Lady Daina, who had been standing to the side and not participating in the conversation, smiled at Duke Leslie and said, "Lu Xia truly never disappoints."

Duke Leslie responded coolly. She was particularly out of sorts today. The thought of Graces’s uncertain fate on the front lines, and the precarious future of the bond between the Leslie Duke Mansion and Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion, filled her with complex emotions.

As if sensing she wasn’t herself, Lady Daina gently patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Graces is so capable. He’ll be fine."

Duke Leslie forced a smile and said, "That’s what I think too, but I can’t help but worry. However, he is serving the Empire, so I should be proud of him."

Lady Daina smiled. "If Her Majesty the Queen were to hear that, she would surely be very pleased."

Hearing this, Duke Leslie looked at Lady Daina. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt a hint of mockery in Lady Daina’s words.

She didn’t ask. She knew very well that the personal relationships within the Imperial Family were extremely complex. There were some matters they couldn’t interfere in. The correct course of action was to pretend she hadn’t heard clearly.

The celebratory banquet proceeded smoothly. Everyone could see that the relationship between the Rafaelde family and Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion had deepened further. And following Graces, Smelian had finally entered the public eye, known as the second male to be favored by Duke Lu Xia.

Many people couldn’t help but think about the rumors. It was said that Duke Lu Xia was cruel and enjoyed abusing the males around her, but now, seeing the males by her side become Gene Fusion Experts one by one and steadily improve, they all felt deeply conflicted. ’If this is abuse,’ they thought, ’then I’d love to be abused a little, too.’

After all, in the Empire, there wasn’t a single male who didn’t want to become a Gene Fusion Expert, who didn’t want a Female Master who would always consider his best interests. Even with only the status of a husband, winning the Female Master’s affection was worth it.

It was a pity that even if they had such ideas, they no longer dared to approach Duke Lu Xia. The two females who had just been "asked to leave" were the best example. They would have to find another opportunity to pursue their ambitions.

Prince Li Mang watched Lu Xia approach with Smelian and Cecil and said with a smile, "Xiaxia, you’d better prepare yourself. After today, there will be no shortage of families wanting to send you males. There will probably be quite a few males volunteering themselves to you as well. You’ll need to keep your eyes open and choose carefully." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Faced with Prince Li Mang’s warning, Lu Xia was taken aback for a moment. Then she realized that such a thing was indeed possible. She shook her head with a hint of resignation. "I won’t be taking anyone else. The people I have by my side are enough."

Hearing her words, Prince Li Mang knew Lu Xia was serious. Having known Duke Lu Xia for so long, the Prince had a good understanding of her personality and character. Since she had said so, she would definitely not be accepting anyone else.

She somewhat admired Lu Xia’s decisiveness. Even she, who didn’t consider herself promiscuous or lustful, couldn’t help but be tempted when she met someone exceptional. It was a female’s nature. But Lu Xia clearly had a high degree of self-control. The males who were able to stay by her side were truly lucky.

As she thought this, she glanced at Cecil, who was following beside Lu Xia. She remembered that on previous occasions, Cecil could only stand far off to the side. Now, he was actually able to accompany Lu Xia and greet guests with her.

With this in mind, she subconsciously glanced at Lady Daina. And sure enough, Lady Daina seemed to be in a very good mood today.

As time went on and the banquet began to wind down, Lady Daina finally couldn’t resist pulling Cecil aside.

"You’ve finally seen the light. I’m very pleased. If you’d had this realization sooner, perhaps today’s celebration would have been for you. But fortunately, it’s not too late."

Cecil couldn’t refute Lady Daina’s words. These past few days, whenever he recalled the things he had said and done before, he really wanted to go back and slap himself a couple of times.

Seeing him silent and crestfallen, Lady Daina sneered, "Now is not the time for regrets. What you should be doing is working hard to win the position of a secondary husband. Don’t wait until you’ve gained nothing at all—that’s when you’ll truly have regrets. You saw it for yourself today, how many people want to get close to Duke Lu Xia. Besides, just like you, there are two others out there."

In the face of Lady Daina’s words, Cecil finally replied, "I understand, Mother."

Lady Daina stared at him for a moment. "You’d better."

With that parting shot, Lady Daina turned and left. Cecil stood alone in the corner for a while before returning to Lu Xia’s side, only to find that Smelian had gone off somewhere.

When Lu Xia saw him return, she gave him a faint smile. "You’ve been entertaining guests with us all evening. You must be hungry. Go get something to eat."

Cecil glanced around and asked, "Where’s Smelian?"

"Lady Rafaelde needed to discuss something with him, so they went inside to talk."

Cecil nodded and asked, "Is there anything you’d like to eat, Duke Lu Xia? I can get it for you."

"Thank you, but no. I don’t have much of an appetite. You go eat."

Cecil was quiet for a moment, then turned and headed for the dining area.

Meanwhile, Smelian, who had followed Lady Rafaelde into the study, watched the unconcealable smile on his mother’s face. He knew very well that his mother was very happy tonight.

’It’s because I became a Gene Fusion Expert and brought honor to the family that she’s bestowing so many smiles on me, making me feel like her most beloved child. But in reality, all she sees is my value.’

Lady Rafaelde was very satisfied with Smelian’s performance. She spoke without concealing her objective in the slightest, "Smelian, you performed very well, but I need you to keep working hard and become Duke Lu Xia’s secondary husband. Next time, I hope to be invited to the ceremony celebrating you becoming a secondary husband."

"It would be even better if you could conceive a male child with Duke Lu Xia." In truth, she was hoping even more that Smelian would have the chance to produce a female child with Lu Xia, but the odds of that were too low. Pinning her hopes on a male child was more realistic.

Smelian watched the greed that flashed across his mother’s face. He knew very well that human desire was insatiable.

’When I was first sent to Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion, all Mother wanted was for the Duke to favor me a little for my looks. Now that I’ve become a Gene Fusion Expert and gotten Lu Xia’s attention, Mother is acting like she’s seen some great hope. She wants more... but I don’t.’

"Becoming a secondary husband or conceiving a child are not things I can control. You shouldn’t get your hopes up, Mother."

But Lady Rafaelde didn’t see it that way. "Just because there’s no chance now doesn’t mean there won’t be one later. Besides, Graces isn’t here right now. Isn’t this your best chance to get ahead? Are you telling me you can’t even compete with Cecil? You already have a head start. If you just try a little harder, I refuse to believe Duke Lu Xia wouldn’t give you the position of secondary husband."