Chapter Six: Pregnancy.

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Lu Xia now truly had a hard time hearing the word "serve." She quickly said, "I don't need that. You should focus on your own matters and don't have to follow me around. If I need anything, I'll come find you."

She really wasn’t a slave owner and didn’t require someone to trail her everywhere she went.

At this moment, she just wanted to be alone and quiet—don’t ask who “quiet” was.

Grace looked at the serious expression on the little female’s face and realized that Lu Xia indeed did not need his service. This should have been a cause for happiness, but for some reason, deep inside, though unwilling to admit it, he felt an indescribable sense of loss.

“I understand,” Grace said. At that moment, he clearly noticed the little female in front of him exhale in relief, showing how reluctant she was to have him follow her.

Lu Xia waved him off and turned toward her room, finally able to enjoy some peace and quiet.

As she turned, she completely missed the fleeting loneliness flashing in his eyes.

Back in her room, Lu Xia once again lay down on the bed. Having just eaten, she began to feel sleepy again, prompting her to mutter quietly to herself about this useless body of hers.

Raising her wrist to check the light net and catch up on the latest information about pharmaceutical research, she noticed a light blinking rapidly on her terminal.

What was going on?

Could it be running out of power?

She fiddled with it for a while but found no indication of low battery. Eventually, she thought maybe it was a malfunction.

Just as she was planning to have the old butler repair it tomorrow, the blinking stopped.

How odd.

Not paying much attention to it, Lu Xia opened the light net to review information on the empire’s pharmaceutical research.

Currently, the empire’s gene fusion agents and gene stabilizers were in high demand due to scarcity and exorbitant prices, making them unaffordable for ordinary people.

But the effects were only average: gene fusion agents had a success probability of just 25%, meaning one would need at least four doses to ensure a 100% success rate, assuming the highest probability was triggered.

Each dose started at ten million.

Gene stabilizers were auxiliary medicines used after successful fusion to stabilize the genes. They were somewhat cheaper but still started at 100,000 per dose and required long-term use to be effective.

The information on the light net seemed exaggerated to Lu Xia. No matter how well it was described, most people couldn’t use these drugs anyway, so it was essentially just empty words.

Nothing of real substance.

She shut down the light net, pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes to sleep, all the while thinking that once her No. 1 Institute’s research was underway, she would start preparing gene-related drugs herself. She was curious to see how much it really cost to develop such medicines to justify those sky-high prices.

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One must admit, the old butler was quite efficient. Early the next morning, Lu Xia received a thick stack of resumes from applicants at the dining table—plenty to keep her busy filtering.

“Has the payment from Duke Lanya arrived?” Lu Xia asked as she flipped through the resumes, concerned whether the 5 million investment had been credited.

“It’s been received. I already checked this morning,” the old butler answered softly from the side. At that moment, he truly realized that Lu Xia, the duchess, was serious this time—not just empty talk.

Unaware of the butler’s thoughts, Lu Xia quickly selected ten researchers’ resumes and handed them over: “Arrange interviews with these this afternoon. Keep anyone who’s suitable.”

Now that the funds were in place and the team assembled, work could begin. Oh, and by the way, “Have you found those star entertainers I asked for?”

“I have a few suitable candidates and plan to find a few more for you to choose from.”

“No need for too many. Just show me the suitable ones first.”

Their conversation at the table did not avoid Grace’s presence.

The man watched the little female diligently at work and felt a surge of doubt. Rumors said the Duchess Lu Xia was unlearned and only cared about pleasure, but what he saw and heard now made him question those tales.

Sure enough, rumors were not to be trusted.

Just as he was thinking this, Lu Xia suddenly said, “Grace, when are you going home? I want to visit Duke Leslie with you.”

The sudden words made Grace’s heart tighten. “You want to go back with me?”

This was a privilege reserved only for a male orc househusband—yet now Lu Xia was willing to extend it to him, a male servant.

Even the old butler’s ram-like ears perked up beside them.

Lu Xia raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Why is that so surprising? Can’t I go with you?”

“No, not at all. I just didn’t expect you to want to visit my mother with me. It’s an honor.”

Lu Xia immediately understood—this was probably one of those “males aren’t allowed to sit at the table” feudal rules.

“Remember this. Once things settle on my side, we’ll go together,” she said, standing up. “You can finish your meal slowly.”

Then she left the house with the old butler.

It seemed the old butler was even busier than Grace, who had to work outside.

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In the afternoon, Lu Xia selected eight researchers out of the final ten to form two research teams.

Upon hiring, she immediately assigned research projects, racing against time.

The old butler watched through the glass as Duchess Lu Xia, clad in a white lab coat, discussed topics with the eight researchers inside the lab.

He felt as if he were dreaming—no, even dreaming wouldn’t allow such lofty hopes.

The duchess had truly changed her ways and was now seriously and diligently working. Incredible. If not witnessed firsthand, who would believe it?

Even seeing it, the old butler struggled to fully accept it—it all felt unreal, like a dream.

But Lu Xia cared little for his thoughts and swiftly confirmed two projects: one developing a beauty cream for scar removal, the other a hair growth serum capable of regenerating hair follicles.

She had investigated and found these two issues were of great concern to the empire’s populace.

Hair loss was a universal problem across all eras and species.

Similar products had appeared on the market but were largely ineffective.

Most scars still required laser removal, which left marks and never fully erased them—far from the ideal of beauty enhancement.

As for hair growth serums, many were superficial and largely placebo.

Lu Xia aimed to develop truly effective scar-removing and hair follicle-regenerating products.

Though the projects were set and the eight researchers confirmed, Lu Xia could tell they doubted her ability to produce genuinely effective creams and serums.

She didn’t mind; disbelief was natural now. Once the products were out with good feedback, trust would follow.

Words meant little compared to delivering something truly usable.

“All right, that’s it for today. You may leave. Tomorrow is the official start. I expect everyone to be punctual,” Lu Xia said, then glanced at the time on her terminal.

Her action revealed a green glow flickering on the device, prompting someone present to exclaim, “Ah, Lady Lu Xia, are you pregnant?”