The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 44
Eren was utterly devoted to his older brother.
To such an extent that he felt compelled to imitate everything Blake did.
The sword Blake wielded, the clothes he favored, his hairstyle.
“Make me just like my brother in every way.”
A curse that stole sleep itself.
Though the curse gradually consumed him, he accepted it without complaint.
Because he resembled the brother he so deeply admired.
Of course, he desperately missed the tender way his brother once lulled him to sleep before the curse manifested….
But his brother would overcome this curse and restore the Leblanc Family to glory. When that day came, wouldn’t his brother stroke his head and tuck him in again?
Wouldn’t the day come when his brother embraced him with a radiant smile once more?
Eren held this belief without a shred of doubt.
Though those around him whispered that he was a heartless villain, and laughed that a demon’s curse would destroy the Leblanc Family, the boy remained steadfast.
Even watching his brother and father grow weary and lose their smiles beneath the curse’s weight, he remained resolute.
“My brother isn’t a demon! He’s the hero who will slay the Demon Beasts and break the curse!”
He was prepared to do anything to help his brother.
That’s why he had gone to the Convent—grasping at straws, desperate for any hope.
Since his brother didn’t believe in God, he wouldn’t pray himself. So Eren had gone in his stead.
The moment he finished his prayer, clasping his hands together and asking for his brother and father to remain healthy, and stepped out of the Convent, Eren read something shocking.
On the newspaper stand right outside the Convent, a headline blazed with the name “Blake Leblanc,” and the boy froze.
“Bring me that newspaper.”
The escort knight handed the newspaper to Eren as he climbed into the carriage.
It was from the Letters, a newspaper company quite famous even to Eren.
The boy read frantically.
“A Demon Beast appeared in the Capital, and Blake Leblanc defeated it. In the arms of that military commander was a fluffy bear doll?”
A bear… doll?
Eren rubbed his eyes and read again. There was a word that seemed out of place, and he thought he must have misread it.
But reading it again, the sentence remained the same.
“A fluffy bear doll held in the military commander’s hands….”
What is this?
Eren’s violet eyes trembled faintly before anger suddenly surged through him.
This was clearly misinformation. The world was always eager to hunt down any news about his brother and tear it to shreds.
Eren assumed someone had heard unverified rumors somewhere and submitted a tip to the newspaper company, causing this uproar.
“Return to the Mansion at once.”
Eren threw the newspaper to the floor with a sharp slap and raised his voice.
He needed to hurry back, verify everything with his own eyes, and lodge a formal complaint with the Letters or whatever newspaper company this was.
He had to act before his brother even heard these rumors.
Eren’s heart raced with urgency as he urged the carriage forward.
***
“Why is everything so hectic today?”
“Ah, it’s the day the Second Young Master returns.”
Nix said, polishing a fallen apple with her sleeve before taking a crisp bite. I, who had been sprawled lazily across the Apple Garden, suddenly bolted upright.
“Really?”
“Yes. I heard he’s returning from the Convent today.”
Eren was coming back to the Mansion.
The sensation that it had been an eternity didn’t feel like mere imagination. There had been quite a lot happening lately, after all.
Just then, Blake Leblanc, who had been silently listening to our conversation while leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
“Why are you so excited? You barely know Eren.”
“Blake, there’s no need to be jealous. Your brother adores you very much. Even if I were to see him overflowing with charm, I could never surpass you.”
“I shouldn’t have asked.”
He slowly closed his eyes again. It was a peaceful afternoon.
After the Demon Beast incident in the Capital had been roughly resolved and we’d made peace, Blake Leblanc had been spending more time by my side.
Opening my eyes in the morning to wash up together, grimacing at the sight of my soaked face.
Unable to resist my insistence that he eat breakfast, he’d nibble on a few pieces of bread before heading to the Training Ground.
‘I’ll be back soon, so wait for me.’
‘I won’t be waiting. I have somewhere to go.’
‘Then at least tell me where you’re going.’
‘To paradise, where sweet red berries hang in abundance!’
‘…Why do you call the Apple Garden that?’
Then Nix would come to fetch me.
Afterward, as I’d usually sit with Nix in the shade of the Apple Garden and enjoy the leisure, Blake Leblanc would find me.
‘Why do you come all the way out here?’
When he questioned why I came to where the apple trees were instead of the closer Garden nearby, I answered lightly.
‘The Garden in front of the Mansion is too gloomy and looks like ghosts might appear!’
At my words, Blake Leblanc came to the apple tree Garden without saying anything.
When Blake Leblanc first came, Nix had clearly shown signs of discomfort, but he turned out to be less authoritarian than expected.
His assurance to Nix, who couldn’t even sit down and was fidgeting nervously, to make herself comfortable wasn’t a lie—he paid no mind to whatever we did.
Whether I dove into the Blue Lake stretching before the Garden or climbed the tree to pick apples and danced a hula, he simply lay with his eyes closed.
Like someone catching up on lost sleep, his expression always remained peaceful and relaxed under the warm sunlight.
“Young Master!”
Just then, a servant appeared in the distance, searching for Blake Leblanc.
The servant, who looked exhausted from the long journey to the Apple Garden far from the Mansion, spotted Blake Leblanc lying down and rushed over.
“Young Master! Young Master! The Second Young Master has arrived.”
“So what.”
He squinted one eye open and looked up at the servant.
At his indifferent attitude, the servant’s eyes widened in bewilderment.
“That is, the First Young Master is looking for you….”
“The journey to and from the Convent must have been exhausting. Tell him to rest.”
“…Yes, understood.”
The attendant hesitated but had nothing more to add, so he withdrew.
I dangled from the tree branch and watched the attendant disappear before speaking up softly.
“Why don’t you go check on him?”
Blake Leblanc, whose face appeared upside-down from my vantage point, replied in an offhand manner.
“What’s the point? He made it back safely, so he should just rest.”
“Is your brother having trouble sleeping too?”
“…He should be fine for now. Though his sleep hours are gradually decreasing.”
“Be kinder to him. You have no idea how much he adores you.”
At my knowing remark, Blake Leblanc raised an eyebrow slightly.
I offered a casual excuse, worried that sounding too knowledgeable might irritate him.
“Younger siblings naturally admire and follow their impressive older brothers, after all.”
“Then it hardly applies, since I’m not particularly impressive.”
“Why aren’t you impressive? Nix, let’s make a bet listing Blake Leblanc’s merits. Whoever loses takes a dip in the Lake.”
“I’ll be the one going in, then.”
Before we’d even started, Nix raised the white flag. Seeing the disappointment in my eyes, she quickly added more.
“Vivian’s affection for the Military Commander is simply unbeatable from the start.”
“…What, what?”
Blake Leblanc, who had remained lying down even after dismissing the attendant, reacted visibly for the first time.
…Why are you making such a fuss over this?
I glanced over and saw Blake Leblanc had gone pale, staring at Nix.
Forgetting her usual hesitation around Blake Leblanc, Nix poured out her words.
“Vivian is always saying how incredibly beautiful the Military Commander is. She says being with you gives her strength.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
“…What exactly have you been saying around here?”
“I admire the Military Commander too, but I don’t think I could love him the way Vivian does.”
“Well then, admire him by all means, but save your love for someone your own age. Another handsome young man will come along.”
“No, that’s not necessary. My prince is Vivian.”
When Nix asked if I remembered, a fleeting comment came back to me, and I forgot I was hanging from the tree as I clapped my hands excitedly.
My body swayed precariously as a result, and I tumbled down almost immediately.
“Oof!”
But the pain I expected never came. Blake Leblanc caught me deftly and set me down gently on the ground.
“Go play some more.”
Then he hurried away, his footsteps treading across the lush green grass of the Garden.
Nix approached me as I watched his retreating figure.
“He seemed embarrassed.”
“You think so too?”
“I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“I suppose being handsome makes everything look cute.”
I nodded in agreement.
Thinking I wanted to see Blake Leblanc’s flushed ears once more, I stroked the ribbon in my hair.
My mana, which had always recharged swiftly, now surged at an astonishing pace.
‘It can’t be merely from spending more time together—the quality of my mana itself feels distinctly refined.’
As I sensed the shimmering mana filling Arcanum, I felt satiated without consuming a thing.
‘Once Arcanum reaches full capacity, I should be able to cast not only supernatural magic related to fire, water, and ice, but also intricate mental magic at least twenty times over.’
Compared to my original power, it was less than a third of that magnitude, yet for a magical artifact in the Human World, it was a formidable treasure.
If this continued, I would soon be capable of wielding far more diverse and potent magic.
‘I may be able to return to my true form before long.’
Though I knew not when that moment would arrive, I resolved to begin practicing my return to my original form in the coming days.
And that moment came far sooner than I anticipated.
“…Guardian Angel?”
A few days later,
on a sweltering day when the sun blazed mercilessly overhead.
The day I encountered Eren in the Apple Garden.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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