I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 23

‘Ah, so that must be him.’

There was a boy, tucked away in a corner, completely engrossed in an old book, seemingly oblivious to my arrival.

His hands, turning the tattered pages of the well-worn book, were chapped and red.

“Excuse me.”

I slowly approached the boy with the fine silver hair and smiled brightly.

“Would you mind if I asked what you’re reading?”

The boy, who had been burying his face in the book, squinted and looked up at me. His eyes, like glass beads, were clear and blue.

The boy’s face showed a hint of fear upon seeing me, which was understandable, as I was accompanied by quite a few knights from the Medeste family.

Mariel, worried about me going to a remote orphanage, had insisted on providing a large escort, which I didn’t refuse.

Looking at the somewhat intimidated boy, I spoke kindly.

“That looks like a very difficult book.”

“Ah… I’m just looking at it out of curiosity.”

The boy trailed off, seemingly embarrassed.

However, I could roughly tell what the book was about just by looking at the anatomical illustrations.

“It looks like a medical book.”

As I tilted my head and spoke, the boy scratched his chin, looking even more embarrassed.

“J-Just… for fun…”

Watching the boy, flustered and shy, I carefully asked.

“May I ask your name?”

“Renat… Renat Cardin.”

“Ah, Renat.”

‘Yes!’ I smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

Renat Cardin. Currently neglected and growing up in a dilapidated orphanage, he will become the greatest doctor in the empire.

However, after being neglected in the orphanage for a long time, he only enters the medical center as an assistant when he becomes an adult. He learns medicine by watching over the shoulders of others, and it takes a long time for his skills to truly blossom.

‘He’s the man who later saves His Highness the Crown Prince, who is bedridden after falling victim to Johan’s machinations.’

Johan, blinded by jealousy, not only harms the male lead, the Crown Prince, but also bribes all the skilled doctors.

However, Renat Cardin, a medical assistant whom no one imagined to be skilled, saves the Crown Prince.

But that brilliant future was still far off, and the current Renat was just a skinny boy hiding in a corner of the orphanage, wearing dirty clothes.

It was incredibly fortunate for me that the orphanage where Renat Cardin spent his childhood was located in a corner of the Medeste territory.

Looking into Renat’s kind-looking eyes, I asked gently.

“Are you very interested in medicine? Would you like to study it further?”

“Yes, yes?”

Renat’s eyes widened.

“Medeste will sponsor you, so why don’t you go to the medical academy?”

Renat was a skilled person who saved the Crown Prince, who was on the verge of death without proper education. And he is recognized for his contribution and rises to the position of the imperial physician.

So, it was fair to say that he was the most skilled doctor in this world.

If he received systematic education from a young age, he would become an even better doctor… and perhaps Siena could be saved as well.

“M-Me? You’re going to send me to the academy?”

Renat was so surprised that he even stuttered, and I smiled and nodded.

“Yes.”

“How can I ever repay this kindness…?”

“I’ll tell you how you can repay it.”

Renat looked at me with a moved expression.

Looking at him, I quickly said.

“My adoptive mother is actually in very poor health… I want you to study hard and examine her. That’s all I need.”

“Yes!”

According to the original story, Renat was a kind and compassionate man. Therefore, he would never be an ungrateful child after receiving support from the Medeste family.

“Okay, then get up. Let’s go to the medical academy right away. The admission period is a bit late, but after looking into it, they said that if you adapt well after spending about a month there, they’ll let you stay.”

Renat’s eyes sparkled with light.

There was no way he wouldn’t adapt to the medical academy. It would be surprising if he didn’t take the top spot as soon as he entered.

“Thank you! I, I’ll really study hard…”

Renat seemed dazed by the opportunity that had come to him out of the blue.

“I’ll really… I’ll really work hard. I’ll definitely repay your kindness!”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting, so be sure to come to the Medeste Duchy after you graduate from the academy.”

Renat’s eyes overflowed with joy as he looked at me.

And looking at that delighted expression, I naturally thought of someone.

‘Johan also had that kind of expression when he first saw me.’

Johan, whom I encountered as a squirrel in the deep night, also showed such a moved expression when he saw me.

‘But why does it feel so different?’

A kind, pure, and compassionate face, and eyes grateful for the goodwill… In a way, it was the same feeling I had when I judged Johan.

Nevertheless, I strangely felt that the two were different, instinctively.

The one here was truly pure, and Johan Hairan was a bit… It felt like he was acting kind artificially. Like a lion pretending to be a puppy.

‘Is it because of my preconceived notions about him being a villain? Johan was kind, too, but….’

But looking at Renat’s innocent face, I clearly felt, ‘This is what true kindness is.’

Seeing his innocent blue eyes that didn’t smile seductively, I definitely felt the difference.

‘But now is not the time to think about Johan.’

I quickly cleared my thoughts. There was still more to do.

“Then let’s go quickly. Get up.”

Renat still had a moved expression on his face, and I smiled brightly and held out my hand to him.

And the moment he shyly took my hand, I immediately rolled up his sleeve as if I had discovered something by chance.

“Oh? But why are you so skinny?”

His wrist was pitifully thin. Renat bit his lower lip as if he was embarrassed, and I frowned.

“Looking at it, it seems like all the children are thin…”

My eyes narrowed instantly. I muttered suspiciously.

“…Their clothes are too old, and their hygiene is terrible. Why are your hands so chapped?”

Seeing it up close, the situation was even more serious. Renat flinched and pulled his hand away, but I grabbed his hand even tighter and added grimly.

“As far as I know, Mariel-unni [older sister] significantly increased the donations to the orphanage this year…”

As I turned my head sharply, the director, looking slightly flustered, came into view.

He was a fat man who rubbed his hands together with an expectant look when I first said that I had come to find a child to sponsor from the noble family.

Of course, as soon as he saw me, he muttered, ‘Ah, that recently adopted….’

“Something’s fishy.”

I raised my eyebrows and glared at the director. The director replied with a greasy face and a sly smile.

“Fishy? What do you mean, Princess? And it seems like you’ve lost touch with reality since you were adopted not too long ago. We can live like this because we receive support.”

It was an outright disrespectful remark.

Frankly, the situation was obvious.

I was an adopted daughter who was known to be from an orphanage, and I was only in my early teens.

Therefore, the director must have thought that he could just take the money and get rid of me.

I could tell by the poorly maintained yard and the children’s shabby clothes, even though I had announced that I would be visiting.

He must have looked down on me because he thought my background was humble. He thought he could just greet me casually and send me away casually.

“Is that so?”

I looked up at him without being intimidated at all and asked venomously.

“Let me see the ledger. As you know, this is the Medeste territory.”

Even in the original story, there was a description that ‘Renat’s orphanage embezzled public funds, so he couldn’t even receive regular education, let alone eat properly.’

Therefore, from the beginning, I came here with the intention of completely raiding this orphanage.

“What? What suddenly…”

The director, who was trying to get through the situation with a sly smile, clearly showed a flustered expression at the word ‘ledger.’

“What do you mean suddenly?”

I said triumphantly with a face that was almost arrogant.

“I am the Medeste Princess, and I have the right to conduct an emergency audit in this situation.”

At my words, the director let out a hollow laugh, bent over, and made eye contact with me.

“Medeste? Emergency audit?”

He must have been angry that a child he had been ignoring from the beginning was talking about an audit. He whispered to me in a sinister voice.

“I’m so dumbfounded. How dare you, coming from an orphanage, act so presumptuously… If you came to put on a show, don’t act out of line and get lost!”

It wasn’t an unexpected reaction. But I had already come here with a plan.

There was a reason why I didn’t refuse all the escorts that Mariel had excessively provided.

“Seize him and escort him away.”

I confidently ordered. Mariel had already ordered the knights to ‘treat her as you would treat me.’

“Because he has disgraced Medeste.”

And the knights were naturally people who listened to me, not the orphanage director.

The knights were looking at Mariel, who was smiling beautifully behind my face, saying, ‘Please take care of me.’

Looking at the director who was captured at once, I smiled bitterly. “Just because I’m from an orphanage doesn’t mean I’ll be under you forever.”

“Y-You… If the gentle Princess Mariel finds out about this…”

“You said it well. How much do you think Mariel-unni [older sister] will praise me if she finds out?”

I raised my eyebrows and sneered.

“Completely uncovering the orphanage’s corruption is exactly the kind of show I’m suited for.”