The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

Elodie had completely forgotten her sorrow when Seraphina suddenly said something unexpected.

Beastfolk can transform into animals or possess animal traits.

But in the end, they were still a human species.

‘I’m a beastfolk?’

...Am I even human?

Through her tear-blurred vision, Elodie saw Seraphina fiddling with her hair.

Hair?

Elodie, with hands as frantic as autumn leaves, grabbed her own hair tightly.

“Ouch!”

“My goodness, be careful, you'll hurt yourself!”

It hurts!

Look at all this tangled hair!

If it were fur, it wouldn’t have grown this long!

Elodie touched her cheek.

Instead of short, dense fur, she felt the soft, smooth skin of a human baby.

Staring blankly at her hand, she saw short, plump fingers and round nails.

What is happening?

“I... I can’t be a beastfolk.”

Ugh, my tongue’s not working properly.

Having just gained the ability to speak for the first time in her life, Elodie let out a grunt as her words muddled together.

It seemed the structure of a human mouth and language felt strange to her.

Like a foreigner trying to pronounce a new language for the first time.

“Hmm, why do you think that?”

“I... I’ve never been a human...”

She had never once transformed into a human.

How could she be a beastfolk?

Beastfolk had animal traits and the ability to transform into animals.

It wasn’t like they couldn’t ever turn back into a human.

That was odd.

Of course, there were suspicious circumstances.

She had lived beyond the usual lifespan of a harvest mouse beastfolk, which was only 2 years, and she had an intellect no different from that of a human.

Still, the essence of a beastfolk was human.

She had never once been in human form, so she could only think of herself as an exceptionally long-lived and intelligent mouse!

“But Elodie, beastfolk can transform into animals, but animals can’t turn into humans.”

“That...”

“You’re a beastfolk. If you’ve always thought you were a rat, there must have been some other reason for it.”

Seraphina pressed the point.

“This is the magic of the fairy godmother, isn’t it?”

“Fairy godmother’s magic?”

Yes, wasn’t this the magic of the fairy godmother?

Like Cinderella’s glass slipper.

A mirage that would disappear when the clock struck midnight.

The way she had bitten off the Count’s nose so easily.

The way she took the blow meant for Seraphina and saved her.

And how she became a beastfolk.

It was all too perfect.

A dream-like event that couldn’t possibly be real.

“It’s... fake.”

A sweet, cruel illusion.

Muttering that, Elodie began to sob quietly.

“It’ll all disappear, anyway...”

As though she couldn’t bear the sorrow.

‘A fake... it will all disappear.’

Hearing that, Seraphina’s face contorted with deep sorrow.

It was only then that she fully understood the meaning behind Elodie’s words—that she had always thought she was a rat.

She had been born a human, with human intelligence, and had lived as a rat...

How much crueler the world must have been for this small child, who could fit into Seraphina’s arms.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine.

No, the thought was too terrifying to even attempt.

Just surviving with her sanity intact was nothing short of a miracle.

Without a word, Seraphina hugged Elodie with all her strength.

She shared her warmth.

Until everything felt real.

***

Elodie finally admitted it.

She was a beastfolk.

And she had truly returned 15 years into the past.

‘I didn’t even know that, and I almost lived and died as a rat.’

How could that have happened?

‘Could it be related to the fact that I have no memories of my childhood?’

Elodie’s first memory was of the Bluewood mansion.

From the moment she became conscious, she had existed as a rat, grew up among other rats, and learned survival methods directly from them.

So, in reality, she didn’t even know her exact age.

She had lived for 15 years at least, but beyond that, she could only guess.

If there was a reason why she couldn’t transform into a human, it might be due to the ‘reason without memory’ from before.

“By the way, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Seraphina asked worriedly as she examined Elodie’s body.

When she confirmed that there were no bruises on the child’s body, she sighed in relief.

“Do beastfolk heal completely when they return to their original form?”

“That’s...”

This wasn’t just a small wound.

It was a fatal injury, one that wouldn’t be strange if she died from it.

If all beastfolk had such a power, the human world would have been taken over by beastfolk long ago.

‘So, is this my power?’

She had spent ten years as a palace rat.

There was a saying: “The bird hears the daytime talk, and the rat hears the nighttime talk.”

During that time, she had gathered most of the country’s big and small affairs, confidential information, and rumors.

‘I heard that beastfolk with unique abilities are from noble families.’

Could it be that I’m noble?

A harvest mouse... noble?

‘Ha, how pathetic...’

She didn’t even remember hearing about such families in the future.

She was most likely a powerless, insignificant minor noble.

‘And besides, the fact that no one is looking for me doesn’t guarantee that my family is still intact.’

It might have been destroyed by some conspiracy.

But what could she do?

Hope, that intense emotion, bubbled up inside her like an erupting volcano.

‘If I get my family back, will there be a place where I can stay with Seraphina?’

Maybe she could take Seraphina out of the Bluewood mansion.

Yes, that would be enough.

In her past life, Seraphina had chosen the prince because her life had been so miserable.

So in this life, Elodie would not let her be bullied.

She didn’t need to hold the prince’s hand—she would give her a future where she could stand on her own, a future full of happiness and peace.

Elodie urgently shouted.

“Seraphina, run away with me!”

“Huh?”

“This is wrong. The way they treat you, worse than a servant, constantly tormenting you—it’s wrong. It’s not right.”

“...”

“You know that, right?”

It seemed that Seraphina hadn’t expected to hear such words from a child no bigger than half her size.

Seraphina shuddered in surprise.

But Elodie didn’t back down.

“You’re strong, Seraphina.”

“No, I’m...”

“No, you are. You knew you’d be punished, you knew you’d get hurt, but you still saved me.”

Only doing what you could win at?

Who calls that courage?

“Seraphina, you’re strong. Stronger than anyone.”

“...”

When Elodie spoke with sincerity, Seraphina’s pale eyes trembled slightly.

“I... I have some kind of strange power. I might be noble. But maybe not.”

“...Mm.”

“Even so, with this power, I can earn money, and I can survive outside. Seraphina, you can be with me...”

And then, in that moment.

A sudden burst of light poured into the pitch-black warehouse, barely distinguishable from the dimmest of light.

The warehouse door, which Elodie had thought would remain sealed for at least three more days, swung open.

It was the moment she had been hoping for, but not now.@@novelbin@@

The people from this house likely hadn’t come to punish Seraphina further.

They were definitely here to do something worse.

“Just as the head of the household said! Immediately capture that rat beastfolk and kill her!”

Alfred, the butler, pointed at her and shouted.