I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

“Aaaaaaah!”

 

Yohan was suddenly freed as the maid fell to the floor. 

 

Assessing the next moves was easy. Without hesitation, Yohan began leaping towards the tower with determination.

 

‘Let’s get back to the tower quickly before Tezen arrives!’

 

Tezen had always refused to climb the tower, claiming it was too difficult. 

 

Furthermore, as long as he didn’t come personally, the servants couldn’t lay a hand on Yohan directly. Even if he was like this, Yohan was still the eldest son of the Hyrad family. 

 

Moreover, he was a wizard, and ordinary people were afraid to confront him recklessly due to the fear of mana outbursts. 

 

In any case, they needed some excuse—even if it was an excuse as cheap as medical treatment—to deal with Yohan.

 

“Young Duke! Where are you going?”

 

As he staggered towards the tower, one of the servants who spotted him quickly approached.

 

“The chief physician told you to always take a walk on rainy days!”

 

At this rate, he would be caught once again.

 

‘D*mn it!’ Yohan clenched his fist and ran, gasping. 

 

And suddenly, an acorn flew in from somewhere and hit the servant’s eye.

 

“Ow! What the heck!”

 

Hastily, Yohan ran to the tower and locked the door behind him. 

 

Well, he still had to receive a meal, so he planned to open the lock once the rain stopped.  

 

He slumped to the tower floor, panting heavily. 

 

The dreadful walk in the rain had ended far too early. He didn’t even meet Tezen.

 

And he saw it—he saw the acorn that had hit the servant’s eye clearly.

 

“…An acorn.”

 

Yohan sat there for a while, thinking about the squirrel that had handed him an acorn—a kind gesture during their first encounter. 

 

It was now clear to him. 

 

If the squirrel’s only desire was to use him to become human, there was no need for all this trouble. 

 

It seemed he had gained an ally in the duke’s mansion.

 

━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━

 

As I subdued the maid and servant who had been tormenting Yohan one after another, I sat on the tree and brushed my hands, feeling satisfied. 

 

‘Wow, I seem to have quite a talent.’ 

 

Since acorns themselves weren’t formidable weapons, I aimed for the weakest points, and I had a perfect hit every time. I never knew I had such a knack for throwing things.

 

‘Is this a squirrel’s talent? Or is it the ability of a Shinsu? I didn’t have this aim in my previous life. Even my range is incredible!

 

‘With this level of talent for throwing things, I could have become a national representative in a sport like shot put.’

 

While hiding in the tree and watching Yohan enter the tower, I heaved a sigh of relief. 

 

Since he could lock the door from inside the tower, no one would be able to get in for a while. 

 

In any case, Ella didn’t engage in bullying without justification. She had done it under the pretext of medical recommendation; that was why she approved the walk in the rain. 

 

She wanted to be seen as a rational owner running the duke’s estate. Considering all possibilities and valuing what others could witness, she was a very capable villain.

 

However, she had missed two key points.

 

First, Yohan Hyrad was a much more formidable wizard than she had anticipated. 

 

Second, Duke Hyrad died much earlier than expected. 

 

‘And you shouldn’t leave potential threats lingering. Even if we’re reluctant to send Tezen to the battlefield.’

 

I pondered my situation while recalling the original story’s plot. 

 

‘If only I transmigrated into a noble girl instead of a squirrel… I’m confident in my intelligence. What a shame.’

 

Moreover, Ella had no idea that my presence as a Shinsu was contributing to Yohan’s daily recovery. 

 

Of course, I wasn’t particularly concerned about how much he would recover or how the original story might change because of it. 

 

‘I have become human first. Anyway, when I meet Yohan tonight, I should brag a bit.’

 

As I was about to head back to Tezen’s room, I saw him arriving at the garden with a bucket of water, apparently planning to pour it on Yohan and then make some mischievous remarks like, “You should have more water, brother!”

 

“What’s this? Where is he?!” He shouted at the maid, who was still trembling and couldn’t quite explain what had occurred.

 

“Th-that… while I briefly lost sight of him, he… Young Master went back into the tower…”

 

“He ran back into the tower? No, why did you lose sight of him in the first place? Huh?!” 

 

Tezen couldn’t contain his anger and frustration. 

 

He poured the water he had brought over to the maid, who shivered on the floor.

 

‘Wow, this guy’s personality is truly something…’

 

In the original, Yohan was the villain. 

 

A crazed, obsessed man who disrupted the peaceful lives of the female lead and male lead, adept at schemes that ruined their love. 

 

But from my current perspective, the people around Yohan were much more of a villain. 

 

Experiencing Yohan’s background—which was not adequately described in the novel—was downright painful to watch. 

 

I couldn’t help but think worse of Tezen and Ella than of Yohan, even though he committed worse evil in the original. 

 

I pitied the Yohan who hadn’t committed any evil deeds, especially since I hadn’t witnessed any of his wrongdoings with my own eyes.

 

“I apologize! Please forgive me!” 

 

Tezen’s crude bullying towards the maid continued, and as I was about to pick up another acorn for the sake of my secret education,

 

“Stop it, Tezen.”

 

Ella, who normally didn’t get involved in such matters, walked out slowly.

 

“But I finally had some good entertainment in a long time, and they neglected to manage it properly…”

 

“What do you mean with ‘entertainment,’ Tezen?”

 

Ella gracefully placed her hand on Tezen’s shoulder.

 

I silently held my breath, hoping Ella might step in for some character development.

 

“You mean, you wanted to help with your older brother’s treatment.”

 

“Ah… Yes! I wanted to treat my brother more diligently!”

 

‘Wow, like mother, like son.’ 

 

No, she was even more vicious. 

 

Tezen had clearly received a poor upbringing in his family.

 

“Even though your brother has a short mind and ran away, hold back for now. Our esteemed guests are coming tomorrow. It wouldn’t be proper if the duke’s mansion was

 in an uproar, right?”

 

Ella advised Tezen in a gentle tone, almost motherly.

 

“Since you’re so disappointed that you didn’t see your brother today, I will call him then.”

 

I hugged the acorn tighter, blinking my eyes. 

 

I didn’t know what was going on, but it didn’t seem like a good thing for Yohan.

 

Ella added with a bright smile, 

 

“Won’t it be even more fun to spend time with your brother?”

 

“Are the guests… Duchess Medes and her daughter?” Tezen’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

 

“Oh, that’ll be fun.”

 

On the other hand, upon hearing the words ‘Duchess Medes and her daughter,’ I almost dropped the acorn I was holding.

 

‘Wait, isn’t that the heroine?’

 

In the original story, Lady Mariel Medes, esteemed daughter of the Medes Duchy, was not supposed to meet Yohan at this point. 

 

But now, due to my interference, the two were going to meet.

 

Inadvertently, Ella had created an awkward situation for Yohan since Tezen hadn’t tormented him today.

 

I sighed deeply with a serious expression.

 

‘It’s so obvious. She wants to humiliate him in front of others.’

 

The Medes family was highly esteemed, almost on par with the Hyrad family, so Ella wanted to showcase the pitiful state of Yohan. 

 

According to the original story, Mariel was supposed to meet Yohan for the first time when he returned as a war hero, receiving recognition for his contribution and obtaining the title of Hyrad’s Duke. 

 

Despite this, Mariel never fell in love with him. 

 

Even now, if she saw his miserable appearance, the chances of Yohan winning her heart were dwindling further.

 

I shrugged and rolled my eyes. 

 

‘Well, what does it matter? Mariel will build her romance and story with the male lead anyway.

 

‘Since Yohan’s love was bound to fail, why should it matter if it failed a little faster?‘ 

 

As I cynically assessed the situation, Ella and Tezen’s affectionate conversation continued.

 

“That’s right, my wonderful son.”

 

Ella gently spoke as she stroked Tezen’s hair.

 

“Let’s show your Shinsu to the Medes family tomorrow. It’s a chance to display your magical talents as well.”

 

‘What… me too?’

 

It seemed that Ella wanted to boost Tezen, a fake wizard, as having enough mana to warrant having a Shinsu with him, while presenting Yohan, a truly skilled wizard, as insignificant. 

 

‘I mean, Shinsus are incredibly expensive, and no one is insane enough to buy one just to deceive others… Except for Ella, of course. She was that insane.’

 

Well, it looked like Ella intended to use Yohan as a pitiful prop to contrast with Tezen’s brilliance…

 

“Ha~ I’m looking forward to it. I’m really looking forward to it.” Tezen chuckled and jumped around with excitement.

 

“I’ll explain to Young Lady Medes how it feels to be calmed by a Shinsu.”

 

‘But I’ve never calmed down your mana before…’

 

He mistakenly believed that his brief rest counted as “comfort.”

 

“She will definitely like that I’m such a wonderful wizard, right?”

 

Seeing how excited he was about the situation, it seemed that he already knew how beautiful Mariel was.

 

I sighed and quickly made my way back to Tezen’s room.

 

━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━

 

That night, I went to see Yohan again. 

 

Yohan’s lips seemed parched, and he didn’t look well. 

 

Of course… Getting caught in the rain was painful, even if it was for a moment.

 

“You came.”

 

Despite lying in bed and gasping for breath, Yohan smiled weakly when he saw me.

 

“It was you… wasn’t it?” Yohan whispered to me as his clear purple eyes looked straight at me.

 

“Who saved me today…”

 

‘Of course!’ I was going to tell him, even if he didn’t realize.

 

I vigorously nodded my head and rushed to his side.

 

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