The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

Of course, it didn’t affect her in the slightest.
Compared to everything Elodie had gone through, this was nothing more than a petty tantrum.
Sure, he was calling her a “rat,” but when people dealt with actual rats, they didn’t waste time talking—they swung brooms, set up traps, or laced food with poison.

Compared to that…
At least he was still treating her like a person.
She was far too jaded to get upset over something like this.

If anything, she found it strange.
‘Valkyrisen is a beastfolk-majority territory. How did he develop such a superiority complex?’
If he were a noble from Terranolia, she would have understood.

He probably would have had little to no interaction with beastfolk, growing up hearing all kinds of slurs and baseless rumors.
But this boy had grown up surrounded by beastfolk, laughing and playing alongside them—and yet, he hated them?
Had he been bullied by beastfolk as a child?

Or maybe he’d been beaten up for being an arrogant brat?
But when she didn’t react at all, Zenovia’s lips twisted into a sneer. He bared his teeth.
"Ratson’s High Priest is useless, isn’t he?"

Then he brought up her parents.
"I heard he’s the weakest High Priest in generations. The bloodline’s been getting weaker for years, hasn’t it? That’s why he’s been in hiding for the last two years."
"……."

"Your father’s about to be stripped of his title, isn’t he? And you’re here, hoping to pick up the scraps?"
"……."
"Tch. Beastfolk are so damn disgusting."
She had been holding back.

But now?
‘He crossed the line.’
Talking like he knew anything about her circumstances?

Now she was pissed.
"Suing shireo? (You hate beastfolk?)"
"What?"

Zenovia blinked, caught off guard that Elodie, instead of bursting into tears, had simply tilted her head and asked a question with wide, curious eyes.
For a second, he lost his words.
But he quickly snapped out of it and sharpened his gaze.

"Yeah! Especially rats!"
Then came the usual insults.
"Why shirunde? (Why do you hate them?)"

"Because they’re filthy! And disgusting, and—"
"Bul-gyeorhan georang deoreoun geonung gateun marinde. (Filthy and disgusting mean the same thing.)"
"Sh-Shut up!"

Zenovia fumbled, rolling his eyes in frustration before he finally came up with something.
He pointed at her tail.
"That thing’s disgusting, too!"

How boring.
That was the best he could do?
His insults had the creativity of a toddler.

Elodie sighed.
So, in the end, he didn’t have any real reason. He just hated her existence on principle.
Figures.

There was never any logic behind discrimination.
"Gureom, ti naejian-neun ge joheulgeol. (Then, you should probably keep it to yourself.)"
"Why the hell should I?"

"Gongja gaka. (The Duke.)"
The moment she mentioned Duke Valkyrisen, Zenovia froze.
His shoulders twitched.

Elodie recalled the conversation she had with the Duke when she first arrived in Valkyrisen.
"If you cause trouble in Valkyrisen, you’ll be kicked out."
This was a neutral zone.

Would they really allow someone openly spreading anti-beastfolk rhetoric to run around unchecked?
No way.
There were definitely laws in place to ensure punishment for that kind of behavior.

Otherwise, this entire territory would have turned into pure chaos.
Instead of a peaceful coexistence, it would have become anarchy.
Elodie calmly rummaged through the drawer of the nightstand next to her bed.

"What the hell are you doing? Trying to pull out a weapon? Go ahead, take a shot at me!"
What was with this kid?
Was he some kind of fighting dog, always ready to start brawling at a moment’s notice?

Elodie looked at him with icy indifference.
"Do you think you can beat me?"
She ignored his barking and pulled out a rolled-up document.

Eagles had given it to her earlier.
Without hesitation, she unfurled it and scanned the top of the page, then pointed at one of the clauses.
1) Valkyrisen is a protected zone for beastfolk.

Discriminating against someone based on species without valid cause is punishable under the law.
If found guilty, punishments range from fines to execution, depending on the severity of the offense.
"S-So what? Who cares? I’ll just pay the damn fine!"

But Elodie simply moved her finger further down.
1-1) If caught a second time, regardless of severity, the punishment is permanent exile.
"Gonja gaka-hante beol bakk-go jjok-gyeonago shipeo? (Do you want to get punished and kicked out by the Duke?)"

That’s why he had come to her room in secret, wasn’t it?
If he wasn’t afraid of getting caught, he would have made a scene in public.
Elodie folded her arms just like he had earlier.

"Tina-ge jinae-neun teok-hae-yaji. Yeogi buteo iss-ryeomyeon. (You’d better start pretending to get along. If you want to stay here.)"
"……."
"Jal haja? (Let’s get along, okay?)"

That’s what they called survival skills.
In Valkyrisen, if you ran your mouth like that, you’d end up getting beaten instead.
Don’t like it?

"Shirumyeon yogireul tteonadunga. (If you hate it, leave.)"
Elodie flashed him a bright, innocent smile.
If you hated the temple, the priest was the one who had to leave.

He could run off to Terranolia, where plenty of like-minded people would welcome his rotten attitude.
Zenovia’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
"You, you…!"

He couldn’t even finish his sentence.
But just as he was about to scream in rage—
"Zenovia Valkyrisen!"

A deep, booming voice cut through the room.
Both Elodie and Zenovia flinched and turned toward the door.
Standing there was Duke Eisenhartz Valkyrisen, his expression dark and stormy.

It was the first time Elodie had ever seen him with such a harsh, furious gaze.
She had always thought of him as an apathetic old man who half-heartedly handled issues with bored indifference.
But now…

"H-H-Grandfather…!"
Zenovia stumbled back, his face draining of color.
He hadn’t expected to be caught red-handed.

‘I didn’t expect it either.’
She had threatened him with the possibility of getting caught by his grandfather, but she hadn’t actually expected it to happen so soon.
Behind Eisen stood Squirrel, shifting nervously.

"When the Second Young Master summoned me, I went to see him… but he wasn’t there."
Ah.
Elodie immediately understood.

Zenovia had sent Squirrel away on purpose so she wouldn’t interrupt him.
He had wanted to confront Elodie alone.
Meanwhile, Squirrel—knowing exactly what kind of person Zenovia was—had been worried and brought the Duke with her.

"Zenovia."
"……."
"Come here. Now."

The Duke’s low, gravelly voice scraped against the air.
His battle-hardened presence was downright terrifying.
Even though his rage wasn’t directed at her, Elodie felt an icy chill run down her spine.

"Tell me what you’ve done. In your own words."
Frozen in place, Zenovia trembled like a cornered animal.
His head hung low, his shoulders shaking.

Then, in a hoarse whisper, he muttered:
"You don’t know anything, Grandfather…"
Wow.

He still had the guts to talk back?
No wonder he grew up to be a rabid dog.
But then—

"You don’t even recognize my face!"
Zenovia clenched his fists, shouting suddenly—before turning and bolting out the door.
"…Recognize his face?"

What the hell did that mean?
Elodie tilted her head, replaying the boy’s words in her mind.
As she pondered, a memory surfaced—something she had overheard when she had snuck into the underground prison.

"I won’t remember that guy’s face the moment I turn around anyway."
Back then, she had assumed it was just a figure of speech, meaning he simply didn’t care enough to remember people.
But…

What if he had meant it literally?
What if he actually couldn’t recognize faces?
Not even his own grandfather’s?

"Prosopagnosia…?"
(Face blindness?)