The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

“Grandfather.”
“So I entrusted this matter to you, only for you to drag it out and waste time watching these pathetic fools?”
Edmund’s eyes widened slightly before he let out a sulky sigh.

Perhaps it was because he was standing before his grandfather, but for the first time, he looked like a child.
“I was following procedure.”
“Procedure? There won’t be anyone left alive to complain, so what’s the point?”

At that, Edmund let out an exasperated sigh, this time without hiding it.
“Things are different now than in your time, Grandfather.”
“What?”

“If we bury people alive just because we can see through their disgusting schemes, the royal palace will send an investigation team.”
“You’re blaming me for that?”
“Of course. This is all thanks to you for signing that peace treaty.”

Clicking his tongue, the Duke reached out and roughly ruffled his grandson’s hair.
“You little brat.”
“Ah! Grandfather!”

“Young people these days are too soft, always going on about laws and regulations. Should I fix that for you? Start a war or something?”
“Please don’t say horrifying things like that!”
Count Bluewood was shaking as he listened to the exchange between grandfather and grandson.

The tremors in his body started small but grew uncontrollable when Duke Valkyrisen rose from his seat and approached him.
“That’s why you’re still a child. Laws and regulations—those trivial things are nothing but word games to us.”
Valkyrisen stood above the law.
This was not the arrogant boasting of a noble, but the words of a hero who had shaped an era, a man whose name would be recorded in history.

Rather than sounding pompous, his words crushed those who heard them under their weight.
“Count Bluewood.”
The Duke tilted his head slightly, forcing the Count to crane his neck just to meet his eyes.

A cruel smile spread across his lips.
Of all the expressions the Count had seen on him, this one was the most pleased.
“My pathetic excuse of a grandson actually pleaded with me to consider the possibility that you were falsely accused.”

That’s why I waited patiently, as you can see.
He deliberately let his words hang, dragging out the moment, savoring the way the Count’s blood ran cold.
“Do you understand what that means?”

“Y-Your Grace! This is a misunderstanding! A terrible misunderstanding!”
“A misunderstanding?”
“I—I knew nothing of this! This was all… all the butler’s doing! He acted on his own!”

The Duke yanked an earring from his ear and tossed it at the Count.
“Ugh!”
The Count flinched as it struck his cheek and clattered to the floor.

He looked down at it, recognizing it immediately.
A magical earring—when worn by two people, it allowed them to hear everything the other heard.
Slowly, his gaze shifted to the young lord.

Edmund was wearing an identical blue earring.
The Count squeezed his eyes shut.
He had thought only the Duke needed to be convinced.

The old man had the final say, after all.
But the Duke had never intended to spare them from the start.
It had been the young heir who had shown them mercy.

And now, he had thrown away even that single chance at survival.
It was over.
“What shall we do with them?”

The Duke placed his hand over his other ear as he spoke.
A golden ear cuff gleamed against his skin.
It was an odd contrast to his intimidating presence, delicately crafted in the shape of lily-of-the-valley flowers, adorned with small pearls.

—Squeak.
A faint squeaking sound came through the earpiece.
It was unmistakable.

No matter how many times he cleared his ears and listened again, it was the sound of a mouse squeaking.
Yet the Duke carried on the conversation as if nothing was unusual.
“I will proceed as instructed.”

—Squeak!
And he did so using the utmost formal speech.
Who could possibly warrant such deference from Duke Valkyrisen?

In the entire kingdom of Silvaria, only the king and queen could claim such authority.
And yet, was this…
Was this mouse of such status in another world?

The Count could not comprehend it.
What in the world… is this ‘squeaking’ thing?
What was going to happen?

“Lady Ratson.”
“…Yes?”
“Come here.”

Elodie hesitated for a moment but then made up her mind and stretched her arms toward the Duke, silently asking to be carried.
As Seraphina handed the child over, the Duke asked,
“Are you hurt?”

Seeing him up close, he was even more terrifying.
His face was undoubtedly handsome—he must have been quite the figure in his youth.
But right now, looking at him felt like standing directly in front of a lion, watching its jaws open wide.

Elodie rubbed at the goosebumps on her nape and answered,
“Not anymore.”
“Not anymore?”

The Duke raised an eyebrow.
“So you were hurt.”
No point in hiding it.

Elodie answered truthfully, without exaggeration.
“I was saved by a miracle right before I died.”
“Oh? She says she miraculously survived right before death.”

The Duke touched the ear cuff and relayed the words directly.
—Squeak. Squeeeaak.
A chilling sound came through.

Was that really the sound of a mouse?
Could a mouse sound so… menacing?
“Oh? That much?”

—Squeeeeak!
“Well, there’s no reason not to, then.”
The Duke let out a knowing smirk as his eyes slowly scanned the Bluewood family.

“I wouldn’t advise any foolish attempts to escape. So long as there are animals that see and hear, we will find you.”
A place beyond the sight and hearing of animals—
No such place existed in this world.

No one had ever escaped Valkyrisen’s pursuit.
“We will be back for you soon.”
Wait.

Shouldn’t he at least explain what this ‘squeaking’ thing was?!
Count Bluewood collapsed onto his knees.
Not knowing what kind of terror was coming for them only made the despair sink in deeper.

***
Eisenhartz Valkyrisen.
The current Duke of Valkyrisen. A war hero who ushered in an era of peace.

Of course, calling him a hero was a bit of a stretch—back then, he had been known as a bloodthirsty war fanatic.
Still, no one could deny that he had accomplished something no one else could.
And yet…

He understands the language of mice.
Did he learn it?
Technically, if a beastfolk mouse had taught him directly, it wouldn't have been impossible.

But why?
Elodie knew all too well how humans treated mice.
To them, mice were pests, carriers of disease, symbols of filth and treachery, a walking catastrophe.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that mice were the most hated mammals in the human world.
Well, I get it. It’s a survival instinct.
Mice really had played a major role in spreading plagues, after all.

If anything, someone who cared for mice without hesitation would have to be an absolute saint, a true lover of all living things.
Like Sera.
But there was no way Duke Valkyrisen was a saint.

Which meant… that learning the language of mice had been worth something to him.
Mom, Dad… were you actually incredible mice or something?
Just the fact that they had sentenced Count Bluewood to "squeak-execution" with a single word…

Elodie cast a few discreet, curious glances at the Duke.
“Why? Do you want to speak with them?”
Without waiting for an answer, the Duke adjusted his hold on her and pressed the ear cuff to her ear.

This suddenly?
She hadn’t even prepared herself yet…
Startled, she hesitated, then cautiously opened her mouth.

“H-hello?”
—Squeak, squeak-squeak! (Oh, my dear child!)
“M-Mom? Dad?”

Was it really them?
Logically, there was no way it wasn’t, given the situation.
“A-Are you really my mom and dad?”

—Squeak… squeak. Squeak-squeak. (Yes… we are, little one.)
How could they recognize her as their daughter just from her voice?
This is terrifying.

She had no memories of her parents. No recollections of their voices or faces.
Even now, they felt completely unfamiliar.
What if I never remember?

If she had no memories, then wasn’t she essentially a different person from the daughter they had desperately been searching for?
Wouldn’t they be disappointed?
The overwhelming love radiating through the ear cuff made it hard to breathe.

"…"
—Squeak? (Little one?)
Panic overtook logic.

As Elodie froze in fear, Eisen, who had been silently observing her, removed the ear cuff from her ear.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he smoothly continued the conversation.
“She is still unfamiliar with everything. She has just broken free of her curse and is seeing the world properly for the first time—it’s understandable.”

—Squeak… squeak-squeak. (I see… I hadn’t thought of that.)
“She will adjust soon. I will personally ensure her safe return.”
Elodie suddenly felt embarrassed.

Just because she was in the body of a child didn’t mean she was actually one.
She could have handled this more smoothly instead of freezing in terror like some frightened little girl.
With her head lowered, she fiddled with her fingers in silence.

After finishing the call, Eisen looked at her and spoke.
“You went missing when you were three years old.”