The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

“Lady Zenovia.”

“What?”
At the sound of her name, Zenovia, always ready to pick a fight at a moment’s notice, snapped back fiercely.
It was Physician Packer.

“Perfect timing.”
Ugh.
“Oh, it’s you.”

As the physician looked ready to launch into a lecture, Zenovia scowled and subtly began to put some distance between them.
“You mentioned before that you couldn’t sleep because something was on your mind.”
“I did.”

“Did you take the medicine I prescribed you? Stress can cause insomnia, and you need to be proactive about managing it.”
Physician Packer adjusted his slipping glasses with a sharp, meticulous expression.
Zenovia replied indifferently.

“I don’t need it anymore.”
“What? Lady Zenovia, this isn’t a matter of stubbornness. If you ignore a physician’s prescription, your health could—”
“I said I don’t need it. I sleep just fine now.”

“I’ve warned you repeatedly that stopping medication just because symptoms improve temporarily is not advisable.”
“No, I mean, the thing that was bothering me is gone. Seriously, why are physicians so persistent?”
Actually, it wasn’t just physicians.

Did adults all get some kind of curse that made them unable to keep their mouths shut when they saw her?
Couldn’t they just let her be?
Zenovia grumbled, scratching her head with the pommel of her sword.
Physician Packer frowned, unable to accept her words.

“You’re saying the thing that was bothering you is gone?”
He sounded unconvinced.
Zenovia caught on to that disbelief and shot him an annoyed glare.

But then, as if deciding to humor him, she crossed her arms and smirked confidently.
“The kid’s not so bad, actually. I think I misunderstood something. I don’t even know why I hated her so much in the first place…”
Zenovia searched her memory.

“I guess I thought that because my grandfather hated beastfolk, and she was the beastfolk he cherished the most, she must have been the reason he resented me.”
Thinking back on it now, it was absurd.
Why had she come to such a ridiculous conclusion?

Maybe all those times her older brother smacked her on the head really did lower her intelligence.
As that thought settled in, Zenovia’s expression grew serious.
“Actually, do you have any medicine that can make me smarter?”

“…No.”
“Damn. This is bad. What do I do about my brain?”
Would her brother take responsibility for this?

Did he think being the only smart one was fair?
Zenovia grumbled as she ruffled her own hair, then pointed a finger at Packer.
“I’ll take the medicine when I feel like it, but if you nag me again, I’m going to run at full speed every time I see you.”

“Yes, but consistency is important for—”
“Ugh, fine! I got it!”
The young noble groaned, shuddering at the thought of more lectures, and quickly turned to flee.

“She’s getting along with the Ratson girl?”
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
At this point in time, she should have been thrashing like a cat that had just lost its territory.

She wasn’t supposed to be avoiding him because of his nagging—she was supposed to be coming to him constantly because of that Ratson girl.
More than that, she was supposed to be relying on him.
Gracia Ratson.

The little girl who went by the name Elodie.
Could it be?
Had she actually awakened the Ratson family’s healing abilities?

But she was only five years old.
No way…
The rumors that Duke Valkyrisen’s face blindness had been completely cured… Could they be true?

Damn it, that disease was supposed to be incurable.
Healing an affliction that had no cure?
That was insane.

God’s favor? That kind of cheat ability actually exists in this world?!
Packer was on the verge of losing his mind.
It was too unfair.

Why, of all places, did the Ratson family’s last heir have to show up in Valkyrisen, where he had planted his roots?
He had to do something.
If things continued this way, Valkyrisen would end up in that little girl’s hands.

But he couldn’t use the young heir.
Even if it was easy to approach him under the pretense of treating his nightmares, there was no way the boy would ever accept an order to harm a child.
And if the thoughts Packer had carefully instilled in him so far started to conflict with reality…

The mere thought of it was horrifying.
Still, he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, so he had no choice but to use the second heir—the one he had kept in reserve until now.
That fiery temper of his would ensure immediate results.

This translation is the intellectual property of .
Zenovia had been bristling at that Ratson girl like an intruder rolling in at the worst possible time.
But…

Instead of spiraling further, instead of falling deeper under his control… the second heir had chosen her.
Even before Packer had made his move.
Realizing that his plans were beginning to unravel, the physician clenched his teeth.

After everything he had done.
Still… It’s fine. As long as I keep my hold on that fool Edmund, nothing else matters.
No matter how much divine favor Gracia Ratson had, no matter if she was practically God’s pampered pet, that one would never escape his grasp.

And no matter how exceptional she is, she’s still just a child.
Talent and age were two separate things.
An inexperienced child would always have vulnerabilities.

I have to act before things get worse.
Regaining his composure in an instant, Physician Packer calmly resumed his steps.
***

Edmund often wondered.
Would it have been better if that day had been visibly ominous?
But that morning had been utterly ordinary.

He had woken up as usual, eaten his breakfast as usual, and headed to the training grounds as usual to complete his drills.
The world was peaceful, and the sunlight was harsh.
“Zenovia, you should use your pretty mouth for pretty words.”

“Grrrr—.”
“Where did you even learn to growl like that? Sir Howlf, was it you?”
“…I protest my innocence.”

Zenovia, at barely seven years old, had been an even greater troublemaker than she was now.
“Karon, what brings you all the way out here? Aren’t you cold?”
“…”

“If something’s troubling you, you can tell me. I’ll listen, no matter what it is.”
When Edmund spoke to Karon, who had secretly wandered outside the palace annex, the boy openly avoided him.
A mere four-year-old child.

“…Sigh.”
He had to take good care of his younger siblings.
That day, as he let out a deep sigh over the unspoken burdens of an eldest son, he never once imagined that even the smallest of incidents would occur.

And yet, that was the day Edmund lost his parents.
Right before his very eyes.
“Mother…”

“…”
“…Father.”
“…”

To his astonishment, the world did not end.
His parents’ time had stopped forever.
Yet reality continued to move forward, heedless and indifferent.

From that day on, nightmares came for him every night, tireless and relentless.
He tried to push them away, but it was useless.
It wasn’t something he could overcome with sheer willpower.

So what choice did he have?
Even as the regrets of that day clung to him, threatening to drag him into a pit, he couldn’t afford to let himself drown in despair.
There was no time for that.

The world hadn’t ended. Time was still moving forward. He was the eldest son, and his parents were gone.
Get up.
Shake it off.

For a brief moment, Edmund stared blankly out the window as the morning light crept in.
The sky was just as clear as it had been on that day.
“Did you get any rest?”

At the sound of the voice, Edmund turned his head.
In the far corner of the infirmary, Physician Packer was deeply absorbed in his research, jotting down notes.
Of course, there was no one else it could be.

“I did. You said the treatment erases the memory of dreams, didn’t you? I don’t think I had any nightmares today.”
“It’s good to hear that it’s working.”
“I’m always grateful.”

“It’s only natural. After all, I am your personal physician.”
“I’ll continue to rely on you in the future.”
With that, Edmund rose from his seat.

Another perfectly ordinary morning.
He had woken up as usual, eaten his breakfast as usual, and headed to the training grounds as usual to complete his drills.
The world was peaceful, and with winter approaching, the morning air was starting to turn crisp.

Zenovia had grown bigger, but she was still just as unpredictable, and Karon, with his worsening condition, had withdrawn even further into himself.
On that day, he had not even dared to imagine that some kind of miracle would come his way.
“Edmund.”

And so, when it did—
“Yes, Lady Ratson?”
“I can chase away all the bad dreams for you.”

—he never expected that salvation would arrive on such an ordinary day.
Not at all.