The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella-Chapter 154

A divine prophecy?

The beastfolk’s god, Phenerus, had never once spoken directly.

Nor had the god ever conveyed His will indirectly.

Everyone knew that. And yet, after the extermination of the Ratson family and the peace that followed, people were easily swayed by that so-called prophecy.

Despite the discomfort they felt for having killed the god’s representative—even after the Ratsons had lost their power—they let themselves be absolved by the new representative’s so-called pardon.

More and more voices called for Gracia Ratson to be found and executed, claiming that only then could perfect peace be achieved.

It was collective madness.

Karon knew that this prophecy—or rather, not just the prophecy but all the rumors spread about the Ratson family—had been deliberately orchestrated by House Basilisk.

Knowing that didn’t change anything.

“Elodie.”

“...”

“Gracia. You have to run.”

“Don’t. Stop it.”

Elodie replied weakly.

Karon, seeing that she had no intention of moving, scooped her into his arms.

She let herself be pulled along without resistance.

For a moment, her empty gaze floating in space slowly turned toward Karon.

Blinking slowly, she spoke in a faint voice.

“You should run.”

He ignored her, of course.

What nonsense.

Everyone was calling for her execution.

Karon almost lashed out in fury but forced the anger back down.

“You never listen. You said I was your master, didn’t you?”

“...”

“You should obey your master.”

Her cracked, chapped lips curled faintly.

Karon stared hungrily at the gentle arc of that smile.

It had been so long.

So long since Elodie had smiled at him, even as a joke.

For a brief moment, he stopped in his tracks, entranced. But he quickly pulled himself together.

“Hey.”

“...”

“I thought I could prevent every misfortune that would come my way. And up until now, everything had gone smoothly, without a single mistake. I was arrogant.”

“Enough. Stop talking.”

Karon cut her off.

Maybe it would’ve been easier if she screamed or threw something at him.

But instead, she smiled, as if she’d already transcended everything, and her calm tone unsettled him even more.

“I’ll listen when we get there.”

“If I don’t say it now, I don’t think I’ll get the chance again.”

“....”

That one sentence silenced him completely, as if his mouth had been locked shut.

And because her voice sounded so fragile it might break, he could do nothing but lean in closer.

He never stood a chance against her.

“So I kept wondering what the point of my existence even was if I failed to protect anything.”

Elodie got straight to the point.

“But now, I think... maybe it was to save you.”

“...”

Save him? For what?

“You have to live. Watching you, I get the feeling you’d follow me in death.”

She wasn’t wrong.

She’d always had good instincts, even as a child.

Even half-conscious, she must’ve sensed something in Karon and made sure to say that.

“Don’t you dare give up. Live.”

Karon didn’t want to keep living in a world without Elodie.

He didn’t even want to say he would.

The moment he did, Elodie would relax, close her eyes, and fall asleep forever.

“You’re not going to die.”

“You know I won’t live long.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“If you want me to live a long life, then you have to, too.”

“No. You have to live. You... maybe you still have a chance.”

Karon would’ve agreed with anything she said—if only her safety had been guaranteed.

But if she thought he was going to play along with something like that, she was sadly mistaken.

“This place isn’t safe either. We have to keep moving.”

Karon didn’t lie to comfort her. He carried her and left for the next village.

And the next day, he came face to face with Elodie’s cold corpse.

***

Karon was the only one protecting Elodie.

But there came a point when he had no choice but to leave her behind to find food and basic supplies.

He couldn’t exactly drag a fugitive like her around in public.

And Elodie had lost her healing abilities—she was weak now.

So the stronger, freer Karon had been taking quick trips, gathering what they needed and returning as fast as he could.

For quite a long time.

Then one day, after returning to the hut where they were temporarily staying, food in hand...

“Ha! Hahaha! I did it! I killed Gracia Ratson!”

“Now His Holiness will finally regain the true power of the god!”

“For Basilisk!”

By the time Karon got ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) back, crazed zealots—no doubt indoctrinated by Basilisk—had stabbed Elodie to death.

All it took was one moment of carelessness.

They’d followed Karon secretly ever since he passed the inspection checkpoint with Elodie.

No matter how sharp Karon’s natural senses were, he couldn’t stay on high alert every second of the day.

And that single moment of distraction ended like this.

Blood stained the old bed. One limp arm dangled off the edge.

Karon couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He stood there, as if nailed to the spot... just staring.

“So you’re the bastard who ran off with that Ratson bitch?”

“...”

“You might’ve been the High Priest’s heir once, but now you’re clinging to a witch. You’ve lost your damn mind.”

“...A witch?”

Only then did Karon react.

When he echoed the word, the zealot—utterly convinced of his righteousness—grinned as he answered.

“She could’ve brought peace to the world just by offering up her own life. But instead she ran, trying to save herself. If that’s not a witch, then what is?”

So if she sacrificed herself, she was a saint.

But if she ran to live, she was a witch?

Karon let out a hollow laugh.

He couldn’t stop laughing.

Killed by scum like this?

These worthless bastards...

“Must’ve really gone crazy. Let’s see that face.”

The Basilisk cultists came closer without hesitation.

Maybe because he didn’t seem to have a weapon. Maybe because he looked like he was standing there unarmed and alone.

Karon had never been good at protecting others.

All he was ever good at was destroying things once they were in his hands.

That had been true since the days he was used as a test subject.

Destruction.

Erasing things so thoroughly it was like they never existed.

That, he could do better than breathing.

Maybe he’d felt suffocated all this time, forced to wear clothes that didn’t fit.

If what he felt now was a sense of freedom... then maybe he really was a monster.

At least now Elodie would never know what he’d done.

He didn’t have to hold back anymore.

Didn’t have to resist anything.

Karon gave in to instinct.

And when he came to, the cultists—and the entire surrounding village—had been erased without a trace.

Yet in his arms, Elodie was still there, cradled gently.

Even after everything around them had been obliterated, her body hadn’t suffered a single scratch.

Was this why he’d learned to control his poison?

Karon silently looked down at her.

“I kept wondering what the point of my existence even was if I failed to protect anything. But now I think... maybe it was to save you.”

“You have to live. Watching you, I get the feeling you’d follow me in death.”

“No. You have to live. You... maybe you still have a chance.”

Did you know it would end like this?

Somehow, it didn’t feel like you didn’t.

If those weren’t your last words, then what were they?

Ever since the High Priest and Lady Ratson died, she’d been quietly preparing for her own death.

Maybe this time it was an accident. But either way, she would’ve left eventually.

Whether she was murdered, or simply withered away... she was already dying little by little.

And still, she told Karon to live.

“...”

Karon had planned to take his own life the day after Elodie died.

But you told me to live.

You said saving me might’ve been the reason you existed.

So before he died, he had to do something.

And somehow, what he had to do became clear.

Karon decided he would stop holding back and put all the things he’d restrained for her sake into action