Neville leaned a little against the corridor wall, his heart still racing.

[Well,] Shelly said after a moment of silence. [That was certainly something.]

’It certainly is,’ Neville replied numbly. ’How could someone who looked that young be Grayson’s mother? Is she an immortal fairy? I haven’t seen a single wrinkle on her!’

Shelly shrugged and said in comfort, [On the bright side, she seems to like you?]

Neville pursed his lips and retorted, ’Like me? She’s just being polite.’

[She did say she knows a lot of people. Maybe she’ll introduce you to someone nice—]

’I don’t want to be introduced to someone nice! I want to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment! щ(゜ロ゜щ)’

[You can even express emoji now, Host?] Shelly giggled and said, [Ah~ This is about to get very interesting~]

Neville groaned and pushed himself off the wall, forcing his feet to carry him, and finished the task at hand.

○●○●

Back in Grayson’s office, Gloria studied her son, who settled into the seat beside her. He was the perfect picture of the CEO who had everything under control.

But Gloria knew something more. She had seen the way Grayson’s eyes had lingered on the doorway after Neville left.

Gloria had not survived decades of high society politics without developing an excellent ability to read the atmosphere.

"He’s quite something, that secretary of yours," she said lightly, watching Grayson’s reaction.

"He’s competent," Grayson replied, his voice giving nothing away. "The best in a long while."

"Mm." Gloria tapped a finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Young, though. Twenty-one, he said? And already a personal secretary. Quite the achievement."

"Twenty-one?" She heard Bryan murmur out loud and quickly checked something on his light brain.

"He earned the position through merit," Grayson replied lightly.

"I don’t doubt it." Gloria’s smile widened slightly. "Don’t you think he’s very cute? Those big blue eyes behind those adorable glasses, that little mole under his eye—he has quite the appealing look about him."

Grayson’s expression remained perfectly neutral, too perfect in her opinion.

"I hadn’t noticed," he said.

Liar, Gloria thought with something approaching glee. You’ve been looking at that boy every chance you got, haven’t you? You can’t feed this old lady.

But she didn’t press.

Not yet.

○●○●

Neville, who was still deeply betrayed by the young beauty, came back and reported to Grayson.

He secretly glanced at Grayson and thought, Yes, this just makes sense. Since Grayson was one of the main characters, it makes sense for him to have a fairy mother. The genetic lottery had clearly been rigged in the Maxwell family’s favor right from the start.

Bryan secretly beckoned him on the side after reporting.

He whispered so silently that only the two of them could hear it, "Did you know about this?"

Neville shook his head a little and replied, "I didn’t even know her."

Bryan nodded a little, thinking that it made sense.

"I... I should prepare refreshments," Neville said nervously. "Tea? Coffee? Something to eat?"

"Let me help you." Bryan offered to grab the tea set on the cupboards below, "Let’s just settle for tea."

Neville nodded and prepared the tea according to Grayson’s preferences. He made a separate tea for Gloria, a camomile tea to relax her body from long hours of travel. To match the vibe, Neville reheated the ham sandwiches that he made earlier for a snack.

When they came back from the kitchenette, the mother and son were already sitting across from each other. They were talking about the recent happenings in the company.

Neville silently put the tray down carefully and arranged the cups accordingly. The plate of sandwiches sat in the center of the table between them.

Gloria’s eyes locked immediately onto the sandwiches.

"What is that?"

Neville paused, suddenly uncertain. "It’s... a ham sandwich, ma’am. It’s like baragara—if you’ve heard of it. It is made from real ingredients, and you can eat it with your hands as a quick snack."

"Baragara? I’ve heard of it but never ate it. I’ve never seen anything like this one." Gloria reached for one, examining it with curiosity.

"Is this Ppang? I’ve heard it’s popular among Planet Monus’s workers as a quick filling meal. This—" She leaned closer, sniffing delicately. "—actual meat?"

Ppang? Bread? Oh, there’s finally a decent bread here?! Neville exclaimed excitedly. I wonder if I could find noodles and rice next!

"It’s Level-2 cosmic beast meat. And yes, this is bre—Ppang. I made it from scratch. I find this kind of texture is better."

Gloria unhesitatingly took a bite after Neville explained.

Her eyes widened.

"Eason!" She turned on her son with an accusatory glare, sandwich still clutched in her hand. "Why haven’t you brought something like this home? This is delicious! This is better than anything I’ve had at the Interstellaire Garden!"

Eason? Neville filed that information away. Grayson’s nickname? That’s cute.

The corners of Grayson’s lips just curved upward, and his shoulders straightened with pride.

"Neville is an excellent cook," he said, his tone carrying a hint of smugness that Neville had never heard before. "He’s been preparing my meals for quite some time now. It made a significant improvement to my... dietary condition."

Bryan made a small choking sound that he poorly disguised as a cough.

Gloria’s gaze sharpened. "Your dietary condition. Meaning you’ve actually been eating instead of drowning yourself in nutrient solutions?"

"I—"

She looked at Bryan for confirmation.

Bryan nodded seriously. "Mr. Maxwell’s meal compliance rate has increased by approximately 340% since we managed to hire Secretary Hope to cook for him."

"340%." Gloria set down her sandwich; her expression changed from delight to something more complex and theatrically dramatic. "My son. The man who once survived a three-month military campaign on nothing but nutrient solutions and spite—is now eating actual food and regularly eating his meals."

"His food is very appetizing," Grayson said, as if that explained everything.

Neville felt heat creeping up his neck. Being discussed like he wasn’t standing right there was surreal enough. But being mentioned while Grayson bragged about him was something that he could only dream about.

"Hope’s food had also improved the general quality of life across the company."