The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 139

"Where are we going?"

As the prince’s attendant moved quickly, the Bluewood Countess hurried after him, asking urgently.

“Noba Training Hall... well, to put it less grandly, it’s more accurate to call it the fraudster’s den.”

“Fraudster?”

“They were prearranged by Nyx Basilisk, just in case. He raised them on the side, not knowing when they might come in handy—but now they’ve become useful.”

Just as the Countess had said earlier—was he not afraid of consequences? After all, they were framing the Emperor.

Naturally, it was better to bring in someone external, someone with no ties to them, to avoid any direct connection.

If they could make use of the currently trending Noba Training Hall, all the better.

“Word of the Ratson Lady’s disappearance has spread far enough. Now it’s time to plant the idea of who the culprit is.”

And they were able to smoothly spread the rumors.

That once one reached a certain level in training, it was possible to absorb and steal holy power from a priest.

***

Contact came from Nyx Basilisk.

“Take it.”

“...”

Daniel accepted the communication orb held out in front of him, doing his best ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) to compose his expression.

As soon as the call connected, he drew his usual gentle smile across his lips.

“How goes it?”

—Proceeding without a hitch. Doubt about the Emperor will begin soon.

“I see. That’s a relief.”

—What about the Ratson brat?

“She cried and screamed endlessly at first, but lately she’s gone quiet, as if she’s given up trying to escape.”

Daniel aimed the communication orb toward Elodie, showing her lying still with her eyes closed inside her cell.

She looked exhausted, as if she’d fallen asleep.

Elodie was still in captivity.

By their principles, she should have already been killed, but neither Nyx Basilisk nor anyone else could bring themselves to deal with the child directly.

Nor did they want to.

To directly murder the heir of the Ratson family would risk divine punishment.

It would give the gods a valid reason to interfere with their plans.

So they had to find someone else to do it.

Someone who would be the one punished by the gods.

—Tsk. Should’ve brought her straight to me.

Then he could have used the Ratson bloodline as a test subject.

As long as she wasn’t killed, it wouldn’t matter what they did to her.

If only he could run his experiments before handing her over to the assassin...

Nyx’s blood-red eyes gleamed momentarily with excitement and madness.

But it was fleeting.

That was no longer an option.

Hah.

What a waste.

Rumors about Gracia Ratson’s disappearance had spread far and wide across the continent—far more than they had intended.

As if someone had deliberately pushed it further, within barely a week, it had turned into this.

Because of that, the schedule had been moved up, and transporting Gracia Ratson had become significantly more difficult.

Now that the entire empire’s population knew she was missing, the risk of being discovered during the transfer had skyrocketed.

Just then, Daniel, who had been quiet, cautiously offered a suggestion.

“What if we asked the Head of the Training Hall to handle it?”

—The Head of the Training Hall?

About three years ago—

Nyx had lent the power of the Evil God to a fraudster who was gaining some notoriety within the Animallia Empire.

In case he needed to use him one day.

But the Head of the Training Hall had no knowledge of the current plans.

He was just another pawn on the board.

Like Physician Packer, who had once been planted as a spy inside Valkyrisen.

A tool to be used and discarded.

“If we use him instead of hiring an assassin, we can squeeze all the use out of him and even have him take care of the Ratson Lady.”

—What a thrifty proposal.

Not bad.

Lure the Bluewood Lady to the training hall, eliminate her, and then do the same to the Ratson Lady.

And when it's over, the training hall is struck by divine retribution and all evidence is erased...

—So long as we time it properly to prevent the Bluewood Lady and the Ratson Lady from crossing paths.

He had orchestrated a societal trend and even roped in the Emperor. With that level of skill, it seemed unlikely there would be any issue.

—Let’s do it that way.

***

“You really are a great actor.”

It had been so convincing, Elodie had almost believed she was actually about to be captured and eliminated.

She stood up and let out a soft laugh.

Daniel furrowed his brow slightly but said nothing, turning his gaze away.

He hadn’t been able to send Nyx even the slightest signal that he was being held hostage.

It hadn’t even crossed his mind.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

And really, with Holy Knights, the young masters of Valkyrisen, and an entire order of knights surrounding him, who wouldn’t feel that way?

The knights, who had been anxiously waiting, rushed over the moment the communication ended and flung the prison door open.

“My lady, the floor must’ve been freezing! You didn’t catch frostbite, did you?!”

“Being in such a filthy place can’t be good for your lungs. Let me take you upstairs and bring you some warm cocoa.”

“I’m fine. I’m about to infiltrate the training hall anyway.”

“Do you really have to do that? It’s dangerous...”

“I’m just going to be treated nicely and come back. That’s all.”

And it wasn’t going to take long either.

Elodie had a plan.

***

“You want me to eliminate the Ratson Lady? Is... is that really okay?”

Faced with orders to kill the daughter of the High Priest, the head of the training hall, Camel, showed clear unease.

He didn’t know the details, but even without them, he knew enough to realize—killing the bloodline of the God’s beloved representative would not end well.

Even a clueless child would sense that such an act would not go unpunished.

There was no way it would end well.

“The public will believe it was the Emperor of Animallia’s doing. What are you so worried about?”

“But... won’t the God know the truth? What if divine punishment...”

“Divine punishment, my ass. If that existed, would the Ratson family be in the state they’re in now?”

Camel fell silent, but his eyes were still filled with distrust.

A strong sense of foreboding clung to him—he felt sure he’d be cast aside once he’d served his purpose.

“I’m not saying do it now. You have to wait until everything is finished. Kill her just before you evacuate. Then, you’ll receive half of the promised sum.”

An advance payment.

The man in the hood rummaged through a bag connected to a subspace and calmly placed a pouch of gold coins on the desk.

One, two, three, four... there was no end to them.

Camel’s eyes went wide.

He picked up a coin and bit it, muttering, “Wow... it’s real gold...”

Of course, he wasn’t surprised just because he’d been given gold coins.

After all, he was backed by noble sponsors.

It was the amount that shocked him.

The coin pouches completely covered the desk.

At this rate, he could probably swim in them.

“Money should always be handled properly.”

“Oh, truer words were never spoken!”

Camel’s eyes now gleamed like the coins themselves.

All that talk about divine punishment was instantly forgotten.

“When the Bluewood Lady arrives, lure her to the designated location, then begin the operation. Don’t kill her beforehand. If things go wrong, it’ll be a disaster.”

“Of course, of course.”

Camel rubbed his hands together obsequiously, and when the hooded men arrived carrying Elodie in a sack, he immediately had her tossed into the underground prison.

“Hey, be careful with her!”

“You bastard, you trying to die?!”

Suddenly, the men started yelling in unison.

“Huh? Wh-what did I...?” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“No excuses. Don’t leave a single scratch on her, make sure she eats well, and if she needs anything, take care of it. Got it?”

“Y-yes, sir...”

They were the ones who ordered him to kill her—so why were they insisting she be treated like royalty before that? What kind of twisted taste was that?

Still, since they held the purse strings, Camel obediently nodded.

At that moment, Elodie, calmly fixing her disheveled clothes, suddenly cut in.

“That’s a lie.”

“What?”

“I said, it’s a lie. I’m the God’s representative. If I’m killed, divine punishment will strike immediately. They’re using you to avoid it.”

“You didn’t even gag her?”

“Hmph, you’ll regret not believing me. A massive flood will strike.”

“Flood, seriously? It’s not even rainy season. The sun’s blazing outside. You’ll say anything to save yourself.”

“If you want to stop the thunder and lightning, come find me.”

Naturally, Camel didn’t believe her.

But the very next day, when it started raining and didn’t stop all the way into the evening, her words began to echo in his mind.

No way. It couldn’t be...

Out of curiosity, he visited Elodie again, and she said:

“They say your training method allows future foresight. Then you must know that tomorrow, the Taranta Bridge will collapse due to the flood.”

“...”

That couldn’t be.

But the next day, an official came running.

“Headmaster! The bridge really collapsed! Who is that girl?!”

“A-are we really going to be struck by divine punishment?!”

“Quiet! Bridges can collapse if the river floods! Everyone’s been saying for months that bridge was going to fall anyway!”

But the rain didn’t stop, and Elodie’s prophecies didn’t end there.

“I prayed to God. The people are suffering from flood damage, so I asked for the rain to stop tomorrow.”

“There will be a murder in the city soon...”

“A young noble of House Meacat will fall off a horse and lose his memory...”

“If you dig in the Luga Basin, you’ll find buried treasure...”

Eventually, Camel had no choice but to admit it.

“Prophet...”

Elodie, more than just the High Priest’s daughter, was surely a prophet sent by the gods.

He released her from the prison, guided her to the most luxurious room in the training hall, and knelt before her.

“You received help from Nyx Basilisk, didn’t you?”

“H-how did you...?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? He gave you mysterious powers, didn’t he?”

“Yes... he said it was the power of an ancient god...”

“Nope. That’s an evil god.”

“An—an evil god?!”

“You tried to become a cult leader serving an evil god and even accepted payment to kill me, a prophet. You’ll never be saved—even in death.”

Sitting on a sofa, resting her chin in one hand and awkwardly crossing her short legs, Elodie suddenly adopted a solemn tone.

“Gasp... Then what must I do?”

“Repent and follow me. Then gold and treasure will be yours as well.”

“I’ll follow you!”

And just like that, Elodie took over the training hall in one swift move.