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Josh followed the source of the scraping sound.
“Of course, it’s him again.”
As expected, he found the giant deeply absorbed in furniture refurbishing out in the backyard.
The hulking man was sanding wood with a solemn expression, as if he had reached some enlightened, meditative state.
“Man… how can a human be that mechanical?”
Dwayne’s massive hands worked tirelessly with a small piece of sandpaper on a little side table.
Sha sha sha—
White dust floated around him like smoke as the worn furniture gradually revealed its clean, bare surface.
Tap tap tap—
After placing down the sandpaper, Dwayne picked up the side table and moved it over to a waterproof cloth he had laid out nearby.
He was applying a base coat.
“Nice! Make sure to get the drawer area too.”
Amused by how the furniture was turning white, Josh absentmindedly offered advice.
“Huh…?”
Only then did Dwayne realize someone was nearby, and his face immediately tensed.
“Who’s there!”
He raised the sandpaper like a weapon, his fierce expression intimidating.
One hit from those massive hands and Josh, with his lanky frame, would probably go flying ten meters.
“Ack! It’s me! I’m the Duke of Bloodstone’s lieutenant!”
“Oh… ah… the Duke’s…”
Realizing the man beside him was the Duke’s lieutenant, Dwayne quickly relaxed.
Josh rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and sighed in relief.
‘Damn, that was scary. He looks gentle, but if he ever snaps, he’d be terrifying.’
Though large, Dwayne was still only a teenager. He asked gently,
“The drawer… here?”
Scrape scrape—
“Oooh! Yeah! You sand well, and now you’re painting great too!”
“Yes…”
Dwayne followed Josh’s instructions like a machine.
The vicious look he’d had moments earlier, ready to send Josh flying, was now completely gone.
“Wow! You’re good.”
Josh stroked his chin and grinned.
There was a certain satisfaction in seeing a towering giant obediently following his lead with such an innocent look.
“Here, you missed a spot.”
“Mm…”
Dwayne simply blushed and painted where Josh pointed.
Josh, remembering the time this brute had pointed a sword at him, grew curious.
‘He may look mild, but he’s probably a decent guard for the lady. I wonder how much real combat experience he has?’
“So, how old are you?”
“Fif… teen…”
“What? Fifteen?!”
“Four… teen…”
Dwayne stopped counting on his fingers and nodded.
“You’re only fifteen?!”
Josh’s jaw dropped.
‘He’s only fifteen?! He looks like he’s over thirty!’
“How is that even…?”
“Ah, no, never mind.”
‘Wow, the guy looks way older than his age. How’s he ever gonna date anyone looking like that?’
Just then, Mildred came out from inside.
“Lieutenant Josh Kelwyn? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Secretary Mildred. What do you mean? Just watching some furniture being refinished.”
Josh replied dryly, making eye contact with her.
Until moments ago, he’d been in the Whitehouse office negotiating contract terms with the young lady.
But he was sure the secretary beside her couldn’t even read a contract.
‘The lady has no business experience, and her secretary’s a rookie too? What if she messes up and my lord loses his investment?’
It was no wonder Josh didn’t like the seemingly incompetent secretary.
Compared to himself—who offered his master exceptional intel and management support—she was simply out of her league.
And Mildred, who had spent two hours reviewing the contract alongside Josh, was not blind to his attitude.
“Um, Secretary, you can leave that. I’ve already reviewed everything.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm… so the secretary doesn’t know about this either?”
Already irritated by his subtle disdain, Mildred bit her lip and crossed her arms, replying sarcastically,
“So, Lieutenant, are you going to help with the refurbishing yourself? It must be quite taxing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh no, of course not. Someone like you wouldn’t do this kind of work, would you?”
“What do you mean, ‘someone like me’? Secretary, what are you implying?”
“Oh, nothing. Just idle talk. Sure, you passed off the hard sanding work to Dwayne, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it.”
“Wh-what? I never said it was hard!”
Josh raised his voice in frustration.
He already had a bit of a complex about looking scrawny next to his brawny master.
“Right, if sanding’s hard, that would mean you’re pretty weak. Even someone with arms as thin as mine didn’t find it too hard.”
Mildred nodded with a smile.
But Josh was only getting more upset.
‘What’s with this woman?!’
This secretary from a ruined noble family was glaring at him with her arms crossed.
Did she not realize he was the lieutenant of the Duke of Bloodstone?
He was the aide of the investor funding her lady’s little startup!
‘One day soon, my lord will even grant me a title!’
Josh crossed his arms tightly, feeling empowered by the duke’s backing.
‘This clueless secretary? I’ll use her like an errand girl!’
But caught up in his pride, he didn’t realize that the lady of Whitehouse might just be using him in return.
“Oh my, Lieutenant Josh, you’re still here?”
Lady Marie appeared with a tray of refreshments.
Josh jumped and uncrossed his arms immediately.
“Ah! My lady! You’re here!”
“Oh, were you helping with the refurbishing? You must be tired after spending all day going through the contract. Make sure you take a break.”
“Oh my! For a noble lady to serve refreshments herself…”
“We’ve had a guest all day but didn’t even offer anything—this works out perfectly. Please, join me.”
Josh was delighted.
Lady Whitehouse personally serving him refreshments—especially in front of Mildred—was immensely satisfying.
‘See? This is how you treat guests properly, rookie secretary!’
Josh lifted his chin and glanced smugly at Mildred, who scowled.
“My lady, you didn’t have to do this yourself. I could’ve—”
“No, you have to go collect the eggs, remember?”
“Oh, right. I’ll be off, then.”
Mildred barely nodded to Josh before quickly walking away.
‘Mwahaha! Running off, are you? How pathetic. Pathetic!’
“Thank you! It’s an honor!”
Josh sat at the outdoor table with Marie. Dwayne, apparently tireless, took a drink and went right back to work.
“Ah, this is what rest after labor feels like…”
Josh sipped the lemonade, as if he’d worked hard himself.
The chilled drink was refreshing in the growing summer heat.
It felt like all the frustration caused by that foolish secretary evaporated with each sip.
“Thank you. Dwayne works faster with you nearby. You must have great leadership.”
“Ah! Hahaha! I wouldn’t go that far…”
Josh beamed, unaware how easily compliments flattered him.
He had grown up as a second son of a minor house and rarely received any genuine praise.
“No, I mean it. Dwayne looked like he was enjoying the work more with you beside him. That’s the sign of a great leader.”
“Haha! That’s exactly what I like to hear!”
“The Duke is fortunate to have such a capable aide.”
“Hehehe… Indeed. Hahaha…”
Unfortunately, his lord wasn’t one to give compliments.
So Lady Whitehouse’s words were sweet as honey.
“I’m glad you enjoyed the refurbishing. I find this part even more fun, though.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
Marie held out a schematic of an unfamiliar object.
“I want to build this and apply for a patent.”
“A patent?”
“Yes. I couldn’t find anything like this in the supply stores. It’d be useful.”
Josh studied the sketch intently.
He was quite intelligent himself.
“Oh! I’ve never seen something like this…”
“I want to patent it.”
“You… you invented this?”
“Yes, it’s a simple structure.”
“Oh…”
Josh looked at the woman in front of him with renewed respect.
How had she even thought of this?
She seemed far too impressive for someone like that clueless secretary to be serving.
“They say you have to go to the Royal Patent Office to apply.”
“That’s correct. You’ve done your homework.”
“But the process is complicated. You need a prototype, and the wait for approval is long.”
A shadow crossed Marie’s beautiful face, and Josh felt a pang of sympathy.
“How do you plan to make the prototype?”
“That’s the problem. I need to make it quickly… but I don’t know who to ask.”
“It doesn’t look too difficult to make.”
With proper instructions, a workshop could likely build it quickly.
But that rookie secretary wouldn’t be a
ble to give proper instructions.
“Really? Just from this diagram? You think someone can do it?”
“Well, I mean…”
He couldn’t very well let this kind and noble lady handle such a rough task herself.
