The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 132

The moment Daniel met Karon’s smile, he instantly realized—his plan had fallen apart.

The fact that those two, who were supposedly on their way back to Terranolia, were still here meant only one thing.

He had been tricked.

Without hesitation, Daniel transformed into a harvest mouse.

He was planning to use the underground setting to his advantage and escape.

"Ah, hey!"

A tiny harvest mouse, barely the size of a fingertip, darted into the shadows, barely visible.

Geno raised his sword over his shoulder, shifting his stance.

The moment he caught sight of the rodent, he planned to throw his blade straight at it—to threaten, block off its escape, and cut off any exit.

"Don't move, brother."

But Karon casually grabbed the blade and pulled it downward.

"You think you can just say whatever you want and then slap 'brother' on the end of it like it means something?"

Geno scowled but then hesitated for a moment.

Because Karon’s crimson eyes were tracking something—locked onto it with unsettling precision.

"...Don't tell me you can actually see where it's going?"

"Ground vibrations."

Karon answered lazily.

He could sense the tiny tremors caused by the mouse’s rapid movements, allowing him to pinpoint its exact location.

Geno muttered about how creepy that was, but before he could say more, his eyes widened.

Elodie, who had been standing near him just moments ago, was already sprinting toward the very spot he had been planning to throw his sword.

"...Did you know she was going to run there?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Instinct."

He had nearly thrown his sword at Elodie.

Taking a sharp breath, Geno clutched his retrieved weapon ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) tightly and remained still.

Meanwhile, Elodie effortlessly snatched up Daniel mid-escape and scoffed.

"Come on, do you really think you can escape me?"

Someone who had never once faced death, never starved, never truly suffered—did he really think he could run away properly?

"You should change back into a person while I’m still being nice about it."

"......."

Daniel had failed because he had blindly trusted the success of his past schemes.

He had counted on Elodie’s loyalty, believing she would blindly follow anyone she trusted.

But he had no idea how much she had been through.

How much hardship she had endured.

Of course, how could he know?

He was a frog in a well.

No—he was a harvest mouse in a trap.

But in the end, he was the one who had thrown away his chance to see the wider world.

He had chosen to become a mouse.

And now, he was trapped.

"I know a good place."

The moment Daniel had shared this location with her, Elodie had immediately begun investigating.

She had long since discovered the hidden passage inside the temple branch.

She knew that triggering a certain mechanism within it would temporarily disable all magic and abilities.

Though, of course, that effect lasted for less than a minute.

Still, he must have thought that was plenty of time to subdue a ten-year-old child.

He really thought the same trick would work again.

Just like when she was three.

That was when Karon, pointing at the stunned, motionless Daniel, asked:

"Can I do whatever I want with this now?"

Karon had once again referred to Daniel like an object, but this time, Elodie didn’t bother correcting him.

"Not yet. He still has value as a hostage."

She gestured toward the underground prison deeper inside.

"Just do to him exactly what he was planning to do to me."

"H-How..."

"How did I not suspect this place at all?"

"......."

"Did you really think that if you erased my memories of what you did to me back then, the same trick would work again?"

How much of an idiot did he think she was?

Elodie chuckled.

"You know, if it were Sera, she probably would have waited here patiently for you every day."

Because she wouldn’t have doubted him in the first place.

But that wasn’t just because of love.

It was because of who she had fallen in love with.

Because before there was love, there was trust.

"Lock him up."

"Finally."

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

At Elodie’s command, Geno rushed forward, immediately yanking Daniel’s clothes off.

"W-What the hell are you doing?!"

"Relax. You think I want to be undressing some guy?"

Geno roughly searched him, collecting a few artifacts and a key to the prison before throwing him inside.

Daniel scrambled for the bars, shaking them desperately, but they were locked tight.

"Gracia...."

Was he finally starting to think?

Daniel suddenly took on a sorrowful expression and called out to her again.

"I don’t know what’s going on, but I think you’re misunderstanding something. You believe I was trying to harm you, don’t you?"

"......? You did harm me."

"That was all... because I was threatened! I had no choice but to pretend to cooperate! But Gracia, I was secretly looking for a way to break the curse, just like I did when I saved you from the lake."

Daniel clenched his fists and murmured as if in desperation.

"The day you returned alive, I prayed to the heavens in gratitude."

Had he figured out that she had a soft spot for those who had saved her life?

He was deliberately bringing up the moment he had pulled her from the lake, crafting a heartfelt plea.

Elodie tilted her head.

"Hmm, really?"

"Yes! I swear to the heavens, I am innocent—!"

"Then let’s ask Sera."

She casually toyed with an earring she hadn’t worn before.

"Sera, you heard all that, right? Is it true?"

—"The only person who knew you were there was him, right?"

"Yeah. He asked to meet in secret, just the two of us."

—"Your room, by the way, is a complete disaster. It looks like someone turned it upside down on purpose. There are footprints on the windowsill, and there are traces on the floor, like a sack was dragged across it."

Sera’s voice came through the earring loud and clear.

After ending the call, Elodie turned back to Daniel.

"Hear that?"

"No! I have nothing to do with that! And—your nanny would have known you were here too, wouldn’t she?!"

"Oh, so she’s a co-conspirator?"

"Gracia!"

"Hmm. I don’t like hearing my name from your mouth either."

Elodie frowned.

‘My Lady’ was annoying, but so was ‘Gracia.’

Shaking her head, she pointed directly at him.

"Let’s just gag him."

"That’s my little sister."

Who was whose sibling?

Elodie scoffed as she watched Geno excitedly pull out a rope.

For someone who wasn’t a beastfolk, he sure wagged his metaphorical tail like one.

"Tie up his arms and legs too."

"Got it."

"Who’s going to watch him?"

Karon spoke up.

"I will."

Elodie studied him silently for a moment before warning:

"Don’t kill him yet. He’s still useful."

"Yeah, I won’t kill him."

"Mmph! Mmmph—!"

Daniel struggled against his gag.

That bastard! He had said he wouldn’t kill him—but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t leave him half-dead!

But Elodie, apparently, had no issue with that answer at all.

"Hmm. Well, since he’s dealt with, I’ll go meet up with Sera and Ed."

Ah, right.

As if she had just remembered something, Elodie added:

"Thanks to you returning my memories, I can cure my amnesia now. Which means I can wipe all of you out at once with the paladins."

"Thanks a lot!"

She waved dismissively, making sure to sound extra cheerful—just to piss him off.

"Ah, my little sister really is so polite."

Laughing at Geno’s remark, she left the underground passage.

Karon, watching her go, turned back to Daniel.

"I’m guessing you still have one trick left."

"Mmph!"

Of course, he did.

Daniel frantically shook his head, feigning ignorance.

With a pale face and a desperate expression, he did his best to act innocent.

Karon, however, simply stared at him with those piercing red eyes before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Test subjects who have a tendency to commit suicide usually end up restrained just like this."

"Uuh...?"

"That’s why I’ve learned how to read people’s eyes."

"......."

"Turns out, no matter how good your act is, you can’t fake what’s in your eyes."

Before Daniel could react, a hand shot through the iron bars—gripping his throat.

"Kgh!"

His breath hitched, and his eyes squeezed shut.

But... nothing happened.

The grip wasn’t tight enough to strangle him.

Confused, Daniel slowly opened his eyes.

Karon had already let go.

"I just smeared paralysis poison on your neck."

"......!"

"You won’t die. But I can’t guarantee it won’t leave any lasting effects."

Daniel could barely breathe, his body slowly growing numb.

As the poison spread, he found himself unable to move a single finger.

"The only one who can cure you is Elodie. So don’t try anything stupid—just sit tight and wait."

Try anything?

He couldn’t even move!

What exactly did Karon think he could try in this state?!

Daniel glared daggers at him from inside the cell, his expression murderous.

But that was all he could do.

Because, in the end—

There was nothing he could do at all.