Dinner was a lamb Cecil had brought back.

After being prepared by the chef, a whole roasted lamb, golden-brown and glistening, was served. It looked incredibly appetizing.

However, upon smelling it, Lu Xia furrowed her brow and covered her mouth, looking nauseated.

Seeing this, Smelian quickly asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

At these words, Cecil looked over, his eyes filled with confusion, not understanding what was wrong with Lu Xia.

Lu Xia smiled apologetically. "I’m sorry, I don’t think I can eat this."

Hearing this, Cecil grew inexplicably tense and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Smelian looked at the tense Cecil. "Xiaxia’s condition is delicate right now. She can’t eat greasy foods like this. We can have it. Butler, please have the kitchen make something light for Xiaxia."

The butler heard and quickly complied, hurrying to the kitchen to give the chef his instructions.

Smelian looked at Cecil, who was sitting there quietly with a downcast expression. He hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Xiaxia is pregnant now and is sensitive to the smell of certain foods. Don’t take it to heart."

Cecil’s head snapped up to look at Smelian, his eyes wide with disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He then turned to look at Lu Xia.

Lu Xia’s expression was normal; clearly, Smelian’s words hadn’t shocked her. This meant what he heard probably wasn’t a mistake. Still, filled with disbelief, he asked for confirmation, "You... what did you say?"

Looking at Lu Xia, he still couldn’t be sure of what he had heard, his blue eyes filled with shock and incredulity.

Smelian took Lu Xia’s hand and spoke again. "Xiaxia is pregnant. It’s my child."

"How is that possible?" Cecil stared at Lu Xia, feeling as if his entire worldview had just been shattered. ’So there really are females in the Empire who can conceive naturally? Duke Lu Xia can actually conceive naturally?’

"Then Little Pu Tao too..."

Lu Xia nodded. "This news hasn’t been made public yet. Please keep it a secret for me, Cecil."

"Of... of course. Of course it has to be a secret. I just... I didn’t expect it. I... I just need to calm down."

He helplessly picked up his wine glass and took a sip, as if trying to suppress the turmoil in his heart. But he couldn’t control his overwhelming shock at all. His eyes kept darting toward Lu Xia’s abdomen, hidden by the table. He truly couldn’t believe a new life was already growing there.

’No wonder everyone in the house, except for him, has been paying extra attention to Lu Xia lately. And Smelian always said Duke Lu Xia’s condition was delicate. So this is why.’

At that thought, he quickly said, "Since you can’t eat this, then don’t. Let the kitchen remake something lighter for you. I didn’t know. If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought this back."

"I know, Cecil. Don’t be nervous. It’s just that I can’t eat it. You all still can. It looks like it was roasted really well."

Lu Xia smiled, comforting Cecil. She could see that the young male’s cheeks had turned red from nervousness and panic, making him look quite helpless.

Soon, the old butler had the kitchen prepare a lean pork congee that Lu Xia could eat.

Cecil watched Lu Xia, his heart still in turmoil. The dinner he had been so looking forward to now tasted bland and flavorless.

Smelian didn’t say anything else. He knew very well that it would take a long time for Cecil to recover from the shock of this news. After all, he had gone through the same thing himself.

After dinner, Smelian accompanied Lu Xia back to her room. Cecil remained seated alone at the dining table, holding his wine glass, looking completely lost.

After a long while, he looked at the old butler standing nearby and couldn’t help but ask, "When I first came to this house, did you think I was an idiot?"

The old butler kept his eyes lowered, not looking at him, and simply said, "You just didn’t understand Duke Lu Xia, sir."

"Yes, I didn’t understand her, yet I presumed to define her on my own."

Cecil let out a self-deprecating laugh. But then, thinking of Duke Lu Xia’s promise tonight, the ache in his heart lessened. He gently curved his lips into a smile. "She really is a kind big sister."

Suddenly hearing him say "big sister," the old butler subconsciously glanced at Cecil, unsure of what he had just heard.

’Did Cecil just call Duke Lu Xia "big sister"?’

’What a peculiar form of address.’

Meanwhile, Smelian and Lu Xia were lying in bed. He rolled over and pulled Lu Xia into his arms.

Lu Xia had her back to him. Feeling the warmth behind her, she asked, "What’s wrong, Smelian?"

"Xiaxia, do you like Cecil more?"

Lu Xia was slightly taken aback and asked, a little confused, "Why would you think that, Smelian?"

Smelian tightened his embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder and nuzzling it slightly. "Cecil may be young, immature, and naive, but his foolishness is a little cute. Does Xiaxia feel pity for him?"

Lu Xia hadn’t expected the gentle Smelian to be so insecure. A smile touched her eyes. "Smelian, are you jealous?"

The man holding her was silent for a moment. "Yes."

Sensing Smelian’s dejection, Lu Xia turned over and hugged him. "Cecil is a bit foolish, but Smelian is special, too. To me, you are all different. Smelian, when I’m with you, I don’t think about anyone else, so don’t overthink things."

As she spoke, she gently patted Smelian’s back to soothe him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The little female’s words were always so gentle, always able to give him an immediate sense of security. They made him feel that even if Lu Xia couldn’t belong to him completely, he was still unique to her.

In truth, he didn’t feel such strong aversion or jealousy toward Cecil. He had only said those things tonight to make Lu Xia pay more attention to him—a small, cunning trick typical of a male.

Now that he had gotten what he wanted, and Lu Xia had given him even more in return, Smelian’s heart filled with warmth and satisfaction. He held her and gently kissed her lips.

Lu Xia stiffened for a moment but didn’t pull away. Instead, she responded to his kiss, giving Smelian even more confidence.

The next morning, Smelian accompanied Lu Xia to meet the protectors who had been assigned to her.

The leader was the same tall male Smelian had met at 19 Nanxi Road the other day. The man’s name was Tucker.

Tucker was a little excited to see Lu Xia. Having followed Graces for many years, they naturally knew that Graces now had a Female Master who was very good to him. But they had only heard stories; this was the first time they were seeing her in person. It was inevitable that they would be emotionally stirred, but they did a good job of not showing it.

Lu Xia was a bit surprised by the three tall males who suddenly appeared before her. Just from their build, it was easy to see that these three were very strong. She really hadn’t expected Smelian to be able to find such males to protect her in secret.

’It seems I can’t underestimate anyone in this house.’ Lu Xia gave the three a faint smile, which served as a greeting.

The three of them never expected Duke Lu Xia to greet them. After all, females in the Empire would never deign to look them in the eye, let alone greet them.

For a moment, they could almost understand why Graces was so devoted to his Female Master.

’If we had a Female Master like that, we’d be the same way—or even more so!’