However, some things are beautiful in theory, but reality is another matter entirely. The bidding for the Fire Spirit Gene was nothing like the silence that had accompanied the gene fusion agent.

When the auctioneer announced the starting bid of 8 million, fierce bidding erupted on the floor.

Lu Xia took a moment to look up the description of the Fire Spirit Gene.

It was an energy body extracted from a type of mineral. It could be applied to weapons or crafted into a gene potion, though the latter was far more difficult than the former.

Regardless, it was a valuable item.

Even though it required "reprocessing" before it could be used, there were still plenty of people who wanted it.

Before she knew it, the price had reached 25 million, with only one bidder remaining.

Lu Xia hesitated no longer. She rang the bell and put in a direct bid of 30 million.

Sure enough, as soon as her bid was announced, the room fell silent for a moment. Then the auctioneer began to bring down the gavel. In the end, Lu Xia won the Fire Spirit Gene for 30 million.

Now that she had acquired everything she wanted, Lu Xia had no desire to stay. She turned to Graces at her side. "Let’s go handle the paperwork, and then we can head back."

Graces nodded, rising to lead Lu Xia out of the private box.

The attendant who had greeted them earlier was waiting outside the door. Seeing them emerge, he immediately approached. "Is there anything you two need? I can—"

"Take us to complete the paperwork," Graces cut him off.

"Of course. Please follow me."

They followed the attendant to a dedicated area in the back for processing transactions. A professional manager was waiting there. Upon seeing them, he immediately invited them into an adjacent office to handle their paperwork privately. Clearly, the service here was top-notch.

The process was quick, and they didn’t have to wait long. Soon, Lu Xia was handed a locked case containing the gene fusion agent and the Fire Spirit Gene.

Once the transaction was complete, the manager said respectfully, "We hope you will honor us with your patronage at Toya Auction House again in the future!"

Lu Xia nodded at him. Just as she was about to turn and leave, a sudden RUMBLE echoed through the building, and the ground began to tremble. Graces instinctively pulled Lu Xia into his embrace.

The manager reacted fairly quickly, saying, "Please wait here for a moment, you two. I’ll go see what’s happening. Our security is quite reliable—" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Before he could finish, another series of deafening RUMBLES echoed through the building.

Graces held Lu Xia protectively, shielding her as dust and small stones rained down from the ceiling, all of it landing on him. The manager cowered in a corner, terrified.

This was clearly not normal.

Once the shaking stabilized slightly, Graces said urgently, "We have to leave here now!"

Even though Lu Xia had no idea what was happening, she knew to listen to Graces at a time like this.

When they emerged from the office, the once-orderly hall was in complete chaos. The main entrance they had used earlier was now shut.

They could hear crying and shouting from the other side, along with the THUD-THUD-THUD of people pounding on the door. The entire auction house had clearly been thrown into chaos by the sudden turn of events.

Graces put an arm around Lu Xia’s shoulder, carefully guiding her toward a service corridor.

Lu Xia noticed that Graces seemed to be very familiar with the building.

"Everyone listen! Get against the wall! We don’t intend to harm anyone. We’re just here to get our kinsman back." The sudden voice, accompanied by a blinding light, stopped Lu Xia and Graces in their tracks.

Hearing the word ’kinsman,’ Lu Xia instinctively thought of the Rafaelde family. ’Are they here to rescue *him*?’

As she was mulling this over, footsteps drew near. An elderly, white-haired man at the head of a group appeared at their side. Lu Xia could feel his gaze land on them.

"Would you two mind removing your masks so we can verify your identities?"

The question was phrased politely, but it left no room for refusal. It was less of a request and more of an order.

"Sir, instead of wasting time on us, you should be rescuing the person you came for. Any later, and he might be moved," Graces said, stepping forward to shield Lu Xia behind him. His protective gesture did not go unnoticed.

"You seem to know this place very well. Perhaps I should..." Before the man could finish, Lu Xia grabbed Graces’s arm and spoke up. "We are only here for the auction. We have no connection to the people who run this place, and we have no interest whatsoever in the person you’re looking for."

Lu Xia removed her mask and shot the man a cold glance. "Or does your vengeance extend to insignificant bystanders as well?"

The man clearly hadn’t expected to find a noble female here, let alone one he recognized. "Duke Lu Xia?"

Lu Xia was surprised to be recognized. "You know me?"

"I imagine there are few in the Empire who have not heard your name. I never expected to meet you here. In that case, I presume you’ve already seen Smelian?"

Lu Xia frowned slightly. She wracked her brain, but she couldn’t find any memory associated with that name.

If her old butler had been there, he certainly would have reminded her that this was one of her five husbands!

But the old butler wasn’t there, so Lu Xia had no idea who they were talking about.

Seeming to notice her confusion, the man’s tone grew colder. "It seems great people are indeed forgetful. We have business to attend to, so we won’t delay Your Grace any further."

Lu Xia noticed the man’s sudden coldness, but now wasn’t the time to investigate why. She took Graces’s arm, nodded at the man, and said, "Then I wish you all the best."

With that, she and Graces left.

After they had gone, one of the men behind the white-haired leader spoke up. "Isn’t Duke Lu Xia Young Master Smelian’s Female Master? How could she not..." Before he could finish the thought, a hard glare from his leader silenced him.

Meanwhile, Lu Xia and Graces had made it out of the black market. It wasn’t until they were back in their hovercar that Lu Xia’s tense nerves finally began to relax. "I didn’t expect the Rafaelde family to stage a rescue."

’This family may be on the decline, but they’re certainly united.’

’But who is Smelian?’

’That man spoke as if I was supposed to know the name.’

But she had no recollection whatsoever. She turned to Graces. "Who is this Smelian he was talking about? Do you know?"

At her question, Graces’s lips thinned into a line. His dark eyes locked onto Lu Xia’s face, as if trying to gauge whether she truly had no idea who Smelian was.

Seeing his silence, Lu Xia raised an eyebrow. "Is he someone important?"

’Why is everyone reacting like this?’

"If I recall correctly, he is also one of your husbands, Xiaxia." Graces’s tone was calm when he said this, but a careful listener could detect a faint undercurrent of displeasure.

...

’Seriously?’