After Lady Rafaelde left, Smelian turned to head back to his bedroom to rest when he saw Graces standing not far away.

He didn’t know when the other man had shown up, but it was clear he was waiting for him.

Smelian paused for a moment before walking over. "Looking for me?"

Graces met his gaze. "You should be able to tell that Xiaxia is different from other Female Masters. She doesn’t mind our status and is very considerate of us. She isn’t afraid of trouble, but that doesn’t mean she welcomes it. I hope you don’t drag her into your conflict with the Rafaelde family."

"Today was an accident, and I admit I didn’t handle it well. I’ll be more careful. Thank you for the reminder." Smelian didn’t think Graces was here to provoke him.

’He had reminded himself of this countless times.’

For Graces to seek him out privately about this meant two things. First, he didn’t want Smelian’s issues affecting Lu Xia. Second, he was only doing so because Smelian was one of Duke Lu Xia’s husbands.

If Smelian had nothing to do with this household, he knew very well that Graces would never have gone out of his way to tell him this.

As for Lady Rafaelde showing up uninvited tonight, if Lu Xia hadn’t been so unconcerned, any other Female Master would have made trouble for him afterward. It was true that he had failed to keep his family in line.

What’s more, tonight was a party Duke Lu Xia had thrown to celebrate Graces’s promotion to Major General.

Thankfully, he and the Rafaelde family hadn’t ruined the atmosphere.

"Good, as long as you understand." Seeing that Smelian had taken his words to heart, Graces said no more and turned to leave.

Watching Graces’s retreating figure, Smelian couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose.

*

On the way back, Duke Leslie couldn’t help but say to Prince Li Mang, "Duke Lu Xia probably didn’t invite Lady Rafaelde tonight."

Prince Li Mang nodded. "She probably wasn’t. When I saw the butler speaking with her, she seemed quite surprised. Lady Rafaelde likely came on her own. She might not have even known there was a party tonight."

"Don’t tell me she thought Duke Lu Xia was treating our Graces too well, so she came over to fight for favor on behalf of her family’s male?" Duke Leslie couldn’t help but worry.

After all, everyone knew the males of the Rafaelde family were very handsome.

They were extremely popular with the Empire’s females.

What if Duke Lu Xia really cast Graces aside and started doting on Smelian?

Seeing how tense she was, Prince Li Mang couldn’t help but say, "Relax. Lu Xia can clearly treat everyone equally; the situation you’re imagining won’t happen. No matter what Lady Rafaelde’s attitude is, Lu Xia won’t be influenced by her."

The very fact that Lu Xia built such an enterprise on her own is enough to prove she isn’t a foolish female.

"I hope so. Still, our Graces has also become quite outstanding." In truth, she still hoped Lu Xia would elevate Graces to the position of main husband. That way, no matter how many others appeared by Duke Lu Xia’s side in the future, the Leslie family’s position would at least remain unshakable.

"What you need to do now is not do anything unnecessary. Let things take their course, and the outcome will be for the best. Lu Xia may seem approachable, but she absolutely hates it when others meddle in her household affairs."

Duke Leslie knew Prince Li Mang was giving her a pointer and nodded. "I know. I won’t do anything."

Now that Duke Lu Xia had caught the eye of the Imperial Family’s Lady Daina, Duke Leslie was too busy thinking about how to get on her good side to even consider doing something to displease her.

Unaware of Duke Leslie’s thoughts, Lu Xia waited for her guests to disperse before returning to her room and reviewing her work schedule for the coming period.

In less than a month, the baby in her belly would be born. She had to get everything in order before then and free up some extra time to be safe, just in case of any surprises.

The delivery room was already being prepared right inside Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion.

When the time came, Doctor Eugene would move in beforehand under the guise of a family doctor to be on standby.

As for how to explain the child’s birth to the public, that was much simpler.

Although the Fertility Research Institute was the Empire’s most authoritative institution, it wasn’t the only place that could perform reproductive procedures.

Reproductive technology wasn’t patented by the Fertility Research Institute. In the current Empire, the procedure presented no technical difficulties; it was just that the Institute was the most widely recognized authority.

As her due date approached, Lu Xia began to cut back on outings and social events. To ensure he could be by Lu Xia’s side when she gave birth, Graces made special arrangements to swap his patrol schedule and trade two shifts with others in advance.

This would free up a week for him to stay by Lu Xia’s side and take care of her.

As a result, Graces was much busier than usual during this period.

Early this morning, Graces had boarded a cruiser to begin a three-day patrol.

Perhaps because Lu Xia’s due date was drawing near, Graces had been inexplicably tense lately. Usually a man of few words, he now seemed to have become a chatterbox.

Before leaving this morning, he repeatedly reminded the old butler and Smelian to take good care of Lu Xia until he returned.

Everyone in the household had been paying extra attention to Lu Xia recently.

It made Lu Xia feel as if she were some kind of rare, protected species. ’The whole family is on high alert, but as the one at the center of it all, I don’t feel like I’m about to give birth at all.’

’I’m eating well, sleeping well, and my body feels great. Not a single problem.’

However, this peaceful life was shattered by an incident: the main raw materials for the No.1 Institute Beauty Cream had been impounded at Victoria Star Port. The shipment would only be released if the person in charge went through the approval procedures in person.

When Smelian learned of this, he took the initiative to contact Lady Rafaelde. Although Lu Xia’s shipment wasn’t being transported via the Rafaelde family’s routes, as a family that had built its fortune on shipping, the Rafaeldes still had a network of contacts that could be used to investigate the matter.

He soon learned that the raw materials had been impounded because contraband was allegedly mixed in with the shipment, which was why the person in charge had to be present for verification before it could be released.

Of all the times for this to happen... Smelian had originally wanted to ask Lady Rafaelde to use her connections to resolve the issue, but Lu Xia refused.

She knew full well that if she used the Rafaelde Family’s connections to solve this, she would owe them a huge favor. In any future dealings with the Rafaelde family, she would be at a disadvantage.

’The last thing I want in this life is to be controlled by others.’

So, she decided to make the trip herself. If things went smoothly, two days would be enough. After all, the journey from the Imperial Star to Victoria Star Port wasn’t very long.

By Starship, it would only take a few hours.

"Book a ticket for me, Butler," Lu Xia said to the old butler after reviewing the approval process. Smelian, who was standing beside her, quickly interjected, "I’ll go with you."