I couldn’t move a single finger.
My whole body felt limp, and it was as if there wasn’t a trace of mana left in me.
Well… that made sense. My mana really was disappearing.
With what little strength I had, I slowly looked around. It didn’t take long to figure out where I was.
Judging from the conversation earlier… this was Lea Everett’s banquet hall.
The place where the heroine’s birthday celebration was being held—in other words, the Everett Count’s estate!
‘No way. What is going on?’
The portals to the human world had long since been closed and gone.
“Ah… and my strength…”
While I was being transported, my heart had throbbed painfully, and then my mana had evaporated in an instant.
“…I have no strength.”
This strange, unfamiliar sensation of losing my mana was, in a way, oddly familiar.
“…Don’t tell me… is this year my rest year?”
I slowly curled my fingers, counting back to the last time.
A witch’s “rest year” came once every fifty years.
Witches were beings who did not follow the cycle of life—decay and rebirth over time.
Because their existence defied the natural order, once every fifty years from their birth, they would be subjected to the laws of nature in full force.
That period was called a rest year.
During this time, every witch—without exception—lost nearly all of their mana.
That’s why it was an unspoken rule for witches not to leave their territory during that period.
And yet… here I was. A witch in her rest year, dropped into the human world?
“What kind of disaster is this… ugh, my head.”
At this rate, I needed to lie down somewhere and recover immediately.
Without the mana-filled atmosphere of my castle, even standing was exhausting.
As if unaware of my situation, the dazzling night at the Everett estate was just beginning.
At least I had landed on the terrace… was that a blessing?
‘Imagine if a suspicious woman suddenly dropped out of thin air into the banquet hall.’
I stared blankly at the lavish lights, standing there and wondering what to do—
“Commander!”
With an urgent call, the terrace door I was standing near swung open.
Startled, I quickly crouched down beside the flower bed. Soon, a man with silver hair that shimmered like moonlight stepped inside.
“Commander, why haven’t you greeted Lady Everett? It seemed like she was looking for you. I think this is a good opportunity.”
Following him in, a blond man lightly grabbed his shoulder and said,
“Don’t talk nonsense. I just got back and came straight to this banquet—I’m exhausted.”
“Didn’t you come all this way to see Lady Everett in the first place?”
“I came because I was called. I don’t care either way.”
His cold tone matched the faint glow of his face under the moonlight.
At a glance, his pale silver hair sparkled like freshly fallen snow, paired with dark brows.
Long, deep-set eyes—and violet irises.
That sharply defined, masculine man was…
“Blake LeBlanc!”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
Gasp—!
The moment I clamped my hand over my mouth, Blake—whose name I had just blurted out—whipped his head around and shot a glare at the blond man behind him.
“What’s your problem, speaking casually like that… Rain?”
At his chilling voice, Rain flinched and stepped back.
“W-What? I didn’t say anything! Me, speaking casually?”
“You’re saying you didn’t call me?”
“I wouldn’t do something like that even if I were crazy!”
Blake eyed Rain suspiciously… then his gaze shifted toward the flower bed.
‘Crap!’
My big mouth!
Seeing the tragic second male lead of the original novel in person had shocked me so much that I’d spoken without thinking.
His sharp gaze swept the area near the flower bed.
‘If I get caught, I’m dead.’
I squeezed out what little mana I had left, suppressing my presence as much as possible.
Normally, I wouldn’t have been afraid—but right now, instinct screamed at me.
‘That man is far beyond the level of an ordinary human.’
It was the kind of moment that made your whole body tense.
“Anyway, did you prepare a gift for Lady Everett?”
“Ah.”
At Rain’s sudden question, Blake turned back to him.
“D-Don’t tell me… you didn’t prepare anything?!”
“I did.”
“O-Oh, you did. What did you get?”
“This teddy bear.”
“…What?”
At their intriguing conversation, my ears perked up.
A teddy bear as a gift for the person he liked?
That was… surprisingly romantic.
As expected of a romance novel—such a cute gift made me smile unconsciously, forgetting my own situation.
So that’s why he’d been carrying that mismatched teddy bear earlier.
“…Wait a second. You don’t mean this shabby brown teddy bear, right? Haha… right? No way.”
Muttering to himself, Rain looked at Blake’s silence—then suddenly shouted,
“You’re serious?! This worn-out teddy bear?!”
“Is there a problem?”
“My god…”
Unable to continue, Rain fell silent. The terrace grew quiet for a moment.
“Come to think of it, I saw you lingering on the street after training earlier.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me… you bought it from that old street vendor who hangs around there?”
“Yeah. The old woman grabbed my pant leg, so I bought it to get rid of her. It’s better than nothing.”
“No, it’s absolutely not better! Today is Lady Everett’s birthday! She’s an important person in your life!”
“I know. But is a birthday really that important? This banquet is just for the Everett family’s business investments anyway. Lea won’t care about gifts.”
“Ugh…!”
Rain pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned.
I frowned at the serious atmosphere.
He was described as an emotionless monster without blood or tears…
‘But isn’t he just a robot?’
I stared dumbfounded at the indifferent silver head.
“No, this won’t do. Let’s throw it away!”
“Don’t act like a materialistic human, Rain. I despise people like that.”
“What are you even talking about?! I’m not being materialistic—I’m throwing away trash! Give it to me!”
“Hand it over.”
“No!”
“…Do you want to die?”
Their argument dragged on.
Instead of leaving, they kept bickering over something ridiculous, and my legs were starting to go numb.
This was not the time for this!
I had to find a way back to the demon world immediately.
Blake, the novel—none of that mattered. I couldn’t stay in the human world without any mana.
‘But where’s the portal?’
There had to be one somewhere—otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get here.
This was my chance while they were distracted!
Just as I looked around—
“Hey! Why are you throwing the teddy bear?!”
Thud!
A shabby brown teddy bear dropped right onto my head.
“Ah!”
And in that instant—
Flash!
A burst of light filled my vision, and my body suddenly felt light.
‘Huh?’
Dazed, I blinked at my spinning vision. I could feel a thick hand gripping one of my arms.
“Honestly… you could’ve just thrown it away earlier. Why insist on keeping it till the end?”
But… why did my body feel so light—and fluffy?
Slowly, I lifted my arm.
What I saw… was a stubby paw covered in soft fur.
My whole body went rigid.
I couldn’t understand what had just happened.
‘This fluffy fur… this small body…’
Staring blankly at myself, realization hit.
A teddy bear?
Did I just become… a teddy bear?
‘Aaaaargh!’
Damn it. How could this even happen?!
No matter how much my mana had disappeared—
How could a powerful witch be sucked into a mere teddy bear?!
‘What the hell is this thing?’
Unless it was some artifact imbued with powerful magic capable of sealing a witch, this made no sense.
‘First… I need to get out of this thing.’
Focus. Stay calm. Breathe out slowly.
If I just exert some strength—!
…Huh?
Then again—!
Oh, come on.
‘I can’t go back…!’
No matter what I did, I was still a fluffy teddy bear.
And on top of that—
‘I have no mana… so I can’t even move.’
One shocking realization after another.
I was completely stuck inside this teddy bear, unable to move a single inch.
At this point, I had no choice but to admit it.
‘I… became a bear.’