"'Yes'," Kaida said immediately.

But even as she said it, her eyes flicked back to his injuries.

'His ribs were broken. I heard them snap. Three, maybe four of them. And his shoulder was dislocated.'

But when she looked now—really looked—something was... different.

The bruising on his back was lighter. The swelling had gone down. The bones that had been jutting out at wrong angles when she'd first checked him after the collapse now looked... normal.

Not healed. But 'healing'.

Faster than any human should.

'What the hell is he?'

Viktor sighed, oblivious to her scrutiny.

Before the argument could continue, his attention shifted.

Bella.

She was still sitting a few feet away, but something was 'wrong'.

Her entire body was trembling—not from embarrassment this time, but from something else. Her shoulders were hunched inward, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her cat ears flattened against her skull.

Her lips had a faint blue tinge.

Her skin looked pale. Too pale.

And her breathing—

It was shallow. Ragged.

The cold.

Bella felt it seeping into her bones. Through her skin. Into her blood.

'Cold. So cold.'

It reminded her of the stone floors in the slave pens. The way they'd freeze your feet if you stood on them too long. The way the other slaves would huddle together for warmth, piling bodies on top of bodies just to survive the nights.

She'd spent years on those floors.

Sleeping. Bleeding. Shivering.

'I survived that. I can survive this.'

But her fingers wouldn't stop shaking.

And the blue tinge at the tips was spreading.

'Just... hold on. Don't be weak. Don't be a burden.'

"Hey," Viktor said, his voice losing its teasing edge as he moved toward her. "What happened?"

Bella's golden eyes flicked up to meet his, and he saw the pain there. The fear she was trying to hide.

"I—I'm fine, Sir Viktor," she stammered, her teeth chattering slightly. "Just... c-cold."

Viktor crouched down beside her, ignoring the screaming pain in his ribs.

He reached out and touched her shoulder.

'Ice cold.'

Her skin felt like touching a corpse.

"Shit," Viktor muttered under his breath.

He looked past Bella, scanning the cave properly for the first time since waking up.

The cavern was 'massive'—easily the size of a small cathedral. Black stone walls rose up into darkness, water dripping from somewhere high above. The underground lake stretched out endlessly in front of them, its surface smooth and lifeless.

And it was 'freezing'.

Not just cold. 'Freezing'.

The kind of cold that seeped into your bones and refused to leave.

Viktor's breath misted in front of his face as he exhaled.

'Shit. We're all soaked. We've been sitting in wet clothes in a freezing cave for—how long? Ten minutes? Fifteen?'

And Bella was a 'cat-kin'.

Which meant she was way more sensitive to temperature changes than humans.

If they didn't warm up soon, she'd die.

They 'all' would.

Viktor stood abruptly, his mind already racing through solutions.

"We need heat," he muttered, moving toward the far wall of the cave where some broken stones had fallen.

Kaida frowned, watching him. "What are you—"

"Stay there," Viktor cut her off, already kneeling beside the stones.

He picked up a chunk of rock, turning it over in his hands.

Then he activated 'Craftsmanship' and 'Forge Mastery' simultaneously.

The stone's structure became clear in his mind—its composition, its molecular bonds, the way it could be 'shaped' if he applied the right pressure in the right places. He could see the microscopic fissures, the density variations, the way heat would flow through it.

He pressed his palms against the rock.

And it 'changed'.

The hard stone softened like clay beneath his fingers, molding itself into whatever shape he needed. He worked quickly, forming a small bowl-like depression in the center of the rock, then smoothing the edges until it was perfectly round. The texture shifted under his touch—responsive, malleable.

Kaida's eyes widened. "What the hell—"

Viktor ignored her.

There was no need to hold back now.

He grabbed another stone, repeated the process, then moved to the tree roots dangling from cracks in the ceiling.

He yanked a handful free, holding them in his hands as he activated 'Herb Mastery'.

The roots responded immediately.

Their natural water-absorbing properties 'amplified'—becoming so strong they started sucking moisture out of the surrounding air. The roots dried in seconds, becoming brittle and perfect for kindling.

He could feel the plant fibers responding to his will, changing their structure to match what he needed.

Viktor tossed them into the stone bowl, then grabbed a handful of the glowing moss from the wall.

He activated 'Herb Mastery' again.

The moss's bioluminescent properties shifted—its glow intensifying as its chemical structure altered. The faint green light became brighter, warmer, giving off actual 'heat' instead of just illumination. The cells restructured themselves, converting light energy into thermal energy.

He placed the modified moss carefully around the dried roots.

Then he activated 'Forge Mastery' one more time.

The heat from the moss ignited the roots.

'Fwoosh.'

A small fire sprang to life in the stone bowl—crackling cheerfully, its warmth spreading outward in a radius of a few feet.

Kaida, who had been standing off to the side, moved closer almost involuntarily.

The warmth hit her skin like a blessing. She hadn't realized how cold she'd been—how numb her fingers had become, how much her body had been shivering without her noticing.

"Wait," she said slowly, her eyes fixed on the makeshift heater. "Why is this... 'warm' here?"

Viktor stood, brushing off his hands. "I built a heater."

Kaida blinked. "'Heat' what?"

Viktor didn't answer.

He moved back toward Bella, who was still shivering violently, her small body curled into a ball.

Her fingers had turned blue at the tips.

Her breathing was getting shallower.

'Hypothermia. Stage two, maybe three. If I don't warm her up now—'

'Fuck.'

Viktor didn't hesitate.

He bent down, slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, and lifted her into a princess carry.

Bella let out a startled squeak, her golden eyes flying open. "S-Sir Viktor! Wait—!"

But then her face pressed against his chest.

His shirt was unbuttoned—torn half-open from the earlier fight—and her cheek made direct contact with his skin.

'Warmth.'

Soft warmth. Body heat. Living heat.

Bella's entire body went rigid.

Her breath caught in her throat.

'Warm. He's... warm.'

It wasn't the cold stone of the slave pens. It wasn't the rough bark of the trees she'd huddled against in the forest.

It was 'warmth'.

Real, human—no, 'person'—warmth.

Her face flushed bright red despite the cold, and she buried her nose against his chest, trembling for an entirely different reason now. His heartbeat thrummed against her ear—steady, strong, alive.

"Shut up," Viktor said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

He carried her over to the fire and sat down beside it, keeping her cradled against his chest.

Kaida's voice cut through the air like a whip.

"What are you doing, you bastard?!" She stormed over, her hand moving toward her dagger again. "Are you trying to 'molest' her?!"

Viktor's eye twitched.

'Sigh, she is too much of a haughty person; if only she remains that way after marriage.'

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