Before they could ask anything, Hera berated Leo. "Leo, how could you not take care of yourself properly? Look at your hand—it’s already suffered greatly and is almost ck in color. I’m afraid it’ll end up looking like a pig’s foot." Hera pouted, feeling sorry for his once beautiful hands that looked like sculpted ivory—clean and beautiful. Now, they appeared scary, with ovepping shades of purple and ck. Although she couldn’t see the needle hole anymore, it still wasn’t pleasant to look at. "Your hands are so pretty, and look at what happened," she said, gently scooping up his hand and studying it while biting her lip.
Hera then turned her attention to his right hand, which he was now refraining from using because the needle was loose. Leo didn’t respond to her scolding; instead, he beamed at her happily, thinking she cared about him and felt sad seeing him look so pitiful. Initially, Leo hadn’t even noticed the condition of his hands. He had been so happy to see Hera and to feed her properly that he didn’t feel the pain. But when Hera pointed it out, he decided to act pitifully and use it to his advantage against the other two in the room.
"I’m sorry, I was a bit agitated earlier during the injection, and the nurse had to try multiple times, poking me all over. It took a male doctor with good precision to finish it quickly," he exined, smiling weakly as if repentant for not taking care of himself and causing Hera worry. "But I can’t move my right hand now because the needle might dislodge, and I’d need another injection." Leo nced at his right hand with a wry smile, silently indicating why he’d been eating only fruits—he couldn’t use utensils with his left hand without dropping food.
As he had anticipated, Leo found that merely sounding pitiful, without needing to appear so, was enough to catch Hera’s attention and concern. While he didn’t intend to manipte the situation, he couldn’t deny enjoying the feeling of Hera worrying about him. He savored this sensation as he watched Hera quietlydle soup into a bowl and extend her hand to feed him. Zhane and Dave exchanged narrowed nces, their eyes shifting between Leo and Hera.
Leo’s eyes formed crescents as he leaned closer, opening his mouth for Hera to feed him. Alongside the soup he brought, Hera also served him portions of the medicinal cuisine Zhane had purchased, feeding Leo one after another.
Dave cringed inwardly, feeling as if he had just eaten something unpleasant while watching Hera feed Leo. His eyebrows twitched violently as he observed, and by the third spoonful of food passing from Hera to Leo, he couldn’t resist snatching the spoon from her hand. His hand moved faster than his thoughts this time.
With gritted teeth, Dave spoke up. "I’ll take over. Hera, you’re a patient too; you need to take care of yourself. What’s the point of us being here if we can’t even assist properly?" Despite his forced smile, Dave’s demeanor hinted at impatience, almost as if he might choke Leo instead of feeding him. "Let me handle this," he offered.
Zhane joined Dave after discerning his intentions. He gently guided Hera to lean back on her pillow and settlefortably before attending to her with more food. He even offered to feed her himself, but Hera felt too embarrassed to ept at the moment. Meanwhile, Leo and Dave were locked in another staring match. Despite these seemingly strained interactions, the atmosphere around them remained surprisingly harmonious, unnoticed by the group itself. Athena, seated apart from them, found herself in the role of a bystander watching a live drama unfold. Her appetite improved as she ate and observed the dynamic among the four.
She couldn’t contain herughter when Dave, clearly jealous, took the spoon. However, since Leo sought care from Hera, he no longer felt the need to act pitiful and looked disdainfully at Dave, who seemed to relish his new role feeding Leo, determined to fill Leo’s mouth with plenty of food.