Chapter 13
“What?”
“I said I don’t want to help you.”
“W-Why… why won’t you help me!”
Watching Vivian widen her eyes in shock at the completely unexpected refusal, Blake fell into brief thought.
Refusal was instinctive—but the reasoning that followed was surprisingly reasonable.
No, perhaps this was an opportunity.
A one-of-a-kind existence who could make him sleep.
Just that fact alone made her worth keeping close immediately.
After experiencing something called “deep sleep” once, there was no going back to what came before.
So until he figured out exactly how it worked, he had no intention of letting her go.
In a cold voice that felt like icy wind, he spoke.
“Let’s assume everything you’re saying is true. But how am I supposed to trust you and open something called a portal? How do I know nothing dangerous will happen after I open it? Besides, even if you stay as a teddy bear, it doesn’t interfere with my sleep at all.”
“Y-You… I didn’t think you were that kind of person!”
“No, I am that kind of person. And what if, after I go out of my way to find this portal you mentioned, you disappear without a trace, showing no gratitude at all? The only reason I’m keeping you alive right now is one thing. That you can temporarily ease this curse.”
“But I told you I’ll try to find a way to break the curse too!”
“Hmm. I’m not foolish enough to take someone’s word at face value.”
Vivian’s face quickly turned indignant as she stumbled while holding her disproportionate head.
“Blake… repaid kindness with betrayal…”
Watching her with an expressionless face, he soon made a proposal.
“Then let’s do this. If you’re really not lying, sign a contract with me.”
“A… contract?”
He nodded.
Then he opened a drawer beside the table, took out paper and a fountain pen, and quickly wrote something before handing it over.
The document contained far more detailed terms than something written in a hurry.
[CONTRACT]
Party A: Blake LeBlanc
Party B: Vivian Halloway
Article 1. Party A shall assist Party B in continuously replenishing her magic, and Party B shall do her best to help Party A fall asleep whenever he desires.
Article 2. Party B shall not reveal that she is a witch to others unless absolutely unavoidable.
Article 3. Party A shall search for a portal so Party B can return to her original world, and Party B shall find a way to lift the LeBlanc family curse.
Article 4. This contract ends once Party A’s curse is completely lifted. Any changes to the contract require mutual consent.
Vivian carefully reread the heavily emphasized final clause.
“Once the curse is lifted… the contract ends…”
“If the conditions are met, I will also do my best to help you return.”
Vivian found Blake infuriatingly meticulous, but she didn’t stop reading.
The portal was an extremely important issue—something she absolutely had to find to return to Halloway Castle.
And in her current state, trying to find it alone was clearly impossible, something she painfully realized.
Even if she restored her magic, without the portal, she would be trapped in the human world forever.
‘Absolutely not!’
No matter how curious she was about the protagonists of novels or how rare it was to experience the human world after centuries, this was not her home.
The large, beautiful castle in the West.
A life waiting for her—returning to Max, who must be worried, sharing stories with laughter, and enjoying the wine she had saved.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Vivian gripped the fountain pen tightly with both hands.
After struggling to sign with a pen nearly half the size of her body, she pushed the contract toward him.
Blake asked calmly.
“What happens if one side breaks the contract?”
“There isn’t anything like that. A witch’s contract must always be kept. Otherwise, she will lose her magic forever.”
“Then it will be kept. I also never go back on my word.”
There was no emotion in his voice—only cold rationality focused on efficiency.
Feeling slightly hurt for some reason, Vivian pursed her lips and turned away.
“Since we’ve made the contract, cooperate more actively now! We can’t stay in this room forever.”
“……”
Blake understood what she was worried about.
A moving teddy bear in the human world would certainly be suspicious. If discovered, it would be difficult to explain.
But she also couldn’t just sit still and hope things would work out.
‘Even if I’m the most positive witch in existence!’
Even if Blake opposed it, she needed freedom of movement.
“When I go out to search for the portal, I’ll tell you. Or next time something like this happens, how about sticking together like before?”
“If you’re going to say useless things, don’t say anything at all.”
“But if we walk together, no one will suspect anything. Like… I’d just be your attached doll.”
Attached doll.
At those words, his brows subtly furrowed before he shut his eyes tightly.
“Damn it…”
Maybe he was remembering the servants’ confused gazes from earlier.
Thinking he was quite a troublesome man, Vivian stood on tiptoe and stretched out her small hand to pat his shoulder.
Blake slowly turned his head to look at her.
A look that clearly said: What are you doing?
“Don’t worry. They’ll focus more on the fact that you’re carrying around an attached doll than on me moving.”
“That’s not comforting—”
“A military commander carrying a teddy bear is actually kind of a charming twist.”
“Just be quiet. Can’t you keep your mouth shut for even a second?”
“I do hear that a lot. Thanks.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
Avoiding her touch by leaning back, he eventually gave up as her hand kept following him and collapsed backward onto the bed.
Lying there, his expression softened unexpectedly.
It was strange.
Just moments ago, his head had been aching from the chaos with the teddy bear.
But for some reason, whenever he felt that hand, his mind became calm.
Was that also part of the teddy bear’s magic?
“You look better when you smile.”
“…Nonsense. I didn’t smile.”
Coldly denying it, he quickly composed his expression and turned away.
Vivian, now somewhat used to interpreting his dishonesty, stared at him and asked.
“Want to take a nap together?”
“……”
Without responding, Vivian rested her heavy head on his shoulder.
Even though it shouldn’t have been heavy enough to burden him, his shoulder visibly flinched.
Feeling that subtle reaction, Vivian tilted her head.
“How strange. You were so sensitive just a moment ago.”
The Blake she had seen in Human World Special Report had seemed intimidating.
He was certainly aloof and cold, but upon closer inspection, he revealed a variety of emotions.
‘If the heroine Leia saw this side of him, she’d probably be surprised.’
She might even fall for Blake’s charm.
He had clearly been angry earlier because he was worried about her safety.
And if there was one thing she had learned in life, it was how to read people. She was quite accurate at it.
‘Even if his heart says otherwise, he’s not honest.’
Of course, it was a little disappointing that he refused to help without a contract.
But yes—trusting too easily wouldn’t be fun either.
‘Just you wait. I’ll make you sleep so well you’ll never forget it!’
Thinking such miscellaneous thoughts, Vivian hummed softly.
Her magic was gradually recovering.
Enjoying the strange, pleasant sensation, she slowly closed her eyes and murmured.
“Meeting you was lucky. I didn’t think I’d meet someone who worries about me.”
Without casting a sleep spell, the two remained like that for a long while, eyes closed, sharing an awkward yet peaceful silence.
A calm midday rest.
It felt like a peaceful life might finally begin.
But then—
The next day, a strange rumor spread through the ducal mansion.
The Next Day
“Did you hear? The first young master is carrying around a teddy bear. Apparently he never lets it out of his sight.”
“That must be nonsense, right? A teddy bear? That’s ridiculous.”
“But there’s a witness. A brown teddy bear! He found it and said, ‘I’ve found you, my teddy bear.’ In a really cool tone!”
“…Now that I think about it, someone who went into the office said the young master was sitting a teddy bear down and talking to it…”
“What? The first young master hasn’t been sleeping lately, so maybe…”
“Hey, watch what you say!”
“No, I heard it too. Some even say it’s a possessed doll. There are more than a few who saw it move! They say it’s cursed, so don’t even make eye contact!”
“Good heavens, how scary!”
Unfortunately for Blake, the rumor of a haunted (?) teddy bear was spreading like wildfire.
At that moment, old butler Ronald, who was heading to Blake’s office carrying an important letter from the Eastern Cartel, had no choice but to stop upon hearing the servants’ whispers.
‘What did I just hear?’
The young master carrying a brown teddy bear and saying “my teddy bear”?
