The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

Edmund drew one of the swords lodged in the wall.
It seemed effortless, as the sword smoothly slid out without any resistance.
He pressed the blade right against the butler’s neck.

“G-guard me...!”
A white flash shot forward so quickly that even the eyes couldn’t follow its path.
The butler reflexively squeezed his eyes shut.

But he felt no pain.
Instead, he heard a sharp crack from behind him, as though something had been completely shattered.
“...?”

Sweat dripped from his brow as he opened his eyes, only to find a massive hole in the wall.
It was the same wall that several knights had been struggling to tear down, but they hadn’t made any progress.
The confusion of how it happened evaporated instantly under the imposing presence of Duke Valkyrisen’s heir.

The butler’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Lady Ratson, I’ve come to rescue you.”
Without concern for the butler, Edmund’s focus was entirely on what lay beyond the hole.

A small, trembling creature curled up tightly.
Edmund, with an unexpectedly polite and gentle demeanor, carefully reached into the hole.
“Step on my hand. I’ll pull you out.”

His voice was soft, almost gentle, with a kindness that might make one think he was offering help to a helpless child.
Elodie, trembling and wedged between the swords, saw the hand descend and, like salvation, she hurriedly clambered onto it.
Once Edmund saw the tiny harvest mouse securely cradled in his palm, his stern face softened with a smile.
The sharp, upward slant of his eyes formed a more relaxed curve.

“I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
Elodie felt a bit uneasy.
He was the first person, other than Seraphina, to smile at a rat.

But that person was also the one who had subdued the butler and knights with a few words and had the strength to punch a hole in the wall with one blow.
“Elodie!”
“Ugh, Seraphina!”

For a brief moment, she just stared at him, but then Elodie quickly ran into Seraphina’s arms.
In the blink of an eye, she had returned to her human child form.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

“Mm, what about you?”
“Are you worried about me right now? You...”
Where had he appeared from so suddenly?

Saying things for her sake, risking his life for her...
Seraphina stopped mid-sentence, her voice choked as she tightly embraced Elodie.
Edmund, who had been quietly watching them, stretched his shoulders and rotated them as if doing a light warm-up.

Whoosh — Crack!!
And suddenly, he threw the sword.
More precisely, he gave a silent gesture to the butler, signaling the knights.

“Eek...!”
The sword barely grazed the butler’s cheek before embedding itself in the wall.
Edmund remained impassive as he watched the trembling butler and knights on the floor.

He stayed there, waiting quietly until Elodie and Seraphina calmed down.
***
Edmund pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

“...”
Seraphina flushed as she looked at the handkerchief offered to her.
She had been desperately holding back tears in front of the child, but Elodie had seen through it.

Elodie’s eyes narrowed as she observed the two of them.
‘Trying to charm Seraphina...’
Does he even understand how starved for affection she is?

He showed up like a white knight in her moment of crisis, saved her, and now he's offering her delicate comfort?
‘He’s clearly trying to make her fall for him.’
If this is intentional, it’s grounds for execution. Even if it’s his natural disposition, it’s a no-go.

Elodie immediately began her investigation.
“Man or woman?”
Edmund was momentarily thrown off by the unexpected question, stuttering for a moment.

“A... a man.”
Elodie, having lived as a rat her entire life, couldn’t easily distinguish human genders.
It wasn’t her fault.

Humans, like rats, often couldn’t tell the sex of one another or their age just by looks.
However, after living as a palace rat, she could distinguish between physical appearance and beauty.
“How old?”

“Fifteen this year.”
“Hm!”
“...Is there a problem with my age or gender?”

If there was a problem, it was plenty.
He was just as handsome as any prince, and his age was only a year older than Seraphina.
“Family?”

She had heard he was a young noble, but that wasn’t her concern.
Seraphina had once married a prince who was supposed to inherit the throne.
In the end, the only conclusion she had drawn was that status didn’t matter when it came to making Seraphina happy.

“Hmm...”
As Elodie raised her fur in caution, Edmund rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncertain about how to appear harmless in front of the small creature.
“I’m Edmund Valkyrisen.”

Valkyrisen!
The center of all the gossip in the Silveria royal palace.
The first and last human noble family to connect with the beastfolk.

A bridge and conduit between the beastfolk world and humans.
A family that had prevented the Second Great War between beastfolk and humans—a historical family.
A symbol of peace, despite being mocked as the “King of Beasts.”

It was only after hearing his name that Elodie recognized him.
‘Duke Valkyrisen’s heir!’
His perfectly cut ebony hair, beautiful golden eyes, and piercing gaze sent a chill down her spine.

She hadn’t recognized him at first due to his youthful appearance, much younger than she remembered.
But then, brief yet intense memories of meeting him in the royal palace resurfaced.
“...Ah.”

“...”
“Did I scare you? That wasn’t my intention.”
“...”

“Do you like sunflower seeds?”
Elodie couldn’t easily forget it.
The giant man, hunched over as much as possible, holding out a handful of sunflower seeds while they couldn’t even speak the same language...

She had always wondered if he carried rat food in his neat jacket.
“Chirp chirp...”
“I haven’t learned the language of rats yet. My apologies.”

And yet, he looked like someone who could be trusted, even as the ruler of the underworld, leaving behind strange words as he left.
He was the second person to show kindness to Elodie, after Seraphina.
‘Now, he’s still a young Lord Edmund, not yet a Duke.’

Elodie’s expression softened slightly.
“I’ve come at the request of the Ratson family. Fortunately, it seems I’m not too late.”
Ratson.

‘Ratson family...’
Elodie felt she had heard of them in her past life, but she couldn’t quite recall at that moment.
“Is it true that I’ve been cursed and couldn’t be found until now... that I have a family...?”

Edmund gazed down at her, his dark eyes as though they might spill tears.
“Of course.”
But his voice remained steady.

“My last name is Ratson?”
“Yes, Lady.”
“Are my parents searching for me?”

“They’ve been desperately searching for you. Always.”
Always...
Had they been searching for her even before time reversed?

Had they been looking for their daughter, believing her to be a rat, without knowing when or if they would find her?
They were people Elodie didn’t even remember.
Now, she knew that she had a family who had been looking for her.

Just learning about their existence filled her chest with a sense of longing and excitement.
“Let’s go together. I’ll take you to your family.”
“Y-Yes!”

Elodie nodded vigorously.
But then, Seraphina, who had been holding her tightly, slowly loosened her grip.
“I’m glad, Elodie.”

Seraphina tried to smile brightly, though her joy was unmistakable.
It was impossible not to be happy.
This small child, who had been cursed to become a rat, would now be freed from the curse and reunited with the family she had lost.

Of course, Elodie’s future would be filled with happiness.
But Seraphina would likely have no place in that future.
It was only natural.

She had just met the child today.
She had heard the child’s plea to run away together, but it was likely just the words of a five-year-old.
It had been a momentary confusion, and although it had made Seraphina waver, she shouldn’t take it seriously.

‘She just wanted to comfort me.’
Though it seemed insignificant, that child probably saw Seraphina as a savior, feeling deeply touched by even small gestures.
At that age, such pure kindness could easily lead to big feelings.

Seraphina shouldn’t take advantage of that.
But...
“Seraphina... Seraphina... don’t you want to go with me?”

Suddenly, Elodie burst into tears.
She clung tightly to the hem of Seraphina’s clothes, refusing to let go.
Seraphina, taken aback by the child’s response, stammered.

“Of course, I want to go with you. But... how could I intrude? It would be a burden…”
Who would accept someone who wasn’t even acknowledged by her own blood?
The more she hoped, the more likely it would turn into disappointment.

Seraphina muttered with resignation, but Elodie screamed in defiance.
“What do you mean, a burden?!”