For several days, the advertisement released by the No. 1 Institute remained a hot topic online.

The ad’s plot was simply too bold for many people; the Female Master’s unwavering loyalty sent shockwaves through the male population.

Which male in the Empire hadn’t dreamed of being treated like that by his Female Master? It was just something they never dared to say out loud.

Now, this ad had boldly acted out their innermost desires. How could it not go viral?

Some even downloaded the ad specifically to watch from time to time, finding solace in it for their own hearts.

Lu Xia was somewhat surprised by the level of affection for the ad online. When designing the plot, she had thought it might resonate with some people, but she never expected it to strike a chord with so many.

Still, this meant the No. 1 Institute brand would become even more deeply ingrained in the public consciousness.

It was a great start for the products that were set to be released next.

The beauty cream was a huge hit, even selling out completely. The R&D factory was now working overtime to ramp up production.

It also dealt a major blow to similar products on the market.

Many brands with similar products felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. It would have been one thing if the No. 1 Institute’s beauty cream had effects comparable to their own.

But the No. 1 Institute’s beauty cream was so effective that it delivered a crushing blow. Who could possibly compete?

As a result, many brands rushed to research institutes early in the morning to decode the No. 1 Institute’s beauty cream formula, desperate to see what had been added to make it so unique.

Lu Xia didn’t pay much attention to their actions. The beauty cream’s incredible efficacy was due to the addition of her secret weapon: the Spiritual Spring Water.

She was confident that even if they tried to reverse-engineer it, they would never obtain the desired formula. She had nothing to worry about.

The successful launch of the beauty cream set the No. 1 Institute on the right track. From now on, as long as they followed the plan for R&D, production, and sales, the No. 1 Institute could operate independently.

Lu Xia hadn’t been to the No. 1 Institute for the past few days. She left the matter of the hair growth liquid for the old butler to handle and stayed home to rest.

Grace, however, had left early in the morning for a three-day patrol as part of his rotation.

Before he left, the usually taciturn man fussed over her, reminding her of all sorts of things. He even personally prepared breakfast before rushing out.

’It was as if she were a three-year-old who couldn’t take care of herself.’

But she quite enjoyed this kind of concern.

What no one expected, however, was that a patrol that should have been simple for the military would run into a group of space pirates.

During the fight, Grace was attacked and severely injured.

「Two days later.」

When Lu Xia received the news, he was already in the hospital. He lay on the bed, pale, with various medical instruments attached to his body.

The doctor standing before her spoke with a grim expression. "His condition isn’t optimistic. You need to prepare yourself."

"What exactly is his condition? With current medical standards, can’t his injuries be healed?" Lu Xia found it hard to understand, but mostly, she couldn’t believe it. After all, he had been perfectly fine when he left home just two days ago. Now, only two days later, the doctor was telling her to prepare herself.

How could she possibly prepare herself?

Even if you raised a kitten or a puppy for this long, you’d develop some affection for it, let alone a living person.

"His wound is on his chest and isn’t particularly severe. We can fully heal it. The problem is that the injury caused a gene disorder. He was previously injected with a gene potion, but it never took effect, which is why his body never showed any Beastification Form. This injury activated the dormant gene, causing two types of genes in his body to conflict. Right now, we can only suppress it with medication, but if his condition doesn’t improve, the next step is gene collapse."

Lu Xia didn’t fully grasp all the technical terms he was using, but she understood enough to know that "gene disorder" and "gene collapse" were not good things.

Seeing Lu Xia’s silence, the doctor spoke again. "This kind of thing happens with defective males like him. You needn’t worry about it too much, lest you harm your own health. My recommendation is to stop treatment. It’s no longer necessary to waste money and resources. The probability of his recovery is very low. Moreover, once he enters gene collapse, he will likely lose his sanity and could harm you. Therefore..."

"That’s enough." Lu Xia cut the doctor off. She didn’t want to hear him talk about getting rid of Grace as if he were a piece of trash. "Without these instruments, will he have a problem immediately?"

"No. These instruments are only monitoring his vital signs. They have no curative effect."

"I’m taking him with me. Butler, go handle the discharge procedures." Lu Xia didn’t say anything more to the doctor. It was clearly an order, not a request.

The doctor paused but said nothing more. He just assumed Duke Lu Xia was doing this for the sake of her own reputation, not wanting to dispose of this ’defective’ male right here.

After all, he had seen more than his fair share of females who put on a show of benevolence for the public.

Lu Xia ignored the doctor and turned toward Grace’s military adjutant and superior officer.

When Admiral Snop saw Lu Xia emerge, he was the first to approach her. "Whatever you decide, we will accept it. However, would you be willing to let us handle his... final arrangements?"

In Snop’s mind, although he was already surprised that Duke Lu Xia had even shown up, he still didn’t dare to hope for a good outcome.

The entire Empire had always been cruel to ’defective’ males.

Besides, Grace was merely Duke Lu Xia’s husband—a possession that could be thrown away and replaced once broken.

Lu Xia looked up at Admiral Snop, now able to calmly face their subconscious assumptions. "He isn’t dead yet, so there’s no rush to handle his final arrangements. If the need arises, I’ll contact you."

Just then, the old butler who had finished the paperwork hurried back. "Your Grace, the procedures are complete."

"Then let’s go." Lu Xia said no more to Admiral Snop, pulling her coat tighter around herself before following the old butler out.

Seeing this, Grace’s adjutant, who had come with Snop, couldn’t help but ask, "What’s the situation, Admiral?"

Admiral Snop watched Lu Xia’s departing figure and belatedly realized something. "We should be glad. Grace has found a good Female Master. Duke Lu Xia hasn’t given up on him."

Hearing this, the adjutant’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you saying... are you saying there’s still hope for Colonel Grace?"

"At the very least, Duke Lu Xia didn’t just ask the doctor to dispose of him." Even though Admiral Snop had met many females over the years, one like Duke Lu Xia was a first.