Smelian carried Little Xiangxiang to a lounge, planning to prepare some milk for her and put her to sleep. But as soon as he pushed the door open, he found a young male inside, dressed in a waiter’s uniform.

The moment the man saw him, he flinched slightly. His expression was a little unnatural, and although he quickly composed himself, the flicker of awkwardness didn’t escape Smelian’s notice.

Holding Little Xiangxiang, Smelian frowned. "Who are you, and why are you in here?"

The man seemed to have a ready answer. He smiled and said, "Lady Rafaelde is celebrating Madam Xiangxiang’s full-moon, but she was short-staffed, so she specially hired some extra waiters from outside. I’m a temp. The butler asked me to tidy up in here in case it’s needed."

Smelian didn’t fully believe him. He pressed on, "Don’t you know this is a nursery for the young ones? Outsiders aren’t allowed in."

The man feigned a hint of surprise. "I didn’t know. I’m sorry, I’ll leave right away."

He made a move to walk out, but Smelian blocked the doorway. In an instant, his spiritual power erupted and surged toward the man.

The man was startled and tried to dodge, but how could he be a match for Smelian, who had a 100% gene fusion degree? Not to mention, Smelian was now also empowered by an Alien Gene.

He scrambled to get away but was still struck by Smelian’s spiritual power. He collapsed wretchedly to his knees, unable to move.

He looked up at Smelian warily. "What is the meaning of this, sir?"

"It seems you don’t know who I am."

A flash of surprise crossed the man’s eyes. "You are Lord Smelian. How could I not know?"

"If you know who I am, then you should also know that no outside waiters were hired for today’s banquet. So who are you?"

Hearing this, the man’s face fell. He clearly hadn’t expected to be exposed so easily.

He knew he was caught and sensed he was no match for Smelian, but he still tried to argue. "Maybe you’re the one who’s mistaken!"

"I don’t have time to waste on you. If you don’t talk, someone will be here shortly to interrogate you personally."

As Smelian spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, and a small, frost-like ball of his superpower materialized at his fingertip.

The man’s eyes widened in terror at the sight. He cried out, "The Fertility Research Institute sent me! They said I just had to get a blood sample from the little one, and I’d get paid."

Smelian was not surprised by this answer. The superpower at his fingertip shot toward the man. "What else?"

"Nothing else! I swear, there’s nothing else! That was the only task!"

Smelian stared at him for a long moment. After confirming the man wasn’t lying, he opened his terminal and summoned the Rafaelde family’s butler to take him away.

He then carried Little Xiangxiang to a different lounge.

By now, Little Xiangxiang had fallen asleep in his arms.

The little one hadn’t been disturbed at all, despite what had just happened.

Seeing this, Smelian’s anxious heart settled slightly.

As for the young male being led away by the butler, he still hadn’t recovered from the shock of seeing Smelian use a superpower.

He asked the butler beside him in disbelief, "Did that Lord Smelian just now... does he really have a superpower?"

The butler glanced at him, not understanding what he was talking about. "If you have something to say, save it for when someone comes to question you."

He paid no mind to the old butler’s words, his thoughts consumed with whether the ball of superpower he had seen was just an illusion.

Soon, Lu Xia received a message: the Fertility Research Institute had sent someone to infiltrate the banquet to try and extract blood samples from Little Pu Tao and Little Xiangxiang.

She hurried over with Lady Rafaelde.

Seeing Little Xiangxiang sleeping soundly in Smelian’s arms, she asked, "Did you catch him?"

Smelian took Lu Xia’s hand and reassured her, "I ran into him right as I came in. No harm was done. Don’t worry, Xiangxiang is perfectly safe."

Lu Xia finally relaxed upon hearing this, but Lady Rafaelde’s expression darkened. She said furiously, "What in the world are those people at the Fertility Research Institute trying to do? Are they insane? Xiangxiang is the hope of our Rafaelde family! How dare they?"

The thought of what might have happened if Smelian hadn’t caught him—if the man had succeeded—filled Lady Rafaelde with lingering fear.

Duke Leslie, carrying Little Pu Tao, also hurried over with Lady Daina after hearing the news.

Duke Leslie clutched Little Pu Tao, his face etched with apprehension. "Thank goodness Little Pu Tao was with me the whole time. Those people at the Fertility Research Institute are truly insane. What are they trying to do? Why are they targeting Little Xiangxiang and Little Pu Tao?"

Lu Xia knew exactly why the Fertility Research Institute was targeting them. ’It isn’t because they know the children were conceived naturally.’

’It’s simply because the Fertility Research Institute wasn’t involved in Little Pu Tao and Xiangxiang’s reproduction process. On top of that, both of their Male Fathers were once considered defective males before they became Gene Fusion Experts, which makes them highly valuable for research.’

Lu Xia remained calm and asked Smelian, "Is the man still here?"

"Yes. I just had the old butler take him to a room and detain him. He’s a crucial witness; I wouldn’t just let him go."

Lu Xia nodded. "Good. I understand. Cecil, contact the person in charge at the Fertility Research Institute."

Cecil replied without hesitation, "Right away."

Soon, the message reached the Fertility Research Institute. The one who answered was their vice director, Klaus.

Seeing Duke Lu Xia on the video call, he put on a smile. "Duke Lu Xia, good day. To what do we owe the pleasure of you contacting the Fertility Research Institute at this hour?"

Lu Xia stared at his face, which looked as if he genuinely had no idea what he had done, and sneered, "You don’t know why I’m calling you?"

Faced with Lu Xia’s pointed question, the man feigned a slight pause before saying, "I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean."

Lu Xia had the butler bring the young male forward. "Do you recognize him?"

Klaus stared at the young male for a long time before saying, "I don’t. What are you implying? You might as well be direct."

"Just a short while ago, he infiltrated the Rafaelde family estate and attempted to illegally collect test materials from my two children. He claims the Fertility Research Institute sent him, and that he would receive a hefty reward upon successfully obtaining their blood samples. So, I would like to ask you, Director Klaus, what exactly is your institute’s intention? Who gave you the right to do something like this to my children? What kind of research were you planning to conduct with my children’s blood samples?"

Faced with Duke Lu Xia’s interrogation, Klaus’s face grew a little pale.

He stammered, "This is absolutely a misunderstanding, Duke. An absolute misunderstanding. Why would we ever send someone to illegally draw blood from your children? That’s impossible."

"If it’s impossible, then why would he name the Fertility Research Institute as the ones who sent him? Director Klaus, are you so certain this is just a misunderstanding?"