Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Home Life
Lady Rafaelde also sent a voice call to Smelian. He happened to not be in surgery and answered it. Before he could speak, Lady Rafaelde got straight to the point: "Was Xiangxiang born from the Duke’s natural conception?"
Smelian hadn’t expected Lady Rafaelde to be calling him about this, but he quickly pieced things together. ’The twins were just born, so Cecil must have informed Lady Daina. And with the news of the natural conception already spreading, Lu Xia probably isn’t planning to hide it anymore.’
Having figured this out, Smelian didn’t deny it. "Yes, it’s true. We didn’t tell you before because the time wasn’t right. Now that you know, please don’t spread it around for the time being. Xiaxia is still recuperating, and we don’t want to cause her any extra stress."
"Of course, I know that. I just never imagined... Everyone thinks natural conception is a legend, so it never occurred to me that it had already become a reality for Duke Lu Xia. It’s truly incredible! Smelian, you must be on your best behavior. You absolutely cannot let Duke Lu Xia grow to dislike you. The future of our Rafaelde Family depends on you now."
’I’m on Duke Lu Xia’s ship now, and there’s no way I’m getting off.’
Smelian had long known that his mother was a very calculating person, so he wasn’t surprised by her words. He wouldn’t go out of his way to refute her, but he also had no intention of doing as Lady Rafaelde said.
He was an adult now, and a Male Father, no less. He knew perfectly well what he should and shouldn’t do. "If there’s nothing else, I have to get back to work. I have a lot waiting for me here."
Lady Rafaelde, who still had a million things she wanted to say, could only reply, "Alright, alright. Go on, get back to your work."
With that, she cut the connection, but she couldn’t quell the excitement bubbling up inside her.
As she walked back, she happened to run into Duke Leslie, who had just finished contacting Graces to confirm the news herself. Their eyes met, and they could both see the undigested excitement in each other’s expressions.
They immediately drew close. "You just asked Graces? Did he admit it?"
Duke Leslie nodded. "He did. He admitted it as soon as I asked. I almost suspect the only reason he never mentioned it before was because I never asked. What about you? What did Smelian say?"
"Same as with Graces. He told me everything as soon as I asked. Honestly, for something this important... and we’re only finding out now."
"I can understand that, though. The Fertility Research Institute had their eyes on my Little Pu Tao right after he was born. And wasn’t it almost the same for your Little Xiangxiang? Xiaxia kept it a secret for the children’s sake. Otherwise, who knows what kind of dirty tricks the Fertility Research Institute might have pulled. Besides, Her Majesty the Queen was still in power back then. They had to be cautious about everything. Things are better now; they finally don’t have to worry."
After hearing Duke Leslie’s explanation, Lady Rafaelde found it very reasonable. "Now that you put it that way, I understand Duke Lu Xia’s intentions. It’s probably because she was so cautious that both children have grown up safe and sound."
"Isn’t it the truth? Just look at my Little Pu Tao and your Little Xiangxiang—they’re so well-raised. My Little Pu Tao even calls me on his own initiative sometimes to ask how I’m doing, if I’ve eaten enough, and if I’m sleeping well. He’s so little, yet he understands so much." Duke Leslie was beaming as she spoke. "I used to think males were useless, but seeing Little Pu Tao now, I realize how narrow-minded I was. If I had treated my children equally like Xiaxia does, they probably wouldn’t have turned out so badly. Now, just thinking about my Hugheska gives me a headache."
The topic struck a chord with Lady Rafaelde as well. "Honestly, I never expected my Smelian to become the most successful one in the family. I used to see him as a defective product that would never bring any benefit to our house. But now, the entire family relies on him. It reminds me of how I treated him in the past... I feel so insecure every time I see him now."
"Tell me about it. I can’t act all high and mighty in front of Graces anymore either. It can’t be helped; we both failed as parents. It’s a blessing that our children don’t hold it against us. But then again, neither of us has Xiaxia’s foresight."
Lady Rafaelde nodded, then thought of something and asked, "You mentioned something about Hugheska? I had heard he’s the main husband to a Viscount now. What’s wrong? Did something happen again?"
"SIGH. He did become a Viscount’s main husband, but that was only due to the influence of our Leslie Duke Mansion. To this day, he still hasn’t earned his Female Master’s favor; she treats him like he’s invisible. He has no ambition of his own, and even though he’s the main husband, he’s completely overshadowed by the secondary husband and the other husbands. His life is a total mess. I get a headache just hearing people mention him now. You know, I treated him much better than I treated Graces, but he ended up being inferior to Graces in every single way. He was handed a perfectly good position as main husband and he can’t even hold on to it."
Lady Rafaelde could understand how Duke Leslie felt. ’After all, you don’t often see a male make such a mess of being a main husband. And they say you learn from your mistakes, but for Hugheska to fall into the same trap twice... he’s really something else.’
But seeing Duke Leslie so vexed, Lady Rafaelde couldn’t help but suggest, "In that case, why not have Graces talk to him? He could teach him how to be a proper main husband."
"Forget it. Hugheska is a lost cause. Let’s not bother Graces with it. Whatever happens to him, happens. I see things clearly now—I can’t rely on him for anything. Let’s stop talking about him; it’s just upsetting. Lady Daina has probably gone to see Xiaxia. I should go over as well."
Seeing that Duke Leslie didn’t want to discuss Hugheska further, Lady Rafaelde said no more and simply nodded. They really should go and see Duke Lu Xia.
When they arrived, Lady Daina was already chatting with Lu Xia. Seeing them, Lu Xia smiled and said, "Come over and sit down."
"You’ve worked hard, Xiaxia, but your complexion looks great."
"It wasn’t hard work. The two of them were very good; they didn’t cause me much trouble."
"You’re really incredible. We all thought natural conception was a thing of legend, but you made it a reality. We’re still finding it hard to believe."
"As long as you don’t blame me for hiding it."
"How could we? We know you did it for the children. Between the Fertility Research Institute and our former Queen, if they had found out our children were conceived naturally, they would have turned you into a living specimen for their research. Now that she’s gone and you’ve acquired the Fertility Research Institute, things are much more secure."
Hearing Duke Leslie’s words, Lady Daina nodded in agreement. "That’s what I was just saying. There’s nothing to worry about, releasing the news now. Still, everyone should keep a low profile. Xiaxia needs plenty of rest, so we shouldn’t let too many people disturb her."
