Chapter 06 ….

“Really? Y-you believe me?”

What unbelievable luck!

Deeply moved that Blake trusted me so quickly, my round eyes sparkled brightly.

“You only get one chance. If it turns out to be a lie, you won’t escape death.”

As if to make me understand he wasn’t joking, a brief flash of killing intent flickered through his eyes that were usually full of annoyance.

But I was already hopping around like I might leap straight into the sky.

“Mm-hm! I won’t escape death!”

“…Don’t repeat what I say.”

“Mm-hm, yay!”

“…What a lunatic teddy bear.”

Max, do you see this?

Even during your master’s sabbatical, I’m still alive in the human world!

There was still a lot I needed to accomplish before I could return to where I originally belonged, but even this alone was already a huge success.

My ears perked up proudly on their own.

Things were going unbelievably smoothly, weren’t they?

I thought persuading Blake would be the hardest part, but he gave me a chance surprisingly easily.

‘To the point where he almost feels sloppy for being the villain and male lead candidate of the original story.’

Honestly, he seemed to have no expectations at all, which meant he also didn’t seem especially hostile.

It looked like he naturally assumed there was no way I could actually make him sleep.

But unlike what he thought, making him sleep wasn’t completely impossible.

‘If I can just replenish a little more magic power, I can definitely use a spell to ease the curse.’

A curse could only be completely broken by the one who cast it.

However, merely “weakening” a curse was possible if one knew the proper spell.

‘The problem is that hardly anyone knows that.’

Curse-relieving spells were extremely advanced magic, written only occasionally in old, musty books in formulas so difficult they were hard to decipher.

On top of that, the caster had to consume their own innate magical power to temporarily weaken the target’s curse.

Naturally, for human magicians who borrowed mana from external sources, such magic was nearly impossible.

‘But I can do it. Hehe.’

For a witch—especially a Great Witch like me—as long as I restored enough magic power, it was something I could accomplish effortlessly with a simple activation phrase.

Now then.

What did I need to do from here on out?

‘Stick tightly to Blake!’

That way I could replenish my magic, meet his expectations, and return to my original form.

‘And naturally getting to watch the original novel unfold up close is also very appealing. Ahem.’

The reality that had felt horrifyingly bleak just moments ago suddenly didn’t seem so bad anymore.

A grin kept slipping onto my face.

“No, Commander! No matter how exhausted you are, isn’t this decision far too impulsive?”

“Rain, don’t spread word of this anywhere else either. I’ll investigate it myself from now on.”

“But…!”

Rain, still staring at me with eyes full of suspicion, stepped forward as if determined to stop Blake even now.

However, once again, he never got to finish speaking.

“Blake! So this is where you were!”

Along with a lively, affectionate voice calling his name, the terrace doors burst open.

At the same moment, I flopped flat onto the floor.

“Leia?”

At the slowly spoken name, the brown-haired woman brightened and practically threw herself into Blake’s arms.

“It’s been so long! I missed you!”

‘That woman!’

The moment I saw the woman in Blake’s arms, I was overwhelmed with emotion.

‘The heroine! The true protagonist of this novel!’

The woman hugging Blake was named Leia Everett.

The beloved youngest daughter of the Everett Count family and Blake’s longtime childhood friend!

‘As expected of the heroine—she’s so pretty!’

Leia Everett truly possessed the appearance of a classic female lead.

Her soft light-brown hair, pale as if diluted with water, was braided neatly to one side, and the flowing silk dress exposing her neckline drew the eye naturally.

But the most captivating feature of all was her golden eyes.

They shone as brilliantly as if all the gold stored in the Holloway basement had been melted down, and those radiant eyes were fixed solely on Blake.

“Blake. I thought you wouldn’t come to the birthday banquet. You got my letter, didn’t you? Did you rush here as soon as you received it?”

Blake gently removed Leia from his arms and shook his head.

“I wouldn’t say I rushed.”

What did he just say?

That answer completely missed the point again.

This was the moment to say he flew over because he missed her so much, and instead he says he didn’t rush?

The absurdly honest reply nearly made me shout, That’s not how this works!

If only he had consulted this Lady Vivian, universally acknowledged romance novel fanatic extraordinaire, I could’ve given him the perfect answer!

(Of course, Max always clicked his tongue whenever I grabbed a novel and came up with better responses than the frustrating protagonists.)

For example:

1. “That’s right. I missed you so much my heart nearly stopped as I rushed here, my love.”

2. “Yes. The time spent apart from you was hell for me. But if it’s with you, I’d gladly leap into that hell.”

3. “Leia, if you’re asking something so obvious, then yes—I could tell you a hundred times over. I’d even come running on all fours for you.”

Any one of those would’ve been the correct answer, you hopeless romantic idiot!

But I held my tongue.

Instead, I pressed my paws against the floor and subtly shoved my back forward, inching closer and closer to Blake.

‘Haa… don’t get worked up. Just stick close to Blake a little longer.’

Forget that romance idiot for now—I needed to preserve my own life first.

If he suddenly demanded I make him sleep tonight, I needed enough magic power to cast the spell!

Rain’s eyes widened in shock as he watched me, but whatever.

If they said they’d kill me otherwise, then of course I had to move fast.

Leia seemed so focused on Blake that she hadn’t noticed me at all.

“I really hoped you’d come, so this is such a relief. I hadn’t even heard you arrived at the banquet, but Clara said she saw you heading toward the terrace earlier.”

“Yeah.”

“Honestly. You came all the way here and still didn’t show your face? You really made me come searching for you?”

“You found me, so I guess it worked out.”

“Fine, let’s say that! Anyway—Blake, where’s my gift? We’re friends seeing each other again after five years, so you prepared something, right?”

“Gift?”

“Mm-hm!”

The moment she said that, Rain—who had been silently standing behind them—shot Blake an intense look as if saying:

See?! Everyone cares about gifts!

I could practically hear it.

More importantly… ugh, this is exhausting.

These short limbs make breathing difficult after moving even a little.

Finally catching my breath, I at last reached those long legs and clung tightly to them with a relieved sigh.

Phew, this feels much better.

Perhaps because of the sudden slap of contact against his leg, Blake’s amethyst-colored eyes briefly lost focus before dropping downward.

“…….”

“…….”

After a brief silence, his blatantly obvious stare landed on me.

What are you doing?

That was clearly the look in his eyes.

I awkwardly averted my gaze.

What an intense stare. But I have to survive too, you know.

While I pretended nothing happened out of embarrassment after being caught, an excited voice rang out.

“Oh my. What’s this?”

Following Blake’s gaze, Leia finally noticed me clinging tightly to his leg and tilted her head.

“…Good question. Since when was this thing attached to me?”

I had tried so hard to sneak close to Blake without being noticed.

Yet somehow, everyone’s attention had turned toward me.

“Is this my present?”

Leia’s eyes sparkled brightly with anticipation.

And suddenly, I remembered why Blake had originally bought this teddy bear.

‘Right! He said he bought it as Leia’s birthday gift!’

Rain’s fierce opposition had nearly made him give up on it, but judging by Leia’s reaction, she clearly liked it.

Which meant Blake might simply hand me over to Leia exactly as originally intended.

‘N-no, that can’t happen.’

That absolutely could not happen!

Without a shred of dignity, I tightened my grip around Blake’s leg even more, and I felt him flinch slightly.

“When did you even prepare something like this? But why is it hanging onto you like that? If it’s supposed to be this kind of doll, it’s way too cute!”

Already convinced I was her gift, Leia cheerfully reached her hand toward Blake.

“Here, I’ll pretend I didn’t notice, so hurry and give me my present.”

Even with her eyes tightly shut and her hand stretched out, she looked adorably every bit the heroine.

Without realizing it, my gaze lingered on her.

Probably Blake’s heartbreaking unrequited love from the original story.

A Blake who ultimately sacrificed his life for her would surely have no hesitation handing me over.

But Blake.

You just said you’d give me a chance.

Don’t forget that. Okay? Okay?

Anxiously, I waited for his decision.

Was this how wine bottles waiting to be chosen from a wine cabinet felt?

If so, I should apologize to every wine bottle in existence.

Wines, I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll choose you all equally.

The tension tangled my thoughts into complete chaos.

Just as those few seconds began to feel like eternity—

“No.”

The word that left his mouth was completely unexpected.

His slow voice echoed quietly across the terrace.