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~Chapter 11~
While Elodie was lost in thought—
“Chik chiiik. (This way, please.)”
A holy knight field mouse, apparently forewarned of her arrival, came forward to lead the way.
To avoid trampling the dainty homes of the mice with their heavy feet, they walked along the path that had been neatly cleared beside the fortress wall.
After perhaps ten steps,
a grand castle—about the height of a duke—came into view.
“Oh…”
To think this was the High Priest’s castle—her chest involuntarily tightened.
Instead of feeling awe and reverence, she just wanted to protect and cradle it.
‘Could it be that Ratson is more of a mascot?’
After all, every god has its symbolic animal.
If the field mouse was the divine symbol, then it would make sense that Ratson naturally became the High Priest.
While Elodie was entertaining this reasonable doubt,
the palm-sized castle gate opened, and a pair of field mice dressed in white silk embroidered with gold appeared.
At a glance, Elodie knew they were the High Priest and his wife.
Her parents.
‘Parents…’
That was something she had never even dared to hope for.
In a life where surviving a single day was already a miracle,
having something like a family had been a luxury beyond imagination.
When others dreamed about having kin or blood ties,
she had been forced to risk her life scavenging for food instead.
So she had no idea how to react.
She had never even imagined such a moment.
While Elodie’s gaze darted everywhere, unable to settle—
“Chik…!”
Trembling, whiskers quivering, and eyes brimming with tears,
the field mouse couple dashed straight toward her,
their golden crowns slipping from their heads.
“W-wait—wah!”
Startled, Elodie instinctively spread out her hands to catch the onrushing Ratson couple.
They landed neatly in her small palms,
faces drenched with tears.
Their tiny, shaking paws wrapped tightly around her thumb,
squeaking uncontrollably.
“Chik, chiiik… (My child… my dear child…)”
Their warmth seeped into her cold palms,
melting the chill that had settled there.
Her hands became damp with their tears.
“……”
Elodie no longer complained about the smallness of their domain.
She couldn’t.
Though light in her hands,
the love that weighed on her chest was beyond measure.
Their emotions crashed over her like waves—
too immense to resist—
and all she could do was let them engulf her.
Family.
Even a mere “rat” like her was someone’s precious family.
The tenderness of that realization—
so overwhelming it felt she might suffocate—filled her chest.
“Chiiik, chik. Chiii… (We’re sorry, my child. We’re so, so sorry.)”
And finally, Elodie began to understand—
what it meant to have someone waiting for you to come home.
“Chiiik chikchik…”
Perhaps realizing what was happening,
the other field mice, who had been hesitating in fear,
rushed forward all at once to surround the girl.
“Chiiiik!”
“Chii… hhic… chihhik…”
“Oh, little one! You’ve finally returned! Waaah!”
As the mice wept and wailed, Elodie floundered awkwardly in the middle.
After a long moment, her lips trembled,
and she finally remembered the words suited for such a moment—
words she had never once spoken aloud,
and thought she never would.
“I’m… b-hack.”
I’m back.
After all those long years—
she had finally come home.
The Ratson estate turned into a sea of tears in an instant.
“Everyone’s just crying their eyes out.”
Elodie felt a swirl of emotions—
puzzled at why they’d cry so much for her,
and oddly guilty too.
It tickled her heart like soft feathers,
and she gave a small cough to shake it off—
but the feeling lingered.
“Chiiik?!”
“No, not a cold. Jus’ fine.”
Even coughing felt forbidden now.
Their attention—though overwhelming—made her lips twitch upward again and again.
“Dad, here.”
Elodie gently placed the golden crown back onto the High Priest’s head.
“And Mommy too.”
To the mouse in a beautifully refined white gown, she slipped the fallen shoe back on.
“Mom and Dad… you’re so tiny.”
Well, of course—they were mice.
But seeing them from a human’s perspective for the first time gave her a strange new feeling.
“If I hold them wrong, they might pop…”
Probably a blasphemous thought, she mused.
Elodie carefully lowered her small, precious parents back to the ground.
Their round black eyes still glistened with tears,
and it made her feel like she had done something terribly wrong.
“There, there. No more cryin’.”
“Chiiik…”
“That’s it. No cry.”
After calming them down, Elodie cleared her throat.
“Jing-jung-hae. Nanun jal jinaessu-nikka. (Calm down. I’ve been doing fine.)”
Of course, recalling her past life objectively and subjectively,
she hadn’t really been fine.
Every moment had been a battle for survival.
But saying that out loud might literally shock them to death—
and tiny mouse hearts couldn’t handle that.
So she quickly pointed toward Sera.
“Sera always helped me. Saved me. Stayed wit’ me when hard.”
“Chiiik… (That girl…)”
Then, with solemn gravity, the High Priest Ratson declared,
“Chiiik, chii–chik. (Treat that girl with utmost honor.)”
“Chik! (Yes, Your Holiness!)”
At his command, the tearful mouse attendants bustled into action,
hurrying to serve up miniature delicacies fit for their kind.
Elodie watched the bizarre scene—
mice presenting offerings to humans—
with complicated feelings.
Even a whole cake was just one bite for them.
Would it even touch their stomachs?
“Wow, this is so cute…”
Well, as long as Sera was happy, she supposed.
Though maybe too happy.
Then Lady Ratson, Elodie’s mother, spoke.
“My child, may I ask—how did your curse come to be lifted?”
“That… prob’ly Sera again…”
Elodie trailed off, deep in thought.
She remembered being cursed—turned into an animal.
A curse so strong even magic couldn’t recognize her as herself.
‘So how was it broken?’
All she remembered was crying her eyes out, confessing to Sera that she liked her—
and then, suddenly, the curse was gone.
Sera had been the only one there,
so clearly she’d had something to do with it.
“Not sure how, ‘zactly.”
Then Lady Ratson’s face grew somber, eyes closing tight.
“The curse placed upon you… was one that could only be broken by a kiss containing true love.”
“Chin-shil… sarang…?” (True love…?)
Elodie’s voice came out dazed.
“Sera, you… love me?”
“Huh?”
Sera blinked, startled by the sudden question.
Not understanding the mouse language,
she had no context for what had just been said.
But only for a moment—
then she set down the tiny dessert tray and teacup in her hands (both mouse-sized),
and smiled brightly.
Her blue eyes shone like summer skies filled with sunlight.
“Of course. I fell for you at first sight. Who wouldn’t?”
“Sera…”
That was my line!
My angel.
My salvation, my happiness, my everything.
I’d give my soul for you.
“I love you too.”
Elodie turned to Sera, her eyes shimmering with emotion,
one hand pressed reverently to her chest.
At that moment, she made up her mind.
“Mom, Dad.”
The girl called to her parents solemnly.
“I wanna live wit’ Sera in human world. Please let me. (저 세라랑 인간 세계에서 같이 살고 싶습니다. 허락해 주세요.)”
At her sudden declaration of departure,
the Ratson couple froze solid—
as did all the mice, who had been buzzing excitedly about holding a grand homecoming celebration.a
