The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella - Chapter 18
He’s scarier up close.
He had a face that must have been handsome in his youth, yet at the same time felt so ferociously threatening.
It was like staring right into a lion’s open mouth.
Elodie rubbed the goosebumps on her nape and answered,
“Not anymowe.”
“Anymore?”
The Duke’s eyebrow raised.
“So you were hurt before?”
There was no need to hide it.
Elodie honestly, without exaggeration, only conveyed the truth.
“I got lots of booboos jus befowe I died, but it all disappeawed.”
“Ho, I see. So your injuries miraculously healed right before death, you say.”
The Duke then placed his hand over the ear cuff and relayed the child’s words exactly.
―Squeak, squee-eeek…
Then, a sound emerged, unbelievably threatening for something supposedly uttered by a mouse.
Could a mouse really growl so menacingly, as if threatening?
“Ho, to that extent?”
―Squee-eek!
“There’s no other choice then.”
The Duke, wearing a peculiar smile, slowly scanned the Bluewood family.
“Don’t even think about running. If it’s not a place where animals’ eyes and ears can’t reach, then they will find you.”
A place untouched by animals’ eyes and ears.
As if such a place could exist on this land.
Escaping from Valkyriesen was impossible for anyone.
“They will come soon.”
Wait, aren’t you going to tell me what this squeaking is about?
Count Bluewood collapsed to his knees.
The sheer unpredictability of the impending terror left him even more desolate.
***
Eisenhardt Valkyriesen.
The current Duke Valkyriesen and a war hero who achieved an era of peace.
Of course, he was called a bloodthirsty warmonger at the time, but regardless, no one disputed the unprecedented feats he accomplished.
Such a great man…
‘I can’t believe he understands the language of mice.’
Could he have learned it?
Of course, if the werebeast mice taught him, it’s not like he couldn’t learn.
‘But why, exactly?’
Elodie knew all too well how mice were treated by humans.
To humans, mice were pests, symbols of disease and cowardice, a living disaster.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them the most despised mammals.
‘Well, I understand. It’s a survival instinct.’
Indeed, rats have played a significant role in spreading diseases. It would take a philanthropist with a love for all creatures to care for rats without any qualms.
‘Like Sera.’
But surely, Duke Valkyriesen wouldn’t be a philanthropist.
Then, there must have been value in learning the language of mice.
‘Mom, Dad. Could you actually be incredible mice?’
Considering how just a word from them could condemn Count Bluewood to a ‘squeaking’ punishment…
Elodie sneaked a curious glance at Duke Valkyriesen.
“Why, should I put you on?”
Then, the Duke, holding Elodie, took off the ear cuff and held it to her ear.
‘So suddenly?’
Elodie wasn’t mentally prepared yet…
Startled, Elodie hesitated before cautiously speaking.
“H-Hewwo?”
―Squeak, squeak! (My goodness, baby!)
“M-Mommy? Daddy?”
Could it really be her parents?
It seemed impossible under the circumstances to be otherwise.
“Weally, you’we my mommy and daddy?”
―Squee-ek… Squeak, squeak. (Yes… it’s true. My child.)
How could they recognize their daughter just by her voice?
‘I’m scared.’
She couldn’t even remember her parents’ voices or faces until the moment of her death, let alone any memories of being with them.
Even now, it all feels so unfamiliar.
‘What if I never remember?’
Without memories, isn’t she essentially a different being than the daughter they were desperately searching for?
They would be disappointed.
The overwhelming affection felt through the ear cuff was almost suffocating.
“……”
―Squeak? (Baby?)
Fear swelled uncontrollably beyond rational thought.
Duke Eisen Valkyriesen, silently observing Elodie, took the ear cuff back from her ear.
He continued naturally,
“The young lady still seems unfamiliar with everything. She had just broken the curse and encountered the real world for the first time, so it’s understandable.”
―Squee-ek… Squeak, squeek. (Is that so… Oh, I didn’t think of that.)
“She’ll adapt soon enough. I’ll take responsibility and ensure her safety.”
Elodie felt somewhat embarrassed.
Just because she was in a child’s body didn’t mean she was a real child.
Rather than being petrified with fear, she could have handled it more gracefully.
With her head bowed and fidgeting with her fingers, Eisen finished the call and said,
“You went missing when you were three years old.”
