I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

“Are you really… really going to do this?”

 

Yohan’s adjutant had long since given up on his superior’s reputation, but he still asked one last question out of courtesy.

 

“I’ll say it one more time. Showing up like this so suddenly is incredibly rude.”

 

“You seem to think I’m acting this way because I wasn’t taught proper manners or etiquette.”

 

Yohan said calmly.

 

“If it’s rude, that’s great. The more they dislike me, the easier the engagement will be to break off. My strategy is to do as many outrageous things as possible so that the other person panics.”

 

The adjutant sighed with a miserable face.

 

‘I heard that Mariel Medes was the most beautiful woman in the empire and that she was a woman who captivated all the men of the empire with her kind and gentle nature. Why does he hate her so much?’

 

And to make things worse, this was Yohan’s first action upon arriving in the capital.

 

People would judge his character based on that.

 

“But everyone will call you a rude scoundrel. Won’t you be offended?”

 

The adjutant gathered his courage and spoke earnestly.

 

“Honestly, you’re just cold and distant, someone who doesn’t open up to others. But now, they’ll think you’re a full-blown, arrogant villain who relies only on magic.”

 

“I don’t care.”

 

“But if you want to take control of the capital’s noble society—?”

 

“What would I even do with that control?”

 

Yohan looked genuinely curious.

 

“I just want to live happily with the woman I love.”

 

The adjutant’s face hardened in shock.

 

First, he was surprised to hear the seemingly ascetic Yohan talk about “the woman I love.” But even more shocking was that Johan had just used the word “happily” in such an affectionate way.

 

“Uh…uh…h-happily…?”

 

‘It was obvious that “the woman he loved” was not Mariel Medes. But then, what kind of woman was he planning to meet after becoming the empire’s most arrogant and reckless scoundrel?’

 

The adjutant, who was somewhat worried, simply looked at Yohan’s face once and immediately stopped worrying.

 

As long as the woman cared about wealth, status, and appearance, there wouldn’t be a problem.

 

“But doesn’t that woman have eyes and ears? Right now, every little thing you do is making headlines. If people think you’re a total scoundrel— No, I mean, if they think you’re a heartless person, it won’t help your cause.”

 

The adjutant advised him again, but Yohan shrugged and said it was nothing serious.

 

“It doesn’t matter. She already knows how gentle and kind I am.”

 

The idea of Yohan being “gentle and kind” was impossible to imagine, but the adjutant gave one final piece of advice.

 

“But her family might see things differently. A marriage opposed by family can be incredibly difficult. No matter how much of a war hero you are, unless they’re the kind of trash who’d sell off their own daughter, they’ll care deeply about your reputation.”

 

“Don’t worry about that. She’s a woman without a family.”

 

Yohan answered as if it were nothing, then muttered with a small smile.

 

“In this world, it’s just the two of us.”

 

Now the adjutant had nothing more to say.

 

Anyway, it was impossible to imagine that Yohan, who rarely smiled at others, would be living ‘sweet lives’ with some woman.

 

While the adjutant hesitated, Yohan calmly gave instructions.

 

“Oh, you don’t need to come with me. Go to the Hyrad estate and take care of the task I assigned you.”

 

The adjutant’s face became grim once again.

 

What Yohan asked him to do was extremely bizarre.

 

He had ordered the adjutant to go to Duke Hyrad’s house immediately and fill the largest, most scenic room with items that a squirrel would like.

 

It was custom-made with as much pure gold as possible.

 

And it had to be done in complete secrecy. Under no circumstances could word of it get out—especially to the temple.

 

So the adjutant couldn’t even complain to anyone about that strange order.

 

“But, Master, the Duchess and young master won’t just—”

 

“If they were in their right mind, they would have run away. If they’re still holding out, just ignore them. The result will be the same anyway.”

 

“….Understood. Then I will go and get a pure gold hamster wheel.”

 

“If possible, engrave the diamonds as densely as possible. Engrave the initials ‘Momo’ on it.”

 

The adjutant nodded with a sad expression.

 

Perhaps not accompanying Yohan to the Medes estate was a blessing for his mental health.

 

* * *

 

Yohan is definitely nicer than rumors say, but ever since arriving in the capital, something had gone very wrong in his head.

 

“You’ve returned from a long war, but you’re not even attending a victory celebration? Isn’t that a bit disappointing?”

 

The Emperor had already proposed to hold a grand celebration for Yohan.

 

A spectacular event where the emperor would personally welcome Yohan back.

 

But Yohan refused outright, almost to the point of being rude.

 

For one simple reason—He was afraid the emperor would use the event to formally announce his marriage to Mariel.

 

It was obvious that he would reject it immediately, but it was terrifying to think that Momo was seeing and hearing such a scene somewhere.

 

And there was no need to embarrass the emperor in public.

 

It was easier to quietly return to the capital and swiftly break off the engagement.

 

Of course, this plan resulted in all sorts of rumors, like: 

 

‘Yohan Hyrad has a terrible personality.’

 

‘No matter how great a wizard he is, he ignores the royal family.’

 

But Yohan didn’t care.

 

As long as he could escape that engagement, nothing else mattered.

 

Once that was done, he was going to put everything aside and go find Momo.

 

He even suspected the temple was still after Momo, so he had to find her in secret.

 

Therefore, the adjutant’s various pieces of advice could not be heard.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Yohan returned to the capital, he immediately refused the return procession and welcoming speech and stormed into Duke Medes’s house.

 

“What did you just say?”

 

Mariel jumped up in surprise at the butler’s report. 

 

“Yohan is here? Now?”

 

She blinked in disbelief.

 

“When did he even arrive in the capital?”

 

She had been growing anxious because there had been no response to the letter she sent three days ago.

 

Even Yurika had said nervously, 

 

“Maybe he deliberately avoided leaving a record… Did he catch on to our scheme?”

 

‘And now, without warning, he was barging in?’

 

After he had outright rejected the Emperor’s offer of a triumphal banquet, rumors began to spread in the capital that Yohan Hyrad was a very mean and arrogant man.

 

But in reality, no one could challenge him.

 

Because he was a man with unprecedented and terrifying magical powers.

 

After hearing rumors about Yohan’s ruined personality, Yurika said with somewhat trembling eyes,

“So… it really is that big?”

 

“What? What’s wrong, Yurika? Is Yohan even more evil than you expected?”

 

“No… I thought there might be hope, but I guess a person’s nature never changes.”

 

The Yohan who appeared at the dinner table of the Duke of Hyrad in Mariel’s memories, was somewhat gloomy.

 

Mariel also remembered Yohan had been staring at a squirrel in Tezen’s arms like he wanted to tear it apart.

 

It wasn’t even his squirrel, so why was he gritting his teeth like that?

 

“Don’t worry, Sister. I knew this would happen and prepared for it. Just do as I say.”

 

Still, Mariel was relieved that Yurika had said that, but then Yohan barged into the duke’s house without even contacting Mariel.

 

“He just arrived in the capital and came straight here?”

 

Mariel pressed her fingers to her forehead.

 

Aside from the rudeness of barging in without notice, Mariel was not at all prepared to deal with him.

 

“It’ll be a few days before Uncle Jayden arrives!”

 

Jayden, who was away on business in the far eastern lands, said that he would come to the Duke of Medes’s house immediately upon hearing the news that the war was over.

 

He guessed it was time to really decide on Mariel’s fate, so he wanted to help.

 

However, it was so far away that he left immediately after hearing that the war was over, but he still had not reached the capital.

 

Yohan was supposed to be busy with post-war formalities, giving Jayden enough time to help her.

 

But now—

 

“Even if he comes quickly, it’ll take a few days. Huh, what should I do…?”

 

Mariel muttered nervously, biting her nails.

 

“Oh my god….He must have wanted to marry me so much that he barged in without even contacting me. He didn’t even respond to the letter containing Yurika’s trick. When we met before, he didn’t seem to be interested in me. Was it just because he was shy and couldn’t make eye contact?!”

 

Mariel shouted frantically, as if she was looking at a thousand-year-old villain.

 

There was only one person she could rely on in that sudden situation.

 

“Yurika, call Yurika! We have to tell Yurika about this right away!”

 

* * *