Just feed me already—why are you waving a fork at me?
This was Leo's greatest doubt.
But Furina's forkful of macaroni with tomato sauce was already held in front of his mouth, leaving him no choice but to open up and eat it.
The flavor was rich and strong, the tang of tomato sauce both intense and novel.
I didn't expect Lady Furina could make macaroni! So before I was born, Lady Furina would sometimes cook for herself.
What Leo didn't know was that Furina indeed could cook—though the only dish she ever truly mastered was macaroni. It was simple and crude, the kind of thing you could prepare in the middle of the night: just open a bag, boil water, and cook.
Countless sleepless nights had been spent with her eating macaroni in solitude.
But ever since Leo entered her life, she had rarely touched the stuff. If she grew hungry late at night, she would instead snack on leftovers from dinner—or more often, simply ask Leo to make her something. At first, Leo would prepare food from foreign nations, but once he realized that Furina disliked unfamiliar flavors, he rarely did so unless she specifically requested it.
So why was Furina now feeding Leo macaroni, caring for him so attentively?
Of course, she did care about him—but the real reason was that she had already eaten all the dinner prepared earlier by Melusines.
After feeding him a few bites, Furina swallowed, unable to resist placing the next forkful into her own mouth.
Not bad—it tastes just as I remember. When was the last time I had macaroni? Two years ago? Yes… ever since little Leo came along, all my midnight snacks have depended on him.
Meanwhile, Leo, still lying on the bed, had opened his mouth—yet no food arrived.
Glancing up, he saw Lady Furina continuously eating forkful after forkful herself.
"Lady Furina… I—I'm hungry!"
"Ah? Oh! I forgot, I forgot. Here you go!"
Laughing awkwardly, she finally fed him the remaining macaroni, filling Leo's stomach at last.
When she finished clearing the dishes, Furina glanced back at Leo. His expression was one of utter defeat, as if he had lost all hope. She couldn't help but find it amusing.
"What? The Hydro Archon herself feeds you, and you're still not happy?"
"I am happy. Very happy," he answered, though his perfunctory tone only made Furina's annoyance flare.
What? I cook for you, I feed you, and you still dare to sound dissatisfied!
But then she sighed inwardly. Leo was in this weakened state because of her. For now, she would forgive him.
After some time, Furina began wandering about Leo's room, idly looking over his collection of belongings. Nothing in particular caught her eye—until she noticed a framed photograph sitting on the desk.
It showed a boy of about fourteen or fifteen, standing beside another youth dressed in green. Behind them stretched a cliffside sky, and above it, wings spread wide, a huge dragon soared.
The boy in Mondstadt attire was clearly Leo himself, holding an organ in his hands and smiling happily. Beside him stood a young man in white and green garb, also holding an organ that glowed faintly.
The other boy could only be identified as—
"Leo, who is this person in the photo?"
"My master—the greatest bard in the world. Master Venti!"
Furina blinked in astonishment. This is Leo's master? So young?
Turning back, she walked over with the photo, pressing it to his face. "Are you certain? Your master looks far too young."
Blinking innocently, Leo replied, "Yes! What's wrong with that?"
Furina hesitated, recalling everything Leo had told her about his master: traveling around, singing songs, begging for food and drink, running away from responsibility together…
She had always imagined some unkempt middle-aged drifter. Yet here stood a handsome, almost heroic-looking youth in the photograph.
Collecting her thoughts, she pointed at the enormous dragon behind them. "And this? Don't tell me it's your master's pet."
Looking at Dvalin, Leo shook his head. "No, no. That's Stormterror, the East Wind—one of Mondstadt's Four Winds, the dragon guardian of the east. A few years ago, after the Traveler helped Mondstadt resolve the Stormterror crisis, I happened to meet him while traveling with my master. We took this photo together."
"You've met the Traveler?" Furina's eyes lit up in interest.
"No. During the Stormterror crisis, I was training in Liyue with one of my master's friends. By the time I returned, the Traveler had already left Mondstadt and gone to Liyue."
The image of the vast wind dragon set Furina's imagination alight.
What about Neuvillette's true form? I've always found the plot rather odd. Both he and Dvalin are true dragons, and yet Neuvillette remains so guarded and restrained. Why not simply release a proper vision of him—show him as the Dragon Sovereign himself battling the Star-Devouring Whale? Why must mortals be involved at all?
Setting the photo down again, Furina's attention shifted to the camera beside it. She picked it up, fiddled with it, then ran back to Leo.
"Come, Leo! Let's take a photo together. Then you can place it on the other side of your desk!" Her laughter spilled out uncontrollably. She wanted to fill every corner of Leo's room with pieces of herself.
Leo blinked and muttered softly, "Lady Furina, I'm still covered in bandages. The photos won't look good."
"What? Do you mean to say I'm not photogenic? Listen here—if I say you're handsome, then you're handsome. No more nonsense!"
Recognizing the change in her tone, Leo immediately realized that crossing her now would be unwise.
Thus, Furina experimented with poses and angles from both sides of the bed, taking dozens of photos before finally giving up. But in the process, she discovered a problem.
"No… Leo, you're just a guard, so why is your bed bigger than mine?"
The two-meter-long bed made her feel oddly self-conscious.
Is the bed really that big? Leo glanced around. To him, it seemed perfectly ordinary. When he lived with Master out in the wilds, his master would always say, 'The earth is our bed, and the sky our blanket.'
"Lady Furina, shall I ask someone to make you another bed?"
"It must be built! I want a large bed too!"
Humming with satisfaction, Furina sorted through the photos she had taken. After a long time, she finally chose a few she liked best.
"Look—see? You really are photogenic, though your smile is too forced here. And this one, look how cute I am—no, how handsome I am!"
Leo obediently nodded at each comment, acknowledging her judgment as correct.
It took quite a while before Furina was truly satisfied. Laughing, she happened to glance at Leo's pocket watch. It was already half past ten.
Leo was asleep by then, curled up in bed. Injured as he was, it was only natural for him to turn in early.
Seeing him sleep so peacefully, Furina walked closer, observing him carefully.
So cute. So beautiful.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains, spilling across Leo's face. Some of it fell upon the bracelet he wore, casting a faint blue glow. The Anemo sigil etched on his arm flickered softly, resonating with the light of the moon.
For a long while, Furina simply stared. Then she crouched beside the bed, listening to his heartbeat, his steady breathing.
She raised her hand, then hesitated—closer, then pulled back… closer again, then away…
Finally, she pinched his cheek gently, set the photo she held back on the desk, and slipped quietly out of the room.
Just before closing the door, she whispered:
"Good night… my little guard."