"Hm?"
Even now, the ladies still had no idea what Shade was doing.
Then they saw a silver arc appear at Shade's fingertips. Shade frowned slightly, listening closely to the guidance "she" gave him about where to apply force, before pressing his finger against his skin. With a light downward swipe, swift and decisive, flesh parted to either side. Blood splattered across the tabletop, staining his clothes and startling everyone.
Even the Twelfth Order Great Witch failed to immediately grasp what Shade had done. Only when she saw him point at his chest, at his blazing heart, did she widen her eyes and instinctively lean back in her chair.
"Though it hurts, it's bearable. If my heart were pierced in battle, it wouldn't affect my combat ability."
Shade thought to himself, quite satisfied with the test results of the thaumaturgy Stone Heart. He looked at the Duchess before him, shocked and somewhat panicked, then reached out and poked his own heart. The pain made the corner of his mouth twitch:
"Please allow me to offer you my heart. Duke Galina, do you wish to have it now?"
"What?"
The Witch asked instinctively. If she had seen this on a battlefield, she would not even have blinked. But seeing someone familiar do such a thing before her very eyes—even someone as decisive and capable as her—could not help but be stunned.
"Miss!"
The loyal Head Maid reminded her from behind, and only then did Miss Galina react:
"Oh, my God! Shade, what have you done? Quickly, stop his bleeding! Have you lost your mind?"
After a flurry of activity, Shade smeared soil from the flower pot on the windowsill over the wound. The curse Active Mud easily healed it. Then he asked for a cup of water, treated it with *Satiety