The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

By the time Ronald finished debating whether or not he should ask about it, Blake had already arrived at the reception room and stepped inside.

Blake sat down on the dark green velvet sofa inside the white marble reception room and finally spoke.

“Do I have any reports today?”

At those words, Ronald—whose mind had been completely occupied by the bird nest on the back of Blake’s head—jumped in shock and hurriedly pulled out his documents.

The moment he began reporting the schedule, the bird nest instantly vanished from his mind.

At that exact moment, Vivian’s irresponsible faith that someone else would surely mention it drifted far, far away.

“After your private audience with Crown Prince Edwin, you will need to review the documents regarding the appointment of a new administrator for the Riner Territory.”

“Fire the bastard who recommended that corrupt administrator too. We’ll need to replace him as well. Useless idiots are nothing but parasites sucking the blood out of the citizens.”

“Yes, understood. Ah, and we also received word from Elio of the eastern Mekane Cartel. Another magical beast seems to have appeared in the eastern region. Once again, Ophelia’s prophecy was correct.”

“…How many sacrifices did this prophecy demand?”

“…One hundred people in total.”

“Damn it.”

A curse slipped violently through his red lips.

Ronald lowered his head deeply and bit his lip hard as well.

Ophelia—the Empire’s saintess and imperial prophet.

Whenever her prophecies came true, people felt relieved they could prepare for the future, yet also depressed by the horrifying price that had to be paid for it.

She was a woman with mysterious powers.

The unbelievable figure said to have served as the imperial prophet since the reign of the current emperor’s grandfather.

A mysterious woman who neither aged nor died.

Because of that, Ophelia’s prophecies were treated as absolute truth. A single word from her could determine matters of national importance.

Of course, Blake Leblanc was the only person who did not blindly submit to Ophelia’s prophecies.

If he had not personally seen and confirmed something himself, he refused to make reckless judgments.

At that moment, the loud voice of a knight waiting outside the reception room echoed through the hall.

“His Highness Crown Prince Edwin Albert Cardenas has arrived!”

The door swung open, and a gentle-looking man with pale pink hair stepped inside and greeted him.

“Hello, Young Duke Blake Leblanc. It’s been a long time.”

His voice was soft and sweet like cotton candy, overflowing with friendliness.

A servant approached Edwin’s side and poured tea into his cup.

The way Edwin lifted the teacup with his slender fingers was elegant and refined, almost like someone dancing a waltz.

“You make me come all the way here personally, yet every time I see you, you still act more like royalty than I do.”

“Have you been well, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, our Empire is always at peace. I was delighted to hear the news of your victory after yet another successful war against the magical beasts. Just like Blake Leblanc, the man rumored to casually cut down even the knights who follow him whenever he feels annoyed.”

“……”

No matter what Edwin said, Blake merely stared at him blankly.

His relaxed posture—leaning lazily back in his chair without even properly responding before the Crown Prince—was blatantly arrogant.

The corners of Edwin’s gentle eyes twitched slightly in a way no one else would notice, but he quickly smoothed over the expression and continued speaking.

“And it seems we’ve grown closer since the last time we met too. This is the first time I’ve ever seen your hair disheveled.”

Only then did Blake react.

Hearing that, he unconsciously rubbed the back of his head.

The moment he felt the hair sticking up wildly, he lightly bit his tongue.

‘…Vivian, that little brat. She definitely saw it and deliberately didn’t tell me.’

That mischievous teddy bear had almost certainly noticed and pretended not to.

Simply because she thought it would be funny.

Really, she was impossible to predict. Grinding his teeth slightly, Blake stared coldly at the annoying man before him.

“Anyway, since you won the war, that means you’ve overcome Ophelia’s prophecy once again.”

“Prophecies are not always correct. Sometimes people fail to see the truth hidden behind convincing words.”

“Haha, as expected of Young Duke Leblanc. Even Ophelia herself cannot manipulate you as she pleases. Sometimes I think that if I could truly make you my person, I would even kneel before you.”

“That is not something I desire. I decline.”

“Oh dear, there’s no need to draw the line so firmly. Think carefully, Young Duke. If you come to my side, I can give you many things. I can even return your first love, Leah Everett, whom my half-brother stole from you. After all, there are many things I must reclaim from Ian as well.”

“He took quite a lot from me,” Edwin said with the soft, sweet smile people so often praised.

But the moment he mentioned his half-brother Ian, Blake did not miss the hatred hidden underneath Edwin’s expression.

Ian Garner Cardenas.

The illegitimate prince who had suddenly appeared over ten years ago and turned the imperial family upside down.

Ian also happened to be Blake’s longtime friend.

More precisely, he had originally been the friend of Leah Everett—Blake’s childhood friend.

This man clearly misunderstood several things about him, but Blake decided not to bother correcting him one by one.

All he wanted was for this exhausting meeting to end as quickly as possible.

“Anyway, I hope the Young Duke carefully chooses whom he will serve as his true ruler—”

CRASH!

Suddenly, a loud sound of something falling and breaking echoed from outside the reception room.

“…I didn’t catch what you just said.”

Edwin’s gentle eyes briefly twisted in irritation, but he quickly resumed speaking smoothly.

“I said, I hope the Young Duke carefully chooses whom he will serve as his true ru—”

CRASH! BANG!

“Kyaaaah! What was that?!”

This time, an even louder commotion erupted alongside a maid’s scream.

Still smiling despite the vein bulging on his forehead, Edwin finally looked at Blake and asked:

“What in the world is causing such a disturbance?”

Reading the room carefully, Ronald quickly ran outside the reception room before immediately returning. It hadn’t even taken a full minute for him to understand the situation.

“What happened?”

“Well… it seems to have simply been a frightened maid causing a commotion. I already warned them firmly.”

“Frightened?”

As though the idea amused him, Edwin tilted his head gracefully.

“Do the servants working for that cold-blooded family without tears or mercy live in constant fear? I’m genuinely curious.”

Though his tone sounded harmless, Ronald barely suppressed the anger rising within him as Edwin lazily toyed with the teacup handle.

Without showing the slightest emotional reaction, Blake looked at Ronald and asked:

“Briefly explain what caused it.”

“You may find it rather absurd.”

“Now I’m curious too. Please continue.”

Urged on by Edwin, Ronald reluctantly explained what he had heard earlier.

“One of the younger maids said she saw a strangely swaying shadow at the end of the hallway earlier, almost like a ghost. But because it looked fluffy, she thought it might be a mouse or some other animal and approached it. Then apparently a doll with rolled-back eyes suddenly disappeared behind a statue, and the statue toppled over afterward…”

Scrraape—

With that sound, Blake suddenly shot to his feet, his face turning deathly pale.

“Young Duke Leblanc?”

His deep eyes beneath those dark brows had twisted with unmistakable seriousness.

It was the instinctive reaction of someone who had realized something immediately.

While Ronald fidgeted nervously behind him—well aware it was improper to stand before the Crown Prince did—Blake briefly addressed Edwin.

“Please excuse me. I have something to attend to.”

BANG!

Though he was technically walking, his strides were so enormous it looked as if he were running as he stormed out of the reception room.

Ronald awkwardly bowed to Edwin before hurrying after him.

Silence settled over the reception room.

Left alone, Edwin frowned as he recalled the expression Blake had shown earlier.

“…What was that about?”

Completely unaware it was all because of a single teddy bear who had escaped the room on her own.

***

That careless Blake.

If he truly wanted me to stay put, he should’ve locked the door.

“Hehe.”

Hiding behind a pure white statue from who-knew-what era and accidentally breaking one while escaping had admittedly been a mistake.

Sorry, Blake.

I’ll somehow compensate for it later.

If I can return to Holloway Castle before the portal closes, I’ll ask Max to throw the most expensive statue he can find over here.

Taking one guilty step at a time like I was writing apology letters with my feet, I sneaked around the mansion until the danger of being discovered forced me to hide inside a giant white porcelain vase.

I was busy wondering when I should come out when—

“You heard Crown Prince Edwin is visiting today, right?”

“Ah, that Crown Prince Edwin? The one said to be as kind and beautiful as an angel descending from heaven?”

Crown Prince Edwin?

So Blake went to meet someone called the Crown Prince?

Finally learning the identity of the guest made Vivian feel oddly relieved.

At the same time, a little worry crept in.

Blake’s hair was sticking up pretty badly though.

But Crown Prince Edwin…

Where had she heard that name before?

“Ahhh… I wish I could see his face just once. I wonder how beautiful he really is. They say his personality is incredibly gentle too.”

“Really? Where is he?”

“In the reception room. But you already know that, don’t you? Why ask?”

“Huh? I didn’t ask anything.”

“Hey, stop joking around. You’re starting to scare me.”

A brief silence followed.

Then both pairs of eyes slowly turned toward Vivian.

Their gazes shifted toward the giant white porcelain vase, and soon someone began walking toward her.

A maid’s shadow fell over the round opening above.

“A teddy bear?”

The maid who discovered her gestured toward the other maid beside her.

“There’s a teddy bear in here. I definitely heard something from this direction, but why is there a teddy bear?”

“You’re right. Who would leave a teddy bear here? No, wait. There aren’t even any dolls in this mansion to begin with.”

Just as suspicious hands reached out to grab her ear—

A large figure silently appeared and stopped them.

The hand that gently picked her up was unexpectedly careful and warm.

Vivian unconsciously rolled her round eyes upward slightly and saw—

“…Found you, my teddy bear.”

It was Blake, who had rushed over so quickly that his silver hair had become disheveled again.