I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

‘Oh, it must be that kid.’

 

There was a boy who didn’t even notice me and just hid in a corner, concentrating on an old book.

 

His hands were red and cracked as he turned the pages of the book, which had become tattered from reading so much.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

I slowly approached the boy with fine silver hair and smiled.

 

“Can I ask what you’re looking at?”

 

The boy buried his head in his book and squinted his eyes at me. His blue eyes were as clear as glass beads.

 

The boy’s face looked slightly frightened when he saw me, and that was understandable since I was accompanied by quite a few knights from Medes.

 

When I told Mariel I was going to a remote orphanage, Mariel was worried and gave me a lot of escorts, which I didn’t refuse.

 

I looked at the boy’s somewhat timid face and spoke to him affectionately.

 

“It seems like a really difficult book.”

 

“Oh…I’m just curious.”

 

The boy trailed off, seeming embarrassed.

 

But it was easy to tell what the book was about, just by looking at the illustrations of the human body.

 

“It looks like a medical book.”

 

When I spoke with a tilt of my head, the boy scratched his chin as if embarrassed.

 

“Well, it’s just…to kill time…”

 

I asked cautiously, looking at the shy boy who didn’t know what to do.

 

“Can I ask your name?”

 

“Runart…I’m Runart Cardin.”

 

“Ah, Runart.” 

 

‘As expected.’

 

I smiled proudly inside.

 

Runart Cardin. He is currently growing up in a shabby orphanage, but he is a genius who will one day become the best doctor in the empire.

 

However, after being left in an orphanage for a long time, he became an assistant at a medical institution as an adult, and although he learned medicine from others there, it was much later that he truly developed his skills.

 

‘He is the man who later saved the Crown Prince, who later fell victim to Yohan’s spell and lay dying.’

 

Yohan was so jealous that he not only harmed the male lead, the crown prince, but also bribed all the skilled doctors.

 

However, an assistant doctor named Runart Cardin, whom no one could have imagined to have such skills, saves the crown prince.

 

But that bright future was still far away, and now Runart was just a skinny boy hiding in a corner of an orphanage wearing shabby clothes.

 

It was my great fortune that the orphanage where Runart Cardin spent his childhood was located in a corner of the Medes estate.

 

I looked into Runart’s kind-looking eyes and asked kindly.

 

“Are you interested in medicine? Wouldn’t you like to study it further?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Runart’s eyes widened.

 

“Medes will sponsor you, so why don’t you go to the medical academy?”

 

Runart was a skilled person who saved the life of the crown prince who was on the verge of death without even receiving proper education. In recognition of his achievements, he was promoted to the position of personal doctor to the royal family.

 

So, it was safe to say that he was the most skilled doctor in the world.

 

If he receives proper education from a young age, he will become a much better doctor.

 

‘Then maybe Sienna could be saved too…’

 

“Me…me? You’re sending me to the academy?”

 

Runart stuttered in surprise, and I nodded with a smile.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“How do I repay this favor…”

 

“I’ll tell you how to pay it back.”

 

Runart looked at me with a touched face

 

I looked at him and said coldly.

 

“My foster mother is actually very unwell.…You study hard and come and examine my foster mother. That will be enough.”

 

“Yes!”

 

According to the original story, Runart was a kind and gentle man. Therefore, he was not a child who would ever wash his mouth if he received support from the Medes family.

 

“Okay, then get up. Let’s go straight to the Medical Academy. It’s a little late to get in, but I found out that they’ll let you stay for a month, and if you seem to be adjusting well, they’ll let you stay.”

 

Runart’s eyes sparkled and shone.

 

There was no way he wouldn’t adapt to the medical academy. He might have gotten top ranks as soon as he entered.

 

“Thank you! I will study really hard.”

 

Runart seemed taken aback by the sudden opportunity.

 

“Really…I will work really hard. I will definitely be able to repay your kindness!”

 

“Okay. I’ll be waiting, so once you graduate from the academy, come to the Duke of Medes.”

 

Joy filled Runart’s eyes as he looked at me.

 

And as I looked at that expression of joy, I naturally thought of someone.

 

‘I think Yohan had that kind of expression when he first saw me.’

 

When I met him in the form of a squirrel in the depths of the night, he looked at me with that same expression of delight.

 

‘But why is it strangely different?’ 

 

‘A kind, pure, and affectionate face and grateful eyes for kindness…In a way, it felt exactly like how I judged Yohan. Yet, strangely and instinctively, the two felt different.’

 

This one was genuinely pure, and Yohan Hyrad seemed a little…It felt like he was artificially being nice, like a lion imitating a puppy.

 

‘Is it because of the prejudice that he is a villain?’

 

Yohan was a good person, too. But when I saw Runart’s innocent face, I clearly felt that ‘this is what true kindness looks like.’ Looking at those innocent blue eyes that didn’t smile seductively, I could definitely feel the difference.

 

‘But now is not the time to think about Yohan.’ 

 

I quickly gathered my thoughts. There was still more work to be done.

 

“Then let’s go quickly. Get up.”

 

Runart still had a moved look on his face, and I smiled broadly and held out my hand to him.

 

And as soon as he shyly took my hand, as if by chance I discovered it, I rolled up his sleeves.

 

“Huh? But why are you so skinny?”

 

His wrist was pitifully skinny. 

 

Runart bit his lower lip as if confused, and I frowned and muttered while sighing.

 

“Looking at it, it seems like all the kids are skinny…”

 

My eyes narrowed instantly. I muttered suspiciously.

 

“Their clothes are too old, and the hygiene is terrible. Why are their hands so cracked?”

 

When I looked closely, the condition was even more serious. 

 

Runart flinched and pulled his hand, but I grabbed his hand tightly and added in an eerie tone.

 

“I know that my sister Mariel has significantly increased her donations to the orphanage this year…”

 

When I turned my head, I saw the man with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

 

He was a fat man who had been rubbing his hands together in anticipation when I first told him that the noble family was looking for a child to sponsor.

 

Of course, when he first sees me, he thinks, ‘Oh, that girl was recently adopted.’

 

I even muttered the words, “Something feels fishy.”

 

I raised my eyebrows and glared at the director. The director answered with an oily face and a sly grin.

 

“It’s not suspicious, Your Highness. Since it hasn’t been long since you were adopted, you seem to have lost a lot of your sense of reality, but thanks to the support you’ve received, you’re able to get by like this.”

 

It was a remark that blatantly ignored me.

 

Honestly, the situation was obvious.

 

I was a newly adopted daughter who was known to be from an orphanage and looked like I was in my early teens.

 

It was obvious that the director thought I was just there to take the child and leave.

 

I could tell by the unkempt yard and the shabby appearance of the children, even though I had announced my visit.

 

He thought I was from a humble background, so he ignored me in his heart. He thought he could just greet me roughly and send me off roughly. 

 

“Really?”

 

I looked up at him without any hesitation and asked him.

 

“Let me look at the ledger. This is Medes territory, right?”

 

In the original work, there was a description that said, ‘The orphanage where Renart was raised embezzled public funds, so he grew up without being fed properly, let alone receiving a formal education.’

 

So from the beginning, I came here intending to search this place.

 

“Huh? What all of a sudden…”

 

The director, who tried to pass the situation, looked clearly flustered at the word ‘ledger’.

 

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

 

I spoke with a proud, almost arrogant expression on my face.

 

“I am Young Lady of Medes, and I have the authority to conduct an emergency audit in this situation.”

 

The Director smirked at my words and leaned forward to lock eyes with me.

 

“Medes? Emergency audit?”

 

He whispered to me in a sullen voice, obviously angry that the kid he’d been ignoring from the start was using the word audit.

 

“I’m so shocked, how dare someone from an orphanage be so arrogant.…If you came here to do a show-off event, don’t act off-topic and get out of here quickly!”

 

It wasn’t an unexpected reaction, so I had already planned it from the moment I came.

 

There was a reason why I brought all the escorts Mariel had given me without hesitation.

 

“Catch him.”

 

I gave the order confidently. Mariel had already ordered the knights to ‘treat her as you would treat me.’

 

“Because he insulted Medes.”

 

And of course, the knights listened to me, not the director of the orphanage.

 

Because the knights were looking at Mariel, who was smiling beautifully, saying, ‘Please take care of her.’ 

 

I smirked as I looked at the director who was caught in an instant. 

 

“Even if I’m from an orphanage, I won’t be under you, right?”

 

“You, you….If lady Mariel knew about this,…”

 

“Well said. How much would my sister Mariel praise me if she knew?”

 

I raised my eyebrows and sneered.

 

“A perfect show-off event that fits my theme is exposing the corruption in orphanages.”

 

The director could no longer continue his tirade, for the knights had hastily dragged him out.

 

“Ah, That’s the director’s office!”

 

At that moment, Runart, who had been quietly standing next to me, shouted. I looked at Runart in surprise.

 

“All the documents are there!”

 

‘Oh. I thought you’d be really kind, but you’re a bit more cunning than I thought.’

 

‘It’s perfect to have him by my side!’

 

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