I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 55

So, Meriel is that important to you…

I never thought anyone would ask me that.

I drooped my tail and remained silent.

“……”

As I stayed silent, Johann stared at me intently before slowly asking,

“Even to the point where you’re okay with people pointing fingers at you?”

I thought it was okay.

If I could protect Meriel, I really didn’t care.

And that was the same even now that I knew all the truth.

I blinked quietly, then raised a paw and wrote a word in the air.

Johann frowned and stared at my paw.

“…Fa…family? Is that why you did it, because she’s family?”

In any case, Meriel was my family. Even before I knew I was the real Yurika.

It’s just that, as we spent time together, she was accepted as family even more.

When I nodded fiercely, he was silent for a moment, then smiled sadly.

“I see, Yurika.”

“Kyung?”

“It’s just… it makes me realize anew that you have people who are more precious to you than I am.”

Ah, did I make a mistake?

Well… Johann didn’t have a family right now.

If Ella and Tezen were considered family, it was even more tragic.

Moreover, Johann was being criticized for how he could do that to his family after throwing them in the dungeon.

But that was Johann’s situation…

For me, there was no other option but to express Meriel as family.

I tilted my head, not knowing what to do, then pointed at Johann with my paw, making a determined expression.

I wanted to quickly transform into a human and say, ‘I would have done the same even if it were you, not Meriel.’

But Johann, as if reading my expression and gesture, stroked my head as if to say it was okay.

“No, Yurika. Don’t do that for me.”

“Kyung?”

“I really hate even the slightest loss for you. I hate it even more if it’s because of me.”

As I looked at him questioningly, Johann continued slowly.

“You are a really precious person to me. I wanted to say this in the Duke’s castle, but in the end, I couldn’t and we parted ways.”

His voice was like a dream.

Johann lightly kissed my forehead.

“At first, of course, I was happy that you calmed my rampaging magic. It felt like I had seen heaven for the first time, even if only for a moment.”

“Kyooowoong.”

I heard that stabilization was an incredible power for wizards.

Even from what I overheard earlier, I was a pretty amazing divine beast with stabilization abilities, having even received my father’s magic.

So, it was only natural that Theodor still wanted that divine beast again, spouting nonsense.

In that sense, it was only natural that Johann liked me.

Just as Theodor was wary of Johann, it was a natural phenomenon for Johann to be wary of Theodor as well.

However, Johann looked at me with deep purple eyes and continued kindly.

“But from some point on, I started waiting for you simply because it was you, not because my magic was being stabilized.”

Simply because it was me…

Regardless of stabilization abilities, simply because it was me…

It was the same for me too.

I had gone to him for humanization, but in the end, I cared for him enough to directly warn him of the danger.

Suddenly, I felt strange.

Originally, I was planning to meet Johann, transform into a human right away, and have various conversations, but strangely, all sorts of emotions flooded in.

Sadness, revenge, surprise, sorrow, injustice…

If I transformed into a human in this state, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions.

Somewhat impulsively, instead of transforming into a human right away, I jumped up and hugged Johann.

“…Yurika?”

Johann hugged me with surprised eyes.

“Kyung.”

I snuggled into his arms and gripped his collar tightly with my paws.

He stroked me for a moment, then asked quietly.

“…Are you crying?”

Before I knew it, I was crying. In the place where the shock had disappeared, a quiet sadness immediately washed over me.

My childhood, which I didn’t even remember, my past that had been completely blown away, felt so unfair.

I felt sorry for my family, whom I couldn’t meet because they were only being valued in terms of money.

It hurt that Siena, my mother, had missed me all along, and I was grateful that she instinctively recognized me.

But we all thought it was just because my mother was sick, and even I dismissed it as mere mental confusion.

My mother recognized me, but I didn’t recognize her…

Without knowing anything, I had been called ‘fake’ all along and had been comforting myself that it was okay even if I wasn’t really Medeste’s daughter.

Even though I knew all the truth, my father was being held hostage at the temple, so I couldn’t even take revenge right away…

All that injustice and anger poured out in tears.

I was too proud to ever cry in front of anyone in human form, but rather, being in the form of a squirrel reminded me of the past, so I was able to show Johann my tears.

It was as if I had returned to the time when we had only each other to rely on in the world.

“Cry if you want to, Yurika. I’ll be with you forever.”

Johann stroked my small back with warm hands.

“Cry as much as you want, then come back as a human and just tell me who made you cry.”

Of course, unlike his gentle voice, the content was a bit eerie.

“I won’t let them get away with it.”

It really felt like a fierce energy was overflowing from Johann.

I cried like that for a long time, then slowly raised my head and scurried down to his feet.

Anyway, I couldn’t stay as a squirrel forever. If I stayed on the balcony like this, there might be people who misunderstood.

Above all, I didn’t know what Libena and Theodor were up to.

We were in a position where we had to monitor each other now.

So, I immediately transformed into a human and changed my clothes.

Johann had to fasten the buttons on the back of the dress.

We decided to tell each other about what we had learned today later, and we went straight into the banquet hall.

And when we reappeared in the banquet hall, people clicked their tongues at Johann.

It was because his face was excessively flushed.

“Johann?”

When I blinked at his red face, he touched his forehead.

“It’s nothing. Please, don’t you look at me like I’m trash too.”

“Huh?”

“I feel like trash myself…”

* * *

‘I need to move quickly. She seems smarter than I thought.’

Libena was quick to calculate. She was lost in thought as she watched Yurika enjoying the banquet with Meriel, with Johann by her side.

‘To use the bad rumors like this…’

She had deliberately ruined Yurika’s reputation before the victory banquet was held, but rather, it was backfiring on her.

Literally, Yurika was focusing on catching Libena rather than standing out herself.

She didn’t know how she noticed, but she definitely knew that she was a member of the temple [likely referring to a religious or political organization].

And if she kept clinging to her like that, the plan to frame her in society and kick her out of the Medeste family could also go awry.

‘Then what should I do…’

Libena narrowed her eyes and thought, then came to a conclusion.

Anyway, no matter how much Yurika flew and ran, there was no way she could know that she was the real second daughter of Medeste.

Because that fact was only known to a very small number of people in the temple.

‘If she’s that smart, she must have quite a bit of pride, so I should use that.’

Libena turned around without regret.

Since the game had already been handed over to Medeste, there was nothing more to gain at this banquet. She had to prepare the next card.

* * *

‘What is it.’

I frowned as I was talking to Meriel and saw Libena subtly leaving the banquet hall.

‘She’s already leaving?’

The reason I came to the banquet hall without even having time to explain to Johann was because I was curious about Libena and Theodor’s next actions.

I was going to block whatever they were planning at the banquet.

Of course, the victory had already been handed over to me and Meriel.

Who could ignore sisters who had war heroes and crown princes as partners?

Even if I was an adopted daughter with a bad reputation.

‘Then I don’t need to be here either.’

In fact, after overhearing Libena and Theodor’s conversation, my mind was already out of the banquet hall. I didn’t think I could enjoy the fancy banquet with peace of mind.

Moreover, there probably wasn’t anyone here who particularly liked me…

“Sister, I’m tired, so I’ll go first.”

So, I smiled brightly at Meriel and said.

“I don’t feel well either…”