The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 56

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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 56
“What? Blake Leblanc is really coming?”
“Yeah. But Lea Everett, you’ve got cookie crumbs all over your mouth.”
A week before Ian’s birthday banquet.
Lea Everett, who had come to visit Ian at his palace, sat with her mouth agape, abandoning the half-eaten cookie in her hand.
Ian thoughtfully handed her a handkerchief.
Lea Everett wiped her mouth clean with quick strokes, then let out a hollow laugh.
Her beautiful golden eyes gleamed with bewilderment.
“Don’t you think he’s been doing a lot of things he doesn’t usually do lately?”
“Is he? I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him recently.”
“Oh right, Blake Leblanc left the moment you arrived at my birthday banquet.”
Ian shrugged. Blake Leblanc was always busy, so there was no point in holding it against him.
“I’m telling you as soon as I get word that Blake Leblanc is coming. You were hoping he’d attend, weren’t you?”
“Well, I suppose so… but still, I wonder what’s gotten into him.”
As I watched Lea Everett murmur to herself, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
It always hurt when I realized I existed outside her field of vision.
Lea Everett had always been that way.
“Hello, I’m Lea Everett. You’re the Second Prince, right? I heard we’re the same age.”
“…How do you do.”
“Speak comfortably! We’re all the same age, so if you’re willing, we can be friends. Right, Blake Leblanc?”
“…I’m tired.”
Lea Everett and Blake Leblanc.
Friends I had met not long after losing my mother and entering the unfamiliar Royal Palace.
I had been nervous hearing they were children of prestigious noble houses with deep roots in the Empire, but Lea Everett’s sociability was truly remarkable.
She took naive, clumsy me on outings and often came to play at the palace.
Each time, Blake Leblanc silently followed behind.
Looking back now, I suspect Blake Leblanc was reluctantly dragged along to prevent future complications, unable to resist Lea Everett’s nature.
“Blake Leblanc! This, this! I’ll throw this too, so try cutting it!”
“…Do I look like your sword practice dummy to you?”
“Come on, hurry! You have to do it—Ian’s going to eat it.”
“You could just cut it yourself.”
“Ian! You want an apple, don’t you? I’ll get it ready for you right away.”
“…Yeah! But Lea Everett, I’m fine. I can cut it myself.”
“No way! Blake Leblanc is better at this.”
I had heard Blake Leblanc was my classmate at the Academy, but that taciturn boy would listen to Lea Everett with half an ear.
Yet Lea Everett didn’t mind.
Even when she urged him to be more like the kind and beautiful Ian, her affection for him was unmistakable.
“There was no room for me to fit in.”
People whispered that Blake Leblanc harbored an unrequited love, but I knew painfully well that wasn’t the truth.
“…Ian. Ian! Were you listening to me?”
“Ah, yes. What did you say? Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.”
Lea Everett’s large eyes drooped downward. She seemed disappointed that Ian was distracted while conversing with her.
“Are you busy these days? You seem even more frazzled since taking on that position as head of the Diplomatic Corps.”
“No, it’s fine. But what were you saying?”
The position of head of the Diplomatic Corps was admittedly quite demanding.
Ian gazed at Lea Everett, who sat across from him sipping her tea.
“Aren’t you excited to see if Blake Leblanc brings the bear doll?”
“Yes, I am.”
“He probably hasn’t even decided on a partner yet. When he came to my banquet, he was with Rein, the vice-captain.”
Lea Everett chattered away before glancing at Ian’s expression. Then she set down her teacup and asked casually.
“Ian, have you decided on a partner?”
“Not yet.”
“Then will you do it with me?”
“What about Blake Leblanc?”
“Ugh, I’ll be there for a while. If I partner with Blake Leblanc, I’m sure I’ll be left alone before long.”
Lea Everett pushed her bright face forward, urging him for an answer, saying she didn’t want that.
“Let’s do it together, Ian. If you don’t have anyone set, do it with me.”
A small hand covered his large one. At that touch, heat crept up the back of his neck.
Fortunately, the hair covering his ears concealed the warmth rising there.
“Of course my partner is you, Lea Everett.”
“Great! No takebacks!”
“Right.”
I watched Lea Everett’s radiant smile light up the world around us, and once again, I swallowed my true feelings.
Desperately hoping that this relationship we maintained as friends wouldn’t shatter because of my selfish desires.
***
“This is an emergency. A complete emergency.”
Five days before the birthday banquet at the Royal Palace.
I had fallen into shock.
I had nothing to wear!
Blake Leblanc, who had been glancing at me as I stood before the mirror for quite some time, lowered his newspaper and spoke.
“You’ll bore a hole through that mirror. What’s wrong?”
“Blake. You’re rich, aren’t you?”
“…That’s the most direct question I’ve ever been asked.”
“Since you’re rich, buy me some clothes.”
“Clothes?”
He tilted his head in confusion. Uncrossing his legs, he propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin in his palm, studying me intently.
I felt a little embarrassed.
Because I wasn’t wearing anything at all!
Well, truthfully, ever since I fell into this world, I—this bear doll—had been in a state of complete undress.
Since I was a bear doll that could hardly be said to have a gender in the first place, there had been no reason to feel ashamed, so I’d never given it much thought until now.
“W-what are you looking at…?”
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“Well, that’s…”
As those persistent violet eyes continued to bore into me, I finally burst out.
“I’m completely naked!”
“Ah.”
A brief silence fell. Then Blake Leblanc flinched and leaned back.
“Ah…”
He even turned his head away entirely!
Not having expected such a reaction, I pouted and grumbled.
“No matter how I think about it, going to the prince’s birthday banquet completely naked just doesn’t seem right.”
Blake Leblanc rubbed his ears and turned back to face me, asking.
“But Vivian. You’re not planning to go in your true form anyway, are you?”
I nodded at his words.
Though mana was steadily accumulating in the Arcanum embedded in the red ribbon, there was no need to expend mana just to assume my true form.
In fact, doing so would only create more things I’d need to explain.
“It’s fine. Since you’ll be with me, you don’t need clothes.”
“Easy for you to say! I’m the Witch of the Western Territory. I couldn’t prepare formal attire for my first banquet because I fell here so suddenly, but not this time.”
“But you’re not the protagonist, so why does it matter?”
“Because you’re clearly going to look incredibly handsome and dashing, Blake, and I can’t possibly show up as a shabby, grimy bear doll next to you.”
Blake Leblanc’s mouth clamped shut. His eyes widened slightly, then dropped downward.
Then he hastily grabbed his newspaper and leaned back against the sofa.
Regardless, I was being sincere.
Blake Leblanc, with his striking beautiful features that drew attention wherever he went, would become the center of conversation the moment he entered the banquet hall.
Though some kept their distance because of his personality and reputation, no one dared to criticize his appearance.
Silver hair as pristine as moonlight settling upon the earth, eyes of amethyst clarity, and a sharply defined nose bridge.
Beneath them lay deeply set eyes and faint dark circles that emanated a peculiar melancholy—a cold, beautiful countenance. And beside him stood…
A bear doll, so I ought to match my attire to the occasion as well.
“Blake Leblanc. Let’s go out together.”
Thus I made my resolute decision. The first step toward attending a human gathering.
Shopping for clothes!
***
“I thought it would be just the two of us.”
“That was the plan, but I thought having Nix along might disperse attention a bit.”
“Commander. Thank you for your kindness.”
Standing before the Doll Clothing Shop, Blake Leblanc, Nix, and I swallowed hard as we gazed at the sign.
A high-end doll clothing shop, no less.
This was a realm I had never experienced—neither in my previous life nor in this one.
“Well then, let’s enter.”
As I commanded our advance with solemn authority, Blake Leblanc released a deep sigh just before stepping forward.
His hesitation was evident in every reluctant movement.
He asked quietly.
“Do I really have to go?”
“Of course.”
At my firm reply, he slowly closed his eyes.
Then, as if speaking to himself, he muttered softly.
“Right. Once I take a doll outside, people will call me mad anyway. Sigh… what difference would doing more here make?”
Waiting patiently, I watched as he finally gathered his resolve and opened his eyes.
Seeing this, I raised my fist with determination.
“Let’s go!”
With a creak, the door swung open, and employees in frilly dresses burst forth from both sides, crying out.
“Welcome to Bling Bling Doll Shop!”

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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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