Chapter 4
***
What do I do now?
The reality of having plummeted from being the West’s most representative witch to a teddy bear in a single day was overwhelming.
I had to find a way.
A way to escape this teddy bear form and return to my home.
But how?
No matter how hard I racked my brain, no other method came to mind.
There wasn't a single person who knew my true identity, nor anyone to save me.
Blake, who knew nothing of my panic, snatched the teddy bear, no, me, right out of Rain’s hand.
Under the soft, shimmering moonlight.
The figure of the man in the gray vest was captured in my eyes like a slow-motion frame.
And then, in an instant.
‘Huh?’
I felt a thrilling surge of mana filling my entire body.
It felt as if someone had poured fresh spring water into an empty bucket.
‘This feeling!’
It was definitely mana.
It was undeniably mana.
But how could mana be surging?
It was brief, but the moment the mana faintly welled up was vivid.
I rolled my eyes, feeling my tingling mana channels.
It wasn't enough to fully replenish my mana yet, but.
‘This is definitely mana charging.’
I could clearly feel mana being charged little by little from him, as he held my legs dangling.
‘Oh, my arms and legs are moving a little bit now, too?’
Meanwhile, the two men, unaware that the confused teddy bear (me) was busy rolling its eyes, were in the middle of a heated debate.
“…Sometimes you tend to act as if you have two lives. I don’t have that much patience. You know that, don’t you?”
A subtle irritation seeped through his slow, drawling tone.
Noticing the annoyance, Rain stepped back slightly and spoke in a lowered voice.
“B-but that gift is truly problematic.”
“Is this gift really that bad?”
“It’s just too different from ordinary gifts! I think a different gift would be better to make a good impression on Lady Everett.”
Stumped by the overly firm answer, Blake glared at Rain. After a moment of silence, he let out a deep sigh and muttered under his breath.
“I never had any intention of doing such a useless thing in the first place. Besides, why should I care about making a good impression on Lea Everett?”
Rain fell silent at the indifferent words, which were so cold they made one’s skin crawl, and even felt awkward.
A useless thing.
That nonchalant attitude, as if nothing in the world was precious.
That old-soul-like tone, as if it wouldn’t matter if he died right now.
‘What the?’
Even I, who had been distracted by the mana charging, was forced to look at that devilish mouth!
‘That Blake guy…’
He’s the type who builds up all his bad karma with his own mouth, isn’t he?
“Handle this yourself.”
In the chilling atmosphere, he tossed me toward Rain with a careless flick of his hand.
As soon as I was caught by Rain, who exclaimed, “Whoops,” the flow of mana surging through my body cut off abruptly.
‘Uh-oh? Now that Blake is further away, the mana charging has stopped.’
It felt like having a glass of fine wine snatched away by Max’s interference just as I was savoring it.
I checked my mana channels again, but the mana I had felt earlier was definitely gone without a trace.
Could this really be a coincidence?
Or…
‘Does that man have some kind of ability to charge mana?’
Nah, no way.
I almost let out a snort at the absurd imagination, even though it was my own thought.
Mana charging ability.
It was an ability I had only heard of as a legend, even in the world of demi-humans.
They said that once every few hundred years, a human is born with the innate ability to supply mana to others.
Honestly, I didn’t believe such an ability actually existed.
I had lived as a witch all this time and had never seen it once.
‘But just now, there was no doubt that my mana was being charged.’
If he were truly a mana charging ability user, he would be an incredibly precious resource to beings like witches and dragons, for whom mana is vital.
“Yes, then I will ask the other servants to dispose of this. Should I have another knight go to a nearby jewelry store for a gift, even now?”
So, if—if Blake really had a mana charging ability.
“Do as you like. I intend to return to the Leblanc estate now, so you can pass that on.”
“Pardon? You’re leaving without even meeting Lady Everett? You said Prince Ian would be arriving soon…”
“That’s all the more reason to leave. If Ian arrives, who knows what kind of nonsense those people over there will spout again.”
As I stared blankly at the fingertips of Blake, who turned away coldly, an alarm bell rang in my head.
‘I have to follow Blake!’
Really, just in case.
I knew full well it was an absurd possibility.
But if, by any chance, he was a mana charging ability user.
‘Blake might be the only savior who can get me out of this dog-like situation.’
I needed Blake.
More than anyone.
So, without realizing it, I shouted in a desperate voice.
“Don’t go, Blake!”
His name.
“…?”
“…Rain.”
Blake turned around with a creaking motion in the now-silent terrace.
“Have you truly lost your mind? No matter how much you want to keep me here, you’ve been speaking to me informally since earlier…”
“I-I didn’t! No, why do you keep accusing me?! I didn’t say anything!”
“Then who was it?”
He raised an eyebrow, looking at the terrace where there was no one but the two of them.
“I don’t know! But I heard it too. It was clearly a woman’s voice, wasn’t it?”
“A woman’s voice?”
The blond man called Rain thumped his chest in frustration, asking if he really couldn’t even distinguish that.
Then, he shuddered, saying it was getting scary.
It seemed like no one thought I was the one who shouted.
Hmm, why?
Was my voice too quiet?
I tilted my head, took a deep breath, and inhaled.
Then, I shrieked.
“Blake Leblanc! Over here, over here!”
Startled, the two men’s gazes slowly dropped toward where the sound came from.
Oh! They’re finally looking at me!
“Where did that voice just come from…”
Rain lifted my body, which he had been holding in his right hand, and laughed loudly.
“Ahaha, I must be going crazy. I just heard this doll calling the Commander’s name.”
“Wait a minute, Rain. That teddy bear is moving right now.”
“Even so, there’s no way a teddy bear would move…”
Then, he discovered me blinking my light green, pea-like eyes.
“…”
“Hello?”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
Starting with Rain’s scream, Blake hurriedly drew his sword from his waist.
“Rain!”
“A, a bear! The teddy bear is talking! The teddy bear greeted me!”
“Calm down.”
“Hyaaaaaaah! It’s a ghost!”
A pale-faced Rain hurriedly threw me onto the floor.
Ouch, I’m dizzy!
I flew and hit the wall with a thud, clutching my spinning head.
How violent. Thanks to that, I was able to escape his grasp, though.
Only after I managed to steady myself and stagger out to face Blake was I certain.
I could feel the powerful energy of an ability coming from him, not even a meter away.
Mana charging ability.
Blake Leblanc was definitely a mana charging ability user.
And a very powerful one at that.
“There, there!”
The guy called Rain, who had been screaming hysterically, pointed his finger at me.
Blake’s beautiful violet eyes widened slightly as he finally faced the moving teddy bear (me).
He froze in place, looking like someone who had just seen a ghost.
I greeted the most beautiful and greatest Sword God in the Empire with a cheerful heart.
“Hello, my savior!”
***
Blake Leblanc.
The Casdonia Empire’s finest master of the sword.
The eldest son of the Leblanc family and a man with looks that drew eyes wherever he went.
He was a man who possessed every condition one could envy.
But if one were to describe his life in a single word, it was a waking nightmare.
Even though Blake Leblanc was called a genius in the Duchy of Leblanc, a prestigious family of swordsmanship that even the Imperial family dared not treat lightly.
Sometimes, people pitied him.
It was because of the Leblanc family’s “curse of sleeplessness.”
The curse of sleeplessness.
An ancient curse passed down through the bloodline of the Leblanc family, and the greatest mystery that no one had ever solved.
Who, when, and where had cast the curse upon them?
Since the cause was unknown, there was naturally no way to cure it.
‘The price of a talent bestowed by a demon.’
Some even called their curse by this name.
They said that their swordsmanship, which seemed to transcend human limits, was the price paid for selling their souls to a demon.
With swordsmanship that surpassed all realms and dark circles under his eyes from never being able to sleep.
Along with a blunt and irritable personality, the Leblanc family, who rarely showed their faces in high society, was always at the center of rumors.
‘Did you hear? The Leblanc family wiped out the McCain Cartel this time. Rumor has it they’re the de facto bosses now.’
‘That McCain Cartel? You mean the mercenary organization that dominated the eastern region?’
‘That’s right. My business in the east went belly-up because of those guys!’
‘You have to be careful. I heard there isn’t a single organization or cartel in the Empire that the Leblanc family’s hands haven’t touched. If you want to do business, you have to watch out for the Leblanc family.’
‘Ha… how are we supposed to watch out for them?’
The terrifying cartels and organizations were all in the grip of the Leblanc family.
Their eyes and ears were everywhere, and those who offended the Leblanc family disappeared without a trace.
That was the rumor about the Leblanc family that had spread throughout the Empire.
Of course, it was all “true.”
However, if there was one thing people didn’t know…
Blake Leblanc, the head who ruled the underworld and was said to have a ferocious personality due to the curse, was…
‘…Sleepy.’
He was in a state of extreme lethargy due to severe sleep deprivation.
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