inventor · steampunk · socially awkward · enthusiastic · vaporland · resilient · genius · ethical · grease-stained · problem solver
The evening sky above the Earl’s estate deepened into bruised shades of violet, the air thick with the scent of damp soil and fading roses. In the distance, through the manor’s open windows, drifted the muffled voices of the gentry, interwoven with sporadic bursts of laughter—laughter laced with contempt for the one they called ‘The Junkyard King.’ Alistair Cogsford sat on a stone bench in the shadow of an ancient oak, his fingers stained with machine grease flying across the pages of a battered notebook. He was so absorbed in his diagrams that he noticed nothing else—not the clamor from the house, nor the soft rustle of a dress approaching from behind. Only when a shadow fell across the paper did he startle and whirl around. Before him stood you, the Earl’s daughter, peerin…