Chapter 07 …

“Hm? What did you say, Blake?”

Naturally, Blake gently lifted me up while I was clinging to his leg.

His touch was unexpectedly gentle, and I stared blankly at him.
(Of course, I was also doing a flawless job pretending to be a doll.)

“This isn’t your gift, so no.”

“Ah, oh? R-right… I understand.”

As if his answer had been completely unexpected, Leia awkwardly stepped back.

Then, apparently growing curious again, she suddenly approached and asked,

“Then what is this teddy bear? There’s no way it belongs to you, Blake.”

“…….”

“……?”

The longer no answer came, the more colorful Leia’s expression became.

Her brows drew together suspiciously, then she smiled as though convincing herself there was absolutely no way.

“Come on—no matter how I look at it, Blake, this really doesn’t seem like something that suits you.”

“Doesn’t it.”

Blake replied indifferently while staring straight down at me.

“Yeah. Honestly, tell me. Who were you planning to give it to?”

Well… she had a point.

Compared to his reputation as the greatest swordsman in all of Casdonia, I was just a tiny, insignificant teddy bear.

Anyone who saw me in Blake’s hands would never believe I belonged to him.

‘Is he going to call me trash?’

Earlier, Rain had practically said I looked like a teddy bear no better than garbage.

Even though I knew this wasn’t my real form anyway, I still felt strangely upset and stared blankly into space with tense eyes.

Meanwhile, those violet eyes slowly swept over me.
As if he were examining my expression.

Soon, his lazy gaze slowly turned back toward Leia.

“I’m not giving this to anyone. It’s mine.”

The flat, emotionless answer pierced straight into my ears.

My heart was pounding!

Being carried out of the banquet hall by a handsome human man was far more enjoyable than anything I had imagined.

‘Leia’s expression earlier was absolutely incredible.’

She’d looked at him like she’d just witnessed a complete lunatic.

But seriously, was it okay for him to create that kind of image in front of the person he had a crush on?

The rattling carriage sped smoothly down the flat road lined with towering plane trees on both sides.

I was on my way to the Leblanc estate where Blake lived.

Together with the gloomy-looking handsome man sitting beside me!

I had dreamed about situations like this from novels countless times, but I’d never imagined I’d look like a teddy bear while experiencing one.

Haah, life really never makes anything easy. What a long day.

My heart stirred uneasily as worries about my situation quickly surfaced again.

But I’m not the type to get discouraged over something like this so easily!

“If you think about it, isn’t this actually really fortunate? I met a flower-boy handsome man, I’m riding comfortably in a carriage, and I’m heading to a cozy house where I can sleep.”

“…What nonsense are you babbling about?”

“There are far more exhausting and difficult things in this world than this. Getting overly disappointed or overly excited about every little thing wastes way too much energy.”

Clatter.

Blake, who had seemed to be silently listening to me, glanced at me irritably as if I were noisy and abruptly opened the carriage window.

“Waaah, it’s cool!”

But the moment the refreshing breeze rushed in through the open window, I happily scooted right up against him, and he immediately shut the window again in disgust.

Tch. I wanted some fresh air.

Since getting into the carriage, Blake hadn’t said much at all.

It was almost like he had absolutely no curiosity about me.

Usually, once someone heard I was a witch, they’d have countless questions and suspicions they’d want to ask immediately.

I wouldn’t have minded answering anything.

‘At the very least, I’ve learned that Blake has a very unusual personality.’

While observing his dark profile—which showed neither curiosity nor any will to live—I frowned slightly.

He felt completely different from young men who dreamed of shining youth and hopeful futures.

Would “old man trapped in a young body” describe it properly?

“Blake. What should I call you?”

“Don’t call me anything.”

“How about Old Man? I just thought of it.”

“…….”

His dark brows twitched slightly, revealing his displeasure.

Hm, doesn’t like that one?

Then let’s think of another.

A nickname perfectly suited for that handsome face ruined by bluntness and gloomy energy…

“Ah! How about Rude Dragon?”

As though it were the first time hearing such a nickname, he properly frowned this time.

I’d only been quoting what Max used to say—that Blake was as rude as a black dragon.

Guess that one wasn’t good either.

“…Then Charger!”

“…….”

“Ah, do people here not use that word? The reason I called you Charger is actually related to why I followed you. Whenever I’m around you, my depleted magic power fills back up really quickly, you know? You’re basically a magical power charging device. Of course, your handsome face is also very pleasing for my exhausted eyes, so it works in many ways. What do you think? Don’t you like it?”

“Be quiet.”

At the single sentence clearly telling me to stop, I pouted my lips.

“But I still need something to call you.”

“Stop bothering me and just call me Blake. At least until you die.”

“Then I’m really allowed to call you Blake?!”

I shouted in delight, but Blake simply closed his eyes without answering.

I never expected us to get close this quickly.

Back in the witch world, it had been an unspoken rule to use nicknames until you became close enough.

A witch’s true name carried unique power, so using it carelessly was considered rude.

At one point, Max used to call me “The Drunkard of the West.”

Now that I’d grown more accustomed to that culture, Blake allowing me to use his name made me genuinely happy.

“Great! Then Blake, I’ll allow you to use my name too. Call me Vivian!”

“…….”

Again, there was no answer, but I was gradually getting used to that too.

Blake was the kind of person who revealed his thoughts clearly even in silence.

Even if he seemed to ignore me when I told him to call me Vivian, the fact that he didn’t outright refuse probably meant he accepted it.

“Blake Leblanc. Since we’ve officially introduced ourselves and decided what to call each other, let’s get along well!”

I stretched out my fluffy little paw, but he remained motionless with his eyes closed, as though asleep.

Still, since I was perfectly capable of handling things myself, I placed my stubby paw directly on top of his large hand.

The moment our hands overlapped, charging began throughout my entire body.

“Actually, maybe High-Speed Charger would’ve been even better.”

“Take your hand off.”

“Okay.”

After about an hour of traveling while observing him—

At the end of the road lit by orange streetlamps, a pitch-black mansion slowly came into view.

‘…Is that a castle where a Black Dragon lives? Why is it so dark?’

It felt completely different from Holloway Castle, whose exterior was decorated with dazzling golden ornaments.

The rectangular mansion had no rounded corners anywhere, and the gate blocking the front was covered in sharp spikes everywhere.

Whoever designed this place had absolutely terrible taste.

It looked completely devoid of dreams and hope….

As if announcing that we had nearly arrived, the carriage gradually slowed.

With a strange creaking sound, the gates opened, and the carriage stopped before the entrance.

“We have arrived, Young Master.”

The carriage door opened, and Blake lightly grabbed my arm before stepping out.

Without the slightest hesitation, he strode into the mansion that looked like some underground dungeon no one could ever escape from.

Dangling from his hand, I was brought into a room and casually tossed onto a sofa.

Then, without giving me any warnings or instructions whatsoever, he immediately turned and left the room.

…Hm?

“Blake!”

Bang.

Suddenly abandoned alone in the room, I blankly remained inside the dark space.

Several hours passed just like that.

“Yaaawn, it is nice getting to rest though.”

Sprawled out on the sofa like it was my own house, I spent my time completely neglected.

“What a strange charger.”

Usually after making a deal, wouldn’t people immediately demand I try lifting the curse out of curiosity alone?

That’s how it usually happened in novels.

Even I would’ve immediately pressured someone to try it right away, but Blake showed no signs of returning.

‘Didn’t he want to sleep?’

Unlike how willingly he had given me a chance, it was painfully obvious he had little interest in me.

Had years of insomnia and curses exhausted him to the point he’d lost all expectations and even the will to live?

Still, he must’ve brought me here because he wanted to cling to at least the faintest bit of hope….

‘If that’s the case, couldn’t he trust me a little more?’

I desperately wanted to grab Blake—who seemed quiet and lacking in social skills—and chatter endlessly with him.

But for now, that didn’t seem possible.

‘For now, I should find something I can do!’

Maybe I should start by getting familiar with this room while waiting for Blake to return?

The moment I thought that—

A light knocking sound came from outside the room.

Knock knock.

Ooh! Is that Blake?
Excited, I started running toward the door, only to abruptly stop at a sudden realization.

Wait a second.

Why would Blake knock before entering his own room?

That made absolutely no sense.

“Uh, then….”

Who could it be?

The moment of realization flashing through my mind lasted only briefly.

“Brother, are you in there?”

After the young voice spoke, silence lingered for a moment before the door slowly creaked open.