What should I do now?
The reality that I had fallen overnight from being the witch who represented the West to nothing more than a teddy bear was overwhelming.
I had to find a way.
A way to escape this stuffed bear body and return home.
But how?
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of any solution.
There wasn’t a single person who knew my true identity, and no one who could save me.
Unaware of my panic, Blake suddenly snatched the teddy bear Rain was holding… no, me.
Under the faintly glowing, cold moonlight,
the figure of a man wearing a gray vest came into my view as if in slow motion.
And in that moment—
‘Huh?’
I felt a tingling surge of magical power filling my entire body.
It was like someone pouring spring water into an empty container.
‘This feeling!’
It was definitely mana.
Without a doubt, it was mana.
But how could my mana be refilling?
It was only for a brief moment, but the sensation of mana rising was vivid.
I rolled my eyes, sensing the tingling pathways of magic.
It wasn’t enough to fully replenish me yet, but—
‘This is definitely mana replenishment.’
I could clearly feel mana gradually being restored from him, who was holding me by my leg.
‘Huh, I can move my limbs a little now?’
Meanwhile, unaware that the confused teddy bear (me) was frantically rolling my eyes, the two men continued their heated discussion.
“…Sometimes, you act like you’ve got two lives. I’m not that patient, you know that, right?”
There was a subtle irritation in his slow tone.
Noticing it, Rain took a slight step back and spoke in a smaller voice.
“B-But that gift is really inappropriate.”
“Is this gift really that bad?”
“It’s far too different from normal gifts! If you want to make a good impression on Lady Everett, something else would be better.”
Blake, momentarily speechless at the firm response, shot Rain a sharp glare. After a brief silence, he muttered with a deep sigh,
“I never intended to do something so pointless in the first place. And why should I try to impress Lea Everett?”
His indifferent words were so cold they sent chills down one’s spine—almost awkwardly so. Rain fell silent.
Pointless.
That carefree attitude as if nothing in the world held any value.
That old-man-like tone suggesting he wouldn’t care even if he died right now.
‘What is with him?’
Even I, who had been distracted by the mana replenishment, couldn’t help but look at him.
‘That guy Blake…’
He’s the type who piles up karma just by running his mouth.
“Deal with this yourself.”
In the now chilly atmosphere, he casually tossed me back to Rain.
The moment I landed in Rain’s arms, the flow of mana filling my body abruptly stopped.
‘Huh? The mana stopped as soon as Blake got farther away.’
It felt like savoring a fine wine only to have it snatched away midway.
I checked my mana pathways again, but the mana I had clearly felt before had completely vanished.
Was it really just a coincidence?
Or…
‘Does that man have some kind of ability to recharge mana?’
No way.
Even I almost laughed at how absurd that sounded.
A mana-recharging ability.
Even in the world of other races, it was something only spoken of in legends.
Once every few hundred years, it was said that a human would be born with the innate ability to supply mana to others—but honestly, I had never believed it truly existed.
I had never seen such a thing in all my life as a witch.
‘But just now, there’s no doubt that my mana was replenished.’
If he truly possessed such an ability, then for beings like witches or dragons—who depended heavily on mana—it would be an unimaginably precious resource.
“Then I’ll have the other servants dispose of this. Should I send another knight to a nearby jeweler for a gift instead?”
So if—just if—Blake really had that ability…
“Do as you like. I’m heading back to LeBlanc Manor, so you handle it.”
“Huh? You’re leaving without even seeing Lady Everett? His Highness Prince Ian is supposed to arrive soon—”
“All the more reason to leave. If Ian gets here, those idiots will just start spouting nonsense again.”
As Blake turned away coldly, my mind rang with an alarm.
‘I have to follow Blake!’
Really—just in case.
I knew it was an absurd possibility, but—
If he truly had the ability to recharge mana,
‘He might be the only one who can save me from this miserable situation.’
I needed Blake.
More than anyone.
And before I knew it, I shouted desperately,
“Don’t go, Blake!”
I called his name.
“……?”
“…Rain.”
In the now silent terrace, Blake turned back with a creaking motion.
“Have you lost your mind? Even if you want to stop me, you’ve been speaking casually this whole time—”
“I-It wasn’t me! Why do you keep blaming me?! I didn’t say anything!”
“Then who did?”
He raised an eyebrow, scanning the terrace where there was no one else besides the two of them.
“I don’t know either! But I heard it too. Wasn’t it clearly a woman’s voice?”
“A woman’s voice?”
The blond man called Rain pounded his chest, frustrated that he wasn’t believed.
Then he shuddered, saying this was getting scary.
It seemed like neither of them even considered that I was the one who shouted.
Hmm, why?
Was my voice too quiet?
Tilting my head, I took a deep breath.
Then I shouted loudly,
“Blake LeBlanc! Over here, over here!”
Startled, both of them slowly turned toward the source of the voice.
Oh! They finally see me!
“Where did that voice come from—”
Rain lifted me—the body he had been holding—and laughed loudly.
“Hahaha, I must be going crazy. I just heard this doll calling the commander’s name.”
“Wait, Rain. That teddy bear is moving right now.”
“No way a teddy bear could move—”
Then he saw me blinking my pea-sized light green eyes.
“……”
“Hi?”
“Gyaaaaaah!”
At Rain’s scream, Blake hurriedly drew the sword from his waist.
“Rain!”
“T-The bear! The teddy bear is talking! It greeted me!”
“Calm down.”
“Gaaah! It’s a ghost!”
Pale as a sheet, Rain flung me to the ground.
Oof, dizzy!
I slammed into the wall with a thud and grabbed my spinning head.
That was rough. Though thanks to that, I managed to get out of his hands.
After barely regaining my balance, I staggered forward and faced Blake.
At that moment, I was certain.
From him—standing less than a meter away—I could feel a powerful ability.
A mana-recharging ability.
Blake LeBlanc was definitely a mana recharger.
And an incredibly powerful one at that.
“H-Hey, hey!”
The man named Rain pointed at me, shouting in alarm.
Blake’s beautiful violet eyes slowly widened as he finally saw the moving teddy bear (me).
He froze as if he had seen a ghost.
Looking at the greatest and most beautiful swordmaster of the Empire, I greeted him brightly.
“Hi, my savior!”
Blake LeBlanc.
The finest sword of the Kasdonia Empire.
The eldest son of the LeBlanc ducal family, and a man whose appearance drew attention wherever he went.
He had everything one could envy—
But if his life were described in one sentence, it would be a waking nightmare.
Though he was called a genius even within the prestigious LeBlanc family—renowned for their swordsmanship, powerful enough that even the imperial family treated them with care—
People sometimes pitied him.
Because of the “curse of sleeplessness” that ran through the LeBlanc bloodline.
The curse of sleeplessness.
An ancient curse passed down through their lineage, and one of the greatest unsolved mysteries.
Who cast it? When? Where?
No one knew.
And without knowing the cause, there was no way to cure it.
“The price of talent granted by a demon.”
Some people described their curse that way.
They claimed that their inhuman swordsmanship must have been obtained by selling their souls to a demon.
Unmatched sword skills.
Perpetually dark circles from never sleeping.
A blunt, irritable personality.
And a family that rarely appeared in high society.
The House of LeBlanc was always at the center of rumors.
‘Did you hear? The LeBlanc family wiped out the McCain Cartel this time. They say they’re basically the real rulers now.’
‘That McCain Cartel? The mercenary group that dominated the eastern region?’
‘Exactly. My business in the east got completely ruined because of them before!’
‘You should be careful. I’ve heard there’s no organization or cartel in the Empire untouched by the LeBlanc family. If you want to do business, you have to watch their mood.’
‘Sigh… how are we even supposed to do that?’
All the terrifying cartels and organizations were in the LeBlanc family’s grasp.
Their eyes and ears were everywhere, and anyone who crossed them would disappear without a trace.
That was the rumor spreading across the Empire.
And in fact—
It was all true.
However, there was one thing people didn’t know…
Blake LeBlanc, the ruler of the underworld, rumored to be violent due to his curse—
‘…I’m sleepy.’
—was actually in a state of extreme lethargy from severe sleep deprivation.