I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

Mariel began to look at me with hopeful eyes.

 

Because I had solved so many problems for her over the years, Mariel would show an expression of infinite trust whenever I took the lead like this.

 

“Really? But….still, this is an old imperial promise. Medes has certainly benefited from the military exemption, so there’s no way we can be the ones to break the contract first.”

 

“Of course. We are in no position to step out here. It is even more impossible to touch the contract.”

 

“Then…”

 

“We should try to work things out without touching that contract.”

 

I thought back to the original story for a moment.

 

Yohan first saw Mariel because the Emperor ordered him to marry the lady Medes, and he fell in love with her at first sight.

 

He, with his twisted personality, felt salvation in the very existence of Mariel, who was like a ray of clear sunlight.

 

But because of his cruel personality, he became obsessed with possessing her, ignoring her happiness and will.

 

However, from what I had seen, their first meeting was already ruined.

 

‘And thanks to me, didn’t he grow up a little better? A kind young man with dreams and hope…’

 

Even if he was meant to be a villain, the premise that ‘no one cared for him as a child’ has disappeared.

 

On top of that, I had also freed him from the suffering that had tormented him.

 

If physical pain had played a major role in twisting his personality, then maybe there was hope for him.

 

No matter how the original story painted him as a villain, when I first met him, he was a kind and gentle boy.

 

‘There’s a good chance that he grew up to be a very sensible, kind, and normal young man.’

 

As I slowly turned my thoughts, I pictured Yohan’s innocent, sparkling violet eyes.

 

“First, send a letter to Yohan Hyrad.”

 

“From me?”

 

“Yes. Just write it as I tell you.”

 

Mariel quickly sat down at her desk and picked up her pen.

 

Her eyes sparkled with the hope that she might not marry Yohan.

 

I dictated slowly so that she could write it down.

 

“Sir Yohan Hyrad, congratulations on your victory. As a citizen of the Empire, I sincerely thank you for bringing an end to the long war.”

 

Up until here, it was just an ordinary greeting and the kind of flattery Yohan had probably heard a thousand times already.

 

“Do you remember the imperial decree issued by His Majesty seven years ago? The one about the marriage between the war hero and the Lady of Medes.”

 

Now we are getting to the main point.

 

I had to keep it as neutral and casual as possible in a way that it just passed by without any thought.

 

“I am contacting you to confirm, so please send a reply regarding this matter. If you have any other opinions, I will gladly listen. Sincerely, Mariel Medes.”

 

After hearing my words, Mariel tilted her head slightly in confusion.

 

“The lady of Medes, Mariel Medes? It’s not usually written like this.…The formal notation is a bit different.”

 

“Just write it like that anyway. Because Yohan wasn’t educated in these things, he won’t know the difference.”

 

Of course, I had received an education.

 

The first thing I was taught after becoming the adopted daughter of the Medest family was etiquette.

 

Originally, I didn’t even know how to read, nor did I have any understanding of basic etiquette or common sense.

 

But since I was from an orphanage in a distant territory, people seemed to understand.

 

So I studied with the tutors that Meriel had given me and the results were…I was praised as a once-in-a-lifetime genius and became a noble lady of undeniable elegance.

 

These days, even my closest friend, Runart, complimented my perfect manners.

 

Even though we were both commoners by birth, he admitted there was a clear difference between us.

 

Since he wasn’t the type to give empty praise, his words carried weight.

 

‘Well, I’m just good at everything, aren’t I?’

 

I regret the days when I lived as a squirrel.

 

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I continued speaking.

 

“And send it with the seal of the Medes family stamped on it.”

 

“Won’t that just stir up trouble? What if he forgot about it and we end up reminding him instead…?”

 

Mariel bit her nails as if she was anxious.

 

“It doesn’t matter. We just need a confirmation reply.”

 

I answered calmly.

 

“The imperial decree was… for the war hero to marry the Lady of Medes, and that’s exactly what we’re confirming.”

 

“Hmm…What are you talking about, Yurika?”

 

Mariel frowned and reread the letter I had dictated.

I smiled slyly, waiting for her to notice.

 

“The lady of Medes promised to marry the war hero… but now, there isn’t just one lady of Medes anymore, right?”

 

Mariel’s eyes widened.

 

“Oh.”

 

“There’s no rule saying that ‘Medes Lady’ has to refer to you, so even if he decides to marry me instead, there’s nothing he can say about it.”

 

“W-Wait, really?”

 

“If there is even a letter of proof that he confirmed the contents, there is even less of a way out.”

 

That was precisely why I had been careful not to explicitly state that “The lady of Medes” meant Mariel Medes in the letter.

 

If he read it without overthinking, he would naturally assume that the lady of Medes referred to Mariel Medes—

 

Because at the end it was written as ‘Lady of Medes, Mariel Medes’.

 

Mariel hesitated before voicing her honest thoughts.

 

“But… isn’t this a little too underhanded?”

 

“That’s the highest compliment when it comes to strategy. Thank you so much.”

 

It had been five years, so I wasn’t sure if Johann would recognize me after all this time—but if he had functioning eyes, he probably would.

 

If we met later, all I had to do was say, ‘I saved your life, and you’re trying to force me into marriage?’

 

As long as he wasn’t an ungrateful bastard, I had the upper hand.

 

I had saved his life, after all.

 

I intended to make that fact very clear.

 

‘Since he doesn’t seem to have much of a crush on Meriel anyway, wouldn’t it be possible to free the Medes’ family?’

 

“But…what if he really decides to marry you instead…?”

 

“We can think about that later. Don’t worry. The important thing is for you to be free first.”

 

“He wouldn’t just break off the engagement that easily… right?”

 

“Well, wouldn’t it be difficult to break off the engagement right now?”

 

I shook my head as I thought about the various possibilities.

 

“First of all, it’s good for Hyrad to be involved with the Medes family, even if it’s through an engagement. The Medest family is too influential.”

 

Technically, even though it was on the verge of collapse, I had helped to build up the Medes family, so there was no reason for Hyrad to break the engagement. 

 

“Besides, this was an imperial decree. Even if Yohan Hyrad is being welcomed as a war hero, defying the emperor’s orders outright would be difficult.”

 

In the original story, Yohan was an intelligent character who could predict and calculate the future in five or six steps.

 

So, what I meant was that he was definitely not a person who would do good deeds just for our benefit.

 

Even if I had prevented his descent into darkness, his innate intelligence wouldn’t have changed.

 

He might have become a kinder person, but that didn’t mean he had become stupid.

 

After all, I had altered his fate, but he still ended up becoming a war hero.

 

“Even if he breaks off the engagement, it’ll probably be after a year or two, citing ‘personality differences.’ That’s what we’re aiming for.”

 

Yohan had spent five years on the battlefield.

 

And now that he had returned to the capital and was about to take full control as the Duke of Hyrad, he needed a solid foundation.

 

Because he had never participated in high society during his youth, he had no people to rely on.

 

So, if we wanted him to let go of the Medes family, we had to strike unexpectedly.

 

‘No need to reveal my identity just yet. There’s no reason to let him know I’m Momo first.’

 

The best strategy was to shock him into agreeing to break off the engagement before he could process what was happening and be confused after seeing me.

 

People tend to say nonsense when caught off guard.

 

‘And honestly…

,

I don’t necessarily have to break off the engagement, do I? If he grew up as kind and handsome as he was back then, he wouldn’t be a bad person for me.’

 

Even as a child, he had been handsome enough to charm squirrels, so There was no reason to push him away.

 

‘Even a little…I think I want to see him again.’

 

I had saved him, raised him, and made sure he survived. So it was only natural that I wanted to see him alive and well.

 

There was a time when the two of us lived together in a remote building in the Duke of Hyrad’s house.

 

With his magic, I had even been able to transform into a human twice, although for a short period of time.

 

While reminiscing about the past, Mariel finally completed the letter.

 

“Okay, I guess I can send it like this now…If we send it via carrier pigeon, it should arrive in about three days.

 

“Oh, in three days?”

 

That was also the day Runart was supposed to visit Siena.

 

But since Yohan wouldn’t come straight to the Medes estate upon arriving in the capital, there was no need to change my plans

 

“Then we can invite him on the fourth or fifth day. This kind of thing is best discussed face-to-face.”

 

Mariel nodded as if she understood. She ordered her servant to deliver the letter.

 

* * *