Hearing the news so suddenly, Lu Xia froze on the stairs.

She wasn’t quite sure what she had just heard and asked reflexively, "What did you say?"

Duke Leslie, her tone urgent, assumed Lu Xia hadn’t heard her clearly and repeated, "Graces is missing on the front lines!"

Lu Xia finally collected herself and asked, "Who told you this?"

"I’ve been sending messages to Graces constantly, but after his initial replies, I’ve barely been able to reach him. I was so worried that I contacted someone in the First Military District, and they told me Graces is missing. The news has been under a complete lockdown. Xiaxia, what should we do? Should we go see Her Majesty the Queen?"

"Seeing Her Majesty the Queen at a time like this won’t solve anything. Don’t panic. The information you received might not be accurate. I’ll contact Admiral Snop shortly to confirm the news and will let you know."

After saying that, Lu Xia ended the call. She hurried down the stairs, gave Cecil a simple nod when she saw him in the living room, and then sat on the sofa to contact Admiral Snop on her terminal.

She looked pale. Seeing this, Cecil walked over and asked softly, "Duke, has something happened?"

Lu Xia didn’t look at him, simply replying, "There’s something I need to confirm."

Just then, the call with Admiral Snop connected. Before Lu Xia could speak, the admiral guessed her reason for calling. "Duke, have you also heard that Graces is missing?"

"Yes. Duke Leslie just contacted me to say Graces is missing on the front lines. I wanted to confirm this information. Is it true?"

Admiral Snop fell silent, seemingly hesitant to tell her the truth. After a moment, he said, "On the night he was heading to the front lines, Graces encountered a Rebel Army cruiser. A firefight broke out. To allow the main fleet to reach the front and provide support as quickly as possible, Graces stayed behind on the route with only one squad to confront the rebels. By the time the news reached us, we could no longer contact him. We only received this report the day before yesterday. A search is currently underway."

At this point, Admiral Snop found it difficult to meet Duke Lu Xia’s eyes. He didn’t even know how to begin comforting her.

"So Graces really is missing, isn’t he?"

Lu Xia asked again for confirmation. This time, Admiral Snop said nothing more, only giving a solemn nod. He then said to Duke Lu Xia, "I’m very sorry that this has happened, Duke."

"There’s no need to apologize, Admiral Snop. As a soldier, it’s Graces’s duty to go to the battlefield. We are also saddened that this has happened, and we hope he is found as soon as possible, no matter what."

"We will do everything in our power to search for him, you can rest assured. We will notify you the moment we have any news."

After the call ended, Lu Xia sat quietly on the sofa, lost in thought.

Smelian and Cecil, who had been standing nearby, had overheard Lu Xia’s call with Admiral Snop. Knowing that Graces was missing on the front lines, they were both worried about Lu Xia’s state of mind.

Lu Xia sat on the sofa, her expression not overly sorrowful. She was just quiet, lost in some unknown thought. And because of this, Cecil and Smelian didn’t know how to comfort her.

In truth, Lu Xia was deeply confused, because no one understood Graces’s combat strength better than she did. Graces wasn’t just a 100% Gene Fusion Expert; he had also absorbed the Fire Spirit Gene and possessed a Fire Ability.

’Even against the Rebel Army, he definitely had the power to put up a fight. So how could he suddenly go missing?’

’Something else must have happened that I don’t know about.’

Having figured this out, Lu Xia sent a voice message to Duke Leslie. She answered almost immediately, as if she had been waiting for Lu Xia’s reply.

"Duke, the news has been confirmed. Graces is indeed missing on the front lines."

Hearing this, Duke Leslie’s face paled instantly. "How can this be? How can this be? How could Graces go missing when he was perfectly fine? Have they sent anyone to search for him? To rescue him?"

"Duke Leslie, please don’t panic. Admiral Snop will not give up on Graces. The only thing we can do right now is remain calm. Besides, as a soldier going to the battlefield, it is Graces’s duty to protect the Empire. We should be mentally prepared for anything. We mustn’t lose our composure."

Duke Leslie looked at Lu Xia, and seeing her so calm, she felt a little uneasy. She had thought Lu Xia’s feelings for Graces were special. After something like this, Lu Xia should have been just as frantic as she was. But seeing her now, she suddenly wasn’t sure if Duke Lu Xia even cared whether Graces lived or died. If she did care, how could she remain so calm?

Sensing the doubt in Duke Leslie’s gaze, Lu Xia’s expression remained unchanged as she said coolly, "I believe nothing will happen to Graces. I hope you can believe that as well, Duke Leslie."

After saying this, Lu Xia cut the call without another word to Duke Leslie.

When the call ended, Lu Xia stood up and looked at Cecil and Smelian, who were standing behind her. She seemed surprised for a moment, clearly not having expected them to be there, then gave them a small smile. "You heard everything."

Smelian spoke up, "Xiaxia, are you okay?"

"There’s nothing to be not okay about. Admiral Snop will handle Graces’s situation, and I believe nothing will happen to him. As for us, we should carry on as usual. I’m hungry. Is lunch ready?"

The old butler spoke up at the right moment, "It’s ready, My Lady."

"Then let’s eat."

Faced with such a composed Lu Xia, Smelian and Cecil exchanged a glance. Both of their eyes were filled with worry. They were afraid she was just putting on a brave face so they wouldn’t worry.

But in fact, Lu Xia wasn’t forcing herself to be calm. She genuinely believed in Graces. After all, no one knew his combat strength better than she did. She was sure there was a reason for this that she just didn’t know yet.

’Thinking back now, could the strange way Graces acted before he left be related to his disappearance?’

’Is Graces hiding something from me?’

Suddenly, Lu Xia remembered her last contact with Graces—the message he had sent telling her to wait for him to come back.

’At the time, I just thought he was telling me to wait for his return without worrying. But looking at it now, could there have been another layer of meaning? A message telling me not to worry about anything, that he *will* come back?’

Lu Xia was so lost in thought that the dining table fell silent. Smelian placed some food into her bowl. "Xiaxia, eat something."

Lu Xia snapped out of it and gave Smelian a reassuring smile. "Okay."

This time, she didn’t hesitate and began to eat in earnest. She had been eating these past few days, but it was mostly Smelian coaxing her, and it never felt real.

So Lu Xia ate this meal with unusual focus. When she was finished, she stood up and said, "I’m going to the study to handle some things. You two may do as you wish."