I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 30

“Uh……………”

I looked up at the portrait, my mouth slightly open. Unlike Sienna and Meriel, the man in the painting made a strong impression.

“There’s a significant age difference, but I looked up to my brother-in-law as if he were my own brother. He was truly someone worthy of emulation,” Jayden said, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

“So, when he went missing during the war… I couldn’t accept it. I kept insisting he would come back.”

I didn’t know much about Duke Medest, other than the fact that Meriel wasn’t living up to the potential he saw in her.

As I quietly nodded, he looked down at me and said, “Thank you.”

“Pardon?”

“If it weren’t for you… I really would have died.”

He wouldn’t have *almost* died; he would have actually died. But I didn’t point that out and just smiled slightly.

“I didn’t do anything… It was all a coincidence.”

In fact, everything had been carefully arranged to *look* like a coincidence. The doctor who examined Jayden even said he would report this case to the medical academy.

It was as if Renat’s hypothesis had finally been proven correct.

Jayden smiled quietly and continued, “If you hadn’t worried about my meals, if you hadn’t insisted I get a check-up because you were feeling sick, I might not have known that poison was accumulating in my body.”

“Uh… well, that’s true…”

“It’s all thanks to you worrying about me like family.”

The word ‘family’ made me feel a little embarrassed, and I fiddled with my hair.

I never expected Jayden to use the word ‘family’ in reference to me.

“Well, anyway, I’m glad it ended well.” Then, glancing at him, I added, “But you must still feel awful, right?”

I didn’t even know the criminals, but from Jayden’s perspective, it was a betrayal by the family who had even sponsored him and paid for his medical bills.

Jayden ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Well, yeah.” He looked very tired and sad.

“Maybe I knew it too. That something was suspicious in many ways… But because Seylee kept saying she was acting ‘instead of Yurika,’ I turned a blind eye to everything. That was the problem.”

“I was so caught up in the past that I was being swayed by the present and the future. And I was a fool for being used like that.”

Jayden looked at me and smiled faintly. It was a somewhat mournful smile.

“It was a strange stubbornness that didn’t help Meriel and my sister at all. It was even a terrible thing to do to you, who saved me.”

“Thank you, Yurika. Really.”

My eyes widened. He had never called me ‘Yurika’ before.

Suddenly, I felt like I understood what he was thinking.

But Jayden sighed with a look of utter apology and even took my hand. “I will never forget that I owe my life to my second niece.”

‘Second niece’… I stared at Jayden in disbelief.

“It was something that happened because I was trapped in the past and couldn’t see the present. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

“Oh, um…”

“I… I kept denying reality and only thinking the way I wanted to.”

Regret began to deepen in his eyes.

“If the body wasn’t found, I unconditionally believed they were alive… There’s a reason why everyone thinks they’re dead. I wasn’t rational.”

He said he firmly believed that Duke Medest and his second niece were still alive somewhere.

Since both had gone missing and their bodies hadn’t been found, he seemed to hold onto that hope, but in reality, no one thought those two were alive.

Not even Sienna before she completely lost her mind.

Now it was wartime, and it was common not to find the bodies of soldiers.

Moreover, the abduction of a child… There had never been a case of finding children who had disappeared from the Medest family.

“Now, I’m not going to cling to my hopeless hopes, and I’m going to do my best with the people in reality.”

By ‘people in reality,’ he meant me. He smiled slightly and said, “If I had died according to the Linishit family’s plan a few years later… Not only would I have been gone, but if I had died, Meriel would have had no relatives to protect her, and she would have suffered a lot afterward.”

It was an accurate assessment.

As I smiled awkwardly, he squeezed my hand even tighter.

“As a result, you’ve done a really good thing for Medest. My sister has gotten a lot better thanks to you… Thank you so much.”

Since that was true, I didn’t bother with false modesty. I just answered quietly, “I… I want to stay in Medest in the future. Of course, as the Count said, there are as many disadvantages as there are advantages, but I just want to stay here without wanting anything in particular.”

I couldn’t explain the reason clearly either.

Honestly, I was confident that I could live well anywhere, and I thought I could adapt well even if I went to a commoner academy, but strangely, I wanted to stay in the Medest family.

It wasn’t because I wanted Medest’s wealth or fame, nor was it because I liked being a noble.

For no reason, I just thought, ‘Oh, I should take care of her’ when I saw Meriel, and whenever I saw Sienna, my heart felt strange, and I just wanted to be by her side.

“I… I don’t know why either. I’m also worried about Mother…”

I habitually called Sienna ‘Mother’ and then suddenly glanced at Jayden in surprise.

After all, I was an adopted child, and I wondered if it would bother him that I called her ‘Mother’ as if I were really his second daughter. Jayden stared at me intently and then said in a stern voice, “Uncle.”

“……?”

“Call me Uncle, not Count.”

I blinked and met his eyes.

His blue eyes were as cool as ever, but strangely, they held a small warmth.

“Why is my sister Mother, and I’m the Count? Huh?”

He raised his large hand and stroked my hair. And he smiled slightly and said, “The reason why I, not Medest, brought you to the gallery myself is to show you my heart.”

“Ah………….”

Well, if Meriel or Sienna had brought me here, I wouldn’t have thought much of it because they both like me so much.

But if it was Jayden, it was a bit different. It really felt like he was accepting me as family.

“There is no portrait of Yurika, but anyway, I promise in front of my brother-in-law, who went missing but I always believed was alive, that I will not forget your grace.”

Suddenly, I felt a strange heat all over my body.

It was only later that I realized that this unfamiliar feeling was pride and emotion.

From the moment I possessed the squirrel, I thought I was alone in this strange world.

I saved Johan and became friends with him, but I knew he was a boy who would soon be dragged into the war, so I didn’t think we would be together for long.

Even when I came to Meriel, my only thought was to succeed in becoming human.

“Let’s do well, Yurika. Until the Medest family can run smoothly. I’m relieved to have a very clever ally.”

Now there were people who believed in me and were with me. I smiled brightly and nodded.

After that, I looked at other portraits with Jayden in the gallery.

“Uncle, but.”

I didn’t really have anything to talk about, but I noticed something strange and asked out of curiosity. “Why are there so many animal paintings in the gallery?”

In the gallery, there were not only portraits of the previous heads of the family but also many animal paintings displayed in between.

Jayden answered as if it was nothing. “Ah, I think it’s because there’s a legend that the ancestors of Medest were beastmen [humans with animalistic features or the ability to transform]. I don’t know much more than that.”

Legend… Well, it’s just a legend.

If that’s the case, the imperial family is said to have dragon blood.

Well, in the original story, Meriel didn’t turn into an animal either. I’ve never heard of such a thing.

“If you’re curious, ask Meriel later. I’m not a Medest, so I don’t know much.”

That was true too.

I nodded and left the gallery with Jayden’s escort.

As time passed, many nobles in the capital adapted to Yurika Medest, who had newly entered society as an adopted daughter.

Now, everyone knew the cute girl with a determined expression who was always seen between Sienna and Meriel.

And 5 years later.

Two important things happened to the Medest family. The first important thing that happened to the Medest family was that the tedious war that had swept the South had finally ended.

Surprisingly, there was someone who ended that long-standing war in an instant.

It was Johan Hairard, a 21-year-old young hero who awakened as a great wizard as soon as he developed a calming potion at the temple.