The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 152

Killing Nyx had been an unavoidable choice.

It was, given the circumstances, the most rational and best decision Karon could have made.

By the time he’d repaid Nyx for everything he’d endured, the chances of extracting any information had dropped to near zero.

And there was no going back now—not to suddenly feign interest in becoming a direct heir, not to change his stance. Nyx would’ve seen right through it.

He would’ve just toyed with Karon and eventually killed him.

Regretting an irreversible decision after the fact would’ve been pathetic.

Karon acted without hesitation.

He took care of Nyx’s hounds, burned the corpse, and returned to the Holy Kingdom.

“You came back after sunset?”

“Sorry.”

“You said it would take a while, but you’re back earlier than I expected.”

It hadn’t even been a full day, so Elodie greeted Karon playfully.

She gave him a quick once-over, scanning him for injuries.

Sniff.

After a moment, she wrinkled her nose in confusion.

“Something smells burnt.”

“...”

“Were you playing with fire or something?”

“It was cold...”

Karon came up with an excuse.

Hiding his true self had become such second nature that lying to Elodie now came easily.

“I curled up next to the heater and must’ve dozed off. That’s why I was late...”

Even though the continent of Animallia was enjoying spring-like weather, it still got chilly in the evenings.

Elodie’s face softened immediately with concern.

“Oh, come on. You’re still not fully recovered, and you were outside, all curled up and freezing like that?”

Sometimes, the guilt of deceiving her hit him like a wave, suffocating him.

But even so, Karon never chose honesty.

He was already undeniably a monster from birth—he didn’t want to add being openly monstrous to that.

Even if one day she found out the truth and felt betrayed by him...

He still wanted to keep hiding it.

Even if it was impossible.

“Paxi tweaked the magic heater, so you don’t smell like smoke anymore if you sit near it. You should’ve just come back sooner.”

Lost in his bleak thoughts, Karon gave a faint smile.

“Yeah... I should’ve come back to you sooner.”

“Unbelievable. The things you say.”

Elodie didn’t press him further and let him off easily.

Because he came back that same day, and had contacted her responsibly before arriving.

She didn’t even suspect that he’d just killed Nyx and burned the corpse to ashes.

‘I’ll just spread the rumors soon.’

That Nyx suddenly vanished, or died in some unexplained accident...

Karon didn’t think much of it.

He had no idea that killing Nyx before discovering the mastermind would trigger every tragedy to come.

***

“You and Ratson... you’ll die more wretchedly than sewer rats, never knowing how things spiraled out of control or who was behind it all.”

Nyx’s final words came true.

It began with Duke Valkyrisen.

Not long after, he was dead.

Sudden death.

Those who knew nothing of Eisen said carelessly that he was of that age anyway, and it wasn’t so surprising.

But anyone who knew even a little about him—especially the Valkyrisen family—knew he was far too healthy for such an abrupt end.

Not just healthy—he was ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) practically youthful again.

Ever since Elodie’s treatments, his body had seemed to reverse in age. Even the physicians had said he could live another fifty years, and no one had doubted it.

But none of that changed the reality.

Eisen was dead.

Sudden death, with no known cause.

“This... this can’t be happening...”

Elodie muttered in disbelief.

“He’d recovered. There’s no way he’d die at a time like this...”

Even after the funeral, she kept murmuring to herself.

That it couldn’t be true.

“No, I’m sure of it. He already survived the worst during Karon’s berserk state... He should be alive.”

She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Was she thinking there must have been another reason behind his death?

Karon agreed with her.

It wasn’t hard to suspect that Nyx and whoever was behind him had a hand in Eisen’s death.

But beyond that, they uncovered nothing.

The Valkyrisen household, briefly shaken by the duke’s sudden passing, quickly worked to stabilize things.

They had to—more tragedies were surely on the horizon, and they had to be ready.

After some thought, Seraphina made a suggestion.

“The prince is the most accessible among the suspects. I’ll go meet him myself.”

Since becoming the Countess of Bluewood, she’d had many opportunities to see Prince Cesare in official settings.

She planned to use one of those to get close.

Elodie was worried, but had no choice but to agree.

She figured the prince wouldn’t pull anything with so many eyes on him.

That was naive.

Seraphina said she’d go to extract information from the prince—

—and disappeared without a trace that very day.

There was no sign of her anywhere.

Even beastfolk from Valkyrisen searched for her, but it was no use.

“No... this can’t be happening. She made it this far. She became a countess. She was finally supposed to be happy, Sera...”

Elodie refused to accept it.

She went straight to the prince herself, demanding answers.

She threatened, pleaded, and bargained for Seraphina’s return.

But Cesare, ever calm, responded with a grief-stricken face.

As if it pained him, too.

“I, too, am devastated and heartbroken to lose someone as valuable as Countess Bluewood.”

That was the day his skull was cracked open.

Because Elodie, in a fit of rage, struck him with her hammer without a moment’s hesitation.

She almost paid for it with her life.

Only the direct intervention of Emperor Leo III spared her.

But things were only getting worse.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Elodie scoured the continent for Seraphina, growing thinner and more haggard by the day.

With Seraphina missing, the curse on the Ratson family could no longer be lifted.

The High Priest and his wife—Elodie’s parents—remained stuck in their animal forms.

And then the next catastrophe struck.

Elodie, once hailed for her healing power that rivaled even the Ratson founder...

...began to lose her ability.

No one knew why.

Not even Elodie.

“Why... why...”

Was it because she failed to break the curse in time?

Because she was no longer worthy?

But Elodie didn’t wallow in despair for long.

She tried everything to find the cause.

But some things couldn’t be fixed with effort alone.

Even the spirit within the Healing Scripture couldn’t determine the cause.

Rumors began to spread as crisis after crisis hit.

That the High Priest of the Ratson line had lost the divine blessing.

That the gods had turned their backs on the Ratsons—or worse, cursed them.

That they had become beasts and could never return to their human forms.

The High Priest and all his clergy remained trapped.

And Elodie’s healing grew weaker.

Voices began to rise.

That perhaps it was time to appoint a new High Priest.

After all, the reason the harvest mouse beastfolk had held the position for generations was because of divine favor and their incredible power.

And while Animallia was still reeling from chaos, the Empire of Terranolia seized the opportunity.

They broke the peace treaty unilaterally and declared war.

Edmund, suddenly inheriting the title in the wake of Eisen’s death, protested—but it was too late.

The flames of war had already spread beyond control.

He had no choice but to enter the battlefield.

To end it as quickly as possible, and to save as many innocent lives as he could.

But the sacrifices couldn’t be stopped.

The people of Animallia turned their anger toward the Ratsons.

What had they done to lose the gods’ favor?

The fact that Elodie had once been a kidnapped victim was buried under public fury.

The Ratson family was now blamed as the cause of war.

Amid all this, another rumor spread like wildfire among the people.

That if the clergy of the Ratsons—including the High Priest—were offered as sacrifices to appease the gods, the war would end and a new High Priest would be chosen.

At first, people were outraged.

How could they destroy a family that had served the empire for generations, even if they’d lost their power?

But as the war dragged on...

As innocent lives continued to pile up...

Those same people began to change their minds.

“Execute the High Priest of Ratson immediately!”

Even the emperor’s protection had its limits.

Leo III resisted as long as he could, but eventually...

He was forced to give them up.

He couldn’t be blamed.

As emperor, he had done everything he possibly could.

Maximilian Ratson still remained in the form of a mouse.

Perhaps if he escaped in that form, he could survive in hiding.

But he didn’t.

Because he knew there wasn’t even the faintest hope that things would improve.

He could either be executed—

—or spend the rest of his life running.

But even now, Elodie refused to give up hope.

Even when things had fallen apart so completely, she still believed it could be reversed.

“Dad, Mom... please, just run away with me. Please?”

“I’m sorry. Let me die as the High Priest—not as a mouse.”

The two stood tall and accepted their fate.

They held Elodie’s hands one last time and left her with one final message.

“We’re sorry... Take care of our daughter.”

Karon fled with Elodie, who had lost all will to live.

Thus began their life on the run—without end.