“Anyone with eyes can see it’s a blade. I’m asking why you’re putting it in front of me.”

“Cut it.”

“What?”

Cut what?

Unable to understand what he meant, Karina blankly stared at Dominic. However, Dominic, with a dejected face, only repeated the same words.

“Cut it.”

“What exactly am I supposed to cut?”

“My hand… I mean.”

“What?”

Karina’s voice was higher and sharper than before as she exclaimed in shock.

But the response was calm. No, it was mixed with deep resignation and determination that couldn’t be described as merely calm.

“…It might be difficult for a woman’s strength to cut through bone, so if you prefer, you can stab elsewhere. To equal a cut, you might need to stab about ten times…”

“No! What are you saying?”

Karina, terrified that Dominic might actually do something dangerous, threw the dagger far away. The blade clattered loudly on the floor.

“…Though unintentional, I did act like a lecher and a pervert… did something despicable…”

“So I should cut off your hand? Are you in your right mind?”

“…I would prefer you cut the left hand, if possible. Though that’s your decision, Lady Crawford.”

Karina shouted at Dominic’s response, still discussing which hand while in this situation.

“I didn’t take you for this kind of person, how can someone be so extreme?”

“Pardon?”

“Even if you made a mistake once, to c-cut off your hand for an accidental… huh? That’s too severe!”

“That day, I… Lady Crawford’s… Lady Crawford twice… not once but twice.”

“Ah, no.”

“So please stab me. Just a moment. I’ll go get the blade.”

Karina desperately grabbed his arm as he spoke with an expression that clearly showed he wanted to die.

Because if she didn’t stop him, it seemed Dominic would stab himself.

“W-wait a moment. That was an accident.”

Though it was absurd that she was comforting Dominic when she was the one whose chest had been touched, Karina desperately tried to calm him.

“Last week at the temple, the bishop said to love and forgive even your enemies. Since it was an accident, I’ll let it go this once.”

“No. Even so, that’s…”

“It-it’s fine. I’ve done much more intimate things with other people anyway.”

Dominic’s body, which had been moving to pick up the blade, suddenly froze. Karina, sensing an opportunity, quickly added more.

“That’s right. I was just startled. That day we were practicing kissing, right? Right? So I was only thinking about that when suddenly your hand touched there, I was just startled! That’s all. Haha. So don’t worry about it too much.”

“But even if you’ve done more… intimate things with others, that has nothing to do with me.”

Though Karina rarely lost her composure, she kept losing her calm in front of Dominic. She hadn’t realized it before. Just how stubborn, rigid, and persistent this man was.

Every time she’d been entangled with Dominic so far, things had ended up going his way. Hadn’t he managed to get her to agree to be his dating coach when she was trying to avoid getting involved with him?

Today’s Dominic had a similar look in his eyes as that day. Karina felt a chill down her spine. This man had truly come prepared to have his hand cut off.

“So are you saying I should dispose of a corpse in my house?”

Feeling wronged and desperate at Dominic’s insistence despite her saying it was fine, Karina momentarily forgot her ladylike dignity and shrieked. However, even after hearing her indignant protest, Dominic not only refused to back down but calmly shared medical knowledge to reassure her.

“One doesn’t die from having a hand cut off. If we stop the bleeding quickly, it won’t even dirty Lady Crawford’s room.”

“Ah! Really! No! Cutting off hands? Are you really sane? Why, why should I do that!”

“But… I couldn’t think of any other way to apologize no matter how much I thought about it.”

As Dominic hung his head like a dejected person, Karina hastily replied.

“Then I could touch you instead. That would make us even, right?”

What crazy thing am I saying now…

Though she covered her mouth with her hand in regret, the words had already been spoken.

Dominic slowly closed and opened his eyes after hearing Karina’s words.

“…What did you say?”

At his strangely unfocused gaze, Karina quickly waved her hands, denying her words.

“Brigadier General! That was just… just something I said.”

Just joking.

Just kidding.

Calm down.

Though she hurriedly added these excuses, like spilled water, words once spoken couldn’t be taken back.

Dominic shook his head with a determined face.

“No. If you’re not going to stab me with the blade, that would be better. If I can apologize to you that way, Lady Crawford.”

Even Dominic wasn’t innocent enough to not understand what her words meant. If it actually happened, it would be a very embarrassing and shameful situation.

Just as much as Karina had felt that day.

To Dominic, who couldn’t think of any good way to resolve his wrongdoing against her, exchanging one ‘mistake’ each seemed like quite a rational solution. It didn’t matter that calling touching each other’s chests by mutual agreement a ‘mistake’ was somewhat inappropriate.

He began unbuttoning his jacket. Startled by his sudden action, Karina screamed, already covering her eyes.

“Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes!”

Ignoring Karina’s embarrassed reaction, Dominic draped his removed clothes over the sofa.

“Please calm down. I only removed my outer jacket.”

Dominic’s expression became strange as he said this.

It was just removing a jacket, but seeing Karina, who was usually so confident, covering her eyes with both hands and screaming as if he was doing something terrible, was quite novel.

When he came to Crawford mansion, he had truly been prepared to lose an arm. But seeing Karina flustered and blushing, an urge to tease her suddenly arose amidst his serious thoughts.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I removed more clothes for you to touch easily? What should we do?”

At this question, Karina’s body trembled.

“I never said I would touch you!”

She still covered her eyes with both hands. But from the bright red tips of her ears, Dominic could tell how flustered she was.

He replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

“The same goes for stabbing with the blade. If the fabric is too thick, it might not pierce the flesh well.”

Stab with the blade.

Or touch his chest.

Faced with Dominic, who seemed to be forcing her to choose one or the other, Karina had only one option.

* * *

After some arguing, Karina finally sat facing Dominic.

It was the same position as before, but their eye levels were different as they both sat on the sofa. Previously, she had been perched higher up which was suitable for kissing, but now Dominic’s pectorals were at Karina’s eye level.

With his outer clothes removed and wearing only a white shirt, his muscular body was clearly visible. It felt almost erotic, like a well-made plaster statue covered with a veil.

“Would you prefer to cut off my hand after all?”

There was a hint of enjoyment in his voice. It was quite different from his dejected and serious appearance when he first entered the room.

Karina looked at Dominic’s body once, then at the blade on the floor. Though she had made her decision, both options were equally difficult and troublesome.

‘Why am I now in front of this man.’

Why do I have to be considering this?

But it was too late now to grumble. Anyway, she had to do one of the two to get this large man out of her room.

Oh whatever.

Karina closed her eyes tight and poked his chest with her finger.

Unlike her skin, the firm chest muscle didn’t give way easily. Startled by the firmness under her fingertip, she pulled her hand away.

“I-is this enough now?”

“Hmm.”

That meant no.

“I don’t think poking with a finger equals the impropriety I committed against you.”

At Dominic’s firm response as he shook his head with a proper face, Karina muttered in a small voice.

“So stern.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Karina sighed deeply.

Right. Ten fingers twice, so he wouldn’t accept just one finger poke as equivalent.

Karina’s finger moved toward his chest again.

* * *