I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

“Mother, are you okay?”

 

In the carriage leaving the Duke of Hyrad’s mansion, Mariel asked anxiously as she held the hand of her mother, Sienna.

 

“It must have been hard talking about Yurika after such a long time.”

 

Duchess of Medes, Sienna sighed instead of answering.

 

And she coughed a few times, which she had endured. These days, her body is getting weaker.

 

“Mother…”

 

“On a hard day like this, I really miss your father…”

 

Duke Medest went missing on the battlefield several years ago.

 

The war in the South showed no signs of ending, and news of the nobles who participated in the war dying one after another was heard.

 

It was a common occurrence for people to disappear, and they were practically considered dead.

 

Even at the Duke of Hyrad’s house, where they just visited, there was talk that the Duke of Hyrad’s death would come someday.

 

“Your father is a strong man.…” 

 

At Sienna’s words, Mariel lowered her head with tears in her eyes.

 

Sienna and Mariel were both kind and beautiful, but too weak to survive in these chaotic times.

 

“Yurika could have looked like your father…If I had known this, I wouldn’t have received anything like baptism.”

 

The Duke of Medes was the complete opposite of that mother and daughter; he was spirited, intelligent, and even a little fierce.

 

He was a warrior of exceptional skill, especially when he threw his main weapon, a spear, and was always right on target.

 

The second daughter, Yurika, resembles her father and is brave and has not cried much since she was little. She is also good at taking care of herself.

 

However, she lost her daughter after only raising her for a year.

 

“We don’t know, Mother.”

 

Mariel said, patting Sienna’s thin hand.

 

“Yurika might still be alive.”

 

It was an empty consolation. After they never heard any news about Yurika, who had been taken away by a group of bandits.

 

“I wish she would come back to us before the war ends…”

 

Mariel’s sighing words echoed through the carriage.

 

Curly golden hair, lovely pink eyes, beautiful features, and a gentle demeanor.

 

Mariel was admired from a young age as someone who would become the most beautiful woman in the Empire.

 

And now that she is sixteen, she is not letting down those expectations and is becoming more beautiful every day.

 

Moreover, regardless of the admiration of those around her, she was always gentle, kind, and kind to everyone.

 

But during the chaos of the ongoing war, the combination of excessive beauty and a weak personality was rather a poison.

 

‘I don’t know what will happen to me after that…’

 

After receiving word that the Duke of Medest had gone missing, it was originally supposed to be his only daughter, Mariel, who was supposed to replace him on the battlefield.

 

But the Empire found a far more excellent use for Mariel Medes.

 

“I will give the Duke Medes’ family a choice. Either you enlist yourself or your daughter immediately, or….”

 

The Emperor gave her a choice at the funeral of the Duke of Medes.

 

“Or young lady medes marries the hero who ends the war.”

 

Mariel and Sienna had no choice.

 

At that time, Meriel was thirteen years old and had no talent for martial arts. She was not at all like her father.

 

Since losing Yurika, Sienna has always been sick, and Mariel doesn’t want to leave her mother to go off to war alone.

 

So instead of enlisting immediately, Mariel decided to have an unknown wedding in the future.

 

She had to marry whoever the hero was who would end the war.

 

Whether it’s an old man, a slave, or a married man as a second wife.

 

If the war hero was a woman, she was to marry a man from her family.

 

In any case, the Duke of Medes was a noble family with such a long history that anyone would want to marry her.

 

So, Mariel, the most beautiful woman in the empire, was chosen as a prize of war.

 

It was one of the emperor’s many attempts to end the war quickly.

 

‘It’s my choice, so I can’t help it.’

 

Mariel thought, her gaze fixed on the distant window. Her pink eyes settled calmly.

 

‘I hope I can find Yurika before I have to go far away.’

 

Something fell onto Mariel’s hand as she was lost in thought.

 

It was a hairpin with gold threads tangled up in a mess.

 

‘Oh, I pulled out a gold thread and gave it to blackie.’ 

 

A faint smile appeared on Mariel’s lips as she recalled the cute squirrel.

 

A plump figure walked around the table, sticking out her gold thread as she tied it.

 

Ankles, big ribbons, A tilted head with bare shoulders, black eyes that looked smart.

 

‘It was really cute…I want to see it again.’ 

 

Ella, who pretended to care but kept asking questions as if she was curious.

 

Tezen, who only grumbled, said that he was a great wizard.

 

Yohan, who just ate without a presence and gave off a gloomy vibe.

 

‘The meal at Duke Hyrad’s mansion today was absolutely the worst, but seeing Blackie was really good.’

 

Mariel sighed softly as she stroked the gold thread.

 * * * 

That night, as usual, a knocking sound was heard.

 

“There’s no need to knock.”

 

Yohan couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at the squirrel peeking its head out through the open window.

 

“Just come anytime, without hesitation.”

 

The squirrel who was called ‘blacky’ all dinner tonight is now no longer wearing that uncomfortable-looking big ribbon around its neck.

 

However, the thin golden thread that Mariel had tied was left intact, sparkling even in the darkness.

 

“Because I am always waiting for you.”

 

The squirrel came into his room without hesitation and sat down on his bed as usual.

 

It seemed to mean to lie down comfortably and calm down.

 

Yohan took a moment to catch his breath as he looked at the squirrel staring at him blankly.

 

“Ah.”

 

The squirrel tapped the pillow as if asking him to come quickly. Yohan slowly headed towards the bed.

 

“Kyung, kyung”

 

“You’re going to go when it’s over. Let’s start slowly.”

 

Yohan gently stroked the squirrel’s head with his index finger as if complaining.

 

“Only you, the divine beast that I can communicate with, if it weren’t for you.…No, there is no opponent.”

 

When he called it a beast, the squirrel’s eyes immediately widened.

 

It seemed like it really considered itself a human.

 

‘Well, it’s human.’

 

John smiled as he looked at the squirrel, which was snorting with an extremely angry expression on its face.

 

“Are you offended? Sorry.”

 

“Kyuung.”

 

“I’m really sorry…I’ve never communicated with other people before, so I’m a little awkward at conversation.”

 

“Kyuung.”

 

When he spoke sullenly, the squirrel nodded its head as if it was forgiving him.

 

‘It went as planned. Apparently, this squirrel is weak to pity but fearing that someone might call it a beast.’

 

If that’s the case, how pitiful Yohan must have been today.

 

While everyone was sitting there, dressed in their best clothes, there was one person in the middle who looked completely shabby.

 

It was the perfect environment to stimulate the squirrel’s sympathy.

 

“However…Why was I so miserable?’ 

 

Yohan thought as he carefully stroked the squirrel’s back.

 

Even in front of Mariel, the most beautiful woman on the continent, he was not miserable at all, but when the squirrel was in Tezen’s arms, he became miserable.

 

The fact that the squirrel is not his and he is not in a position where she can tie a golden thread to a squirrel.

 

It was only when Tezen said

“This divine beast will not humanize, because originally divine beasts are instinctively reluctant to become a human.”

that he felt a little better.

 

It was because of the idea that he and the squirrel shared a secret that no one in the world could guess.

 

‘He says that the divine beasts don’t want to be humanized? If that’s what the temple said, they wouldn’t lie.’

 

‘But why did the squirrel look so happy when she became human?’

 

Of course, it was difficult to resolve that question.

 

But since it was about the squirrel, Yohan wanted to remember if there was anything even a little bit strange.

 

So that he can find out more details later.

 

‘The fact that the temple sold the divine beast to Tezen means that the temple is a little suspicious. If it were a normal temple, There’s no way someone like Tezen would need a divine beast.’

 

And as he thought about the human form of a squirrel, a thought naturally occurred to him.

 

‘Mariel Medes…Well, she’s not that pretty.’

 

People on the continent would be shocked if they heard that.

 

‘I feel sorry to name a squirrel after her.’

 

In fact, he had been thinking of names for the squirrel all day, but none of them came to mind.

 

So, he decided to take two letters from the name of Mariel, the most beautiful woman on the continent.

 

The names Mary and Riel, both suggested, were rejected by the squirrel.

 

But now he was grateful for the rejection.

 

‘Pretty and cute…’

 

Yohan recalled the round pink eyes and the light brown hair scattered on the bed sheets, and his ears turned red for a moment.

 

“Kyuuuung.”

 

The squirrel put its hands on its hips with a stern expression, as if it had to calm him down quickly.

 

* * *