Lu Xia turned at his words and gave Smelian a hug, smiling reassuringly. "What do you think could happen to me? Is Her Majesty Queen really going to take revenge on me on behalf of Lady Dain and Victoria? Our Queen is very concerned with her pride; she would never do something like that. She’s already lost face in front of me three times. Right now, she despises Lady Dain and Victoria, so why would she do anything to hurt me? She’s too busy trying to fix things to even think about it. However, there is one thing..."

Lu Xia paused here, then continued after a moment of thought, "The Rebel Army has landed in Lady Dain and Victoria’s territories. It happened during our video call, and Her Majesty Queen witnessed the whole thing with her own eyes. I doubt she has the mind for anything else right now."

Smelian’s expression shifted slightly at her words. He thought of Graces. ’His revenge is certainly swift.’

The thought that Lady Dain and Victoria were headed for a miserable end brought Smelian no sympathy. Instead, he felt a sense of satisfaction. If it hadn’t been Graces, he would have dealt with the two of them in his own way.

He even envied Graces a little. Unfettered by an Imperial identity, he could do so much.

"Now that you put it that way, I’m suddenly finding the Rebel Army not so detestable after all."

Lu Xia laughed at his remark. "It’s hard to argue with that."

The two exchanged a smile, and the atmosphere lightened once more.

Smelian suggested, "It’s getting late. We should get some rest."

Lu Xia agreed. She quickly rinsed off in the bathroom and returned to bed. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Once she lay down, Smelian naturally pulled her into his arms, resting his hand gently on her abdomen. It was still flat, with no tangible sign of the life within, but he knew a tiny being was already gestating there. The mere thought filled him with deep contentment.

Her Majesty Queen had been deliberately suppressing news of the Rebel Army’s existence. But this time, after the rebels suddenly landed in Lady Dain and Victoria’s territories, the news spread like wildfire.

The next morning, a notification popped up on Lu Xia’s terminal: Rebel Army Rises, Seeks to Overthrow Imperial Rule.

Seeing this headline, Lu Xia knew Her Majesty Queen’s secret was out. She didn’t know if the Rebel Army was behind the leak, but this move was clearly having a major effect on their Queen.

Sure enough, the public was in an uproar—

"What’s going on? Am I still dreaming, or did I just wake up in a parallel universe? The Rebel Army is rising up *again*?"

"To the poster above, wake up! The Rebel Army has been active for a while now. I heard they’ve already occupied the mining stars on the border. How is it that we’re only learning about something this huge now? What the hell is the Imperial Family doing? Are they just planning to abandon us and run for it?"

"Why is this news only coming out now? What does it mean? Has the Imperial Family completely given up resisting?"

"I don’t think the Imperial Family released this willingly. It feels more like someone leaked it, and now they’re probably scrambling to deal with the fallout."

"You’re not the only one. I think so too. The Imperial Family would never publicize their own dirty laundry. This had to be a sudden leak, and they just didn’t have their damage control ready in time. But news this big? They couldn’t have hidden it forever. Were we supposed to wait until the Rebel Army was taking over the Imperial Star before we found out?"

"I knew about this already, but there was nothing online. I tried to post about it, but my posts kept getting taken down. No idea why it’s suddenly getting through now."

"It’s so weird. Heavy fighting has already broken out on the Border Stars, but we’re only just now getting the news. Someone was obviously covering it up."

"Isn’t that just how the Imperial Family operates? They only report good news, never the bad. They only let us see what makes them look good and hide everything else. Imperial rule should have been overthrown ages ago. The whole system is rotten to the core."

...

The online discourse was not favorable to the Imperial Family. It seemed the public’s long-simmering resentment for the crown’s actions had finally found an outlet and erupted. Faced with such a massive volume of commentary, suppression was now impossible.

Her Majesty Queen fainted from rage upon hearing the news. However, when news of her fainting was also leaked by an unknown party, she received no public sympathy, only scorn and ridicule.

The sudden explosion of news about the Rebel Army plunged the entire Imperial Star into a panic.

During breakfast, Cecil said, "Sister, you need to be extra careful when you go out these days. If possible, you should just work from home. I feel like things outside are about to get chaotic.

There have already been several waves of protests and demonstrations on the Imperial Star. There are so many people unhappy with the Imperial Family, and now it’s like they’ve finally found an outlet. They’re not holding back anymore; they’ve just erupted. Or maybe someone else is stoking the flames."

Lu Xia knew Cecil was right. "Okay. I’ll go to the institute today to sort a few things out, and starting tomorrow, I’ll stay safely at home."

’It’s too chaotic outside, and I don’t want to get into any trouble. Besides, my condition is special right now. Even if not for myself, I have to be careful for the child in my womb.’

Smelian, on the other hand, was quite busy. As a doctor, it was only natural for him to be swamped at a time like this.

Cecil added, "Smelian got a call early this morning and rushed to the hospital."

After finishing breakfast, Lu Xia left the table. Cecil walked her to the door and urged, "Sister, you have to contact me if anything happens. Or, how about I go with you to the institute?"

"Don’t you have other things to do today? Don’t worry, Tucker and his men will be protecting me. You should, however, make some time to come find me at the No.2 Institute. Don’t you want to become a Gene Fusion Expert?"

They had scheduled it once before, but Cecil had been delayed by other matters and had yet to find the time to follow through. He was surprised Lu Xia still remembered.

His heart warmed at his sister’s concern. He smiled. "Okay, I’ll head over as soon as I’m free."

He wanted to become a Gene Fusion Expert as soon as possible, too. ’I don’t want to be the weakest one in the family.’

Lu Xia gave his shoulder a reassuring pat, then turned and boarded her hovercar.

When she arrived at the No.2 Institute, the researchers studying the Ice Spirit Gene were beaming with joy.

Lu Xia saw their expressions and understood immediately. ’The Ice Spirit Gene Extraction Liquid is a success!’

Seeing her approach, the others rushed over joyfully. "Duke, we did it! The Ice Spirit Gene Extraction Liquid has been successfully developed!"

Although this wasn’t their first success, each one was still a source of joy and satisfaction. Lu Xia hadn’t expected the extraction of the Ice Spirit Gene to be completed at a time like this, either.

With a magnanimous wave of her hand, she declared, "Excellent. You’ve all worked incredibly hard. Everyone can take a nice, long break now. You’ll get your regular salary, and your bonuses will be doubled. Anyone who wants to travel can sign up—I’ll cover all the expenses."

The crowd erupted in cheers at Lu Xia’s rewards.

Lu Xia watched them, gratified. ’I’ve never been a stingy boss.’