Chapter Two: Inspection.

Lu Xia had underestimated both the level of indulgence and the physical stamina of a male beast-kin. When she sat up on the bed, supporting her aching lower back, she didn't even dare to look at the marks left on her body.

Because it was the first time for both of them, and the obedience contract required the opening of their mental seas, they had been locked in battle until dawn before the contract was finally sealed.

The man was no longer in the room, which inexplicably brought Lu Xia a sense of relief.

As she rose to head to the bathroom, her body stiffened, and her expression darkened; she hurried into the room.

In this world, a male's fertility was tied to his gene fusion rate. A high rate meant high fertility, while a low rate meant it was virtually non-existent. Moreover, everyone was born through artificial reproduction; natural conception was extremely difficult for the females here. Even worse, males with low gene fusion rates were not even given the chance to participate in the breeding programs.

Yet, to her surprise, males still retained such primal instincts for the sake of procreation.

It took her an hour to finally get cleaned up. Walking with trembling legs, Lu Xia had to admit that she felt completely drained.

After changing her clothes and stepping out of the room, she had barely opened the door when she saw the man who had vanished from the bedroom kneeling outside. He had changed out of the sheer fabric he wore the previous night; now, clad in a white shirt and military-green trousers, he knelt there with an air of ascetic, noble untouchability.

However, Lu Xia knew full well that this was merely a deceptive facade.

"Mistress, breakfast is ready. Please go downstairs to enjoy it."

Hearing the word "enjoy" again, Lu Xia’s heart skipped a beat. She had grown to fear that word. "Get up. You don't need to kneel when you're at home."

She truly couldn't stand it. Having someone kneeling before her at the crack of dawn was incredibly ominous!

The man on the floor stiffened, clearly not expecting such a request from Lu Xia. He checked the obedience contract within his mental sea and found no signs of activation. Realizing this was not a forced command, Grace stood up silently.

Lu Xia was genuinely hungry; anyone would be after spending the entire night doing nothing but "battling."

After descending the stairs and navigating through several twists and turns to reach the dining room, she had to admit that the house was so vast that it felt like an expedition just to get a meal.

The original owner of this body knew how to live in luxury, but she hadn't even thought to get an electric cart for getting around the house.

Upon reaching the dining room, the elderly butler standing by pulled out a chair for her. "Madam, breakfast was prepared for you by your consort, Grace. Please taste and evaluate it."

The butler’s graying hair concealed a pair of fuzzy sheep ears that twitched rhythmically with his voice.

Lu Xia stared at the ears for three seconds before frowning involuntarily. The stench of feudal remnants had been present everywhere since she woke up.

She just wanted a simple breakfast, yet they made it sound like a formal inspection—"tasting and evaluating"—as if the Qing Dynasty hadn't already fallen centuries ago.

"Doesn't the house have a chef? From now on, leave professional matters to the professionals. Grace, you don't need to do these things in the future." Lu Xia didn't want to evaluate three meals a day; she was no food critic, and this was ridiculous.

The pumpkin porridge in front of her looked delicious, served at the perfect temperature with just the right amount of sweetness. She took a bite and immediately liked it, only to notice that both the butler and Grace were staring at her.

"..." It was impossible to eat with two statues standing guard. "Grace, sit down and eat. Butler, do you have anything else to do? If not, either join us or go rest, but just don't stand there, alright?"

"Oh, no, no, Madam, I have already eaten. How could I ever be worthy of sharing a table with you? I do have something to report, though—cough—your other four consorts are kneeling outside, wishing to pay their respects."

If he hadn't mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten.

"Tell them to go back and do whatever they’re supposed to be doing. They don't need to come running here every day. I don't want to see them anytime soon. And tell them I will speak to the Male Management Agency on their behalf, so they should rest assured and focus on their own duties."

It would be best if they just forgot about her entirely!

The elderly butler watched Lu Xia, who had calmly finished speaking and begun her meal. He felt that perhaps he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. Usually, Lu Xia would have demanded to see them immediately; even if she couldn't do much, there would surely be some touching or kissing. Why the sudden change in character?

While the butler hesitated, Lu Xia grew impatient.

"Why are you still here? Do you want me to go myself?"

The butler moved immediately—that felt more like the mistress he knew.

Seeing the butler leave, she looked at the man still standing there. "Have you eaten?"

"No," Grace replied truthfully.

"Then why aren't you sitting down to eat?"

"It is not appropriate."

"What’s not appropriate about it?"

"A consort cannot sit at the table."

As soon as Grace finished speaking, Lu Xia chuckled. Listen to that—the scent of feudal remnants. She knew it would come, even if it was late.

"Either sit down and eat, or get out of my sight!" Since reasoning with these people didn't work, she would stop trying.

Grace was surprised by Lu Xia’s tone, but he could inexplicably sense that she was vastly different from the rumors. He hesitated for a moment before choosing to obey, even though Lu Xia had not used the constraint of the contract to force him.

Seeing Grace take a seat, Lu Xia felt helpless. See? They wouldn't listen when spoken to nicely; they only obeyed when she changed her attitude and tone.

Just as Lu Xia felt she could finally enjoy her meal, the butler reappeared. "Madam, the representatives from the Male Management Agency have arrived."

Fine. So much for breakfast. Lu Xia picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. "Let them in."

As she spoke, Grace, who had just sat down, stood up again.

Before long, three male beast-kin in black uniforms entered. At first glance, they looked human enough, but a closer look revealed jarring features: one had a cluster of red feathers sticking out of the middle of his hair, another had half a cat's face, and the third looked normal until he reached out a hand, revealing a pig's trotter.

"Good day, honorable Lady Lu Xia. We are here by order to inspect the physical condition of your consort. We hope you will permit us."

"Fine, go ahead and inspect," Lu Xia said, turning her gaze toward Grace, hoping to cleanse her eyes.

Instead, she found the man's body taut and his expression rigid.

Before she could understand what Grace was nervous about, she heard the one with the pig-trotter hand speak: "Grace, please remove your clothes and kneel down so we can inspect you."

What?

"Wait a moment. You intend to inspect him like that?" Lu Xia hadn't expected the "inspection" to be so devoid of dignity.

They actually expected him to strip naked in public and kneel down to be prodded?

Hearing Lu Xia’s question, the man assumed she was dissatisfied because their inspection was too "perfunctory." He tried to curry favor, saying, "If you are unsatisfied, my lady, we can hang him up for the inspection, or tell us how you would prefer it done, and we will follow your instructions."

Looking at the man’s eager-to-please demeanor, Lu Xia sneered. "In that case, there will be no inspection. I do not like my property being looked at or touched by others. As for the status of my consorts in the future, don't trouble yourselves at the Male Management Agency. Butler, show them out!"