Lu Xia’s words made the air freeze. No one had expected her to say such a thing.
In the end, it was the pig-hoofed hand from the male management agency who snapped back to reality first: “Your Grace Lu Xia, this is against the rules. We don’t have…”
“I don’t care what rules you have or don’t have. In short, you cannot touch or look at my Husband-Attendants’ bodies. If you can inspect them under these conditions, go ahead. If not, then leave. I have other matters to attend to and no time to waste on this.” Lu Xia’s expression suggested her good mood was about to run out.
The faces of the male management agency members turned ugly, yet they dared not act out or speak recklessly. After all, the female master standing before them was none other than the infamous Duke Lu Xia.
“Very well, since Your Grace Lu Xia is unwilling, we will not insist. We will simply assign your Husband-Attendant a passing grade. How does that sound?”
“My Husband-Attendant is only worth a passing grade?” Although Lu Xia didn’t know how such grades were determined, she knew that the higher the standard, the better. Suddenly, her competitive spirit flared up.
“Excellent, he deserves an excellent grade.” The pig-hoofed hand immediately corrected himself, only relaxing when he saw Lu Xia’s satisfied expression. Indeed, Duke Lu Xia was just as unpredictable as the rumors said.
“Since there’s nothing else, the butler will see you out!” Lu Xia waved her hand dismissively, then turned and walked back to the dining table. This breakfast had been thoroughly disrupted.
Grace watched the little female walk past him, the shock in his eyes still lingering.
For a moment, he had even doubted his own hearing. Otherwise, how could he have heard Lu Xia refuse that humiliating, degrading physical examination on his behalf?
Even though it was a treatment every male serving as a Husband-Attendant had to endure.
He couldn’t quite understand why this had happened.
Yet the male management agency members had obediently left, even giving him an excellent rating.
“Hurry up and eat before it gets cold. Don’t you have to go to work later?”
The man’s gaze on her felt almost tangible, impossible to ignore. She even felt that if she didn’t say something, Grace might bore a hole through her with his stare.
She had no intention of pondering what was going through Grace’s mind. It was nothing more than surprise that she had refused the male management agency’s physical examination of him.
It wasn’t entirely for Grace’s sake, either. Mainly, she simply couldn’t accept such blatant, public humiliation. In her view, it was downright immoral.
“I… I can go to work?” Grace spoke, his voice hoarse and tense, as if he hadn’t yet recovered from the initial shock before being hit with another pleasant surprise. The repeated impacts left him flustered and nervous.
“Hmm, if you don’t work, how will you earn money to support the family? Do you expect to freeload? Work hard. You’re only a colonel right now. Even as my Husband-Attendant, you should at least be a general. Put in the effort!” It would be best if he focused all his energy on his career and didn’t waste time thinking about how to win favor from her. She really couldn’t handle any more favor!
Although Lu Xia’s words initially sounded like she was looking down on his low rank, to Grace’s ears, they meant his female master was allowing him to continue working!
“Thank you. I will work hard and absolutely not disgrace your reputation.”
Faced with Grace’s sudden bow of gratitude, Lu Xia put on a show of nodding, finally having resolved a difficult problem.
After breakfast, Grace went out, while Lu Xia summoned the butler. In the original owner’s memories, she owned three pharmaceutical research companies, but due to poor management, they were all living off their past achievements.
As a researcher in the apocalypse who oversaw the entire potion research and production chain, how could Lu Xia allow such a thing to happen?
Moreover, ever since she woke up, she had sensed that the spiritual spring with healing and purifying abilities had come with her.
The career she had been unable to complete in the apocalypse—couldn’t she now fully unleash her talents in this world?
Thus, Lu Xia asked the butler for detailed information on the three research companies. Currently, two of them had already gone bankrupt, with only one barely surviving, though it was on the verge of collapse at any moment.
The original owner had never managed them since taking over from the previous Duke, nor was she skilled in such matters. For her, even if they all went bankrupt, the family’s assets were enough for her to live comfortably.
So why should she suffer unnecessarily when she could simply enjoy life?
And so, she indulged herself to death.
The old butler didn’t understand why Lu Xia had suddenly taken an interest in the research institutes, but he answered her questions truthfully nonetheless. He expected Lu Xia to be disappointed or, as usual, delegate the troublesome task to someone else and wash her hands of it. Instead, Lu Xia said, “Prepare a hovercar. We’re going to Institute No. 1.”
The old butler was taken aback. Meeting Lu Xia’s gaze, he quickly snapped back to attention and hurried out. How strange, how strange! Today, their Duke had suddenly changed her ways!
While Lu Xia was on her way to Institute No. 1, Grace had already arrived at the First Military District.
As soon as he stepped out of the hovercar, he saw his adjutant running toward him from a distance. “Colonel, are… are you alright?”
Everyone in the military district knew about Grace’s plight, yet they were powerless to help.
After all, the one who had sent Colonel Grace to Duke Lu Xia was his mother, Duke Leslie.
Under the Empire’s laws, it was permissible for a mother to give her unmarried male offspring to another. So, even though everyone in the military district felt it was unfair, there was nothing they could do to change it.
They had all prepared themselves for the possibility of never seeing Colonel Grace again, yet here he was, back at the military district.
He seemed to be in good spirits, with no visible injuries. Could it be that the wounds were hidden beneath his clothes?
Thinking of the rumors about Duke Lu Xia, the adjutant couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes.
Grace naturally sensed the other’s concern and said gently, “I’m fine, no need to worry.”
“I know,” the adjutant forced a smile. How could he not know? Having worked together for so long, he was well aware that Grace was the type to share good news but hide his troubles. If the Colonel didn’t want him to know, then he would pretend not to know. “Are you here to resign this time?”
Though he was reluctant, the adjutant understood clearly that males who became Husband-Attendants often lost their freedom, especially someone like Colonel Grace, who was considered a “defective product” to begin with.
Life under Duke Lu Xia was likely even harder, he imagined.
Grace knew what the other had misunderstood. “No, I’m here to resume my duties as usual.”
“Mm-hmm, I understand completely, sir. Please don’t be too… what?” The adjutant belatedly realized what he had just heard, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at Grace, his voice trembling yet cautious. “Did you just say… you’re back to work? Your female master allowed you to continue working?”
“Yes, she did.” Thinking of Lu Xia’s words that morning, Grace couldn’t help but let a faint smile touch his lips. “Mm, she even encouraged me to work hard.”
To strive for promotion to General as soon as possible—of course, he kept those words quietly to himself, unspoken.