The snide remarks were whispered and veiled. Lu Xia didn’t hear them, nor did she pay any attention to these scions of the Rafaelde family.

Her purpose for visiting today was simply to bring Smelian to see Lady Rafaelde. Everyone else was secondary.

Lu Xia smiled and had Smelian present the gift they had brought. "I should have brought Smelian back sooner, but I’ve been terribly busy lately. I hope you don’t mind."

"You’re too kind, Duke. Your presence alone graces our humble home. Please, come in. The meal is ready, so we can talk while we eat. These are Smelian’s brothers and sisters. They happened to be free, so I called them back to meet you and Smelian. I hope you don’t mind."

"Not at all. The more, the merrier." Lu Xia glanced at the group, noting that the members of the Rafaelde family truly lived up to their reputation for beauty. Every single one of them was exceptionally good-looking.

Feeling Lu Xia’s gaze sweep over them, a few of the single males in the crowd subconsciously puffed out their chests. ’If Duke Lu Xia can like Smelian,’ they thought, ’maybe she’ll like us too. After all, we’re not bad-looking either.’

However, Lu Xia didn’t spare them a second glance. Her gaze moved past them as she followed Lady Rafaelde to the dining room.

Seeing the table laden with a magnificent spread of delicacies, she knew that Lady Rafaelde had indeed put a great deal of effort into this day.

"I heard that Smelian is now a department head at the hospital. I haven’t had the chance to thank you yet." Lady Rafaelde said this aloud, but inwardly, she couldn’t help but wonder, ’When will Lu Xia put this kind of effort into our family, and not just Smelian?’

"That’s all due to Smelian’s own abilities. It has little to do with me, so please don’t thank me." Lu Xia genuinely didn’t feel she had helped Smelian much in this matter. ’If he didn’t truly have the skills, the hospital director wouldn’t have promoted him just to give me face. Wouldn’t that be a blatant disregard for life?’

As Lu Xia and Lady Rafaelde discussed this, Smelian sat quietly by Lu Xia’s side, occasionally placing a dish she might like onto her plate.

He remained silent the entire time.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Xia and Lady Rafaelde finally began to discuss transportation matters. Seeing them turn to business, the others at the table grew restless. "Mother, Smelian hasn’t been back in a long time. May we chat with him for a bit?"

A male who appeared slightly older than Smelian spoke up, and the others chimed in with their agreement.

Lady Rafaelde didn’t answer directly, instead looking to Lu Xia.

Lu Xia, in turn, tilted her head to look at Smelian. "Do you want to go?"

Smelian knew that if he said no, Lu Xia would refuse on his behalf. But he didn’t want to trouble Lu Xia over such a small matter, so he nodded. "You two can discuss business. We won’t disturb you."

Seeing his expression was normal, Lu Xia didn’t think much of it. She simply assumed the brothers really had something to talk about and let Smelian leave.

Seeing this, Lady Rafaelde smiled. "Don’t worry, the brothers get along quite well."

This so-called "good brotherly relationship" led to Smelian being taken to the rear courtyard shortly after he went out with them.

Smelian looked at Chesteron, his eldest brother and the Rafaelde family’s male Gene Fusion Expert. Lady Rafaelde had always wanted to "sell" him for a good price, so he had yet to find a Female Master.

Flanking him was his younger brother, Cheno. He was not yet an adult, but his gene fusion had already failed twice. For now, he, like Smelian had been, was considered a "defective product," though he still had a chance before reaching adulthood.

He was timidly trailing beside Chesteron, a look of unease on his face, as if he wanted to persuade Chesteron to stop but didn’t dare.

He looked conflicted but, in reality, did nothing.

He was always like this. Smelian was long used to it, so he paid him no mind and just looked at Chesteron. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Look at that smug face. You must be so proud of yourself for finding a Female Master like Duke Lu Xia. You even had her bring you back here to show off. I wonder how much groveling and begging that took." Chesteron’s words dripped with sarcasm from the very start, but beneath the taunts, he couldn’t hide his intense jealousy.

’Smelian is a "defective" piece of trash, so what right does he have to be valued so highly by Duke Lu Xia?’ What he wanted to see was Smelian living miserably in Duke Lu Xia’s Mansion, not happily.

He, a Gene Fusion Expert, had never enjoyed such treatment. Why should a good-for-nothing like Smelian be the first to experience it!

In his eyes, it was utterly, utterly unfair. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

This wasn’t Smelian’s first encounter with Chesteron. His older brother was a master of putting on a facade. In front of their mother, he always projected the image of a considerate son who cared for his younger brothers, but in private, he was exceptionally jealous.

"If I told you the Duke brought me home to visit Mother of her own free will, would you die of jealousy?" Smelian’s expression remained unchanged, but his words were like icy barbs, stabbing straight into Chesteron’s heart and making his chest ache.

"What did you say? You think you can talk to me like that just because you have Duke Lu Xia backing you up? You’ve gotten bold, Smelian. I’d love to see if the Duke will punish you when she finds out you’ve been disrespectful to your older brother. I’ve heard that powerful Female Masters like her place the utmost importance on family harmony and respect for one’s elders. Do you think she might send you to Xiongde Academy for ’re-education’?" Chesteron’s face twisted into a villainous sneer. He stared at Smelian, hoping to see a flicker of panic on his calm face, but there was nothing.

Smelian’s golden eyes were as cold and hard as metal. "Your jealous face is truly hideous."

That one short sentence was enough to make Chesteron’s face darken. He had never been an emotionally stable person, and those words were enough to make him lose his composure.

Sure enough, the next second, Chesteron’s hand shot out and grabbed Smelian by the throat. As a Gene Fusion Expert, his physique had evolved when his gene fusion succeeded.

His strength was far beyond what Smelian could possibly counter. The move terrified the timid Cheno standing nearby.

"B-Big Brother, what are you doing? Let Second Brother go! If- if Mother sees this, she’ll punish you! Second Brother has a Female Master now, you can’t do this!"

"Shut up, you idiot! Today, I’m going to teach him how to speak to me!" Chesteron’s eyes were bloodshot, and he was fully prepared to teach Smelian a lesson.

But just as he was about to make his move, a voice suddenly came from behind him. "And how, exactly, do you want my man to speak to you?"

Smelian slipped the scalpel he was already gripping back into his sleeve. His savior had arrived.