The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 06

Chapter 6

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“Really? Y-You believe me?”

 

What incredible luck!

 

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

 

“You’ll get exactly one chance. If you turn out to be lying, you won’t escape death.”

 

As if to make it clear he wasn’t joking, a flicker of killing intent briefly flashed through his normally tired eyes before vanishing again.

 

But I was already bouncing around as if I might leap into the sky.

 

“Mhm! I won’t escape death!”

 

“…Don’t repeat everything I say.”

 

“Mhm! Yay!”

 

“…What a deranged teddy bear.”

 

Max, can you see this?

 

Even during your master’s dormant year, she’s still alive in the human world!

 

There was still a lot I needed to accomplish before returning home, but this alone already felt like a huge success.

 

My ears twitched proudly.

 

Things were going unbelievably smoothly.

 

I’d thought convincing Blake would be the hardest part, but he had surprisingly agreed to give me a chance.

 

‘Honestly, for someone who’s supposed to be the villain and second male lead of the original novel, he feels kind of careless.’

 

To be fair, he didn’t seem particularly hostile because he clearly didn’t expect me to actually succeed in putting him to sleep.

 

But contrary to what he believed, making him sleep wasn’t completely impossible.

 

‘If I can just restore a little more magic, I’ll definitely be able to use a curse-suppressing spell.’

 

A curse could only truly be lifted by the person who cast it.

 

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

 

‘The problem is that almost nobody knows those spells.’

 

Curse-suppressing magic was extremely advanced, buried in ancient dusty books, and written in formulas so difficult they were nearly impossible to interpret.

 

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

 

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

 

‘But I can do it. Hehe.’

 

For a witch—especially a Great Witch like me—as long as I had enough magic power, it was something I could accomplish easily with a simple incantation.

 

Now then.

 

What did I need to do from this point onward?

 

‘Stick to Blake like glue!’

 

That way I could recharge my magic, meet his expectations, and eventually return to my original body.

 

‘And getting to watch the original novel unfold up close is a huge bonus too. Ahem.’

 

The reality that had seemed utterly hopeless just moments ago suddenly didn’t feel so bad anymore.

 

A grin kept slipping onto my face.

 

“Commander! Even if you’re exhausted, isn’t this decision far too impulsive?”

 

“Rain, don’t go spreading this around either. I’ll handle things personally from here.”

 

“But—”

 

Rain, who had been staring at me with wary eyes, stepped forward as though determined to stop Blake.

 

But once again, he never finished his sentence.

 

“Blake! So this is where you were!”

 

With a cheerful voice warmly calling his name, the terrace doors suddenly burst open.

 

At the same time, I instantly flopped flat against the floor.

 

“Lea?”

 

At the sound of his voice, a brown-haired woman practically threw herself into Blake’s arms and cried out happily.

 

“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.

 

‘It’s the heroine! The real heroine of this novel!’

 

The woman hugging Blake was Lea Everett.

 

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

 

‘As expected of the heroine—she’s gorgeous!’

 

Lea Everett possessed exactly the kind of beauty one would expect from a romance novel heroine.

 

Her pale brown hair, soft as though diluted with water, was braided neatly to one side, and her flowing silk dress elegantly revealed the line of her neck.

 

But what drew attention most of all were her golden eyes.

 

They sparkled as brilliantly as if all the gold stored in the Holloway basement had been melted down and poured into them.

 

And those radiant eyes were fixed solely on Blake.

 

“Blake, I thought you wouldn’t make it to my birthday banquet. You got my letter, didn’t you? Did you rush over the moment you received it?”

 

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

 

“I wouldn’t call it rushing.”

 

What is this guy saying?

 

That answer completely missed the point again.

 

This was the moment where he should’ve said he flew here because he missed her!

 

At his absurdly honest response, I nearly shouted, That’s not how you do it!

 

If only this Lady Vivian—officially acknowledged romance novel fanatic extraordinaire—had been consulted, I could’ve provided the perfect line!

 

(Of course, Max used to click his tongue every time I got frustrated with clueless protagonists and came up with better romantic dialogue myself.)

 

For example:

 

 

 

 

“Of course. I missed you so much my heart nearly stopped while rushing here, my love.”

“Yes. Every moment apart from you was hell for me. But if it’s with you, I’d willingly leap into that hell.”

“Lea, if you’re asking something so obvious, then yes—I’d say it a hundred times over. I’d even run here barefoot for your sake.”

 

 

 

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

 

But I held myself back.

 

Instead, I pressed my paws against the ground and slowly inched closer to Blake by awkwardly shuffling my back forward.

 

‘Haa… don’t get worked up. Just stay attached to Blake for as long as possible.’

 

Forget the hopeless romance idiot—my priority was survival.

 

If he suddenly demanded proof tonight and asked me to put him to sleep, I needed enough magic power to cast the spell!

 

Rain’s eyes widened enormously when he saw me sneaking closer, but honestly?

 

The guy literally threatened to kill me if I failed, so naturally I had to move fast.

 

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

 

“I was really hoping you’d come, so this is such a relief. I didn’t even hear that you’d arrived at the banquet, but Lady Clara said she saw you heading toward the terrace earlier.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Honestly, you came all the way here but didn’t even show your face properly? You really made me come searching for you?”

 

“You found me, so isn’t that enough?”

 

“Fine, I’ll accept that! Anyway—Blake, where’s my gift? We haven’t seen each other in five years, so surely you prepared something, right?”

 

“A gift?”

 

“Mhm!”

 

The moment she said that, Rain—who had been silent behind them—shot Blake an intense look that practically screamed:

 

See?! Everyone cares about gifts!

 

I could practically hear it.

 

More importantly… ugh, this is exhausting.

 

These short limbs make even tiny movements tiring.

 

Barely catching my breath, I finally reached Blake’s long leg and clung to it tightly with a relieved sigh.

 

Phew. This spot is much more comfortable.

 

Perhaps because he suddenly felt something stick to him, Blake’s amethyst-colored eyes lost focus briefly before slowly lowering toward his leg.

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

A brief silence passed as his blunt stare landed directly on me.

 

The look in his eyes clearly seemed to ask:

 

What exactly are you doing?

 

Feeling awkward after being caught, I quickly looked away.

 

That gaze is way too intense. But hey, I’m trying to survive here too.

 

While pretending nothing was happening, a lively voice suddenly rang out.

 

“Oh my. What’s this?”

 

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

 

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

 

I’d tried so hard to sneak closer to Blake without being noticed.

 

Yet now everyone’s attention had turned toward me.

 

“Is this my gift?”

 

Lea’s eyes sparkled brightly with anticipation.

 

And at that moment, I suddenly remembered the original reason Blake had bought this teddy bear.

 

‘Right! He bought this as Lea’s birthday present!’

 

Rain had strongly objected earlier, but judging by Lea’s reaction, she actually seemed to like it.

 

Which meant Blake might decide to hand me over to her exactly as originally intended.

 

‘N-No way.’

 

That absolutely couldn’t happen!

 

Without even caring about my dignity anymore, I tightened my grip around Blake’s leg slightly.

 

I felt his leg twitch faintly beneath me.

 

“When did you prepare something like this? But why is it attached to your leg? If it’s meant to do that, then it’s adorable!”

 

Already convinced I was her present, Lea chattered excitedly while holding out her hands toward Blake.

 

“Come on, pretend I didn’t see it and give me my gift already.”

 

She closed her eyes tightly and extended her arms, looking so lovable and heroine-like that even I found myself staring at her.

 

She was probably Blake’s heartbreaking unrequited love in the original novel.

 

And Blake—the man who ultimately gave his life for her—would absolutely hand me over without hesitation.

 

But Blake.

 

You just promised to give me a chance.

 

Don’t forget that. Okay? Okay?!

 

Anxiously, I waited for his decision.

 

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

 

If so, then I owed every bottle of wine an apology.

 

Dear wines, I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll choose all of you equally.

 

My thoughts tangled chaotically from the tension.

 

A brief moment stretched endlessly.

 

Then—

 

“No.”

 

The answer that left his lips was completely unexpected.

 

His slow voice echoed quietly across the terrace.