"It's simple. Do you have a short sword or a dagger?" Kuro said casually. "Use the dagger to cut open my skin, find the shard inside, dig it out, and that's it."

"Do you know what you're saying?? How could I possibly...? I'm not a doctor." Nicole listened to his instructions, knowing she couldn't bring herself to do it.

But Kuro wasn't interested in her explanation. He casually reassured her, "Don't worry. Just think of it as cutting discounted pork."

"Pork???"

"Then, wolf meat?"

"...That's not the issue here..." Nicole felt she had no strength left to argue.

"Nicole, you've killed beasts but never a person, right?" Kuro's intense gaze drew closer to Nicole, bringing them face to face again. "So the thought of cutting into a living person scares you?"

Nicole felt as if she were locked in place by those deep purple eyes, unable to move. She silently nodded.

"The Razor Serpent couldn't strangle me, do you really think a single stab would be fatal?" Taking advantage of his proximity, Kuro deftly drew the dagger from Nicole's belt. "Don't worry, my body is different from human."

He skillfully reversed the direction of the dagger, placing the hilt in Nicole's hand. "A good little knife. Hold it firmly."

"I'm not a doctor, and... even if I were, I'd need an assistant, disinfectant, anesthesia, and surgical tools. I also need..."

Kuro interrupted her and then reached up to unfasten his bloodstained armor. "You don't need to worry about me. There's no need for all that. I can't let that shard stay in my body; it will only make things worse. Right now, you're the only one who can help me."

Trembling, Nicole took the dagger. "Are you sure I can really do this?"

"I'm sure."

Nicole held the dagger in her right hand, nervously closing her eyes and muttering to herself as if in self-hypnosis, "Discounted pork, discounted pork, discounted pork..."

Kuro watched her, suppressing the smile at the corner of his mouth. He removed his armor and shirt, exposing his entire right shoulder and chest.

When Nicole thought she was mentally prepared and opened her eyes, she was greeted by his enticing physique and relaxed posture.

Kuro was half-lying against the collapsed bed, looking at her calmly. "Ready?"

Nicole had never seen such a scene. Although she had grown up in the church with two men, Father Ron and Rivern, neither of them ever did anything inappropriate to a young girl, let alone appear before her improperly dressed.

Even Rivern had never exposed his body in front of her. Yet here was this man, whom she had known for less than a month and didn't even know his real name, now teasing her in every possible way.

She didn't know where to focus her gaze; it seemed like no place was appropriate.

Kuro noticed her wandering eyes and looked somewhat disappointed. "It seems you're still not ready."

As he spoke, he straightened up and approached Nicole again, whispering in her ear, "No need to be nervous. We've bathed together, haven't we? You can't say you don't remember—that's one of my most cherished memories."

This reminded Nicole that she had indeed bathed with the black panther, and not just once. She would cuddle with it while sleeping. It would be there when she changed clothes in her room. Sometimes, it would even follow her to the bathroom.

At that time, she simply saw it as an ordinary beast and had no other thoughts.

She didn't find it inappropriate for Kuro to stare at her because, after all, it was just an animal. Who would be on guard against the curious gaze of an animal?

But now, recalling those moments, she felt all the blood in her body rush to her head, her mind buzzing loudly.

Nicole felt both embarrassed and annoyed, the temperature of her cheeks rising with those memories. She bowed her head, trembling as she held the dagger, the blade pointing at Kuro.

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"Now are you ready for this?" Kuro looked at her, completely unafraid of her anger, and instead showed a triumphant smile.

Infuriated by his words, Nicole forcefully pushed him down, pinning him to the ground, and straddled him.

"You jerk!! You think I can't do it?" The girl pressed on his exposed shoulder, the tip of the knife aimed at Kuro's prominent nose, her anger radiating through her breath onto his face.

His purple eyes glimmered with a faint light, and a complex smile played at the corners of his mouth.

Suddenly, he reached out with his left hand, grabbing her right hand that held the dagger, and guided her to plunge the blade into him.

The moment came too quickly; Nicole hadn't even reacted before the blade pierced his skin.

Soon, blood seeped from the edges of the wound, trickling down his firm chest.

"Feel better now?" Kuro asked.

Nicole stared blankly at the flowing blood, finally remembering what she was supposed to do—help him remove the shard.

What Kuro had said earlier was all true, but saying it at that critical moment was clearly meant to provoke her into action.

"Are you... crazy?" Nicole couldn't help but ask, her right hand gripping the dagger trembling uncontrollably. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't. I'm fine," he said, slightly closing his eyes, his long eyelashes quivering a bit.

Nicole looked at him in confusion.

A normal person stabbed like that would be writhing in pain. Why did he only show a slight frown, as if it didn't hurt at all?

"Is my face really that captivating?" Kuro seemed to notice her questioning gaze and said, "Don't worry, werewolves have a different tolerance for pain than humans. Hurry up, I don't want to lose too much blood."

Nicole then focused on the task at hand. She forced herself to think of nothing else, concentrating on finding the shard in his wound.

[I'll deal with you later, you big liar.]

Nicole silently vowed to herself.

Kuro was silent for a moment before speaking, surprising Nicole.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I refuse to accept your apology. You pervert, you voyeur."

"Oh." His gaze shifted from Nicole's face to the outside of the cabin. "Is this about the bathing thing? It's okay if you don't forgive me. I don't think I did anything wrong."

Nicole looked up and glared at him fiercely.

Kuro glanced at her secretly, then looked outside again. "What I meant was, I should have found the right time to tell you that I'm not truly a beast. I shouldn't have caused you to lose your qualification as a beast tamer. I'm sorry."

This was something Nicole hadn't expected. Her expression softened. "Forget it, it's okay. If I really had the talent, I would have seen through your disguise already. You wouldn't need to confess; I would have exposed you myself. Unfortunately, I'm not cut out for it."

Thinking about yesterday's events still made Nicole feel deeply sad. But she told herself she had to get over it. If fate had taken away her qualification as a beast tamer, perhaps it would compensate her with something even more precious.

This thought made her pause.

[Something even more precious?]

She quickly glanced at the man before her, just in time to meet his gaze.

[No, no, no, that's impossible.]

She desperately tried to deny her earlier thoughts.

"What... are you thinking?" Kuro seemed to always be able to catch her thoughts.

"Nothing," Nicole said, pretending to be calm. She held out a small shard of scale between her fingers for Kuro to see. "Is this what you were looking for?"

Though the shard was small and not deadly to a werewolf, it would have caused significant discomfort lodged in the muscle.

"That's right, thanks. I feel much better."

Kuro tried to sit up but was held down by Nicole. "Don't move, you've lost too much blood."

Her hands were covered in blood. The shoulder she was pressing down on was also stained red.

"I had a reason for letting you do it," Kuro said, disregarding Nicole's attempts to stop him as he sat up. "You underestimate a werewolf's healing abilities."

Nicole was astonished to see that as Kuro sat up, the ghastly wound began to heal rapidly, visibly closing before her eyes.

Some of the still-liquid blood even flowed back along the original path. When the healing was complete, the surface of his skin was unscarred.

"Goddess above..." If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Nicole wouldn't have believed what was happening in front of her.

"In beast form, the healing rate is even faster," Kuro said, moving his right arm and stretching his body. "That's why sometimes the wound heals before there's time to remove foreign objects."

"Are all werewolves this powerful?"

"Yes, there are many with even stronger healing abilities than mine. Even if an arm is severed, with strong enough healing and timely treatment, even fatal wounds can heal within minutes."

"Then aren't you all invincible? Does such a powerful race even have weaknesses?" Nicole asked, curious.

"Weaknesses, of course," Kuro said casually, sitting with one hand supporting him on the ground, his head tilted as he looked at her. "But why are you asking?"

Nicole seemed to detect a hint of caution in his eyes, realizing she might have asked something she shouldn't have.

"Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Silly girl." Kuro reached out, his fingertip brushing her cheek, tidying the stray hair on her forehead. "My weakness is you."

This time, Nicole didn't blush; instead, she looked furious.

"Teasing me again? Does it make you happy?"

"Yes, very happy," Kuro answered without hesitation.

Nicole, infuriated, raised the dagger once more.

Kuro noticed the blood on her hands and casually reminded her, "Go wash your hands in the stream outside. Or," he tilted his head again, watching her with some anticipation, "do you want to stay on top of me a little longer?"

Only then did Nicole realize the intimate position they were in. Blushing, she finally stood up, but not before forcefully lifting her knee toward Kuro's face.

Her knee struck his nose, causing him to fall back onto the floor, clutching his nose in pain. He then turned his head to watch Nicole's retreating figure, smiling indulgently.

"Irene, you teased me back then, and now it's my turn to tease you."