The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 51

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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 51
The life of a beloved plush bear is quite arduous.
Being kidnapped had become my daily routine.
They’d pinch my cheeks, complaining that I was grimy.
‘Stop it! Let go of me!’
With both my cheeks being ruthlessly squeezed, I made my way back to the mansion.
“I simply cannot fathom it.”
Edwin lifted me to his eye level, tilting his head in bewilderment.
His face was so close that I could see each individual strand of his long eyelashes.
It was an anxious moment.
His sky-blue eyes brimmed with curiosity.
I had seen that gaze before.
“No matter how I look at it, you’re just an ordinary bear doll. What’s so special about a doll like this? Does Blake Leblanc have some emotional deficiency?”
Edwin released the cheek he had been pinching.
Though I desperately wanted to rub away the numbness, he was meticulously examining every part of my body.
“Even looking again, there’s nothing special about you.”
He pressed my soft belly repeatedly, opened and closed my small fluttering ears, then casually tossed me to the escort knight beside him.
Ugh, I’m so dizzy.
Just as I was about to scream internally, the knight caught me perfectly.
“Carry it back.”
As we walked along the path back to the mansion, I carefully examined Edwin’s hand from where the knight held me.
I was checking to see if that ring from before was still there.
And sure enough, the ring was… there!
However, I couldn’t sense any magical power emanating from the ring.
What was going on?
Of course, I had acquired the Arcanum myself, but Edwin’s ring seemed rather suspicious.
It had contained magical power.
For magical power—an intangible force that could be stored in an Arcanum—to exist was certainly peculiar.
Edwin’s pale pink hair swayed gently as he walked ahead.
‘Is there someone with magical power around that man?’
Mana and magical power were distinctly different.
The power that had burst forth from the ring back then was definitely magical power.
Thanks to it, I was able to return to my original form. The magical power that had been absorbed into my body like being pulled in—whose could it have been?
‘I don’t sense any magical power from the Crown Prince.’
Then the owner of that magical power must be someone else.
Ah, I wish I could ask!
If I opened my mouth in this state, I would only put Blake in a difficult position.
Besides, he didn’t seem like he would answer willingly.
While I was pondering what to do, we had already arrived at the mansion’s entrance.
The entrance was in disarray.
Ronald’s voice echoed through the hall, and the female servants bustled about in a flurry of activity.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince. We were startled by your sudden absence. I hope you were not inconvenienced. We heard that Ophelia was just about to depart… ah.”
Ronald blinked slowly as he caught sight of me cradled in the arms of Edwin’s escort knight.
His gaze asked wordlessly: Why are you there? I answered with a look of my own.
I have no idea. Today’s luck is absolutely terrible.
Abandoned by Eren, carried in Edwin’s arms, and now returning to the mansion—what a day.
“I took a pleasant stroll around the Leblanc Estate. It’s quite different from before—there are brighter corners now, making it rather enjoyable to walk through.”
“Is that so? How delightful to hear.”
Ronald bowed respectfully, and like the seasoned butler he was, he concealed the curiosity in his gaze. But Edwin was no less formidable.
Edwin gestured to his escort knight, who promptly transferred me into his arms.
“I ventured quite far and happened to discover this little doll. Tell me—do you know what this doll is?”
It was a question asked with full knowledge of the answer. He’d mentioned Blake’s attachment to me the moment he picked me up.
Beneath Edwin’s smiling face, I sensed a peculiar hostility and wariness directed toward Blake.
The Crown Prince dislikes Blake.
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising.
Blake isn’t the type to be universally beloved, after all.
What was certain was that, aside from Ian—the second prince and male lead of the original story—the Imperial Court held little affection for the Leblanc Family.
Ronald widened his eyes in feigned surprise as he looked at me.
“My goodness. How did it end up there? My apologies, Your Highness. We are deeply honored that you brought it personally.”
“I asked what it was.”
“That doll belongs to the Leblanc Family.”
I nearly applauded Ronald’s skillful evasion of the question’s true intent.
“Oh, how careless of me. I thought this doll belonged to Blake Leblanc himself. You know, the one that wouldn’t leave the newspapers for some time.”
“Rumors are always prone to exaggeration, are they not?”
Ronald answered politely, though it seemed he hadn’t provided the answer Edwin sought—yet Edwin continued smiling throughout.
It was a painted smile, but somehow it differed from the expressions Blake occasionally wore.
“In any case, I’ve grown quite fond of this doll. Fond enough to have picked it up myself and brought it here.”
With that, he tucked me under his right arm and stroked me lightly.
Stop this at once! What are you doing?
I take back what I said about him not being a bad person—cancel that!
Edwin’s smile widened further as his gaze fixed over Ronald’s shoulder.
“What do you say? Would you not gift this doll to me, young lord?”
Blake appeared before me in a crisp navy uniform, his presence suddenly close.
He was displeased.
It was obvious—his eyes had darkened considerably.
Just as Ronald, having noticed Blake’s state like I had, moved to explain the situation—
“Oh my, it’s a bear doll.”
A delicate, gentle voice rang out. A woman with jet-black hair crowned by a white veil emerged from behind Blake.
“It looks rather fierce, yet quite adorable. It seems your stroll was most satisfying, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
The woman with murky eyes of white and pale gray approached Edwin with graceful movements.
In that moment, I found myself unable to tear my gaze away from her.
What is this?
It was an uncanny sensation. From Ophelia emanated an aura that belonged neither to the living nor the dead.
A faint current of power—too subtle to be called mana—rippled around her form.
While Blake couldn’t even look at her, Edwin observed Ophelia with a calm chuckle.
“Haha, yes. Indeed it was. Not tedious at all—quite delightful, in fact. But Ophelia, are you already preparing to depart?”
Ophelia?
I had heard it spoken of countless times—Demon Beasts, sacrifices, and prophecies.
The prophetess Ophelia, whom some young noblewoman from the Thurman Baronial House had mentioned when she infiltrated the Duke Leblanc’s Mansion.
So this woman was her.
Ophelia nodded and spoke.
“Yes, I intend to return to the Temple. Particularly since I have received a revelation that Demon Beasts will appear in the Eastern Region soon, I wish to pray and ask for guidance on what preparations the priests and I must make.”
Her voice was gentle yet resolute.
Observing the knights who followed in her wake and the carriage stationed before the entrance, Edwin turned his gaze back toward Blake.
“Well then, I shall take my leave as well. Ah, but it seems I haven’t received an answer yet. I happened to find this near the Hill near the Lake, my lord. If it truly has no owner, I suppose I may take it with me?”
His sky-blue eyes sparkled with a gleam as he studied Blake’s expression.
“I never knew your household possessed such a charming little doll.”
Blake’s piercing gaze fixed upon Edwin’s warmly smiling face.
Edwin’s eyes narrowed into crescents.
Throughout all of this, I continued to stare only at Ophelia.
I even caught her scent, straining not to flare my small nose too noticeably, but aside from finding her aura and fragrance somewhat familiar, there was nothing particularly remarkable.
Was this aura felt as special because she was a prophetess, a follower of the divine?
I sensed something—not quite mana, not quite magical power, but something nonetheless.
Then it happened.
Blake strode forward directly in front of me, who had been entirely focused on Ophelia.
Ophelia’s form vanished from view, replaced by nothing but Blake’s chest before me—a shock that lasted only a moment.
Blake suddenly extended his hand and spoke in a low tone.
“Hand her over.”
It was a curt command—hardly the tone one used with the Crown Prince.
Edwin’s eyes narrowed slightly, but Blake continued without hesitation.
“She is mine.”
“…Haha, truly? This doll is genuinely yours?”
“Yes. If you doubt me, I shall answer as many times as necessary.”
The tension was so palpable that Edwin might draw his blade at any moment; Edwin let out a hollow laugh.
“Remarkable. Your steward told me this doll belonged to your household. Yet you claim it is yours alone?”
Ow. That hurts.
Why is he suddenly gripping so hard?
Blue veins rose across the back of my hand. Edwin’s grip on my arm tightened considerably.
Then he grasped my soft torso and examined me before breaking into a grin.
The smile that met me at such close range was dazzlingly beautiful, and yet….
Edwin’s eyes had glazed over slightly.
And he whispered with grave intensity.
“Hearing that only makes me covet it all the more than before.”

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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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