Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Visiting at Work

Graces’s feelings were somewhat complicated. From his very first day in the First Military District, Admiral Snop had always looked out for him.

If he chose to walk down a different path, Admiral Snop would become his adversary.

Sensing Graces’s momentary distraction, Admiral Snop picked up on it sharply. "What’s wrong? Did Her Majesty Queen say anything else?"

"She didn’t say anything else. Don’t worry. Everything went smoothly this time. If that’s all, I’m going to write my report."

"That’s good. Go on, then." After saying this, Admiral Snop seemed to suddenly remember something. "Oh, wait. The Chief asked me to pass on a message to you. He said his Secretary General was out of line and made a mistake. He apologizes and will keep a tighter rein on his people in the future. What was that all about?"

Admiral Snop was still a little confused. He had received a sudden call from the Chief asking him to relay the message, but the Chief hadn’t elaborated, only saying that Graces would know what it was about.

Upon hearing this, Graces understood. The Chief must have learned about Her Majesty Queen’s punishment for Victoria and Lady Dain. He must have also realized his own Secretary General was involved, which was why he had specifically asked Admiral Snop to act as an intermediary.

"The Chief doesn’t need to go to such lengths. Secretary General Levin has already approached me about it, and I haven’t taken it to heart. Please tell the Chief not to make things difficult for Secretary General Levin. As for the matter itself, it’s better that you don’t know."

Admiral Snop laughed in exasperation. "Fine! So you all use me as a messenger, but none of you will tell me what’s going on, is that it?"

Graces simply smiled without a word.

Admiral Snop knew Graces was likely keeping quiet for his own good. "As long as it’s been handled, that’s what matters. You get back to your work. I’m heading out."

As Graces watched Admiral Snop leave, his adjutant sidled up to him. "Don’t you have leave, sir? I thought you’d be resting for a few days. I was hoping I could get a break along with you!"

Graces shot him a look. "You think I don’t want to? Can a summons from Her Majesty Queen be declined? Besides, if I didn’t come in, were you going to write the report for me?"

"What about after you finish the report, sir?"

"Then I’m going home, of course!"

The adjutant broke into a grin. "I knew it! You’re not the same Colonel Grace you used to be!"

"Then who am I?"

"You are my respected Major General Grace!"

Graces gave him a speechless look. ’Is he trying to play word games with me?’

An hour later, Graces submitted his mission report for A11 Star. Shortly after he left the First Military District, C56 Star, a planet in the Border Star Domain, suffered an unknown attack. The planet, one of the Empire’s mining stars, was occupied.

Her Majesty Queen was furious!

Meanwhile, Graces was already home, cooking in the kitchen.

Since he had already applied for leave, he would not be notified, even if war broke out on the front lines.

*

Smelian’s condition had stabilized, so Lu Xia arranged for him to get an injection to increase his gene fusion degree at the No.2 Institute that afternoon.

They were much more experienced with this kind of injection compared to the last time.

Just as they were preparing for Smelian’s procedure, Graces arrived with a homemade lunch to visit Lu Xia at work.

Graces wasn’t particularly surprised to see Smelian there.

Lu Xia, however, was quite surprised. "What are you doing here? Aren’t you working today?"

"We get a three-day rest period after completing a mission. I’m on leave for the next few days."

Hearing this, Lu Xia thought the military was quite considerate of its officers. "That’s perfect. Smelian is about to get his gene fusion injection. You can tell him about your experience to help him prepare mentally."

"Okay. You go eat." After handing the food container to Lu Xia, Graces stepped aside with Smelian.

Almost all the staff at the research institute knew that these two men belonged to Lu Xia. Seeing them interacting so amicably, they couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

After all, males, even those who shared the same Female Master, rarely had such a harmonious relationship. More often than not, even in front of their Female Master, they would be vying for attention and trying to embarrass one another. It was truly rare to see a pair chatting together so peacefully.

But then again, anything involving Duke Lu Xia always seemed to have a touch of the extraordinary.

One of the bolder staff members approached Lu Xia. "Your two men... is this how they normally interact?"

Lu Xia didn’t quite understand what they were getting at. "Is there something wrong with how they’re interacting?"

"It’s just... they seem to be on good terms?"

"Yes, they get along quite well." Lu Xia nodded, confirming it. The man’s expression immediately became eager. "So, how do you manage it? At home, I feel like I keep a really low profile, but one of the others always likes to provoke me. My Female Master has talked to him about it, but... well, now he doesn’t dare do it to my face, but he’s always being passive-aggressive behind my back. It’s so annoying."

Lu Xia blinked, finally understanding why he was suddenly telling her all this.

She thought for a moment before asking, "Does the other man have his own job? Or, what does he do for a living?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"He’s not very old. Like me, he’s one of our Female Master’s secondary husbands. He owns a flower shop, but he mostly leaves it for others to manage and spends most of his time at home. Why do you ask?"

"I just think he’s probably bothering you because he has too much time on his hands. If he were busier, he wouldn’t have time to think about these things." Lu Xia packed up the empty food container. "I’m going to step out now."

"Oh, okay. Thank you! I think you’re right!" ’He must just have too much free time.’

’When I get home from here every day, all I want to do is rest. Who has the energy to think about other things?’

’Duke Lu Xia’s two males both clearly have their own careers. That must be why they get along so well.’

’Maybe I should talk to my Female Master about finding something for him to do, to give him a distraction?’

When Lu Xia came out of the break room, Graces and Smelian had finished their conversation. Noticing her, they both turned to look at her in unison.

The two males had completely different presences, but it was undeniable that each was appealing in his own way.

Lu Xia walked over with a smile. "Graces, you should come watch when Smelian gets his injection. You don’t mind, do you, Smelian?"

"Okay."

"I don’t mind. Graces just told me a lot, so I’m mentally prepared."

"Good, that’s great. You can go on in. I’m going to get the agent. Graces, you can wait for me in the next room." After sending them on their way, Lu Xia went to retrieve the gene fusion agent, then headed straight back in to find Smelian.

Smelian had already taken off his jacket and unfastened his shirt cuffs, and was sitting in a chair waiting for Lu Xia to return.

"Don’t be nervous," Lu Xia murmured as she prepared the injection for Smelian. "We’ve made improvements to this agent to increase its stability. The success rate is a bit higher than before."

Smelian knew she was just saying that to ease his fears. ’She was always so thoughtful.’

A smile touched Smelian’s eyes. "I know. Don’t worry. I’m actually quite confident."

Lu Xia smiled and nodded at him. "Okay. I’ll be right next door. The whole time."