The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella - Chapter 21

It was when Elodie was lost in thought.

“Squeak, squeak. (Come this way.)”

Apparently informed in advance, a field mouse knight led the way.

They walked along a path polished along the wall, careful not to tread on the quaint mouse dwellings with their dirty feet.

After about just ten steps,

A grand castle, about the height of the Duke, revealed itself.

“Oh…”

The fact that this was the high priest’s castle made one’s heart shrink involuntarily.

It didn’t inspire confidence or the desire to rely on it; instead, it seemed like something that needed to be wrapped up and protected.

‘Could Ratzen be some sort of mascot?’

Usually, each deity has an animal symbol.

Maybe the harvest mouse is a sacred symbol, and that’s why Ratzen naturally became the high priest.

While Elodie was making these rational speculations,

A tiny castle gate opened, and a pair of field mice dressed in white silk and golden ornaments appeared.

Elodie recognized at a glance that they were the high priest and his wife.

Her parents.

‘Parents…’

She had never even dared to hope for such a thing.

In a life where surviving each day was a luxury, the idea of family was extravagant. Instead of dreaming about having blood relatives, she had to risk her life to find food.

That’s why Elodie didn’t know how to react.

She had never imagined such a scenario.

While Elodie was fidgeting, not knowing where to fix her gaze,

“Squeak…!”

The pair of harvest mice, trembling their whiskers with tears welling up in their eyes, rushed towards her.

Unaware that the golden crowns on their heads were slipping off.

“W, wai― Ah!”

Startled, Elodie reflexively stretched out her hands to catch the rushing Ratzen couple.

They landed snugly in her small hands.

With faces drenched in tears.

Their trembling arms tightly wrapped around the child’s thumb as they cried continuously.

“Squeak, squeak… (My child, my child…)”

Their warmth heated up the previously cold palms of her hands.

Her palms became damp with moisture.

“……”

Elodie no longer complained about the size of the domain.

No, she couldn’t.

The weight in her hands, light as it was, pressed down on her heart with immeasurable affection.

Their emotions surged over like a wave, overwhelming her in an instant.

So she could only helplessly embrace them with all her being.

‘Family.’

The fact that Elodie, who was just a little mouse, was someone’s precious family was so poignant and overwhelming that it felt like she couldn’t breathe…

“Squeak, squeak. Squeeee… (I’m sorry, child. We are so sorry for everything.)”

Little by little, Elodie began to understand.

What it means to have a waiting family.

“Squeak squeak…”

Had the other harvest mice grasped the situation as well?

The ones who had been just warily watching in fear now swarmed around the child.

“Squeeek!”

“Sque… sob. Sobsob…”

Oh my, our dear child, you’ve finally returned! Sob! Sob…

Amid the wailing and weeping field mice, Elodie floundered in confusion.

After fidgeting for a while, the child realized what needed to be said at this moment.

Words she had never uttered before and thought she never would.

“I’m… I’m back.”

I’ve returned.

After a long, long journey, finally.

***

The Ratzen domain turned into a sea of tears in an instant.

“Evywon, pwease stop cwying.”

Elodie felt a mix of emotions.

She wondered why they were crying so much over her, feeling both amazed and apologetic.

It was like her heart was being tickled with a feather; she even tried a small cough, but the symptoms persisted.

“Squeak?!”

“No, I’m not swick. Jus one time.”

Now, she couldn’t even cough freely.

Perhaps uncomfortable, yet their excessive concern kept making her smile.