’See? Lu Xia’s attitude toward him hasn’t changed at all with Smelian’s arrival.’ Graces told himself he didn’t need to worry about Smelian’s presence in the slightest.

With or without him, Lu Xia would always treat him well.

Placing the prepared fruit platter on the table, Graces knelt on one knee. His eyes lowered to the fair, slender calves visible beneath Lu Xia’s nightgown. Ever since Smelian had mentioned that pregnancy could be a burden and cause a woman’s calves to swell, Graces had been paying extra attention.

"I understand. But when do you plan on seeing Doctor Eugene? It’s about time for your check-up, isn’t it?"

Graces’s reminder prompted Lu Xia to glance at the calendar on the table. She calculated the dates; it was indeed time to see Doctor Eugene.

"Monday. If you don’t have time, Smelian can accompany me. He asked to last time."

"I have time. We’ll go together."

"Alright then." Graces was, after all, the Male Father of the child in her womb. If Graces wanted to go, she wouldn’t refuse him.

Early the next morning, the old butler delivered the tailored formal attire. This time, an outfit for Smelian had been made along with theirs.

Even if Smelian might not need it right away, a day would surely come when he would.

Smelian was pleasantly surprised to see there was one for him, too.

It was just a suit of formal attire, and it wasn’t as if he lacked any. But this was more than that; it was a sign of Lu Xia’s thoughtfulness, proof that she hadn’t excluded him from the family.

"Tomorrow evening, Duke Leslie is holding a celebratory banquet for Graces. Do you want to go with us?" Lu Xia asked for Smelian’s thoughts during breakfast.

Smelian finally understood the reason for the new formal attire. He lifted his gaze to meet Graces’s dark eyes.

Emotions were hidden in both their gazes. If he put himself in Graces’s shoes, he knew he wouldn’t want another husband present at such a moment.

So Smelian shook his head. "I think I’ll stay home. I’ll wait for you to return."

Lu Xia didn’t insist. She simply nodded. "Then stay home."

Graces was surprised by Smelian’s concession and couldn’t help but give him a second look.

The old butler also glanced at Smelian, wondering, ’Is he taking a step back now only to advance later?’

’He certainly has a fine sense of discretion.’

After breakfast, Lu Xia changed and left the house with Smelian. Graces had already gone on ahead of them to the military.

Smelian walked cautiously by Lu Xia’s side, carefully shielding her.

Noticing his movements, Lu Xia chuckled. "There’s no need for all that. I’m fine."

"It’s still better to be careful. And you don’t have to go to so much trouble for my sake. He wouldn’t dare do anything to me again."

"He doesn’t dare to right now, but that doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. With things like this, if you don’t shut them down for good, he’ll always be tempted to try his luck." Lu Xia’s principle was simple: either do nothing at all, or act and make the other person remember the lesson so well they’d never dare repeat it.

Otherwise, there would be no point.

Her words sent a pleasant tingle through Smelian. He nodded and said, "Thank you. No one has ever treated me so well."

"Don’t mention it. You’re one of my people now, so it’s my duty to protect you. Besides, I wouldn’t call this ’treating you well.’ I’m simply fulfilling my responsibility to you. It should be mutual. Don’t read too much into it." After saying her piece, Lu Xia got into the hovercar without a second glance. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Smelian realized that whatever Lu Xia did, her primary motive was never to earn gratitude. She seemed to act purely on her own convictions.

If she wanted to do something, she just did it. As for what other people thought—whether they were grateful or held a grudge—it didn’t seem to be a factor she considered before acting.

Smelian had never seen a female so self-possessed. He doubted he could find another one like her in the entire Empire.

When they arrived at the hospital and Smelian stepped out of the hovercar with Lu Xia, everyone who knew him stared, their eyes wide with shock.

No one had expected that Smelian’s Female Master would actually come to the hospital over what happened yesterday.

Smelian’s assistant saw this and was incredibly excited, practically radiating a sense of, ’Look, everyone, just look! You all said Doctor Smelian had a bad relationship with his Female Master? If *this* is a bad relationship, then I don’t know what a good one is!’

As she walked, Lu Xia paid no mind to the stares that fell on her. She had encountered this kind of gaze countless times when she accompanied Graces to the First Military District, so she was already used to it.

She was even certain that after her appearance here today, no one would dare question her relationship with Smelian again.

After all, it was rare in the Empire for a female to visit a male’s place of work.

Her maverick actions should allow Smelian to work in peace in the future.

Inside his office, Dean was in a full-blown panic. He had never imagined Duke Lu Xia would show up just like that. ’What should I do? Oh, what should I do?’

He did find Smelian disagreeable—otherwise, he wouldn’t have reported him. But he had never, in his wildest dreams, expected Duke Lu Xia to defend this husband of hers so fiercely. ’How could this have happened? This isn’t how it was supposed to go at all.’

The moment Lu Xia and Smelian stepped through the hospital’s main entrance, the officials from the Male Management Agency who had been waiting there arrived.

Shedding their previous arrogance toward Smelian, their attitude toward Lu Xia was now incredibly enthusiastic.

"Greetings, Duke Lu Xia. We are terribly sorry for the trouble our oversight has caused your husband. If you wish, we can..."

"That won’t be necessary. My only request is that you handle today’s matter. Do not take any further action. Let’s go." Not wanting to become too entangled with the Male Management Agency, she cut the official off and followed Smelian directly to Dean’s office.

Dean, who was pacing anxiously in his office, broke into a cold sweat the moment he saw the group appear at his door.

His legs gave way, and he stumbled before Lu Xia, collapsing to his knees with a THUD. It was hard to tell if his legs had given out or if it was from sheer terror. "Duke, I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! I’ll never dare to do it again! I’m begging you, please spare me! I can apologize to Smelian. I’ll do whatever you want, just please, spare me!"

Lu Xia was momentarily taken aback; she hadn’t expected him to be on his knees begging for mercy before she even had a chance to speak. But since he had admitted to framing Smelian, she didn’t waste any more words. She turned to the officials from the Male Management Agency. "He has now confessed to abusing his position to persecute another. Isn’t this something you should handle?"

"Yes, this falls under our agency’s jurisdiction. Please rest assured, we will ensure a satisfactory outcome. Dean, based on your false report against Doctor Smelian, you will be sentenced to three months of Male Etiquette Re-education. You will also be stripped of your position and required to issue a public self-criticism. Do you have any objections to this?"