I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 41

The future schedule, dictated by Johan’s ‘antics,’ was as follows: the Imperial banquet first, followed by the Temple’s triumphal ceremony.

The Imperial banquet was actually arranged rather hastily, after the Temple’s triumphal ceremony had already been decided upon. A somewhat complicated political situation lay behind this decision.

The Temple, with its immense wealth and control over certain potent substances (drugs), wielded considerable influence within the Empire.

Of course, the Temple was a highly secretive organization, and the number of its priests was small, so ordinary people didn’t pay it much attention.

However, in reality, a little digging revealed that the Temple was deeply involved in political circles, and even the Imperial family was wary of its power.

‘But now, His Highness the Crown Prince believes that the Temple’s authority should be curtailed, even if only slightly.’

Crown Prince Roimund Roel-lai is the male lead of the original story and Meriel’s lover.

He harbored resentment towards the weak Emperor, who had spent his entire life being mindful of the Temple’s influence, and, befitting the male lead, he possessed the qualities of a wise and decisive ruler.

‘So, he wants to seize the initiative in the newly reorganized political landscape after the war…’

The original story focused on how Roimund defeated the Second Prince, who had allied himself with the Temple, and how he found love with Meriel, who was initially forced to marry Johan for political reasons.

‘Love will be a smooth road thanks to me.’

In any case, Roimund judged that he couldn’t allow the Temple to completely dominate the war hero’s triumphal ceremony.

Johan had requested the triumphal ceremony at the Temple for me without a second thought, but from an outside perspective, it could appear that even the post-war events were being controlled by the Temple.

So, Roimund contacted Johan immediately after he requested the triumphal ceremony at the Temple, suggesting that he wanted to hold a victory banquet beforehand.

‘This is all going according to plan.’

Of course, I already anticipated Roimund’s reaction, so I had instructed Johan to agree if he suggested holding a banquet.

Johan smiled gently and inquired, “Anyway, if you expected the victory banquet, wouldn’t you also be attending?”

“Well, I have to attend.”

I nodded slowly and replied, “Even if I’m just an adopted daughter, I am still the Medest Duchess.”

Until now, I had never actively participated in social circles.

Social gatherings had been infrequent due to the war, and I was concerned that the Temple would discover my true identity.

However, now that I had an opportunity to actively infiltrate the Temple, there was no reason to hold back.

No, rather, I needed to firmly establish my position.

“So, the partner…”

I narrowed my eyes and muttered, “…I’m considering it. I have a few men I’m acquainted with as potential candidates.”

In fact, I had considered various scenarios and formulated several plans.

Seeing my serious expression, Johan slowly raised his eyebrows and asked, “Who could these damn acquaintances be?”

A coldness began to flicker in his purple eyes.

“Surely they’re terrible…”

“The first candidate is you.”

Johan’s face froze at my calm words. Then, he quickly composed himself and continued, “…That’s impossible. A very excellent candidate. Good choice?”

Before I knew it, his ears were turning red. I nodded coolly.

“Good choice. First of all, the advantages are as follows: if you attend the victory banquet, where you are the protagonist, as my partner, you will immediately attract attention in social circles, right? Besides, there’s a high probability that Meriel will attend as His Highness the Crown Prince’s partner, so the Medest Duchy’s position will become even more solid.”

I counted on my fingers as I continued, “And if I become such a high-profile figure, it will be difficult for the Temple to eliminate me carelessly. Everyone is burdened by the death of a famous person.”

“I can wipe out the Temple in one go…”

I immediately shook my head at Johan’s sulky words.

“No. There’s something I want to confirm at the Temple. If you destroy everything, I can’t uncover the whole story. Besides, we don’t even know who should be eliminated and who shouldn’t be eliminated right now.”

Of course, if I destroyed the entire Temple and killed everyone inside, as Johan suggested, I might be safe.

However, there was a high possibility that innocent people would die, and even if only the high priests were killed, there might be other masterminds.

Even if I became safe that way, I would have to give up on the truth forever.

Why the Temple tried to kill me, and why the Divine Tree originally had no will for humanization, but why I was blindly obsessed with humanization from the beginning, and… I’m sure I possessed a novel, but why is my past life blurry and not well remembered?

“But there are also disadvantages. You’re already coming to the Medest Duchy every day, so you’re already enjoying that benefit enough.”

“Hmm.”

“And now you’re going to be the center of attention in the Empire even if you stay still, so another partner will be more helpful to you. I’m grateful that you requested the triumphal ceremony at the Temple, so there’s no need to cater to my convenience for the victory banquet…”

I was explaining earnestly when suddenly there was a knock.

Then, a polite voice was heard. “It’s Renat, Duchess. May I come in for a moment?”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Come in.”

The door to my room opened, and Renat entered. He glanced at Johan with somewhat wary eyes and then came to sit next to me.

“I’ll check your condition.”

“Well… okay. But I think I’m fine?”

“Still.”

Renat had been examining me every day since I showed a hypersensitive reaction after taking the magic-disrupting potion.

No matter how much I said I was okay, he insisted on confirming it himself.

Well, I even asked him to make more potions, so considering Renat’s sense of responsibility, it was natural for him to do so.

Johan had been visiting me a lot these days, and strangely, he came to examine me every time, claiming it was a simple procedure. It didn’t actually take long, so there was no reason to refuse.

Because Johan wasn’t coming to me for anything particularly important either.

Still, Johan always had something to say to Renat.

“Isn’t it impolite to examine someone when they have a guest?”

“I wonder.”

Renat replied nonchalantly. “I don’t think you’re the one to talk about being impolite to the Medest family.”

In fact, it was really impolite of Johan to run to Meriel and demand the annulment of their engagement, so Renat’s words made sense.

Anyway, because Renat came in, Johan and my conversation was temporarily cut off.

In fact, my second partner candidate was Renat.

The advantages and disadvantages of choosing Renat were exactly the opposite of Johan Hylad.

He wouldn’t attract attention as an important figure in social circles, but it wasn’t a particularly suspicious combination either.

It was a very ordinary choice for an adopted daughter from an orphanage to partner with a commoner-born viscount.

Moreover, Renat was Medest’s physician and had been sponsored by me since before, so it wasn’t difficult to explain our relationship to others.

‘And decisively… Renat doesn’t need a political position. He wouldn’t even attend the banquet unless I asked him to, so there’s no chance of causing trouble.’

While I was lost in thought, Johan and Renat were still engaged in a silent war of nerves.

“Anyway, the flow of an important conversation has been cut off.”

Johan leaned back languidly, crossed his long legs, and muttered, “But I understand one thing, Yurika. You’re still constantly using your head.”

“The situation can’t be helped…”

I shrugged once and replied, “And it suits my aptitude. It’s very thrilling.”

At my words, Renat, who was examining me, tilted his head and asked, “…What kind of conversation were you having?”

“Ah, about the victory banquet partner.”

“Yes?”

Renat widened his eyes and froze in place.

I clicked my tongue as if I was dumbfounded and said, “Why are you so surprised? Is a partner a big deal? You just enter together and dance the first dance. It’s just an external symbol that you attended the first official event together, what else is it?”

“It’s a huge deal?”

Renat continued with a face as if he was about to have difficulty breathing.

“It’s just that the Duchess has so many plans for this and that, but usually, the partner is considered the most important thing at the banquet.”

Renat’s words, who had been observing me all along, were correct.

I was actually busier making various plans rather than paying attention to things like partners.

In reality, if I ever had to deal with the Temple later, I couldn’t possibly do it alone. I had to set many traps in advance in various ways.

It was then. Suddenly, the hallway became noisy, and hurried footsteps were heard.

“Yurika! It’s me!”

A panting voice was heard loudly. It was Jayden.

So, my third candidate, who had a moderate mix of Johan and Renat’s advantages and disadvantages.

But… why did he suddenly appear now? I was about to get up with a bewildered expression when Jayden burst open my door and shouted, “I heard that damn, pain-in-the-ass war hero is sticking to you!”