I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

“What? Why is the book like this?” 

Tezen had been making a fuss since this morning. I yawned and pretended not to know. 

“Why is it torn like this…?” Tezen furrowed his brow and suddenly turned to me. 

“Slave, do you know why this book is like this?” 

‘Are you dumb?’ No matter how hard you ask, there’s only one thing I can say in response. 

“Keewn.” 

Of course, I did it yesterday, but I trusted the distracted nature of this naughty, fourteen-year-old boy. I was sure he’d definitely forget while searching aimlessly. 

“What’s going on… Did my magic go wild while I was asleep?” 

I shook my head in exasperation, listening to Tezen’s completely useless worries.

“Now I can’t even sleep comfortably. Those with power truly suffer.”

His voice was filled with genuine anguish, and he believed without a doubt in his own greatness as a wizard.

‘Wow. I should’ve believed in his capability to be so arrogant rather than distractible.’

While I silently clicked my tongue inside, Tezen searched the whole room, pretending to look for the torn book pages. Meanwhile, I began to hide the almonds the maid had given me in a corner of the room, leaving the most useless boy aside.

Even though I knew I didn’t need to hide them, I kept hiding things in the corners as if obsessed. It seemed like an instinct.

“Oh… It’s not here. How far did I teleport it with my magic?”

After searching around for a while, Tezen, exhausted, lay on the bed, huffing. Then, looking at me with an arrogant look, he said, “Hey, come and calm me down.”

‘What do you mean? What the heck do you want me to calm down?’ I frowned and looked at him while diligently trying to push the food into the corner.

“Maybe because I used too much magic, I’m a bit tired.”

Hmm, it seems like he used stamina, not magic… When I tilted my head, Tezen suddenly snapped.

“Hurry up and come here! Mother paid quite a bit for you, so you should earn your keep!”

I couldn’t really calm down a tired person, but Tezen’s loud complaints were unbearable. So, I took a deep breath, dashed over, and gently placed my front paws on his forehead.

“Hmm,” Tezen mumbled as he raised an eyebrow. “Is this supposed to be calming?”

‘No, there’s no way.’

“Just stay here for now, slave. My breathing seems to be calming down a bit since I’m lying down.”

‘Well, that’s because you’re lying down and resting, you fool.’ But since there was no need to provoke Tezen, I nonchalantly left my front paws on his forehead.

‘Is Yohan reading the book? I seem to have torn apart the part Tezen was reading. I can’t read, so I don’t know if I did it well.’ I pondered, tilting my head.

‘We’ll have to spend the next 50 days helping each other, but we won’t be able to communicate. It’ll be uncomfortable.’

That’s when it happened. 

Drip-drop. The sound of raindrops, accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain, began to be heard.

“Huh?” Tezen, who had been lying there, suddenly perked up.

“It’s raining?” There was a lot of anticipation in his voice. Contrary to his irritation earlier when the book went missing, this was an excited voice.

‘What’s wrong with him? Does rain excite him?’ While I snorted inwardly, Tezen eagerly lifted me onto his shoulder and ran to the window.

“Slave, I’ll show you something fun.”

“Keeeeewnnn?”

“Look over there. On rainy days…” Tezen giggled and pointed to the garden outside the window. “The invalid takes a stroll.”

“Keeeeeeewnn!” I pounded on the window in disbelief, looking at the scene before me.

“Are you excited too?” Tezen chuckled and tapped my head with a ‘pat,’ almost like a slap.

My little head bobbed because of the hit. But that wasn’t important right now. The scene outside the window was too gruesome.

“Keeeeeeewnn!” I expressed my frustration as if to say I couldn’t believe it, but my emotions couldn’t be conveyed.

“Isn’t it fun? Huh?”

In the garden, Yohan was being led around by one of the maids, getting drenched in the rain. In normal circumstances, Yohan wouldn’t have allowed himself to be led around by a maid like that. Although he was a sixteen-year-old boy, he had a tall stature and a sturdy build.

However, even staying still was an excruciating ordeal for Yohan. It seemed like his entire body was in pain, so he could barely move as he staggered along with the maid dragging him. The maid was using an umbrella.

“He’s a sick kid, and the family physician said it’s good for him to get wet in the rain.”

‘What kind of illness requires intentionally getting drenched in the rain?!’

“Apparently, the feel of the chill on his body, it’s good for his stamina.”

‘Is that treatment?’ I stared incredulously at Tezen’s petulant face. Seeing him enjoy this so much, it seemed like everyone in the mansion knew that this quack of a treatment was prescribed.

“Well then, since my poor brother is out for a walk, I should join too.”

Tezen rolled up his sleeves and swaggered out of the room. Alone in the room, I thumped the window again in frustration. I mean, not only were they neglecting this sick boy due to his magical outburst, but they were also tormenting him like this…

‘It’s obvious. They want to break him by making him suffer even more.’

Wearing such thin clothing in this weather and getting soaked in the rain would lead to catching a cold. Although I hadn’t known Yohan for long, the empathy and anger that any human would feel welled up in me. Furthermore, Yohan was a kind, gentle, and truly pure-hearted kid. It was heartbreaking to think that he would grow up to become a villain later.

‘But when you roll around like that continuously… it’s a natural outcome if your personality becomes dirty. How can a child grow up straight and upright in such an environment?’

Thinking of Yohan’s innocent purple eyes and sad smile, I immediately made up my mind.

‘Innocent! Yohan is innocent! Absolutely innocent!’ I shook my head vigorously as I thought about the later part of the original story, where he would scheme to capture the heroine by any means.

‘What should I do? If even Tezen joins in, it might become even more unbearable.’

With Tezen rushing out, the situation would probably worsen. There was nothing more to think about.

I grabbed an acorn and slipped through the crack in the window, landing swiftly on a nearby tree. Before Tezen arrived, my plan was to deal with the maid who was holding him first.

 

*      *      *

 

Yohan felt the rain hitting his skin and bit his lower lip in pain. The worst thing for a wizard experiencing a magical outburst like this was hypothermia. Hyrad’s family physician, who had been bought by Ella, undoubtedly knew this fact when prescribing such a treatment, if you could even call it that. Displaying Yohan’s miserable state like this in front of the servants was also a clear message about who the current owner of Hyrad was.

Fortunately, thanks to the Shinsu squirrel who had come to help recently, Yohan’s suffering was much less than the last time.

“Just a couple more laps, Young Master,” said the maid leading him nonchalantly—as the cold rain started to pour—with not a trace of sympathy in her voice.

“Hey, just a moment… Let me rest for a moment…”

Yohan begged for a break, gasping for breath, but the maid wouldn’t hear of it. Yohan’s miserable state as he was dragged around in the garden was probably being observed by Ella and Tezen from somewhere. 

“It’s not possible, Young Master; it’s for your own good. You need to get healthier.”

There was no one in this mansion who was on his side. His father, Duke Hyrad, had been away at the battlefield for over a decade, and everyone speculated that it was unlikely the Southern war would end anytime soon. Moreover, it was clear that the Empire was losing ground and casualties were mounting. Duke Hyrad might find it even harder to return home in the future.

Thus, the entire estate had effectively fallen under Ella’s control, and Yohan’s fate was sealed. The only reason he was allowed to cling to life with constant suffering was a single one: if Duke Hyrad were to fall in battle, as a noble’s duty, another member of the family would have to be sent to the battlefield. Ella had no desire to send Tezen to that bloody battlefield, and so she kept Yohan like a spear in the castle, gradually weakening and barely clinging to life.

“Now, let’s hurry.”

Yohan glared at the maid’s back and ground his teeth. Soon, when Tezen arrived, the suffering would intensify. Whenever they went for a walk on a rainy day like this, his troublesome younger brother, Tezen, would appear and commit all sorts of misdeeds.

‘…Let’s endure.’ In the past, he had only writhed in pain, but now there was hope. If the squirrel continued to soothe his powers, if it could absorb all the rampaging magic, and if he could use magic… 

Then everyone in this mansion would kneel at Yohan’s feet. He knew this because he was aware of the immense power of his magic.

‘If the squirrel comes tonight… I’ll get a little better…’ He thought about the squirrel’s front paws on his forehead, breathing heavily. Like that, light brown hair, round pink eyes, and a cute-looking face came to mind. Suddenly, a strange emotion surged within him.

‘The squirrel and I are both using each other…’

Yohan nagged himself for thinking that the squirrel was on his side, just to bolster his weakening resolve.

That’s when it happened.

“Ah! My eye!” Suddenly, the maid leading him screamed and covered one eye.

Yohan instinctively raised his head. From somewhere, an acorn flew in quickly and hit the maid’s remaining eye.

Yohan stared blankly at the acorn rolling on the ground without even realizing it.