The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

Edmund closed the door behind him, leaning against the wall.
‘…Where’s the Duke of Valkyrisen?’
Not here.

And neither were any of his knights—none of the guards who might pose a threat to him.
The physician visibly relaxed.
If Edmund was alone, then this could still be salvaged.

No—this was even better.
"Did the esteemed Lady Ratson entertain you well?"
Feigning ignorance, Packer smiled and took a step closer.

"Did it work? With that blessed Ratson bloodline at your service, I suppose I’m no longer necessary. Haha."
"……."
"Still, how about one final check-up?"

Raising his hand, Packer reached for Edmund’s forehead, intent on erasing every last trace of his time with that Ratson girl.
It didn’t matter whether he had truly banished his nightmares or uncovered the truth—everything could be undone.
He would show him the hallucinations again, break him again, just long enough to buy himself an escape.

But—
"Aaaaargh—!"
His hand never made it to Edmund’s forehead.

Because the boy had grabbed his arm—and snapped it.
"Ah. So this is how it was done."
"Kh… Kghhh…"
"You really thought I’d fall for this nonsense?"

How much of a fool had they made him into?
Edmund muttered to himself as he watched Packer crumple to the ground, writhing like an insect.
His golden eyes gleamed—just like a predator about to tear into its prey.

"E-Edmund, sir…"
"You know why a beastfolk who has just awakened their abilities should never be left alone?"
Slipping a pair of gloves onto his hands, Edmund continued, his voice disturbingly casual.

"They say it’s because they lose control—drunk on their own strength."
"W-Why are you suddenly talking about that…?"
"Because right now, it feels like I’ve been born again."

A transformation dramatic enough to warrant the word "awakening."
Every time Packer had tampered with his mind, it left him with a searing pain, like blades slicing through his skull.
His body had always felt sluggish, weighed down, as if shackled by invisible chains.

He hadn’t even realized how much pain he had been in—until now, when it was finally gone.
For five years, he had let his body wither, convinced that suffering was normal.
Now, he was finally aware of what had been stolen from him.

And he had to suppress the overwhelming urge to rip apart the thing in front of him.
"Then again, I suppose you wouldn’t understand. You must’ve had a miserable time trying to survive in Valkyrisen, hating beastfolk as much as you do."
"E-Edmund, please listen! I was merely following orders! The one behind all this is—"

"I’m listening."
"T-The mastermind is—"
The communication orb had been severed from the other side.

The man had always hidden behind a false name, his face masked, avoiding direct contact unless absolutely necessary.
No matter how much Packer pleaded, he knew it wouldn’t change Edmund’s grip on him.
Damn it.

"Are you done talking?"
"……."
"You don’t need to worry about the mastermind."

Why not?
Packer looked bewildered.
Then Edmund, with a faint, almost cruel smile, said something that made his blood run cold.

"Because you’re going to tell me everything—whether you realize it or not, whether your body wants to or not."
He didn’t draw his sword.
Instead, he flexed his gloved fist, rolling his wrist in a slow, deliberate motion.

"I’ll be starting, so I’ll have to hold back a little."
It was going to be difficult.
Testing his strength, he rapped his knuckles against the stone wall a few times, gauging the force needed as hairline fractures formed in the surface.

Then, he looked back down at Packer.
"If you think you’re going to die, say something. I’ll make sure you don’t."
***

Edmund dragged what was left of Packer into the underground interrogation chamber, his body so battered and bloodied that he was barely recognizable.
Bearik, who had been waiting with his arms crossed, scowled, his already menacing face growing even more fearsome.
"I specifically asked you to leave me a piece. But now, if I hit him even once, he’ll probably die."

"You kill people in one hit anyway."
"Not every time."
"Oh? So instead of killing them, you just tear them apart?"

"For the last time, no!"
Edmund tossed Packer into the space between the bickering beastfolk, uninterested in their argument.
"So, this is the bastard responsible for what happened to the former Duke and his husband?"

"The one who ordered it is someone else."
"Then he’s just a spy?"
"A wretched one. That makes his crimes even worse."

Liana Valkyrisen.
And Benjamin Valkyrisen.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

Like most of Valkyrisen, they had always been fiercely protective of beastfolk.
But the reason for their devotion was clear—neither of them had been born into ordinary circumstances.
Benjamin had been born human but was raised among beastfolk.

Liana, of course, had been a Valkyrisen princess from birth.
The couple had taken in every beastfolk child they found who had lost their home.
Even the ones others had given up on—troublemakers no one could handle. Liana had kept them close and taken responsibility for them.

Because of them, most beastfolk in Valkyrisen owed them a debt of gratitude.
The Silver Order, the Golden Order.
Tauros, who had rushed in straight from the kitchen.

Eagles, the Duke’s aide.
Even the attendants like Goril.
Every beastfolk who had been saved by them had gathered.

"Go easy on him."
"How could we possibly go easy on him?"
"We still have to present him to Grandfather. If he dies before then… Well, I’ll leave it to your imagination what he’ll do."

"…Shit. Somebody patch him up, at least."
Edmund left Packer in their hands and stepped out of the interrogation chamber.
That was when he ran into his youngest brother—who usually avoided people at all costs.

"Karon."
Sighing, Edmund called the boy’s name, already knowing why he was here.
Karon clenched and unclenched his fists as Packer’s screams echoed from the chamber.

"Turn around for a bit. It’s too gruesome for you to see—"
Karon cut him off.
"Young Master."

Still refusing to call him brother.
Edmund smiled wryly but responded kindly. "Yes?"
"In the underground of Serenity Palace… Do you know how many bodies are buried there?"

"……."
I put them there myself.
Karon didn’t say it out loud, but his empty, blackened eyes made it clear.

Perhaps it was the dim lighting of the underground, but his normally red eyes looked dark enough to swallow the light.
"That wasn’t your fault—"
Before Edmund could finish, Karon shut him down.

"I know exactly what kind of pain they felt as they died. Because I experience it myself every day."
He hadn’t said this to ask for sympathy.
Pulling the cloth wrapped around his lower face up a little higher, Karon continued.

"So, at the very end—make sure he’s still alive when you bring him to me."
For the first time, his eyes gleamed with something close to life.
A vivid, poisonous brilliance, like a blooming crimson flower of death.

"I’ll make sure he suffers while his insides rot into mush. While he’s still breathing."
***
Elodie didn’t know exactly what had happened.

Because Edmund had handled everything before she could step in.
After that day, Packer had vanished without a trace.
‘What the hell did they do to him?’

No one would tell her.
Even when she asked Squirrel, the girl awkwardly changed the subject.
It was obvious that Packer was paying for his crimes in full.

‘Well, that much is only natural.’
She had no complaints.
If Edmund hadn’t dealt with him, Elodie had been fully prepared to bash him into pulp with the Holy Hammer herself.

The problem was—
Now that Edmund had handled everything, she had no way of extracting information from Packer.
He should share some details.

She had a right to know.
In the end, she had no choice but to go check for herself.
"Ah, no, you cannot go down there!"

A five-year-old child appeared at the top of the stairs leading to the underground prison.
The knights of the Silver Order, standing guard, nearly jumped out of their armor.
"Are you really saying no?"

Elodie spread her arms wide, gazing up at the wolf knights with the most pitiful, pleading eyes.
"Really, really?"
Blinking her big round eyes, she brought her tiny fists up under her chin and asked in the sweetest voice.

Her ultimate weapon.
The irresistible charm she had only ever used on Sera before.
"Ughhh!"

The knights screamed as if they were being tortured. One even slammed his head against the wall, trying to resist.
But they stood firm.
Clenching their eyes shut, they shook their heads desperately.

"Even if you put a sword to our throats, we cannot let you through!"
"Hmm…"
When her cuteness failed, Elodie dropped the act and crossed her arms.

Then, she resorted to threats.
"Then I won’t ask the wolves to hold me anymore."
"Wh-What…?"

"I’ll only ask the lions from now on."
"Young Lady, please, anything but that!"
The wolves’ rock-solid determination wavered under the weight of her words.

Just as their resolve began to crack, heavy footsteps echoed up from the underground staircase.
Elodie turned her head.
And there, climbing the steps, was a figure in a black mask—

With piercing red eyes.
‘…Fairy Godmother?’