The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

"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.

Her heart plummeted.

Without thinking, she flung herself from between Sera’s fingers—

An instinctive, desperate act.

At the same time—

SMACK—

The Count’s massive hand slammed into her tiny body, sending her flying across the room.

She hit the wall hard, then slid limply to the floor.

"....!"

She couldn’t even cry out.

Pain flooded her senses.

It felt like every bone in her body had shattered.

Elodie twitched, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps.

"Ugh… disgusting."

The people in the room all made the same expression—faces twisted in disgust at the sight of a broken, twitching rat.

The maids exchanged uneasy glances, each silently hoping someone else would be the one to dispose of the carcass.

"No!"

Only one person reacted differently.

Sera let out a sharp cry and ran to her side.

"No, no, no, you can’t die…!"

She trembled, too afraid to even touch the small, fragile life in her hands.

Instead, she hurriedly pulled out an old handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wrapped Elodie in it.

What do I do? Should I take her to a physician?

But no one would ever give medicine to a rat.

Sera's face had turned deathly pale as she frantically thought through her options.

Should I injure my own hand on purpose and ask for healing medicine instead?

No one would care if she got hurt.

But if she injured her hand, she wouldn’t be able to work properly—and they might be forced to give her some medicine.

"Seraphina Bluewood!"

A voice filled with quiet fury rang out.

Sera stiffened as a middle-aged woman strode toward her.

The Countess of Bluewood. Cinderella’s stepmother.

She grabbed Sera by the collar, yanking her upright.

"What trouble have you caused this time?"

The Count, who had been rubbing at his nose with an irritated expression, let out a sharp click of his tongue.

"Showing up now, are you? Fix that brat’s attitude already."

Defending a rat? The girl must have lost her mind.

Clearly disgusted, he left the room without a second glance.

A tense silence followed.

Then, the Countess let out a slow, ominous murmur.

"Do I really have to endure such humiliation... because of you?"

"M-Mother..."

"You make my skin crawl."

Her grip on Sera’s collar tightened as she roughly dragged her away.

Elodie knew exactly where they were going.

The storage room.

Any time Sera disobeyed her stepmother, she was locked in there for days, given impossible tasks until she collapsed from exhaustion.

This time was no different.

The Countess pulled out a small dagger from her belt and sliced open several large sacks of grain.

Wheat and beans spilled across the floor, covering it in an instant.

"This is your punishment. Separate them all and put them back where they belong."

SLAM.

The door shut behind her, and the lock clicked into place.

"Mother! Mother, I was wrong! Please open the door!"

Sera banged her fists against the heavy wood, but the sound of retreating footsteps faded without hesitation.

Silence filled the storage room.

Sera slowly loosened her hands, unfolding them like the petals of a wilting flower.

The tiny creature she held was barely breathing, her small body trembling violently.

Sera wanted to save her.

But how?

She couldn't even escape from this room herself.

A single injured rat...

She didn't even have the power to save something so small.

"Huu..."

A hot tear rolled down her cheek and landed on Elodie's body.

"What do I do? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry."

…

"You got hurt because of me, but I can’t even protect you."

…

"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.@@novelbin@@

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.