Leon waited as Seraphina’s mouth slowly opened.

Gently, he guided the silver spoon to her lips and placed it inside, watching closely as she tasted it.

“Mm~”

A soft sound escaped her as a warm color instantly gathered across her face, and her eyes brightened with genuine delight.

“Egret Soup is one of a kind, isn’t it, Lady Seraphina?”

She nodded without speaking a word.

It truly was a sight to watch her eat.

At one point in his past lives, Leon had thought she was a heartless monster incapable of making such expressions, except when she was standing beside the Hero. But now…

Leon watched as she eagerly accepted spoon after spoon.

Her movements lacked control, as though she feared the meal might suddenly vanish into thin air if she slowed down.

“Let’s try the honey-glazed pheasant next. What do you think?”

She nodded again, parting her lips to accept the next bite.

She chewed for a few seconds, as if trying to fully understand the taste, before a nervous smile bloomed on her lips.

With that smile, the tension in her shoulders finally eased.

Her movements grew almost proper, as though she were slowly relearning how to eat with dignity after having abandoned it entirely during her month of isolation.

“Mm~”

The rich aromas of the dishes filled the room, followed by the sound of her contented hum after every bite.

“Lady Seraphina, next—”

Before Leon could finish his sentence, Seraphina’s hand suddenly reached out and lightly touched his hand—the one holding the spoon.

She seemed startled by her own bold action and withdrew her fingers almost immediately.

“Ah… I… It’s…”

Her words tangled together in her throat as she struggled to continue.

Leon tilted his head, observing her sudden panic.

‘Did she not like the food?’

The thought surfaced, but he dismissed it the very next second.

Leon could tell that this was not the face of someone who disliked their meal.

She was enjoying it, most definitely.

However, her eyes had suddenly dimmed, taking on an uncertain look.

Judging by her body language, she clearly wanted to say something to him but could not bring herself to do so.

So, Leon spoke first.

“Is there something you would like from me, Lady Seraphina?”

At that, she blinked once, then again, before finally forcing the words out.

“I… don’t say Lady Seraphina…”

She nervously fidgeted with her fingers in her lap.

“…Call me… Seraphina…”

‘Hm?’ Leon raised an eyebrow. ‘First name?’

That was…

Within noble society, one did not address a Lady by her first name unless bound by blood or deep intimacy.

That was a foundational rule.

Then again, she had already been discarding the rules without a single hesitation today.

Of course, such formalities didn't apply between close friends.

But Leon was not her friend.

And he had no intention of ever becoming one.

Though he had been willing to comply with her previous requests, this was different.

It just didn’t sound right.

It implied a mutual familiarity that he neither wanted nor intended to accept.

Still, an outright, cold refusal was not a viable option if he wanted to keep her calm.

It seemed like she was seeking a genuine connection, but he couldn't tell if she truly meant it or if she was just saying these things because of her severely unstable state of mind.

Either way, he needed a response that would satisfy her without crossing his own boundaries.

He needed to find a middle ground.

Seraphina watched him, waiting for his response in anticipation.

“Lady Seraphina… I cannot refer to you by your first name.”

The change in her was immediate.

The faint light in her golden eyes dimmed even further.

“You are my patron,” Leon explained, “and to set aside that distinction would not be appropriate for someone in my position.”

Her expression fell completely.

The crushing disappointment was clear across her features, despite her slight attempt to hide it.

“However,”

Leon continued, letting a faint smile return to his lips,

“I am willing to make a small exception.”

Her reaction was just as instantaneous.

Her eyes lifted again, a spark of hope returning as her upper body leaned in slightly toward him.

“Addressing you strictly by your first name may not be possible… at least for now. However, I cannot bring myself to refuse your wishes either.”

Her face lightened at the word ‘now.’

“How about… my Lady?”

Leon lifted another spoonful of soup as he spoke, holding it steady between them as though awaiting her approval.

“Until the proper time arrives, allow me to address you as such.”

It was what Harold and the other servants referred to her as.

‘My Lady’ was the standard, gentlemanly equivalent of addressing a woman politely.

It was a respectful and personal address.

But it was also neither overly distant nor inappropriately familiar.

Leon found it perfectly befitting of a knight like him.

“So,” Leon tilted his head lightly, keeping his voice soft. “What do you think, my Lady?”

At that, her cheeks flushed even further—if that were even humanly possible—as she nodded intensely.

Then, as though suddenly recalling something important, she paused.

“Then… what do I call… Young Master Leon…?”

‘Right,’ Leon thought. ‘There was that.’

“My respect comes from my contract and my position. You are not bound by those same rules, my Lady,” Leon noted with a pleasant smile. “You may call me whatever you see fit.”

He looked at her with assurance.

“And I will not reject anything from your end, even if it is not a pleasant name.”

That was a complete lie, but it was incredibly useful.

“Then… I’ll… ”

She bit the corners of her lips nervously.

“I’ll call… you… Leon.”

It seemed she wouldn't compromise on a first-name basis for him.

Well, in the grand scheme of things, it made very little difference to him.

As long as he did not return the gesture, their dynamic remained within acceptable bounds.

Besides, it actually made more sense this way. Since she was technically his employer, it was only accurate for her to refer to him by his name, rather than using his noble title of ‘Young Master Leon.’

“If that is what my Lady prefers,” Leon said with a composed smile.

He raised the silver spoon once more.

“Shall we continue, my Lady?”

“…Okay… L-Leon…”

She accepted the spoon without a hint of hesitation, swallowing the soup quickly as though firmly affirming both the food and his words at once.

Leon continued feeding her in silence.

He watched as she took each subsequent bite with growing delight, her enjoyment completely clear with every small, content sound she made.

It was as if she were actively rediscovering flavors she had entirely forgotten existed.

He could not help but notice how vastly different she seemed right now.

There was something strangely… endearing in the way she acted.

The current way she behaved was remarkably similar to that of an unkempt and starved child.

Though his official role was merely that of an escort, the boundaries overlapped in moments like this, and he found his duties falling along the same lines as being a temporary guardian.

It occurred to him that navigating this route might be significantly easier if he simply viewed her as a child.

Technically, at this point in time, she practically was one.

However, she was also capable of doing things most children could never dream of.

It was unfair to categorize her as a regular human being.

‘A mentally unstable child…’

That sounded about right.

Even so, as the minutes ticked by, he could not loosen his guard for even a second.

The moment he felt like his focus was slipping, the blood-soaked imagery of her from the battlefields would rush back into his mind, her hair matted with dried blood, her hands covered in bruises, her eyes cold and lethal.

No matter how endearing or fragile she looked right now, she was still the same terrifying witch that would eventually burn this entire dukedom to the ground.

At that thought, his grip tightened on the silver spoon before slowly loosening again.

That feeling had not changed in the slightest.

What unsettled him wasn't his own resolve to kill her, but the jarring contradiction in her present behavior.

This side of her had caught his mind off guard far more than he cared to admit.

‘I’ll just have to get used to this.’

He thought, emptying the dishes.

By the time the heavy silver tray had been finished, nearly an hour had gone by.

Leon lifted one final spoonful of soup, and she accepted it without resistance, swallowing it completely.

‘That’s a job done...’

He set the empty tray aside on the desk and glanced back at her.

A few stray drops of soup lingered near the corner of her lips.

Without making a comment, Leon calmly took out his clean cloth handkerchief and wiped them away with a gentle motion.

‘Her face is still red,’ he noted as he leaned back into his seat.

The vibrant color in her cheeks had not reduced at all.

If anything, the flush seemed to actively increase.

He figured it was likely a metabolic reaction; since she hadn't eaten a solid meal in thirty days, her weakened body was simply working overtime to readjust to the sudden intake of nutrients.

Leon realized she would need a significant amount of time, and far more than just a single morning meal, to properly recover her strength.

Thinking that, he raised his hand slowly.

Seeing how she didn’t flinch or pull away even as his fingers came close to her head, he decided to test her boundaries and—

Pat.

“You ate well,” he said with a small smile, patting her once more. “Good work.”

Her golden eyes widened at the praise, but there was no hostility in her expression.

It seemed like he was currently operating in entirely safe and stable territory.

But in this world, a switch like hers could flip at any second.

“Heuk…”

Leon’s ears perked instantly.

His attention snapped right back to her face, his gaze dropping—

—only to find Seraphina crying.

‘Heck… didn’t she flip the switch a little too soon?’

A faint grimace crossed Leon's face, his earlier thought about being in safe territory turning awkward almost instantly.

‘She really is unpredictable.’

He lowered himself from the seat, kneeling in front of her chair without a moment of hesitation to maintain eye contact.

“My Lady, are you alright? Why are you—”

Before he could even finish the question, she suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her frail arms tightly around his neck again.

Just like she had done in the Duke's office, except her grip was tighter this time.

“I… I…”

Her voice broke apart, the words refusing to form as her shoulders trembled with each ragged breath.

Leon, only slightly taken aback by the sudden impact, tried to shift his position to gain some leverage, but the iron-firm grip she had on the fabric of his shirt made movement impossible.

‘Her strength is…’

Though he did not understand the emotional trigger behind her tears, he chose not to question it, chalking it up to another one of her unstable psychological sessions.

Besides…

As much as he disliked admitting it to his own conscience, these tears were real.

He could easily tell.

He wasn't sure why she always seemed to regress into something so fragile and broken whenever she wept, but he understood the physical toll it took.

Crying like this was exhausting.

With that reality in mind, he set aside his discomfort and did the only thing that made sense.

Pat. Pat.

He lightly tapped his hand against her trembling back without uttering a single word.

Somehow, that silent gesture only made her tear up even more.

“I… Heuk…”

She tried to speak again, her small voice shaking against his shoulder.

“I… I’m…”

Leon could feel her wiping at her own face, over and over against his clothes, yet the tears simply refused to stop flowing.

“What is it, my Lady?”

“I’m just…”

Leon waited patiently for the answer.

“I’m just… so… happy…!”

At that, her grip tightened even more around his frame, and her sobbing only worsened, as though the words themselves had shattered whatever mental restraint she had left hiding inside her chest.

“…That is great to hear, my Lady.”

Leon said, his voice smooth despite feeling conflicted.

‘Did she seriously like the food that much?’

He wondered blankly.

‘I mean, she didn’t eat for an entire month, so I suppose it's possible…’

Still, ironically enough, she was crying far too hard for someone who was happy.

Then again, not everyone expressed their emotions the same way.

Leon let out a sigh, choosing not to dwell on it any further.

There was no point in overthinking right now.

For the time being, he set aside those thoughts and focused on the present.

So, he simply remained where he was, his hand continuing its calming rhythm against her back, waiting for the future villainess to calm down in her own time.

A single, exhausted thought formed in his head.

‘I am not being paid enough for this.’