Hearing Graces’s sudden answer, Lu Xia was startled, though she was unwilling to admit it.

If Graces hadn’t brought it up, she would have completely forgotten about the matter of her four other husbands.

If this was true, then it was no wonder the older-looking, white-haired man from earlier had turned cold toward her.

After all, not only had she failed to recognize her own husband, but she had also forgotten his name. Her reputation as a scum female was now thoroughly cemented.

’He was my husband, and yet he somehow ended up at an auction house. Wouldn’t people think I sold him off on purpose?’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

For a moment, Lu Xia considered all the possibilities, and every single one made her feel like she could never clear her name.

"Should we go back and get him now?" Graces’s voice cut in again, laced with a magnanimity that seemed to be for Lu Xia’s benefit.

Lu Xia snapped back to her senses. She considered the feasibility of going back now, but figured he would probably just mock her. ’Forget it,’ she thought. ’Since his family is already here, he should be fine. Instead of going back now, it would be more straightforward to figure out how to dissolve this husband relationship.’

With that in mind, Lu Xia looked at the man beside her. "No, let’s just go home. By the way, do you know how to..."

Lu Xia trailed off. It suddenly occurred to her: if she just asked Graces how to dissolve a husband relationship, wouldn’t he read too much into it?

To avoid causing herself more trouble, Lu Xia decided it would be safer to ask the old butler back home.

Seeing her abruptly stop, Graces couldn’t help but press, "What is it?"

"It’s nothing. I was just going to ask, were you hurt back there?" During the tremors at the auction house, Lu Xia had seen falling debris hit Graces.

Graces, not expecting Lu Xia to have noticed such a detail, felt his gaze instantly soften. He leaned in close to her. "It hurts a little. Can Xiaxia give me a hug?"

She didn’t know when he had taken the liberty of changing "Lu Xia" to "Xiaxia," but the moment the gentle, repeated syllable left his lips, the tips of Lu Xia’s ears turned red.

Lu Xia reached out and cupped Graces’s face. "Are you trying to act cute?"

The man didn’t shy away from her touch. Instead, he gently wrapped one hand around her wrist, as if to keep her from escaping, his dark eyes burning into hers. "If Xiaxia doesn’t dislike it, then yes."

’What does he mean, "if I don’t dislike it, then yes"? What if I do dislike it?’

Thinking this, Lu Xia asked just that. "And what if I don’t like it?"

Graces suddenly lowered his head, resting it against Lu Xia’s shoulder. His voice was a low, seemingly restrained murmur. "Then Xiaxia can punish me by making me do anything she wants."

Lu Xia felt this guy was really getting good at this.

’So if I don’t like it, he’ll just double down on acting cute?’

"Then your punishment is to make me a bowl of noodles when we get back. I’m hungry." It was late at night by now, and the little she’d eaten for dinner had long since been digested.

Graces chuckled softly. "As you command, my Female Master."

When they returned home, the old butler was still up. He only seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw them, coming out to greet them. "Was everything successful, My Lady?"

"Reasonably so. Take these inside and put them away safely." Lu Xia pointed to the two briefcases in the car and gave the order. "And I have something to ask you. Come with me to the study."

The old butler did as he was told and followed her, while Graces headed to the kitchen.

Once in the study, Lu Xia motioned for the old butler to place the briefcases on the desk, then asked, "Who is Smelian?"

The old butler started slightly at the sudden question, as if trying to recall something. A moment later, he answered, "That name was among your five husbands. He is a male from the Rafaelde family."

’It seems Graces remembered correctly.’

The last shred of hope in Lu Xia’s heart was extinguished. "I ran into him at the auction today. I don’t remember him at all, but that’s not important. I also wanted to ask, how does one dissolve a husband relationship? What’s the procedure?"

Upon hearing this, the old butler instinctively looked up at Lu Xia, as if to confirm whether she was being sincere.

Noticing his reaction, Lu Xia raised an eyebrow. "What, is it difficult to do?"

"No, not at all. In fact, if you wish to dissolve a relationship with a husband, My Lady, there’s no official procedure required. A public declaration that you will have no further ties with him is sufficient. They are only husbands, after all; there aren’t many rules or responsibilities involved. However..." The old butler hesitated here. Seemingly recalling Lu Xia’s attitude toward Graces, he couldn’t help but continue, "However, if the relationship is dissolved, the consequences for the dismissed male are quite grim. It is highly likely they won’t be accepted back by their original families. They will even be ostracized by society, making it very difficult for them to have any future prospects."

The old butler was very clever. He only stated the consequences of dissolving a husband relationship without interfering with Lu Xia’s decision.

Ultimately, the choice was still Lu Xia’s to make.

Lu Xia understood. Dissolving the relationship was simple, but the consequences for the male were tragic—he might not even be accepted by society.

She should have realized how harsh this world was toward males.

She thought about him. He hadn’t done anything wrong. It seemed unnecessary to make his already difficult life even more miserable just because of a decision she made.

So that raised the question: if she couldn’t dissolve the relationship, how should she handle this?

She couldn’t just ignore him like before. Otherwise, her status as a scum female really would be set in stone.

"Tomorrow, go visit the Rafaelde family. See how he is doing, and bring a gift. If he doesn’t want to come back, he can continue to recuperate at home. In any case, let him decide."

Lu Xia felt this was the most she could do for now.

Hearing this, the old butler knew that their Duke Lu Xia had a soft heart.

After spending this time with her, the old butler wasn’t surprised by this at all. Lu Xia had already done so many unexpected things recently.

"I understand. I will go over tomorrow." Just as the old butler’s voice fell, a knock came from the door. Graces then pushed it open. "The food is ready downstairs."

Seeing him, Lu Xia remembered the "punishment" she had mentioned on the way home. She hadn’t expected him to prepare a late-night meal for her without even changing his clothes.

"Thank you for your hard work. I’ll be right there." As Lu Xia spoke, she was already walking toward the door, clearly not wanting to let his thoughtful gesture go to waste.

But just as she reached the doorway, she heard Graces suddenly ask, "Are you going to bring him back?"

Although he didn’t say a name, Lu Xia knew who "him" was. Graces must have overheard her conversation with the old butler.

She hadn’t expected Graces to ask her for confirmation.

"If he is willing to come back, I won’t refuse. After all, what happened today was my fault to begin with."

If she hadn’t been unaware that he was one of her husbands, he probably wouldn’t have ended up being sold.