Harold was the first one in the room to break the silence.

“My Lady… what are you saying?!”

He was visibly perplexed, and rightfully so. His expression tightened, as if he could not decide whether he had genuinely misheard her demand or if reality itself had warped.

“P-Please tell me you are being unserious right now.”

His voice cracked noticeably, despite an attempt to maintain his composure.

“That… that is not how someone of your status should behave—!”

Seraphina instantly shot a lethal glare directly at the butler.

“I will not eat unless that man…”

Her words slowed as she turned her deeply embarrassed gaze toward Leon, her gold eyes softening warmly for a second before she looked away again.

“…feeds me.”

“….!”

Harold’s breath hitched in his throat.

He looked as if he had just witnessed a member of the Imperial Family strip off their crown and throw it into the mud.

And judging by the surrounding maids who had simultaneously raised their hands to cover their gasping mouths, neither could they.

Leon, however, remained perfectly seated behind the desk, his posture unchanged, looking like an unbothered statue.

Internally, however, his mind was actively struggling to process the absurdity of the situation unfolding before him.

“Young Master Leon, I apologize on the Lady’s behalf. She has never…”

Harold continued, scrambling for words, trying to save the dignity of the house.

But Leon was no longer listening.

His thoughts had already spiraled elsewhere.

Technically, feeding an individual was not a significant matter. There were people whose roles were specifically tailored for such tasks.

However, those roles remained between the commoners who did anything to make a living, or within noble households, for maids and butlers to carry out.

Outside of standard servitude, there were rare instances where direct family members performed the same.

And between lovers, it would not even warrant a second glance.

However, this situation did not fall under any of those.

For the genius of House Armathorne to demand that a stranger—a man she had only encountered for the first time two days prior—feed her food was… How do you put it?

There was no polite way to frame it.

It was beyond improper.

Especially when that stranger happened to be a noble from another house.

Leon drew in a deep breath through his nose.

‘She truly is mentally unstable…’

Then, he exhaled.

‘Haa…’

What had he dragged himself into?

This hidden Special Route had already proven itself to be more difficult than expected, but more than that, it was beginning to take turns that made no sense to him.

Judging by Harold’s panic and the maids’ shocked expressions, this was not her normal behavior, and whatever had caused it was left unsaid.

And judging by Seraphina’s posture alone, Leon could tell she was entirely serious.

Rejecting her demand outright wouldn't necessarily get him executed or condemned by the Duke.

However, he couldn't say the same with Seraphina.

Since she was already on a defiance spree, Leon could easily envision her seizing him by the throat, even in her currently weakened state.

‘Hm… if that’s the case…’

“Of course, Lady Seraphina,” Leon spoke smoothly, his voice a perfect melody of aristocratic grace. “If that is your explicit desire, I shall gladly comply.”

Leon’s smile was wide and flawless enough to sell the response without a single hint of hesitation.

Setting aside the literal jaw-drop that manifested on the faces of Harold and the maids, Seraphina turned her body fully toward him.

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted in disbelief.

The heat on her pale cheeks intensified instantly, the color rapidly spreading to the tips of her ears, and strangely enough, down to her fidgeting hands.

“Young Master Leon!” Harold rushed forward, his hands raised in protest. “You are a guest of high standing! You don’t have to—”

“It is admittedly a bit unexpected to be requested directly to perform such a task.”

Leon said, politely cutting the butler off as he elegantly rose from his seat.

“However, a core part of acting as an escort is ensuring my client remains satisfied with my services.”

That statement was only partially true, but in this specific instance, it served its purpose.

He began walking forward.

Step.

“And if Lady Seraphina requires something,”

He came to a stop directly in front of her.

“Then it is only correct that I follow through with it.”

“But Young Master—”

“Besides, Lady Seraphina appears to be in an unstable state at the moment. Would it not be more appropriate to accommodate her…”

Leon turned his head slightly, meeting Harold’s gaze with a deliberate glance.

“...so that it accommodates everyone?”

Harold opened his mouth to respond, but shut it just as quickly. The old butler was a sharp man; he instantly understood the implication behind Leon’s words.

Leon watched calmly as hesitation settled into Harold’s posture, considering whether or not to allow this breach of etiquette.

Meanwhile, Seraphina eagerly waited in silence, her attention fixed on his response.

Harold’s eyes narrowed as he watched Leon, trying to determine whether there was another layer of intention behind his words.

He was not wrong to look for one.

When Leon had first stepped past the gates of this dukedom, the last thing he had expected was to feed the very woman he intended to kill.

And yet…

‘This is not a bad approach.’

If he intended to stay close to her to sharpen his blade for the right moment, then remaining on her good side was the most logical course of action.

Besides, his father used to repeat something often.

‘A well-fed predator is infinitely less dangerous than one driven wild by starvation.’

That logic applied here as well, so it’s not like he had a choice.

But, of course, Leon had no intention of revealing any of that bleed onto his expression.

So, he simply stood there, maintaining a smile pleasant enough to mask his thoughts as he waited.

After a long moment of internal debate, Harold let out a defeated sigh.

“…If you truly insist upon this course of action, Young Master Leon.”

“That settles the matter then,” Leon replied with a courteous nod of his head.

Seraphina looked between the butler and the panicked maids before speaking again, her voice noticeably quieter.

“…I would like to be left alone with…”

She quickly lowered her gaze, her face burning.

“…with… Young Master… Leon.”

Harold moved to immediately protest, but Leon raised a single hand, offering the old man a reassuring glance.

“That would certainly help us in building a connection, would it not?”

Leon’s smile remained flawlessly steady.

Seraphina gave a light nod, her head remaining lowered toward her lap.

Harold could not help but feel a sense of awe at how smoothly this young man had handled the situation and resolved it with a level of composure and efficiency that was difficult to ignore.

Though the butler was reluctant to leave the Lady alone with someone he had been instructed by the Duke to observe… he decided to place his temporary faith in Leon, even if only for the Lady’s immediate well-being.

Besides, the old man reasoned, it wasn't as if Leon could actually harm the Lady even if he harbored malicious intent.

In a hypothetical scenario where Leon dared to launch an attack, he was still on the premises of the House.

‘The Duke and Elder Sons are present…’

Harold rationalized.

There would be no real danger.

‘...That must be what he is thinking,’ Leon concluded, watching the cogs visibly turn behind Harold’s monocle.

He could tell from Harold's micro-expressions that the Duke had tasked him with observing him.

It was amusing to see how they had essentially entrusted Seraphina to him for the span of three years, yet they still watched him with caution.

He supposed that was the tax that possessing dangerous information left you with.

It was not an unexpected reaction from the Duke’s side.

Leon wondered how it would turn out once he left for the academy.

‘Well, that came for another time…’

For now, he simply had to play the role of a capable escort who would do anything to take care of the Lady.

Leon watched as Harold turned his gaze towards the maids.

“Leave the meal tray by the desk and return to your quarters at once.”

The maids, still baffled by the situation, obeyed instantly, placing the steaming dishes down on the surface before scurrying out of the room.

Harold offered a bow to both of them, casting one last glance at Leon before stepping outside.

Thud.

The door clicked shut, and the room fell into complete silence.

Well, not exactly, because…

The faint sound of Seraphina’s fingers fidgeting against her dress was still there.

Leon watched as she sat there, still not raising her head a single inch, while lightly tapping her feet against the floor.

He drew in a long breath before letting it out slowly.

He smoothly picked up the tray from the desk and walked over.

Then—

Plop.

He sat down right beside her.

The last time he had been this close to her, he had died.

The fact that he was alive now was certainly something.

Since Seraphina didn’t say a word, trembling in her seat from a mixture of hunger and intense nerves, Leon decided to speak first.

“Lady Seraphina, would you be willing to show your face?”

At those gentle words, she clasped her fingers together tightly before slowly releasing them.

Then, with visible hesitation, she raised her head.

Her vivid red hair cascaded over her shoulders as she looked directly into his eyes.

Her gold pupils were glinting with some starved sort of expectation, even as her body continued to tremble.

Leon scooped up a steaming portion of the soup.

“The Egret Soup is a delicacy where I come from. Shall we start with that?”

There was a long moment of pause before Seraphina’s face flushed again.

Taking a shaky breath, she nodded.

“Mmh…”

“Excellent,”

Leon offered her a smile gentle enough to deceive even the Saintess of this world.

“Say ah~”