The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 137

Tauros spat out with urgency.

"It’s an emergency! Summon all the kitchen assistants!"

Why did Tauros even come here?

Of course, I knew that he wasn’t just a chef by profession; his strength was as powerful as any knight, considering he was a bull beastfolk.

But this wasn’t like the Valkyrisen family, where there was a lack of manpower and he was summoned to assist.

And why bring along a chef and kitchen assistants who had nothing to do with combat?

‘Well, in a different sense, it seems like they’re preparing for battle...’

They came to the kitchen fully armed, like knights heading out to hunt monsters, with resolute expressions.

I was grateful, but also felt guilty. How did they know to come?

They appeared as if they were a surprise gift at a time when I desperately needed them, leaving me more confused than anything.

Did they sense my bewilderment?

Squirrel spoke up.

"I heard that there’s a limit to the number of people who can undo the curse each day. Considering that, it makes sense that even in the Holy Kingdom, things are still chaotic."

That was true.

In fact, almost half of the people who volunteered to lift the curse were spies...

So, it wasn’t surprising that the reconstruction of the Holy Kingdom was progressing so slowly.

The spies wouldn’t work earnestly and diligently.

It would be lucky if they didn’t sabotage the efforts altogether.

‘Come to think of it, the reason the kitchen was so neglected was also because most of the workers who lifted the curse were spies.’

Well, it didn’t matter. I was planning to sweep them all away anyway.

Things went as planned.

"The head chef and I both know very well. Young lady, you wouldn’t care about meals at all if we weren’t here. You were the one who used to write sunflower seeds on your menu."

"When are you going to stop bringing that up?"

"You were probably chewing on grains of wheat."

"Not that much."

"You were so determined to charge in, saying you'd push through even if it killed you, so I snuck in and joined you."

The truth was, Elodie knew.

She knew the kind of people she had spent the last five years with in Valkyrisen.

And she knew there was no reason to doubt them.

"If not me, who else would look after the young lady?"

"Hmm, Sera?"

"Sera? How could Lady Seraphina possibly follow you around all day, looking after you!"

Well, I don’t exactly need someone to follow me around all day and take care of me...

I’m at the age where I can manage on my own...

"Oh, I practically raised you, young lady!"

But for some reason, hearing that familiar face and nagging made Elodie feel like she might burst into tears.

She had been pretending it didn’t bother her, but perhaps the truth was, the revelation about her nanny had been more shocking than she had let on.

‘The person who cared for me like a child from the moment I was born was actually the one who approached me with the intention of throwing me away to fulfill their own goals...’

When she had lost her memory, it was easier to distance herself from the middle-aged woman, whom she hadn’t even recognized.

But as she wandered to cure her amnesia, those memories had become inescapable.

The feelings and memories with Daniel had been false, forced, and fabricated, but with her nanny...

"Young lady, be careful. You might fall."

"Oh, you’re so brave. You didn’t even cry when you fell. Well done."

"That person I used to serve, you should learn from them. They cried and searched for me, screaming as if the house was collapsing, just from falling down."

She really had raised me.

If I end up going to Terranolia as a mouse, I’ll die knowing that they did it knowing full well.

‘And not once did they show any sign of guilt or remorse.’

Always the same, unchanging attitude.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

They had always seen me as a tool, not a person, from beginning to end.

When Elodie sank into a brief moment of melancholy, Squirrel sighed.

"Hey, do you have a pot? I’ll make some soup over the fireplace."

Honestly, what did you eat recently?

Elodie was lost in thought for a moment, trying to recall what she had eaten.

It had been hard to care about food lately, unlike when she was in Valkyrisen.

"Uh, hunted meat and egg dishes?"

"You don’t really like those, do you?"

Squirrel had noticed that Elodie didn’t eat meat much and commented.

"This isn’t a time to be picky."

"When is there ever not a time to be picky! There are people out there who live just to eat!"

It seemed like the only time she had truly cared about meals was when she was in Valkyrisen.

It meant she was at peace then.

Without worries, protected by the love and attention of everyone.

Squirrel took out some chestnut cream soup she had pre-packed and began to heat it in the pot.

As she served the steaming soup, she said,

"Remember, from now on, I’ll be taking care of you wherever you go, so be sure to take me along."

"Okay."

"And no saying you're grown up until you're an adult."

"...Okay."

Elodie nodded as she accepted the soup.

The squirrel’s chestnut soup, after such a long time, still warmed her inside, and it was delicious.

***

"So, who exactly is the mastermind behind all of this?"

At Elodie's question, the spies exchanged glances.

"Tch, where are you looking so carelessly!"

Then Bearik slammed their heads together, scolding them.

It seemed like they were trying to coordinate their lies with a glance.

‘From the confused looks on their faces, it seems like they don’t even know themselves.’

This was pretty frustrating, but...

Honestly, it wasn’t my problem.

The traitors could keep feeling unjust all they wanted.

It looked like Bearik was controlling his strength well, since he didn’t crush their skulls.

There was no reason to stop him.

"Isn’t it the Emperor of Terranolia?"

"I heard the Basilisk family is at the center of it."

"The Emperor wouldn’t follow the Basilisk’s orders. And no one would follow anyone else’s orders."

The spies were beaten so hard their heads might as well have been cracked open, but they still couldn’t agree on anything.

Which meant, the mastermind hadn’t even been revealed to them.

Elodie immediately went to find Eisen.

It was time to talk directly to the Ratson High Priest through the videophone.

"Dad."

―Ah, my daughter... Who’s behind you?

"Huh? Grandpa."

Elodie nonchalantly replied while sitting on Eisen's lap.

But Maximilian’s face looked incredibly serious.

He gritted his teeth and mumbled with a flushed face.

―I can lend you my lap anytime, you know.

"What? Is there something wrong with lying down and dying?"

―Who’s dying while lying down! My daughter is light as a feather, so there’s no way that’s happening!

"Light as a feather? Anyone can see that it’s you, Dad."

Was sitting on Grandpa’s lap really that enviable?

Elodie suddenly feared that she might become the first parricide in history, smothering her father with her backside.

Sometimes he acts like this with that stubbornness of his.

"Next time, I’ll change into a harvest mouse, and that’ll be that, but actually, I wanted to ask you something..."

At the question of whether Count Mouseton knew the mastermind, the High Priest shook his head with a solemn face.

―I’m also troubled by this matter, but what’s certain is that it wasn’t the Emperor, and it wasn’t Nyx Basilisk either, nor the Queen or Prince of Silvaria.

"So, then who is it?"

―No matter what methods were used to interrogate...

Maximilian paused mid-sentence and glanced at Elodie, changing his words.

―...Even when bribed, they said they didn’t know. They said they had seen the mastermind but couldn’t recognize the face or name. That was the only absurd thing they kept repeating.

Ah.

Elodie immediately accepted this as the truth, unlike the High Priest, who didn’t believe a word of it.

She had experienced the kind of inability to recognize something firsthand, through the memories of when she was kidnapped.

―Even the Emperor # Nоvеlight # didn’t know who the mastermind was, and Nyx Basilisk might be the only one who knows their true identity.