The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 129

During all of this, Elodie closed her eyes for a moment and thought of Sera.

That allowed her to craft a gaze filled with affection and a sweet, gentle expression.

"Shall we go?"

She spoke in a voice laced with excitement.

All the while, she imagined herself and Sera going on a city date together.

Unaware of Elodie's true thoughts, Edmund’s gaze grew colder than ever before.

He scrutinized Daniel with sharp, hawk-like eyes, then suddenly smiled warmly at Elodie as if nothing had happened.

"Is it something you can’t say while we’re here?"

"Yeah, really. You’ve got something to say to that guy, but why do you have to go somewhere private to say it?"

Geno, slouching on an old creaking table, tilted his head.

"I’ll just pretend I’m not here and stay completely silent. Go on, say what’s on your mind."

Then, out of nowhere, he started acting like some back-alley thug.

At this rate, he was going to break the table.

"It’s a private conversation, so no."

Elodie responded immediately, as if she had been waiting for this exact question.

"A private conversation?"

"What are you so curious about? No matter how close I am to you two, I don’t have to tell you everything."

"How long have you even known that guy?"

"Can you stop calling him ‘that guy’? Stop being so rude to my Danye."

"...Your Danye?"

Edmund and Geno muttered at the same time, both frowning.

Geno looked at Elodie like she had completely lost her mind.

"What the hell is that deranged nickname?"

"It’s just a normal pet name. I’ve called him that since we were little."

Elodie revealed that she had regained her childhood memories.

"Look, fine, maybe when you were a kid, your pronunciation wasn’t great, so you called him that."

But now, she could pronounce his name properly.

"Shortening someone's name in some half-mangled way is usually something lovers do."

"I called him Danye since I was a kid, and I’m going to keep calling him that. He doesn’t mind, so why are you making a fuss, Geno?"

Elodie stubbornly insisted on using the childhood nickname as a ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) term of endearment.

"He saved my life, and he’s incredibly important to me. From now on, any attack on Danye will be considered an attack on me."

She said this so casually, as if completely unaware of how much it would provoke them.

As if she didn’t even realize that her supposed feelings for Daniel had been exposed—only worried about whether someone might suspect them.

"......."

Daniel's stare felt like it was burning into her cheek.

She could sense his internal panic from where she stood.

Yeah, of course, he hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.

"How could he have predicted that the abandoned girl from Terranolia would end up in Valkyrisen, raising an entire army of overprotective lunatics?"

Even I didn’t see that coming.

Elodie thought as she pointed directly at Daniel.

"Be nice to him. He’s as important to me as Sera."

"......?"

"What? No, no, wait a second."

Geno cut in, looking at her like he had just heard something impossible.

"There’s no way you have anyone as important to you as Lady Bluewood."

"Before I met Sera, he was the most important person in my life."

She had fallen in love at first sight, followed him around like a fool, and even proposed to him.

Elodie shamelessly recounted her embarrassing past.

At first, she had been mortified just thinking about it, but now, she was fine.

After all, she had only felt that way because she had been manipulated.

She was a victim, so what was there to be ashamed of?

Since he had dared to toy with her emotions, she would now use him in return.

"I even proposed to him."

Edmund repeated her words under his breath, as if trying to process them.

Geno scoffed in disbelief.

"Even if you were old enough back then, you couldn’t have been more than three. If you keep clinging to something from that long ago, Danye is going to feel burdened."

"No, he won’t!"

Elodie had been waiting for Geno to say exactly that.

She immediately shot back, “Danye said he liked me too! He only pushed me away because I was too young back then, but he actually had feelings for me!”

The suffocating tension in the sitting room grew even heavier.

Elodie cupped her cheeks, pretending they were flushed with embarrassment.

“O-Of course, it’s not like that now. We’re adults who can think rationally.”

“......Really? Then what exactly do you need to talk to him about in private?”

“Why do you keep asking that?”

Elodie glared at Geno, who was pressing the issue relentlessly. Then, without hesitation, she looped her arm around Daniel’s.

“Let’s go, Danye.”

“Ah... yes....”

Daniel forced a smile, but his eyes flickered nervously toward the two Valkyrisen nobles.

It was only natural.

Even standing next to Elodie, he could feel the immense killing intent in the air.

He must have felt like his life was truly at risk.

Not that he could refuse me, either.

He had to play along, after all.

Elodie smirked slightly to herself as she led him away.

And that was when they ran into Karon.

“Ah.”

The boy, who had been walking around acting as a living pesticide, parted his red lips slowly.

“You’re with that thing again.”

“Don’t call Danye a ‘thing.’ He’s not an object.”

Karon gazed at Daniel in silence.

But Elodie, as if oblivious, continued to shield the boy beside her with exaggerated care.

“I’ve noticed for a while now—Karon, you’re way too rude to Danye.”

“Young lady, I’m fine—”

“You’re not fine! I’d like you to apologize properly.”

“...Sorry.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight

His voice was obedient, but his eyes gleamed with the promise of murder.

The relentless stare of a black mamba bore down on Daniel, and the boy broke into a cold sweat.

Honestly, I’d be scared too.

It was terrifying.

“So, when are you going to get tired of this?”

“What? What do you mean? Danye was my entire childhood, and after everything we’ve been through, how could I ever get tired of him?”

“Hm.”

“Let’s go, Danye.”

Elodie huffed dramatically, dragging Daniel past Karon.

Karon watched him go with an unreadable expression.

Then, just as Daniel brushed past him, he whispered something in his ear.

“...It’s impossible to feel love for someone who doesn’t exist. Isn’t that right?”

Daniel visibly paled.

“What? What did Karon say?”

“......Nothing.”

He had heard it.

Damn, he’s a good actor.

Elodie rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a chill crawl down her spine.

Even though this was all part of the plan, she still felt a strange sense of unease—

Like Karon might suddenly sink his fangs into him for real.

And then, finally—

“Elodie?”

The final boss (?) appeared.

Sera had been smiling brightly at Elodie, but when she saw Daniel linked arm-in-arm with her, she froze.

“Sera!”

Elodie called her name happily but didn’t rush to hug her.

It took a monumental amount of self-control.

Sera, who had opened her arms as if expecting Elodie to run into them, slowly lowered them, raising a single brow.

“You must be... Young Lord Daniel Mouston?”

“Oh, so you remember?”

“Of course. Wasn’t he the one who almost married you?”

Sera approached with a calm smile.

“Come to think of it, Elodie, didn’t you once say you wouldn’t mind marrying a harvest mouse beastfolk?”

“D-Don’t say that.”

Elodie deliberately glanced at Daniel, then lowered her head.

She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment before adding in an unnecessarily hesitant voice—

“Well... if I had to, I suppose?”

“Haha.”

Sera was definitely smiling like an angel—

But she looked more like a grim reaper marking someone for death. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

I guess Sera was at least a little nicer to Karon.

Surprisingly.

Still, Elodie calmly walked past her, as if she hadn’t noticed Sera’s calculating expression.

Meanwhile, Daniel looked like he had been completely shredded apart within the span of a few minutes.