The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

"Y-Your Highness! Your Highness!"

― It pains me to do this, but this is a decision made for your own good. I hope this ensures you never even dream of committing such a reckless act again.
Ah, and one more thing.
The prince cast a cold glance at Young Lord Wellston, sealing his fate.

― When you return, you will be placed under house arrest for some time. I, too, am greatly disappointed in you.
That last sentence was likely the only sincere thing he had said.
Elodie would have bet an entire bag of sunflower seeds that Wellston's "temporary" house arrest would last forever.

***
After sending Young Lord Wellston off to the underground prison, Elodie returned to find Sera sulking.
'Why…?'

She won’t even look me in the eyes!
Elodie, clueless as to why, broke into a nervous sweat as she hovered around, trying desperately to grab Sera’s attention.
But Sera remained steadfast, turning her head away and stubbornly ignoring her.

"…So, what exactly was the reason I wasn’t supposed to be there?"
Chilling.
The words stabbed right into Elodie’s heart.

She couldn’t say anything in response, choosing instead to stare at the distant mountains.
There were plenty of reasons why she hadn’t wanted Sera to follow her.
For starters, Young Lord Wellston had once made disgusting, lecherous remarks toward Sera.

There was no reason for Sera to witness his pathetic, sniveling downfall.
'More than anything, my angel is someone so kind and gentle that she even extends her love and attention to a tiny creature like me.'
Elodie knew exactly what Wellston would do to Sera in the future.
That knowledge was what had allowed her to deal with him so coldly, so mercilessly.

But Sera wasn’t like that.
If she had been there, she might have deemed the punishment excessive and extended a hand of kindness to him.
Elodie admired and supported Sera’s compassion, but she also knew that Wellston would only twist that kindness into another tool for his own benefit.

So she had to stop it before Sera got hurt.
And, most importantly—
If Sera had been there, she would have indirectly faced the prince.

‘Just as I expected, the moment Wellston found himself cornered, he immediately summoned the prince.’
Elodie had never felt such relief as she did in that moment, knowing Sera was nowhere near.
If the prince had so much as glanced in Sera’s direction—

If, like in their past life, they had fallen for each other at first sight—
Just thinking about it made her stomach turn.
Everything she had worked so hard for would have unraveled in an instant.

But she couldn’t explain any of that to Sera.
‘Sera would listen to me no matter what I said.’
And yet—

She didn’t want Sera to ever know the life she had lived before, the things she had suffered through.
It didn’t matter anymore.
She would erase even the possibility of it.

That way, Sera would never have to experience such misery or despair.
What happened in the Bluewood household would be the last misfortune she ever faced.
From now on, she would only know peace and happiness…

"Am I not allowed to know?"
Elodie jolted at the quiet, dampened tone of Sera’s voice.
"N-No!"

"If it’s a secret, just be honest and tell me."
"It’sh noth a shecwet! (It’s not a secret!)"
Elodie never wanted to keep secrets from Sera. But—!

'I just don’t want you to know anything… not about that.'
After hesitating for a moment, she settled on the safest excuse.
"Thath guy shaid mean thingth to you. (That guy said mean things to you.)"

"Yeah, he did."
Still looking away, Sera spoke in a subdued voice.
"I know that you always think about me, Elodie. Though, I don’t really understand what it is about me that you like so much."

Do I even deserve such overwhelming love…?
Her voice trailed off, tinged with sorrow, and Elodie felt like she was about to explode.
The very idea of "deserving love" was ridiculous. If that were a thing, then Sera would be the first person in the entire world to earn a certification for it!

Elodie was so frustrated that she wanted to slam her chest repeatedly in exasperation.
"That’s why I want to become someone who can return the love you’ve given me."
"Shera ith awreadyh perwecth thhe way she ith now! (Sera is already perfect the way she is now!)"

"Haha, I figured you’d say that."
But you know, Elodie—
"I finally realized something. All this time, I wasn’t enduring things because I was too kind or too patient."

It wasn’t because she didn’t know how to fight back.
It wasn’t because she was naïve about how to scheme her way into her family’s affection.
She had simply never wanted to.

Sera, lost in thought, stared off into the distance as she murmured to herself.
"It was because there was nothing I truly wanted."
"Whath?" (What?)

"But now, there’s something I desire. Something I refuse to let anyone take from me… Yeah, nothing else really matters."
"Sera?"
She muttered to herself for a while longer before seeming to reach some kind of conclusion.

Her voice had been so quiet that Elodie barely understood what she was saying.
"Which is why—I want to handle it myself."
"Whath?! B-But—!"

"I don’t want to see you putting yourself in danger for my sake anymore, Elodie."
What do you mean, danger?!
I was pulling you out of harm’s way because it was obvious that nasty pests would start clinging to you!

"Not only that… I couldn’t even be by your side. That was the most painful thing of all…"
Seeing the shimmer in Sera’s eyes, Elodie felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
She couldn't bear the thought of Sera being upset because of her.

Elodie surrendered immediately.
"I—I won’th do ithh again… (I won’t do it again…)"
"…Really?"

Elodie nodded so fiercely that her entire body wobbled.
Finally, Sera’s expression softened, and she turned back to look at Elodie.
Then, without warning, she pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It’s a promise, okay?"
"Mm…"

But my little angel…
I only ever wanted you to see beautiful, precious things.
Now you want to involve yourself in dangerous matters, and I absolutely hate it.

But without a valid excuse to refuse, Elodie had no choice but to nod in reluctant acceptance.
***
Young Lord Wellston was finished.

He would be stripped of his position as the prince’s attendant. His nearly finalized contracts would fall through, making inheriting his title a distant dream.
And, of course, there was also the matter of his hand…
But even though the immediate threat had been eliminated, Elodie couldn’t afford to relax.

There were always people whispering whenever Sera passed by.
“So, it’s true… Just one look, and I can tell.”
“She doesn’t seem like a beastfolk.”

“Then why is she staying in Valkyrisen? Is His Grace sponsoring her?”
“No, I heard he’s letting her live in the main residence and treats her like a granddaughter. That’s hardly just ‘sponsorship.’ And she’s not even a noble—no one even knows where she came from.”
“Then… could she be the previous duke’s illegitimate child…?”

“Shh, watch your mouth. There are also rumors that His Grace has already chosen her as Young Lord Edmund’s future wife. We don’t know what might happen, so let’s not get caught up in gossip and just move along.”
They glanced around warily before quickly disappearing.
If they were so worried about being overheard, maybe they shouldn’t have been running their mouths in the first place.

And not a single thing they said was correct.
‘If any of them had dared to cross the line and say something truly offensive about Sera, I would have given them a divine lesson.’
Elodie clicked her tongue and loosened her grip on the Holy Hammer she had unconsciously been clutching.

It hadn’t been long since Sera had settled in Valkyrisen, and already people were beginning to recognize her.
Valkyrisen was the only neutral territory where beastfolk and humans interacted freely.
That meant people from all walks of life came and went.

Of course, they were thoroughly screened to weed out potential threats.
But with so many travelers passing through, it wasn’t surprising that a few gossipmongers had slipped in as well.
‘Ugh, I’ll have to let it go.’

For now, it was better to let the rumors spread.
Talk about her being the previous duke’s illegitimate daughter or Young Lord Edmund’s fiancée—it didn’t matter.
If people didn’t know how to treat her, they’d keep their distance, which worked in Sera’s favor.

‘But it’s only a matter of time before they realize the rumors are baseless.’
And when that happened, she could already imagine the vermin that would start flocking to Sera—vermin like Wellston.
Because on the surface, Sera was just a commoner with no backing.

Elodie needed to find a way to protect her before that happened.
‘But how…?’
Elodie was deep in thought when—

Thwack!
Something shot through the air at high speed—and slammed directly into her face.