The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

Chapter 2

"Aaaack!!! Aaahhh!!!"

The Count screamed, utterly stunned.

Oh, come on.

A bite from a harvest mouse wasn’t painful—if anything, it shouldn’t even itch.

Though, he always did have a deep-seated fear of rodents.

The psychological damage must have been significant.

Elodie felt quite proud of herself.

"Kyaaaa—!! A rat! A rat!!!"

The eldest, Rose, wasn’t much better than her father.

"What are you all standing around for?! Get that filthy thing off of him, now!"

At least Daisy, the second sister, managed to pull herself together enough to bark orders at the flustered maids.

After hesitating for a moment, a few of them steeled their nerves, rolled up their sleeves, and rushed forward.

Hmph.

Elodie only scoffed.

She was going to die anyway—what was there to be afraid of?

If she was going down, at least she was going down in style.

If only I could’ve done the same to the prince’s nose.

Just as one of the maids managed to grab her, squeezing tightly as if she intended to crush her, a sharp voice rang out.@@@@

"Stop! Stop right now!"

Sera.

Her voice cut through the chaos, halting the maids in their tracks.

For a girl who always bowed her head and took every insult in silence, such a sudden act of defiance left everyone in shock.

Even Elodie.

You shouldn’t be getting involved!

She was so startled that she loosened her bite, letting go of the Count’s nose.

In that split second, Sera rushed in, snatching the little harvest mouse from the maid’s grasp and cradling her in her hands.

It was clear to anyone watching—she was protecting her.

But Sera doesn’t even know me yet.

So why?

Why was she risking herself for a rat that had just bitten her father?

To anyone else, Elodie must have looked like nothing more than a disease-ridden, crazed rodent.

Even for someone as kind as Sera—who took in even the most pitiful creatures—Elodie had expected her to at least hesitate.

And yet, once again...

Once again, she saved me.

Because she could never ignore something smaller and weaker than herself.

Sera, you idiot...

Elodie worried for what kind of punishment Sera might face for this.

And yet, at the same time—

She wondered if there was any possible way to not love this girl.

Even beyond death.

"Hah."

The Count finally snapped out of his stupor, glaring at his daughter as if she had gone mad.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

"I... I know this creature attacked you, but I—I can train it!"

"Train it? Train a rat?"

"I’m sure it’s not diseased! And... and mice are timid creatures. They don’t just bite people without reason. Something must have—"

"Enough. Be quiet. Have you lost your mind?"

"I-I just... it doesn’t need to be killed."

"You’re seriously defending that filthy rat that bit me?"

"It’s not filthy!" Sera cried out. "Harvest mice live in the fields, sleeping in flower buds, feeding only on grain and pollen! They don’t even belong inside a house like this—something must have driven it here!"

"What... what did you just say?"

The Count had likely expected Sera to immediately apologize and beg for forgiveness.

But instead, she stood her ground.

For a rat.

For her.

For a moment, the Count looked utterly dumbfounded, as if the world had flipped upside down.

Then, his face turned as red as the bite mark on his nose.

Furious.

"You really have gone insane!"

His hand shot up.

A large, calloused palm, raised to strike.

The moment burned itself into Elodie’s memory like a brand.

She froze.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

She never intended for this to happen.

And yet, here they were.

I put Sera in danger.

"Why am I so... weak?"

Despair.

Helplessness.

Rage.

A storm of emotions welled up in her eyes, overflowing into silent tears.

Elodie let out a faint, gasping breath as she looked up at her.

What do you mean, because of you? I was the one who attacked him.

The one to blame is your father. Your stepmother. Your stepsisters.

If anything... you’ve always been the one who saved me.

Even now. Even with time rewound.

But she was still a rat.

She couldn’t wipe away Sera’s tears.

She couldn’t even comfort her.

Nothing has changed.

If anything, she had only made things worse for Sera.

She had matured mentally, but she was still just a weak, helpless creature leeching off of her kindness.

Pathetic. You made her cry again.

So this is how it ends?

Even with a second chance, she couldn’t protect the one person who mattered most.

And yet, more than anything, she wished Sera wouldn’t cry because of her.

With the last bit of strength she had, Elodie lifted her tiny paw and placed it on Sera’s thumb.

As if to console her.

"...That’s strange."

Sera whispered as if sharing a secret.

"It feels like you can understand me. Am I finally losing my mind?"

Her voice trembled with emotion.

"You bit my father because you were angry for me, right?"

...

"Honestly... it felt kind of good. I’ve never seen him scream like that before. The whole house probably heard him."

...

"I’ve never met such a brave little mouse."

She tried to smile, but her lips quivered.

Then, with the gentlest touch—she pressed a small kiss to Elodie’s forehead.

A farewell.

"Can I give you a name? Elodie?"

The moment those words reached her ears—

It was as if time had stopped.

It was as if she were reliving that moment from years ago.

When she had been just as broken, just as helpless.

Back then, too...

Sera had secretly injured her own hand just to get healing medicine for me.

Averted her gaze in embarrassment.

Tried to act nonchalant, even as her bandaged fingers still smelled of blood.

Voice trembling with excitement, cheeks flushed as she spoke—

"There’s a hero I love from my favorite adventure story. He’s a mouse, too. For some reason... he reminds me of you."

...

"Even if it’s only for a short time, I’ll remember you."

And with that, Elodie broke.

Tears spilled down her face.

A rat. A filthy, disgusting, insignificant rat.

That was how everyone saw her.

Yet Sera—Sera alone—always noticed her.

Always reached out to her.

She had called her brave.

And even in this life, she had once again become Sera’s Elodie.

It was both unbearably joyous and unbearably painful.

Elodie squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed.

She didn’t even realize—

"Hhhnng, Sera, Sera, I..."

That her cries were no longer the squeaks of a rat—

But the wailing of a child.

"That’s why... that’s why I came back... because I just wanted you to be happy... I just wanted to see you smile again..."

A radiant white light engulfed her.

Her shattered bones mended.

Her wounds vanished in an instant.

And in the next moment—

She was no longer a mouse.

She had become a human child, small enough to fit perfectly in Sera’s arms.