The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 34

But Elodie didn’t retort with, “I clearly heard you say it was yours. You even tried to absorb it. And you threatened me.”

Instead, she simply tilted her head and murmured,

“Mmm, is that so?”

“...I see.”

“We nearly misunderstood.”

“We formally apologize—if what you say is true.”

The wolf knights spoke politely, but their skeptical gazes remained.

It was clear they had their suspicions, but without solid proof, they couldn’t openly accuse him.

Even so, Cesare couldn’t punish them for their insolence.

Because the sole heir of the Ratson family was standing right there, staring up at him with those wide, innocent eyes.

This little brat is playing with me.

The fact that she was a child made things even more difficult.

Because children were unpredictable.

If he tried to insist on his innocence, she could easily counter with, “Huh? But that’s not what you said.”

And then it would be over for him.

In situations like this, the best course of action was to leave as quickly as possible.

Children tended to forget about things once they were out of sight and moved on to other distractions.

The boy forced a smile, the muscles around his eyes twitching slightly.

“I seem to have wasted too much time here. I should be going.”

“Of course. Safe travels.”

“We’ll escort you to your carriage.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m used to moving alone.”

Cesare turned his back on them without hesitation.

His gait remained unhurried—trying to appear composed until the very end.

But wasn’t this just running away in disguise?

Elodie felt a small sense of satisfaction.

The tiniest fraction of her lingering resentment toward the prince had been eased.

Good. Just as planned.

She exchanged glances with the wolf knights, led by Howlf.

Their silver eyes, shining like stars, reflected the triumphant success of their secret mission.

Operation: Get the Prince to Leave Before He Meets Sera—Complete!

‘Woohoo! We did it!’

‘Good work! You deserve a reward!’

Their eyes seemed to say as they discreetly bumped their fists together in silent celebration.

Elodie had prepped them beforehand, but she was still grateful for how well they had played their roles.

They had taken to it like fish in water.

Only after Cesare had disappeared from sight did Elodie finally speak.

“Do you guys want anything?”

“Yes! A kiss for our reward!”

“Denied. You’re asking for too much.”

“...How cruel.”

Why had their pronunciation suddenly improved?

Did she really hate the idea of kissing them that much?

The wolf knights looked utterly betrayed as they covered their lips with their hands, watching as Elodie slowly backed away.

Seeing their expressions, Elodie quickly shook her head and answered with a resolute expression.

Enunciating each word clearly, making sure not to slur.

“My lips belong to Sera.”

***

Instead of kisses, the knights settled for a deep, tight hug each.

They had questioned whether that really counted as a reward, but in the end, they all seemed satisfied.

Well, Magic Cotton got sturdier just from sticking around me for a few days.

For the knights, getting hugged by Elodie could be considered a power-up.

It wasn’t a certainty, but probability-wise, there was a chance they could get even stronger.

Right now, if she punched a wall, it would crack.

If she got even stronger... how far could she take it?

Hmm. Not a bad idea, actually.

In five years, Valkyrisen would become the eye of the storm—the very source of chaos.

If she could strengthen her forces beforehand, she definitely should.

Maybe I should take every opportunity to hug the knights?

The problem was that they found Elodie unbearably cute—and when beastfolk saw something cute, they tended to have destructive urges.

Elodie imagined the worst-case scenario.

"My Lady, I just want to take a bite!"

Crunch. Snap.

...Yeah, I might need to rethink this plan.

She shook her head furiously, trying to rid herself of the thought.

At any rate, she had successfully driven the prince away.

For now.

The child let out a long sigh, her mouth forming a little triangle.

She had thought she would be safe as long as she stayed here and avoided meeting the prince at the ball in five years.

But her plan had already gone off course.

Was this the consequence of meddling with fate?

Elodie grew anxious—what if the prince became interested in Sera after hearing about her?

What if Sera once again fell for him at first sight?

As she clutched her head, wondering what to do next—

For some reason, Eisen called both Sera and Elodie to his office.

***

“You... called for us?”

Elodie broke into a nervous sweat, glancing up at the girl holding her in her arms.

Because she had a pretty good idea of what the duke wanted to talk about.

I’m doomed.

And as expected—

“I heard you had quite the troublesome encounter with the prince.”

Of course.

Eisen must have heard about how she had worked with the knights to chase Cesare away.

But what he didn’t know—

Was that her real troubles were only just beginning.

“The prince? A troublesome encounter?”

Sera blinked in confusion.

She looked down at Elodie, who was now avoiding her gaze, and asked,

“I didn’t hear about any of this. What’s going on, Elodie?”

“Ah, well, that’s...”

Eisen adjusted his monocle, glancing between the two, and asked,

“Did I just say something unnecessary?”

Grandpa!!!

It’s way too late to realize that now!

But Eisen couldn’t have known about the promise between Sera and Elodie.

Elodie was the one who had promised, softening at the sight of Sera’s face.

She was also the one who had gone ahead and broken that promise.

Who could she blame but herself?

“Wellston’s son was the prince’s attendant, wasn’t he? Did he come because of that?”

Cold sweat dripped down Elodie’s back.

“...Was it because of me?”

The look on Sera’s face—

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Would she have looked like that if the world had ended?

She wasn’t just sad.

She looked completely devastated.

Elodie’s chest clenched at the sight.

She grabbed Sera’s hands tightly and spoke firmly, enunciating each word.

“Absolutely not.”

She was willing to tell her everything else—but she had no intention of mentioning anything about the prince.

No matter how upset Sera got, Elodie could never let her get involved with him.

Not meet him. Not get tangled up with him.

Had she miscalculated?

Panicking, Elodie waved her hands and started rambling,

“I didn’t get hurt at all! Look, I’m completely fine! Nothing bad happened! The prince couldn’t even touch a hair on my head—he ran away! I took care of it!”

“I... I see...”

Sera had been about to press further, but she suddenly bit her lip.

Then, as if realizing something, she looked utterly shocked.

She fell silent, lost in thought for a moment, then muttered to herself with a self-deprecating chuckle.

“Of course. It makes sense that you wouldn’t tell me.”

Huh? All of a sudden?

“I have no power, no strength. I wouldn’t be able to help you at all.”

“No, what are you talking about?!”

Elodie leapt up, flabbergasted.

“Sera, I made it this far because you were by my side!”

Why had she turned back time?

Who had given her the strength to reclaim her family and her name?

Sera had been Elodie’s sole source of warmth, her salvation in the previous life.

She had been the only one Elodie had relied on—the only one who had helped her.

And now, Sera was saying none of that mattered?

That all the kindness she had given Elodie had been meaningless?

Elodie was clutching her chest in frustration when—

Sera came to a decision.

“That’s why... I need to become stronger.”

“...Huh?”