The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 128

"He was standing right next to you, and yet you failed to notice him."

"Ah..."

"It’s understandable. He’s using a spell that distorts perception."

Daniel, overwhelmed with emotion, clasped his hands together reverently.

"____, does this mean I have finally been chosen by you?"

____?

Instinctively, she knew.

That person was the mastermind behind everything.

But no matter how hard she tried to focus through her blurring vision, she couldn’t make out anything.

She couldn’t tell if they were young or old.

She couldn’t tell if they were male or female.

I definitely heard a name.

____.

Yet, even though Elodie had heard it, she couldn’t recall it clearly.

That meant she hadn’t been able to recognize it at the time, either.

"He’s using a spell that distorts perception."

A spell that prevented people from recognizing a face or remembering a name?

I’ve never heard of such a thing before.

Had they borrowed power from the Evil God again?

Nyx was there, and he frequently used the Evil God's power.

No... If this person is truly the one behind everything, then even Nyx might have learned from them.

And then—Gracia Ratson lost consciousness.

Only after everything went pitch-black did Elodie finally open her eyes.

"......."

And in that instant, all the forced emotions she had been feeling toward Daniel evaporated.

As if waking from a dream.

Ah.

It unraveled.

Her heart, which had been pounding unnaturally, as if she had swallowed a love potion.

Her mind, which had been constantly conjuring images of Daniel, showing her endless illusions of him.

Everything fell silent.

The moment I realized he had betrayed me, I was freed from the emotions that had been artificially forced onto me.

These were the memories of the time she had been kidnapped.

It had been Daniel who personally handed her over to Nyx.

To be chosen by that nameless figure.

Daniel Mouston...

The heir to Count Mouston’s family.

Out of all the countless rats, who would have thought that little boy would play the most pivotal role in the downfall of the Ratson family?

"Are you alright?"

Karon’s voice cut through her thoughts.

Elodie was lying still in his palm, staring blankly ahead.

"I feel great."

Sure, she was a little dizzy from the side effects of regaining her memories.

But that didn’t matter.

For the first time, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

At last, she had a clearer picture of what had happened back then.

Her mind was sharp, her thoughts clear, her eyes bright with understanding.

Karon studied her quietly before speaking.

"You’re back to normal."

"...You’re really perceptive."

"It’s not perception, really. I just read biological responses."

That somehow made it even more impressive.

Maybe the reason he always stared so intently at people was because he was analyzing their physical reactions.

"Do you still think about it?"

‘It’ was obviously Daniel.

"No, actually, my head is now completely filled with thoughts about that bastard."

For the first time in her life, Elodie felt an overwhelming rage.

Ah, right. Objectively, Nyx Basilisk is the worse villain here.

But Daniel Mouston.

A traitor who sold out his own kind.

Sure, he had been just a child at the time.

But Elodie had been even younger.

She had been only three years old.

"Filled with thoughts, huh?"

"Yeah, because..."

"Ah, in that case, there’s only one solution."

Karon spoke calmly.

"The source of those emotions... must be eliminated immediately."

The way he said it was so composed, yet the meaning was anything but.

Was he referring to Daniel? Or the nanny?

It sounded like he meant both.

Elodie quickly tried to stop him.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight

"That’s not it! The symptoms of my heart racing and my mind being overwhelmed by that bastard are gone!"

She told him everything she had seen.

Who the real culprit was.

What had happened back then.

And she continued talking—

Until the two of them slipped out of the forest, unnoticed by anyone.

***

Who in the world could have possibly kidnapped the High Priest’s most treasured only daughter?

The incident was still whispered about among the beastfolk.

Because no one truly knew what had happened that night.

It was said that Gracia Ratson had returned to her chambers after finishing her day’s duties, only to vanish as if she had evaporated into thin air.

There had been no signs of an external intruder, yet all the knights guarding her chamber had been slain in a single strike.

Her nanny had sustained fatal injuries and teetered on the brink of death for days before barely managing to survive.

And just like that, the young lady of the Ratson family had disappeared.

Not long after, the Holy Kingdom was sealed off, prohibiting any entry from outsiders.

"It was meticulously planned."

From beginning to end.

Elodie sat Karon down in front of her and spoke.

"At some point, my father started keeping me away from Daniel. I think it was because I kept losing my mind whenever I saw him..."

And after that, Daniel had lured her into the forest.

"Father won’t let me see Danye anymore."

"You should listen to your parents."

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight

Elodie had whined about how she wanted to see him every day but wasn’t allowed to.

At first, Daniel had tried to soothe her with empty words, but eventually, he offered an alternative.

"Hmm, do you remember the lake where we first met?"

"Of course! Danye, you saved me like a prince back then!"

"I’m not a prince... but let’s meet there. I’ll be waiting for you."

As their meetings continued, Daniel had subtly led her deeper and deeper into the forest.

At first, they had met at a lake near the entrance.

Then, he had taken her to a path slightly further in.

And finally, to the deepest part of the woods—where no one passed by, where traces could be erased with ease.

"He deliberately let me familiarize myself with the forest’s layout bit by bit. Until, in the end, I could venture into the deepest part alone..."

And that was how Elodie had walked into the heart of the forest on her own two feet.

"The nanny kept insisting I was a troublemaker who had slipped past the adults’ watchful eyes, but really... how could a three-year-old child have made it all the way there without her help?"

She must have secretly guided Elodie there, ensuring she went unnoticed.

And after the abduction was complete, she had likely inflicted those fatal injuries on herself.

It was suspicious, after all, that she had survived when all the knights had been killed.

Not to mention that she had prevented Elodie from going anywhere except where she led.

"To think she went as far as risking death just to avoid suspicion..."

She had only survived by sheer luck, by following the plan precisely.

And considering how naturally she had taken on the form of a harvest mouse—

It was highly likely that she had either a personal grudge or a fanatical belief.

No matter how great a reward she was promised, a normal person wouldn’t have devoted themselves so fully.

"Anyway, even if the nanny is suspicious, it’s all just speculation."

Which meant—she had to use Daniel, the one confirmed traitor, to flush out the rest of the infiltrators.

"I’ll keep pretending to be in love with him and lure them out."

Karon’s face twisted like crumpled paper when he heard her plan.

***

The next morning, when Elodie stepped out of her room, she found Edmund fussing with the fireplace in the sitting room.

"...What are you doing?"

"Burning this."

Burning what?

Elodie spotted a charred, # Nоvеlight # blackened piece of fur atop the unburned logs.

And she immediately realized—it was the remains of the cat ears Edmund had worn to the market.

"But shopping isn’t a one-time thing."

"I refuse."

That was a firm answer.

Elodie, somewhat disappointed, asked, "Hmm, what if I make a new one for you?"

"...Don’t. Because then I wouldn’t be able to burn it."

He must have been unable to outright refuse something she made for him.

Edmund sounded almost like he was pleading.

At this rate, she really would have to learn how to sew just for this picky black cat.

She was thinking just that when—

Suddenly, the sitting room door was kicked open.

CRRREEEEAK—BANG!!!

And with that, the barely hanging hinges finally gave out, sending the door crashing to the floor.

Geno muttered, "Huh? Why did it fall off?" before completely dismissing it and grinning triumphantly.

"Hey! I plowed the whole field!"

"......."

"I’m serious! I even planted the seeds!"

"......."

"What’s with that reaction? How could you be like this? What was all my hard work for?"

Geno sulked, grumbling to himself.

Well, it was hard to compliment him when every time he did something good, he immediately caused another disaster.

He really is just like a dog...

She was sure she had seen a similar dog back in the palace.

One that had enthusiastically fetched a toy its owner threw—only to crash straight into a priceless porcelain vase.

Elodie sighed.

"Fix the door first."

"Hah... So cold. You’ve stabbed my heart with an icy dagger."

It was so ridiculous that—

She ended up laughing and patting Geno’s back.

"Plowing the field must have been tough. You probably worked ten times harder than most people."

"This is nothing! I could do more."

"Oh, really? Then do more."

"...You never miss a chance, do you?"

"What? I was just joking."

"Didn’t sound like a joke."

They were still bantering when—

Daniel appeared, looking flustered.

The boy glanced between the empty doorway and the fallen door on the floor.

Then he awkwardly smiled and said, "I heard from the nanny. She said the young lady was looking for me."

"Ah, yeah. I had something I wanted to say."

"What is it?"

"Not here. I’d like to speak somewhere more private."

At that, both Edmund and Geno turned to look at Daniel at the same time.

"......."

Their scrutinizing gazes swept over him from head to toe.