The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 80

Elodie planted some of the most well-known poisonous plants from the human world into the soil she had brought from the Serenity Palace.

Monkshood. Ivy.

Lantana. Oleander. Foxglove...

One by one, the plants she sowed lost their vitality, withering away and dropping their leaves before her eyes.

[Hmm. This poison is potent, but if we search the greenhouse, we should be able to find plants with a similar level of toxicity.]

"Really?"

As expected of the Sanctuary of Healing, filled with things beyond this world.

For there to be plants with toxicity resembling Karon’s—a poison that, according to studies, did not match the composition of any known toxin...

Of course, it’s still weaker than what it will become five years from now.

[From what I can tell after consuming the soil, certain plants could actually counteract the poison.]

"Counteract?"

[To put it simply, two toxins would engage in a brutal battle, neutralizing each other just enough to keep the plant from withering entirely.]

In the end, Elodie had to plant even the sacred vegetation of the Sanctuary, reserved only for those of the Ratson bloodline, before she finally found it.

A poisonous plant that could survive even in Karon’s toxic soil.

***

Karon returned in a state that made it entirely believable that he was about to die.

"...Khak!"

A sharp cough sent blood splattering onto the ground—almost black in color.

His expression briefly twisted in distaste.

Here it comes again.

His poison was mutating, growing stronger once more.

Before it could melt through his liver entirely, he had to lock himself inside the royal palace.

Not that it would make much difference—this was just his desperate attempt to keep the poison from spreading outward.

Even barriers were useless against it.

Protective magic could block physical attacks and enemies with form, but his poison was neither.

There was no way to stop it.

It was silent, yet far deadlier than any external invasion.

One day, as his power continued to grow...

Karon brushed aside the inevitable thought.

It wasn’t just a possibility that his poison would one day swallow Valkyrisen. It # Nоvеlight # was an eventuality.

Before that happened, he needed to leave this place, to cut off any ties that could lead them back to him.

The Basilisks sent me here as a contingency, didn’t they?

They had planned for him to bring ruin to Valkyrisen sooner or later.

So when that time came, he would make sure he could escape this place and return to the Basilisk family.

Nyx Basilisk.

At the very least, he would reap the seeds that man had sown with his own hands.

That way, he could atone for this wretched life—a human born beneath even beasts—and disappear.

If, in the end, he left behind nothing but destruction, that alone would be a fitting revenge.

At the very least, Valkyrisen would be free from the danger he posed.

And if the Ratson curse were to be lifted...

Ah.

When Karon arrived at the Serenity Palace, the garden was empty.

She left.

Stubborn as she was, she was still just a five-year-old child.

After watching plant after plant die, she must have grown bored and given up.

Karon stepped inside the palace—only for his body to give out beneath him.

The door... I have to lock the door.

Dragging himself across the floor, he barely managed to seal the entrance before everything went black.

That was the last thing he remembered.

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In the throes of searing, familiar agony, his consciousness wavered.

And then—

"You’re awake?"

That voice.

The little brat he had kicked out.

Again.

Was there a limit to how little someone could listen to instructions?

Karon had no energy left to be angry. He simply lay there, chest rising and falling with each shallow breath.

"If you’re up, drink this."

Elodie pulled out a vial and promptly poured its contents into his mouth.

"Kh—cough!"

"Oops. Sorry."

Elodie gave a brief apology before placing a hand on his abdomen.

She hadn’t wanted to take such a forceful approach, but she had no choice.

The sounds he made in his sleep had been so agonizing that she couldn’t stand by and watch.

She couldn’t waste time arguing, rejecting, and persuading him over and over.

So she made up her mind.

"I can’t cure you right now, Karon. But I can stop you from being in pain."

Karon had always possessed an extraordinary healing factor, far surpassing that of an ordinary human.

That was why, despite the poison eating away at him, his body would always adapt, developing resistance and restoring itself.

Of course, that only meant his poison had to evolve into something even stronger, trapping him in an endless cycle of suffering.

But now—

The moment he swallowed the potion Elodie forced into him, his body rapidly began regenerating, far faster than even his natural healing ability.

In an instant, all pain disappeared.

If he could live like this forever—without agony—he felt like he would do anything, cling to any hope, no matter how disgraceful.

But Karon’s expression only twisted further.

"What’s the point of healing me? This just makes it worse—"

Because he would only have to endure the pain of his organs melting all over again.

If he had been in pain his whole life, maybe he could have accepted it.

But suffering in intervals like this... It chipped away at his sanity every time.

What the hell is she doing?

A violent impulse surged within him.

And then, suddenly—

Elodie placed a hand over his abdomen, where the poison had been dissolving him from the inside.

"...!"

Karon’s pupils, slit like a beast’s, dilated sharply.

His lips parted, and his gleaming fangs caught the light—

"Shhh. Be good."

"...."

"It won’t hurt. It’ll be over soon."

Closing her eyes, Elodie focused all her energy on weaving a thin, delicate barrier over his insides.

It was an ability unique to the Ratson bloodline, typically used to block an incoming blade at the last possible moment—a defensive skill meant for emergencies.

But since it came from divine energy, it was only natural that it could withstand poison as well.

The problem was that it was only temporary.

By design, it was meant to prevent an instant death from a fatal attack.

Using it continuously, without pause, was not how it was meant to work.

Sweat trickled down Elodie’s temple, but she said nothing.

She had promised to keep him from hurting. She wasn’t going to back down now.

"..."

The poison had mutated again, and Karon hadn’t developed resistance yet.

But the pain—

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It was gone.

He couldn’t control his poison, but at the same time, he felt nothing.

And the strangest thing of all—

"Are you feeling better now?"

—was the living, breathing human in front of him.

Ratson.

No.

Elodie.

For this fleeting moment, freed from agony...

She would never understand what this meant.

She would never know what emotions this stirred.

I made the right choice.

Choosing not to abandon his humanity, not to return to the Basilisk family and live as a monster, slaughtering indiscriminately—this was the right path.

Could he be... ordinary?

Could he...

No.

He didn’t want to hope for something so foolish.

Not again.

If he was disappointed this time, he really would break.

Karon forced his voice through his raw, tattered throat.

"You can stop now. Release your ability."

"No. You’re still in pain."

"And what, you’re just going to keep doing this forever?"

There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

He would have to endure this pain until he built resistance.

She couldn’t stay by his side for life, healing him every time.

"Stop it. You’re sweating."

"No."

Elodie was stubborn.

Even if it was pointless, this was the only thing she could do.

"This isn’t an illness, Elodie. It’s poison."

At that, Karon spoke.