TSVD 04

What do I do now?

The reality of falling from a witch who represented the West to a mere teddy bear overnight was overwhelming.

I had to find a way.

A way to escape this teddy bear body and return home.

But how?

No matter how hard I thought, no other method came to mind.

There wasn’t a single person who knew my true identity, nor anyone who could save me.

Blake, completely unaware of my panic, suddenly snatched the teddy bear… no, me—from Rain’s hands.

Under the cold moonlight that glowed faintly,

the figure of the man in the gray vest entered my vision like a slow-motion scene.

And then, in that moment—

‘Huh?’

I felt a thrilling surge of magic power filling my entire body.

It felt as though someone had poured fresh spring water into an empty bucket.

‘This feeling!’

It was definitely magic power.

Without question, it was magic.

But how could my magic be replenishing?

It lasted only a moment, but the sensation of my magic slightly recovering was vivid.

Feeling the tingling in my magic pathways, my eyes rolled around.

It wasn’t enough to fully restore my power immediately, but—

‘This is definitely magic replenishment.’

I could clearly feel magic slowly filling up from the person holding my dangling legs.

‘Huh? I can move my limbs a little now too?’

Meanwhile, the two men, unaware that the confused teddy bear (me) was frantically rolling her eyes, continued their heated discussion.

“…Sometimes you act like you have two lives. My patience isn’t that great. You know that, don’t you?”

A faint irritation seeped through his slow tone.

Noticing Blake’s annoyance, Rain stepped back slightly and spoke in a smaller voice.

“H-however, that gift is really a problem.”

“Is this gift really that bad?”

“It’s far too different from ordinary gifts! If you want to leave a good impression on Lady Everett, I think another present would be better.”

Blake, rendered speechless by the firm answer, glared sharply at Rain.

After a moment of silence, he let out a deep sigh and muttered quietly,

“I never intended to do such pointless things from the beginning. Besides, why do I need to impress Leia Everett?”

His emotionless words were so cold they almost sent chills down my spine.

Rain fell silent.

Pointless things.

That calm attitude as though nothing in the world held any value.

That old-man-like tone that sounded as if dying at any moment wouldn’t matter.

‘What the hell?’

Even I, who had been distracted by the magic replenishment, found myself staring at him.

‘That guy Blake….’

He’s the type who piles up karma with his mouth alone.

“Handle this yourself.”

In the now icy atmosphere, Blake casually tossed me toward Rain.

“Whoa!”

The moment I landed in Rain’s arms, the stream of magic filling my body abruptly stopped.

‘Huh? The magic stopped flowing as soon as Blake moved away.’

It felt like savoring a fine wine only for Max to snatch it away midway.

I checked my magic pathways again, but the magic I had clearly felt earlier had completely disappeared.

Could this really be a coincidence?

Or…

‘Does that man possess some kind of magic replenishment ability?’

No way.

Even I almost laughed at the absurdity of my own imagination.

A magic replenishment ability.

It was an ability considered legendary even in the world of other races.

Once every few hundred years, it was said that a human would occasionally be born with the innate ability to supply magic power to others. Honestly, I never believed such an ability truly existed.

After all, I had never seen it once in all my years as a witch.

‘But just now, my magic definitely recovered.’

If he truly possessed a magic replenishment ability, then to beings like witches and dragons, who depended heavily on magic, he would be an unimaginably precious existence.

“Yes, then I’ll ask the servants to dispose of this somehow. Should I send another knight to a nearby jeweler for a different gift?”

So if—just if—Blake really possessed magic replenishment abilities…

“Do as you please. I’m heading back to the LeBlanc estate, so deliver it yourself.”

“Excuse me? You’re leaving without even greeting Lady Everett? They said Crown Prince Ian would also be arriving soon—”

“That’s exactly why I should leave. Once Ian arrives, those idiots over there will start spewing nonsense again.”

As Blake coldly turned away, my eyes blankly followed the tips of his fingers.

And then suddenly, alarm bells rang in my head.

‘ I have to follow Blake!’

Really, even if the possibility was absurdly small—

If he truly was a magic replenishment ability user—

‘Blake might be the only savior capable of getting me out of this miserable situation.’

I needed Blake.

More than anyone else.

And so, without realizing it, I desperately shouted—

“Don’t go, Blake!”

I called his name.

“……?”

“…Rain.”

In the suddenly silent terrace, Blake slowly turned around with a creaking motion.

“Have you seriously lost your mind? No matter how much you want to stop me, you’ve been speaking informally this whole time—”

“T-that wasn’t me! Why do you keep blaming me?! I didn’t say anything!”

“Then who did?”

He slightly raised an eyebrow as he scanned the terrace where no one besides the two of them was present.

“I don’t know either! But I heard it too. Wasn’t it clearly a woman’s voice?”

“A woman’s voice?”

The blond man called Rain pounded his chest indignantly, offended that Blake couldn’t even distinguish that properly.

Then he shuddered and muttered that this was getting scary.

No one seemed to think that I was the one shouting.

Hmm, why?

Was my voice too small?

Tilting my head, I inhaled deeply again.

Then I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Blake LeBlanc! Over here, over here!”

The two men stiffened, their gazes slowly dropping toward the source of the voice.

Oh! They finally noticed me!

“Where is that voice coming from…?”

Rain lifted my body with one hand and burst out laughing.

“Ahaha, I think I’ve gone crazy. I just heard this doll calling the Commander’s name.”

“Wait a second, Rain. That teddy bear is moving right now.”

“No matter what, a teddy bear can’t possibly mov—”

And then he spotted me blinking my pale green, pea-like eyes.

“…….”

“Hello?”

“GAAAAAAAH!”

At Rain’s scream, Blake immediately drew the sword from his waist.

“Rain!”

“T-the bear! The teddy bear is talking! The teddy bear greeted me!”

“Calm down.”

“Huaaagh! It’s a ghost!”

Pale-faced, Rain hurriedly hurled me to the floor.

Oww, dizzy!

With a loud thud, I crashed into the wall and clutched my spinning head.

How violent. Though thanks to that, I managed to escape his hands.

After barely regaining my balance and wobbling forward to face Blake, I finally became certain.

From him, standing less than a meter away, I could feel the overwhelming power of a supernatural ability.

Magic replenishment ability.

Blake LeBlanc was definitely a magic replenishment ability user.

And an extremely powerful one at that.

“H-hey, hey!”

That noisy guy named Rain pointed at me while screaming dramatically.

Finally facing the moving teddy bear (me), Blake’s beautiful violet eyes widened slightly.

He froze as though he had seen a ghost.

Looking at the Empire’s greatest and most magnificent swordmaster, I cheerfully greeted him.

“Hello, my savior!”

Blake LeBlanc.

The finest sword of the Kasdonia Empire.

The eldest legitimate son of the LeBlanc family, and a man whose appearance attracted attention wherever he went.

A person who possessed every quality others would envy.

But if one had to summarize his life in a single phrase—

it was a waking nightmare.

Even within the prestigious LeBlanc Ducal House, a family of master swordsmen so powerful that even the imperial family could not treat them carelessly, Blake LeBlanc was called a genius.

Yet sometimes, people pitied him.

Because of the “Sleepless Curse” of the LeBlanc family.

The Sleepless Curse.

An ancient curse passed down through the LeBlanc bloodline, and the greatest mystery no one had ever solved.

Who cursed them?

When?

Where?

Since no one knew the cause, naturally, there was no known cure.

‘The price of talent granted by a demon.’

Some people referred to their curse that way.

They said the LeBlanc family’s swordsmanship, which surpassed human limits, was obtained by selling their souls to demons.

Their transcendent swordsmanship.

The constant dark circles beneath their eyes from being unable to sleep.

Their blunt and irritable personalities.

Combined with the fact that the LeBlanc family rarely appeared in high society, they were always the center of rumors.

‘Did you hear? The LeBlanc family wiped out the McCain Cartel this time. They say they’re practically the real rulers now.’

‘The McCain Cartel? You mean the mercenary organization that controlled the eastern region?’

‘Exactly. My business in the East completely collapsed because of those bastards before!’

‘Be careful. I heard there isn’t a single organization or cartel in the Empire untouched by the LeBlanc family’s influence. If you want to do business, you have to watch their mood.’

‘Haah… but how are we supposed to do that?’

All the terrifying cartels and organizations were said to be in the grasp of the LeBlanc family.

Their eyes and ears existed everywhere.

Anyone who crossed the LeBlanc family disappeared without a trace.

That was the rumor spread throughout the Empire.

And all of it was true.

However, there was one thing people didn’t know…

Blake LeBlanc—the ruler of the underworld, the man rumored to possess a violent personality due to his curse—

‘…I’m sleepy.’

—was actually suffering from severe lethargy caused by extreme sleep deprivation.