“Of course, from my point of view, the second princess of the Medest Duchy is enough.”

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

What… what is he saying about me? Connecting it to the words he said just before, is he saying he’ll take me as a reward?

Even though it was indoors without a single breeze, the sculptures displayed around the walls trembled and shook.

Anyone could see that it was a phenomenon of magic running wild due to John’s unstable emotions.

I gripped John’s hand even tighter and opened my mouth to formally protest.

“No, why does everyone have such shocked faces? It was a joke.”

Theodore’s smooth voice continued.

“I also have a fiancée. Would I have said such a thing sincerely? Ah, of course, I admit that Princess Yurika Medest is quite beautiful.”

After that, Theodore chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. It was an awkward atmosphere to seriously protest since he said it was a joke.

And suddenly, attention was focused on me again. Theodore playfully added as if to say, ‘Look at that.’

“Everyone, look. The people who came up to the capital after a long time can’t take their eyes off Princess Yurika, can they?”

The only reason John and I could barely endure it was because we didn’t want to bother my father.

Today, my father had clearly said that he would take care of everything himself. So, we couldn’t become variables by stepping in.

‘What on earth is his intention?’

This was obviously to provoke John.

Theodore was a wizard, so he must know how vulnerable John is in this situation.

“Now, then…”

It was then.

With a bang, the temple’s foundation shook greatly once.

“Ah!”

“Did you… did you feel something just now?”

“Is it… is it an earthquake?”

People were surprised and began to murmur. Of course, we weren’t the only ones who didn’t expect this situation.

Before we could even look around, there was another thud, and this time the floor vibrated greatly.

“Kyaaaa!”

“What do we do!”

“Oh my!”

And before anyone could evacuate, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling fell straight down. I almost jumped forward in that instant.

“Sister!”

Because the chandelier fell right above Meriel’s head.

Meriel was with Roymond from the beginning of the event, not with us, because she was the future Crown Princess.

The reason why our family couldn’t run to Meriel right away was because the ground shook greatly once again.

My father was agile enough to move easily even in this chaos, but he had to support my mother, so he was tied down.

“Sister!”

I shouted, balancing myself on the shaking floor.

Everything in front of me seemed to be happening in slow motion.

Meriel, who was hit directly by the chandelier, collapsed slowly. Blood flowed from her head, soaking her blonde hair.

Roymond, who was also under the chandelier but was hit indirectly, was caught in my sight as he screamed and hugged Meriel.

Even as I staggered, I tried to run to Meriel, but John grabbed my arm.

“Don’t worry. She’s not dead.”

“How… how do you know?”

“It’s magic.”

John whispered urgently.

“Can’t you see the magic fluctuating? That chandelier was targeting Meriel from the beginning.”

Only then did my brain, which had been stopped for a moment, start working again.

“Ah, I think you two should stand over here. It’s also to inform the guests who came from afar about your engagement.”

The one who led them under the chandelier in the first place was Theodore.

Theodore was not as good a wizard as John, so he couldn’t manipulate magic precisely. So, he must have put Meriel and Roymond within range.

“No, but why Meriel…”

Roymond quickly called the knights and quickly transported Meriel.

It seemed like he was going to show her to the imperial family’s medical staff right away.

Since we couldn’t provide faster and more appropriate treatment than that, I had to just watch Meriel disappear in Roymond’s arms.

As soon as they disappeared into the entrance, the nobles who had come to their senses all started to follow them, saying they were going to leave.

Of course, it seemed difficult for most people to even walk properly because the ground was shaking.

“No, more than that, what is this earthquake…”

Theodore could have dropped the chandelier with magic. Well, anyone with some skill could do that.

However, it was a different story for an earthquake of this scale that kept shaking the temple. Even now, the ground was shaking madly, and screams were echoing from all over the place.

Moreover, the walls were starting to collapse as wizards who had lost their composure were shooting magic here and there, saying they were going to leave.

“This earthquake is not magic.”

John calmly picked me up and said, balancing himself.

The Emperor and Empress hurriedly tried to escape, but they were startled and stepped back when a pillar fell.

It was a situation that no one could have imagined even just a few minutes ago. Everyone was leisurely watching the event.

John, who began to look around with fierce eyes, continued,

“I don’t feel any magic at all.”