The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

The Count of Bluewood had his head buried in a silver washbasin when it happened.

A blinding light suddenly engulfed the entire estate.

The windows rattled violently, as if caught in the eye of a storm.

"W-what in the world…?"@@novelbin@@

Still furiously scrubbing at his nose and hands, as if trying to erase the filth left by that wretched rat, the Count turned pale.

Without even drying himself, he rushed to the window.

The light was so intense that he could barely open his eyes, but when he finally squinted through the glare—

"Hurk—!"

A strangled scream tore from his throat.

The pride of the Bluewood estate—its elegant and meticulously maintained garden—

Was utterly destroyed.

No, it was still being destroyed, in real time.

A massive black magic circle had carved itself into the lush green lawn, swallowing up flower beds, toppling statues, and shattering the grand fountain into rubble.

It took him a moment to recognize what he was seeing.

A catastrophic side effect of improvised teleportation magic.

Are they insane?

Teleportation magic decimates the surrounding area where it is cast.

That’s why coordinates are always set in an empty, designated space—a safety precaution to prevent destruction.

Yet someone had brazenly inscribed a teleportation circle directly onto his land.

This was not just rudeness.

This was nothing short of a declaration of war.

But despite the outrage, the Count didn’t explode in anger.

No—he forgot to breathe altogether.

Because teleportation circles weren’t just random colors.

By royal decree, each noble house had a designated magic circle color, tied to their lineage.

And this one—

A pitch-black summoning circle.

It could only belong to—

"No, no, this can’t be—"

The light began to fade, revealing two figures standing within the magic circle.

One was a giant of a man, nearly two meters tall, dressed in a sharp, perfectly tailored suit.

His silver-white hair was slicked back, revealing piercing, blade-like golden eyes and a deep scar running across his mouth.

Even without seeing his face, the overwhelming aura of authority he carried was unmistakable.

"Duke Valkyrisen…!"

And beside him—

A boy, a young teenager, bearing the exact same sharp, golden gaze.

The Duke’s grandson.

The Count felt his blood freeze in his veins.

Why?

Why was he here?

What did he want?

Why had he appeared like a natural disaster descending upon his estate?

The Count, caught between panic and disbelief, stumbled backward—

Only to meet a pair of piercing, predatory golden eyes staring directly at him.

A gaze that regarded him like an insignificant nuisance.

And then—

A voice, deep and calm, directly carved itself into his mind.

"I'll give you ten minutes."

The Count's shoulders jerked involuntarily at the unspoken words.

***

The Count was given a ten-minute grace period.

But now, only five minutes remained.

He paced anxiously inside his office, waiting for his butler, Alfred.

“L-Lord Count!”

At last, Alfred burst into the room, panting heavily as if he had sprinted all the way there.

“What did they say?”

The Count pounced on him, demanding answers.

Duke Valkyrisen. A man known by his infamous title—

The King of Beasts.

His house was the only human noble lineage that maintained direct relations with the beastfolk.

It was thanks to him that a peace treaty had been established between humans and beastfolk. Thanks to him that they lived in prosperity rather than in conflict.

His existence alone carried immense weight—a symbol, a duty.

And yet, a man who rarely even attended royal functions, whose presence was seen only in glimpses at official ceremonies, had come personally to his estate?

And not as a guest, but like an invading warlord, tearing through with brute force?

“What possible reason could our house have to be involved with a man like Duke Valkyrisen? Have I lost my mind? Why would I ever do something to make him an enemy?”

“That’s… I cannot understand it either, my lord…”

“Stop mumbling! Speak clearly!”

“The Bluewood family… is being accused of kidnapping a beastfolk child.”

A beastfolk child?

“A… harvest mouse beastfolk.”

A harvest mouse beastfolk?

“…You’re telling me I kidnapped a mouse beastfolk? Do you hear yourself? Have you lost your mind?!”

The Count was so enraged he grabbed the nearest basin and flung it across the room.

A mouse?!

Of all things, a mouse?!

He wanted nothing more than to eradicate every filthy rat scurrying around his mansion—why the hell would he kidnap one?!

What kind of absurd, slanderous accusation was this?!

The butler flinched, retreating slightly before murmuring in a hesitant voice,

“I-I don’t know either, my lord… I have no idea what could have happened.”

“No matter how powerful Duke Valkyrisen is, he cannot simply fabricate a crime and pin it on me! What kind of ridiculous excuse is this, without a shred of proof—?!”

The Count was about to explode in fury when—

He stopped.

A realization struck him.

A rat is just a rat. He never paid attention to their breeds.

But…

The term harvest mouse felt strangely familiar.

—"It’s not dirty! Harvest mice live in the fields, sleeping in flower buds! They only eat grains and pollen—they’re clean little creatures! They’re not the kind of mice you’d find in a mansion!"

In that moment, he remembered.

Sera’s words.

And his blood turned cold.

No… No, that’s impossible.

Of all the countless mice in the world… the one he beat to death…

Could that insignificant creature truly be…?

A beastfolk so important that Duke Valkyrisen himself is searching for them?

No.

No, such a horrifying coincidence couldn’t exist.

Getting struck by lightning while walking down the street would be a kinder fate than this.

But still…

"A harvest mouse isn’t supposed to be found in a mansion."

A species that lived in the fields had suddenly appeared in his home.

And now, Duke Valkyrisen had stormed his estate, specifically searching for a beastfolk of that breed.

There’s no way this is just a coincidence.

Dismissing this as mere chance could cost him his head.

“…Why would he be looking for a rat? There’s no way it’s someone important.”

Power ruled all.

The beastfolk world, even more so than the human one, followed the law of the strong.

A lowly mouse beastfolk shouldn’t even qualify as noble blood.

“I—I have never heard of such a case…”

“Oh, so if you haven’t heard of it, it must not exist? Speak! Say something! Anything!”

The Count’s temper exploded again.

Time was slipping away.

“T-Then, at the very least… it means this beastfolk is important enough for Duke Valkyrisen to take personal action.”

“Damn it all!”

The Count stomped his foot with a furious bang, pacing wildly.

I didn’t kill them.

The damn thing attacked me first!

This is unjust. Completely unjust!

It had disguised itself as a rat and infiltrated his home.

If it was pretending to be a rat, it should have expected to be killed like one!

But explaining that to the Duke wouldn’t matter.

All he would see was that Count Bluewood had murdered the beastfolk he was looking for.

“That rat… where is it now?”

“Lady Cinderella—no, Lady Seraphina took it with her.”

The Count exhaled sharply.

“Good. Go check if it’s still alive.”

“Shall I take it to a physician?”

At those words, the Count suddenly went still.

Then he slowly turned, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“…Are you insane?”

“…Pardon?”

“If it’s still alive, it’ll tell the Duke exactly what happened.”

“You mean…”

“We need to make sure it never speaks.”

If it was dead, who could say how it died?

Perhaps it had eaten poison. Perhaps it had been trampled in the kitchen.

There would be no one to refute his words.

Better to silence it forever than risk it talking.

That was the only way to ensure Bluewood’s survival.

“Kill the rat. And lock up Sera—make sure she doesn’t escape.”

Of course, he had no intention of letting her speak freely either.

Even Duke Valkyrisen couldn’t interfere with a dead witness.

***

Suddenly, the mouse transformed into a human.

“E-Elodie? Is that you, Elodie?”

Sera stared in shock at the small child nestled in her arms, no older than five.

“…It’s really you. Your fur—no, your hair—it’s the same color.”

Ash-tinted golden fur—no, hair—

Thick, doll-like lashes framing round, wide eyes.

Eyes so deep and dark that if they could hold something, one might wish to give them everything.

Chubby, plump cheeks tinged with a rosy hue, twitching slightly with every breath.

And, most importantly—

Poking through the strands of golden hair, a pair of tiny, delicate ears stood upright.

In that moment, Sera realized exactly what Elodie was.

“You’re… a beastfolk!”

A beastfolk?

Elodie abruptly stopped crying, her large black eyes blinking in surprise.