At that moment in the First Military District, Grace had just stepped out of the conference room when someone grabbed him by the collar. The man wore an expression of furious indignation as he accused, “What tricks did you pull, Grace?”
Grace frowned slightly. His features were cold, and this gesture made him seem even more unapproachable. He raised his hand to push away the grip on his collar and stepped back, saying, “Colonel Kofi, please control your emotions.”
Hearing this, several others who had not yet left also chimed in, “Yes, Kofi, calm down. The formation of the special corps was personally assigned to Grace by General Snop. If you’re dissatisfied, you can take it up with General Snop. Why confront Grace?”
Instead of calming him, these words only fueled Kofi’s anger. He turned to the speaker, his bull-like horns nearly grazing the other man’s face. “Why him? He’s a defective product! What right does he have to oversee the formation of the special corps? He must have used some trick to force General Snop into agreeing!”
At these words, the expressions of those around them shifted in varying degrees of discomfort.
Grace straightened his disheveled collar and glanced at Kofi, who was being restrained by the others. He had no desire to argue with someone whose logic was so twisted.
Kofi thought himself clever, but did he really believe General Snop was a fool?
Seeing Grace about to leave, Kofi immediately shouted, “What, am I wrong? Let me tell you, Grace, since you’ve become Duke Lu Xia’s Husband-Attendant, you should stay home and serve your female master properly. Why are you still hanging around the military district? As a defective product, what use are you in a real crisis? If I were you, I’d have gone home long ago instead of staying here and causing trouble for everyone!”
“Kofi, stop talking nonsense. Colonel Grace returned to work with his female master’s permission. Besides, we’ve all seen his contributions to the military district. You shouldn’t judge him like that,” someone spoke up in Grace’s defense, unable to stand by any longer.
But Kofi remained unmoved. “Don’t defend him. No matter what you say, he’s still just a Husband-Attendant, and he’ll never be anything more. A defective product should know its place. What kind of future can a special corps have under someone like him?”
Grace lifted his gaze, his eyes cold as they settled on Kofi.
Sensing the hostility in Grace’s eyes, Kofi curled his lips into a smirk. “What, you’re not convinced? If you’re not convinced, let’s settle this outside.”
“Kofi, have you lost your mind? How can Grace spar with you? Enough already. If you have any complaints, take them to General Snop. Don’t bully your colleagues here!”
“Ha! See? Even you think he’s a defective product, someone who can’t compare to us Gene Fusionists. So why is someone like him still allowed to stay in the military district?” This, it seemed, was the real point of Kofi’s outburst today.
“If we’re going to spar, what happens if you lose?” Grace suddenly spoke calmly, though his gaze remained icy.
His question made Kofi burst into laughter. “Hahaha, me lose? Are you joking? I’d lose to a defective product like you? If I lose, I’ll leave the First Military District immediately. How about that?”
“Alright, I hope you keep your word.” Grace responded swiftly, as if Cofi would truly lose.
Those nearby couldn’t stand it any longer and couldn’t help but advise, “Grace, have you gone mad too? Cofi is being irrational, and so are you. How can such matters be taken lightly? Both of you should calm down first. We’re all colleagues—why go this far?”
“No need. Since Colonel Cofi is so dissatisfied with me, let’s settle it once and for all. Colonel Cofi isn’t just making empty threats, is he?”
“If you’re not afraid to die, why should I be?”
Just as the two were on the verge of confrontation, a guard rushed in from outside and shouted loudly, “Colonel Grace, your… your female master has come to see you!”
His trembling voice instantly froze the atmosphere in the room.
Before anyone could process what they had heard, a scornful laugh erupted from Cofi. “Colonel Grace, what did you do to anger your female master at home? To think she’d chase you all the way here. Perfect timing—she can witness your disgrace firsthand and understand what a defective product truly is.”
Grace ignored Cofi’s nonsense and quickly walked over. “My female master is…”
He was about to ask the guard where Lu Xia was when, before he could finish, Lu Xia walked in with the old butler. Seeing the crowd, she asked with slight surprise, “Grace, are you busy?”
Lu Xia truly hadn’t expected so many people to be with Grace, wondering if she had come at an inconvenient time.
Her tone carried a hint of surprise but was neither aloof nor disdainful. Instead, it came across as gentle.
This startled everyone present.
Many of them were married, but even if they weren’t Husband-Attendants, none had ever had their female masters visit them at the First Military District.
Yet Grace, a ‘defective product’ male and merely a Husband-Attendant, had his female master come to the military district to see him.
Moreover, it seemed their relationship was quite good.
“Hah, Grace, you’d better tell your female master what you’re about to do,” Cofi sneered, though the envy in his eyes was already unmistakable.
At this moment, everyone frowned in unison, feeling that Cofi’s behavior today had gone too far.
To act this way over the formation of a special military unit was simply too petty.
Hearing this, Lu Xia looked up, raising an eyebrow slightly. Then, she listened as Grace explained, his voice somewhat tense.
When she heard that Grace intended to duel Cofi, Lu Xia glanced with interest at Cofi standing not far away, whose eyes flickered with obvious resentment.
“Are you confident?” Lu Xia didn’t try to stop him but softly voiced her concern.
“Yes, I’ll do my best,” Grace replied calmly, showing no sign of insecurity despite his opponent being a Gene Fusionist.
Lu Xia didn’t know where Grace’s courage came from, but since he was confident, she had no intention of stopping him. Instead, she curled her lips into a smile and looked at Cofi. “If the two of you duel, regardless of the outcome, you’ll both leave the First Military District. But that hardly seems fair. After all, my Grace bears a higher risk. As a Gene Fusionist, surely you’re not lacking in such courage, are you?”
Lu Xia’s words caused varied expressions among those present, but no one had expected that instead of mocking Grace for overestimating himself as a ‘defective product’ daring to duel a Gene Fusionist, Lu Xia had actually defended Grace’s interests.
Moreover, she had just said “my Grace”—though merely five words, it was something these male beastmen could hardly ever obtain so easily.
And Duke Lu Xia had bestowed it upon Colonel Grace just like that, as if it were nothing.
In an instant, the way everyone looked at Colonel Grace shifted slightly.
Colonel Grace, was he really just a Husband-Attendant?
Why did it feel like even the Main Husband’s treatment couldn’t compare to his?