I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 28

“Yes, come in.”

At my cheerful invitation, the door slowly opened, and a maid entered, pushing a tray.

“Here’s the sandwich you asked for.”

Jayden tilted his head, a question in his eyes.

“…Sandwich?”

“Yes!” I replied brightly, placing the plate directly in front of him.

“I heard you didn’t eat dinner properly.”

“I’m fine with—”

“I made it myself! I wanted to eat with you, Count.”

Actually, I just assembled it, but I smiled shamelessly nonetheless.

“Hmm…”

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Jayden’s face.

The sandwich was rather substantial, featuring a thick steak. It was a bit too heavy to be considered a normal midnight snack.

“I put a lot of meat in it, thinking about how you couldn’t eat well in the orphanage.”

Jayden reluctantly picked up the sandwich, though he didn’t seem thrilled. He had mentioned avoiding meat for almost a week.

But I had a plan.

I picked up an identical sandwich and said brightly, “Eat up! Actually, I didn’t eat dinner properly either. I was waiting for you and my sister, Count…”

In the end, Jayden didn’t protest and took a large bite of the sandwich.

‘I’m sorry for taking advantage of your kind heart,’ I thought, silently asking for forgiveness.

‘But it’s all for the Count.’

Even if he refused to eat, I knew that based on his personality, he wouldn’t refuse a midnight snack that I had personally made.

Even if I said I couldn’t eat, he would definitely eat it, even if he didn’t particularly want to.

So, for a while, we ate sandwiches together. Jayden couldn’t ignore my sincerity, so he finished every last bite.

“Thank you for your concern,” he said calmly after finishing.

“But I like Meriel and Sienna so much… Even if I leave, I want to see Sienna get healthy, at the very least.”

“…”

Jayden didn’t answer, instead gazing out the dark window with a faint sigh. His profile, framed by the darkness, looked like a painting. A silence settled between us.

“But Count…” I began after a moment, carefully adding, “…Are you perhaps waiting for the real Princess Yurika?”

Jayden’s eyes snapped back to me.

“Why do you think so?”

I paused, then answered quietly, “You don’t call me Yurika… And it feels like you’re keeping her place empty.”

Again, a quiet silence filled the room.

Jayden’s expression looked more complicated than just prickly. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

It was quite a beautiful sight, as expected from someone with such good genes.

“Meriel doesn’t know this, but I was the one who escorted Yurika to the temple for her baptism.”

“Yes?”

“My brother-in-law, Duke Medest, was already at war… And my sister didn’t want to get her baptized, preferring to keep Yurika at the mansion. It’s a well-known fact that second children of the Medest family sometimes disappear.” Jayden’s voice was low. He covered his forehead, looking self-reproachful.

“But I… I told her to go. I told her to hire the best mercenary group and go. I said that the better we did in this war situation, where my brother-in-law couldn’t protect us…”

And the real Yurika was kidnapped on that road.

I swallowed hard and remained still.

Jayden looked more miserable than ever.

“Yurika was kidnapped because of me. Of course, no one blames me, but I still think so. So, if I don’t even have the hope that Yurika will come back, I can’t bear it.”

I nodded in understanding.

With that mindset, it was natural for him to feel uncomfortable with me being called Yurika.

He believed that the real Yurika was alive somewhere, and my presence felt like I had taken her place.

“I admit that you are a smart and nice child. I understand why Meriel relies on you, and why my sister likes you after seeing you.”

Jayden continued calmly. “But my sister’s mind is wavering, and Meriel doesn’t even remember Yurika. If even I don’t remember the real Yurika, it seems like she really won’t come back.”

I saw a deep sense of guilt on his face, so I answered sincerely, “I understand, Count. So, don’t worry about me.”

I couldn’t honestly say, ‘I’m a possessed squirrel, and I have to be by Meriel’s side to prevent the Medest family from falling apart.’

“Anyway, this is just my situation.” Jayden quickly moved on.

“That doesn’t mean Meriel will be poisoned right away, so don’t worry. It’s not easy to decide on an assassination without a considerable profit. But you never know…”

I stared at him and asked, “Then, aren’t you worried about assassination either, Count?”

“Me?” Jayden pointed to himself, feigning surprise, and laughed. Then he continued casually, “I don’t have anyone who holds a grudge against me. And there’s no one who would particularly benefit from killing me.”

“So, even if a poisoning attempt is discovered, you don’t have anyone to point out as a suspect?”

“Of course. Besides, isn’t it difficult to get poison unless it’s from the temple? I’m not involved with the temple either.”

I nodded slowly.

Jayden was poisoned in the original story, but they never caught the culprit. As he said, no one particularly benefited from his death.

And in this world, poison was genuinely hard to obtain. Only doctors kept a small amount for research.

“Hmm, in the current state, you would benefit the most.”

“…?”

It was a sudden accusation. I opened my eyes wide, and Jayden smiled. “My closest heir is Meriel, but now you are also a Medest princess. Meriel can be affiliated with another family, so legally, my inheritance would pass to you.”

“Oh, oh my…”

“If that happens, please help with my goddaughter’s medical expenses.”

“Yes? Goddaughter?”

“Yes. I have a goddaughter in the territory. Her name is Sailly Linishit, and the doctor says she will be sick for the rest of her life.”

Sailly Linishit?

My mouth dropped open at the unexpected name.

Sailly Linishit was the villain in the original story. She was the one who betrayed Meriel because she was jealous of Meriel, who was loved by the Crown Prince.

“I heard that Miss Sailly was close to Meriel. So please secretly deliver this letter to Meriel. If you go, Duke Hyrard won’t suspect you.”

The male lead, the Crown Prince, entrusts Sailly, who is close to Meriel, with an important task, and of course, Sailly doesn’t deliver it.

That’s how Sailly separates Meriel and the Crown Prince for a long time.

And…

‘Sailly wasn’t sick at all in the original story?’

But just now, Jayden clearly said, ‘She will be sick for the rest of her life.’ I pieced together information from the original story and formed a hypothesis.

‘Maybe…’

While I was surprised, Jayden said jokingly and cheerfully, “Meriel would have calculated and given all the lifetime medical expenses since she doesn’t know what will happen to her anyway, but I think you’ll be a little more shrewd.”

Meriel would have donated the entire amount as usual, giving a huge sum to that sick goddaughter in the name of lifetime medical expenses.

‘This, somehow…’

I blinked and thought.

‘I feel like I can kill two birds with one stone?’

***

Meanwhile, on the western front where Johan was stationed, everyone was exhausted and gasping for breath after a fierce battle.

“Haa, haa…”

The enemy’s surprise attack had caught them off guard, as they hadn’t been particularly prepared for an invasion, thinking they were far from the front lines.

Just when everyone thought, ‘This is it, we’re done for,’ magic rained down like a miracle.

The magic that fell from the sky instantly annihilated the enemy, turning an entire mountain into scorched earth.

“Ma, magic…?”

“Duke Hyrard? Were you able to use magic?”

The bewildered soldiers turned around to see Johan, panting, his purple eyes flashing.