The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

When Elodie turned to look at Eisen, he didn’t react much to the comment about appearances.
Instead of chasing after the boy, he carefully looked Elodie up and down.

It was a meticulous gaze, one meant to check if she was injured.
"What did that brat say?"
It seemed he hadn’t heard their conversation.

The last part—where the boy had shouted "rat"—had been loud enough for everyone to hear, but the rest of it must have escaped his notice.
Elodie hummed, momentarily lost in thought.
Should she just tell him everything and make sure that brat got properly scolded?

If he got a harsh scolding, he probably wouldn’t dare say something like that again.
He made a discriminatory remark about beastfolk, so I doubt this will be brushed off lightly.
Asking about her parents was the final straw.

She didn't think he’d be let off lightly just because he was the grandson of a noble house.
But it felt like something he heard from somewhere else.
A tutor? A close friend? Or was it an idea planted in him by someone from outside?

After a moment of deliberation, Elodie responded.
"Nuffin'." (Nothing.)
"Be honest. I’ll make sure he never dares to say something like that in front of you again. If he's young, he needs to be disciplined properly."

Grandfather, that’s not the issue here.
That boy was going to grow up to be an uncontrollable menace regardless of discipline.
Right now, there was something far more important to focus on.

Wait… Grandfather, do you have prosopagnosia?
It hadn’t seemed like it at all.
Maybe because beastfolk have ears and tails, they’re easier to tell apart than humans, so he’s never had an issue recognizing them.
Elodie was the only harvest mouse child in this entire castle, so it was natural that she’d be recognized immediately.

She felt like she was beginning to understand where Jeno’s hatred for beastfolk might have come from.
"Mmm… He said lotsa mean things."
She lowered her head, looking dejected, as if deeply hurt.

"I’ll scold him myself."
"You?"
"Tell ‘im to come an’ say sorry fer callin’ me a rat."

Eisen’s expression turned disapproving.
Well, of course it did.
This was something an adult should handle properly.

A five-year-old telling off a ten-year-old wouldn’t accomplish much—he’d just get angry and ignore her.
But Elodie had her own reasons for insisting.
"All day long."

***
Looks like he got scolded after all.
"……."

Elodie held back a smirk as she met Jeno’s furious glare.
What an idiot.
It’s not like they were alone here.

And just as expected, Edmund slammed his flaming fist against Jeno’s head.
It wasn’t just a playful flick—there was a loud crack as impact landed.
"Ah! Brother!"

"Apologize. Now."
"N-no way! Why should I—"
BAM!

Elodie watched, wondering if the boy was permanently lowering his already lacking intelligence by getting hit so much.
She shot him a somewhat sympathetic glance.
"I apologize, Lady Ratson. This is entirely my fault. He was spoiled too much as a child, and now he has no manners…"

"So spoilin’ means ya hit yer lil’ brother?"
Edmund raised his fist again.
BAM!

"If I don’t hit you, who else will?"
Elodie winced.
She knew just how strong Edmund was—he could smash through walls with his sword.

Wouldn’t his skull cave in at this rate?
Yet somehow, Jeno seemed to be holding up better than expected.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

"Apologize. Not that I think you’ll actually regret what you did, but the lady has asked for it."
"No way."
"Still refusing? Guess you haven’t been beaten enough yet."

"Stop! My head’s already bad enough! What if I turn into a total blockhead?!"
"Too late. You already are one."
Edmund verbally struck him down as well.

Sighing in exasperation, he looked down at his stubborn younger brother before placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"This won’t do. Lady Elodie, do you have anything else to attend to? I’ll be taking my brother to the training grounds for a bit."
"Trainin’ grounds?"

"Yes. Seems like he needs some extra lessons."
Elodie noticed Zenovia Valkyrisen's face turn pale and quickly stopped her.
At this rate, they’d spend the whole day on this.

"Edmund’s busy."
"Ah, I can spare a day. I’m just worried that Zenovia might be rude to you again, Lady Elodie."
Truthfully, Elodie wasn’t interested in forcing an apology.

She had no desire to get closer to Zenovia.
She doesn’t seem to know anything about the Ratson family’s curse anyway.
The only reason she had called her out separately was to gather information.

But with Edmund around, Zenovia wasn’t likely to talk freely.
"Zenovia’s embarrassed."
"What?"

"She wants to say sorry an’ be done with it, but she’s too shy ‘cause Edmund’s here."
"W-what?! That’s not true!"
She had just said whatever came to mind, but Zenovia flinched like Elodie had hit the mark.

Wait… was that actually true?
"I’m fine. You can go."
Edmund gave Zenovia a long, scrutinizing look as if she were an untamed colt before pulling out a gemstone and handing it to Elodie.

"If you hold this and call my name, I’ll come running immediately."
Did he really trust his sister that little?
This was practically house arrest.

Not that Zenovia didn’t deserve it.
Elodie glanced at the girl, whose face was still swollen as she angrily kicked at the ground.
She looked way too accustomed to being treated like a troublemaker.

"You understand, Zenovia? This is your last chance."
"……."
"I’ll be back soon."

"Just go already."
Before leaving, Edmund gripped his younger sister’s head so hard that Zenovia let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Even then, Edmund lingered, clearly reluctant to leave.

In the end, it seemed like the whole I have time to spare excuse had just been to reassure her.
Once Edmund finally left, Zenovia groaned, clutching her head.
"Damn gorilla…"

Then, after a moment, she looked up and glared at Elodie.
"Hey, if you think I’m gonna apologize, you’re dead wrong."
Wasn’t expecting one anyway.

Elodie watched as, the moment her brother disappeared, Zenovia became even more arrogant.
And then—
Grrrroooowl—

"……."
"……."
"W-what are you looking at?!"

Her cheeks, along with the tips of her ears, turned bright red.
Judging by how loud that was, she must have been scolded by her grandfather and brother since morning without getting a proper meal.
"Did ya eat?"

"……What?"
"I’m hungry."
"Hah, so what?"

"I’m gonna eat walnut pie."
"Hmph, just that?"
Zenovia scoffed.

"I’ll have caviar."
"What’s that?"
"Sturgeon eggs."

Feeling suddenly superior, Zenovia smirked like she was showing off and called a maid over.
"Bring me caviar and lobster."
Poor sturgeons and shrimp.

Once food arrived, Zenovia's aggressive demeanor softened as her stomach filled.
So who’s the real beast here?
Elodie watched the transformation happen in real-time, shaking her head as she stuffed a large bite of walnut pie into her mouth.

"Is that all you eat?"
"Mmm. It’s good."
"This is better."

"Nope."
"It’s a hundred times better."
"Nope."

Zenovia, irritated by Elodie stubbornly insisting walnut pie was better without even trying her food, huffed.
"Have you even tasted it?"
She stabbed her knife into the lobster, pried out a piece of meat, and forcibly placed it on Elodie’s plate.

"Here, eat it. Then talk."
"I don’t eat shrimp."
"It’s lobster, you idiot."

"Don’t care. Not eating it."
"What, do you have an allergy or something?"
"No, I just don’t eat it. Can’t eat it."

"Are you some kind of vegetarian?"
No, she just didn’t eat it.
Harvest mice only eat grains!

"You’re an idiot. Beastfolk eat everything."
"Cows don’t eat beef."
"What does that have to do with anything? They could if they wanted to."

So… do cow beastfolk eat beef?
Do pig beastfolk eat pork…?
She knew beastfolk were fundamentally different from animals, but the idea still felt… unsettling.

Elodie stared at Zenovia in stunned silence.
For a so-called racist, you sure say the strangest things.
One minute, she was telling beastfolk to get lost because she found them disgusting.

Now, she was saying they were just like humans and could eat whatever they wanted.
Guess she isn’t really a racist after all.