Imuel stepped across the doctor's pants, leaving a pitch-black paw print behind.

He was then picked up by the scruff of his neck by the doctor.

Bai Yu patted his pants, "It really is a bit dirty."

He let the dumpling out of the bedroom and turned to enter the kitchen to prepare the beef. Tabby and Tortoiseshell peeked around the doorway, hesitating whether to come in.

Platinum Dumpling unceremoniously occupied the kitchen door, glaring at the two newly arrived kittens, "Meow!"

'This is my home! The meat the doctor is cutting is for me to eat!'

Tabby and Tortoiseshell: "..."

The tiny kitten posed no threat whatsoever. The brother and sister shot him a sidelong glance, bypassed him, and with a stretch of their long legs, easily jumped onto the counter. They settled themselves next to the doctor, lazily sweeping a glance over the platinum kitten.

Imuel: "..."

He was obviously the one who came first, yet he had absolutely no family status!

He gathered strength in his hind legs and made a fierce pounce—

His legs were too short; he didn't make the jump.

Another fierce pounce—

Still didn't make it.

Bai Yu rubbed his temples with a headache.

The clattering behind him was hard to ignore. He turned around, supported the dumpling's abdomen with one hand, and lifted him up. Imuel's four paws had nothing to push off against and flailed helplessly in the air before being gently placed next to the counter.

He leaned close to the doctor's hand and sniffed the plate.

Bai Yu had already done the initial prep for the ingredients. He pushed the plate toward Imuel, "You must be hungry from wandering outside. Eat up."

Imuel stuck out his tongue and gave it a gentle lick.

In his cat form, his sense of taste was slightly different from a human's. Raw meat and bones might be bland and bloody to humans, but it was just right for a kitten's taste buds. The food on the plate was delicious, but Imuel couldn't eat any more.

He had just eaten at the Grand Duke's Mansion, and it was the doctor who served him.

Ever since getting injured, Imuel had a poor appetite and forced himself to eat. It was only because the doctor was by his side today, looking like a feast for the eyes, that he managed to eat a few more bites.

So, the dumpling pawed at it, took two bites, and stopped moving.

Bai Yu was slightly surprised and rubbed the kitten's belly. Imuel cooperatively let out a burp.

He was full.

Bai Yu raised an eyebrow, "Looks like you've been living quite comfortably while wandering outside?"

Imuel tilted his head, playing dumb.

So Bai Yu took the bowl away from him and placed it next to the drooling Tabby and Tortoiseshell siblings, "Here, you guys eat it."

Imuel: "!"

He bit onto the doctor's sleeve.

'No! How could he give it to other cats!'

Bai Yu sighed, "You have to yield to your younger brother and sister, they're still small."

Imuel simply refused to let go; he even clamped down tighter and began to gnash his teeth resentfully on Bai Yu's sleeve.

'Small, my foot! These two have such long legs already, how are they small!'

At this moment, Tabby and Tortoiseshell also crowded over. They usually didn't like eating beef, and they hadn't even finished the fish and chicken Bai Yu cut for them. Yet now, they stubbornly squeezed in, flattening the fur on top of Platinum Dumpling's head.

For a moment, the three kittens bunched together, jostling each other like loaches, darting left and right. Bai Yu couldn't even catch them.

Veins bulged slightly on his forehead. Finally, he reached out and grabbed Tabby and Tortoiseshell, one in each hand, and carried them along with their food bowls out of the kitchen. He said coldly, "Alright, your older brother just came back, you need to yield to him too. Daddy will make you guys something delicious tomorrow."

Imuel swished his tail, arrogantly perching beside the food bowl. He watched coldly, revealing a haughty expression toward the two kittens.

'See, even if you are here, Bai Yu's favorite kitten is... wait—'

Imuel belatedly realized what was said and looked up at the doctor in disbelief.

'What did the doctor just call himself?'

'...Daddy?'

'Daddy?!?!'

Bai Yu called himself the daddy of Tortoiseshell and Tabby, and said Imuel was their older brother, so that meant...

Imuel: "!!!"

The kitten's paws slipped, and he tumbled straight off the counter, belly down, landing with a smack onto the rice bin.

The height wasn't high, but Imuel still felt dizzy. He patted his head with his paws, feeling as if struck by lightning, his mind a scorched wasteland.

'...What the hell?'

Modern people who keep cats and dogs all call themselves the parents of their pets. Because of his profession, Bai Yu had added many pet owners on WeChat, and the notes were often "XX's Dad" or "XX's Mom", like Zhaocai's Dad or Wangcai's Mom. Now that he was personally raising three kittens, he felt perfectly fine calling himself their daddy.

Imuel: "..."

When Bai Yu tried to reach out to hold him, the Grand Duke extended his paw and slapped the doctor on the back of his hand.

His claws were hidden in his toe beans, unextended, but the force was not small; it was already the maximum strength the Grand Duke could muster.

'Damn it, how dare he take advantage of me!'

'A mere valet, yet so oblivious to his own status!'

Imuel shot the doctor a sidelong glance, leaped off the rice bin with his kitten steps, and trotted pit-a-pat to the door, trying to push open the kitchen door.

The shock was too great. Imuel didn't want to pay attention to the doctor anymore; he needed to find a place for some peace and quiet.

But before he could push it open, he was picked up again by the doctor supporting his bottom.

Bai Yu sighed, "Stop running around. Let's get you washed first."

Imuel indignantly swatted the back of his hand again.

'Damn it, until this title issue is cleared up, you are not allowed to touch this Grand Duke!'

Although the kitten used all his strength, to Bai Yu, it was just a light slap that couldn't even break his defense. He carried the kitten to the bathroom, placed him in the bathtub, took down the showerhead, and adjusted the temperature, "Alright, bath first."

The Grand Duke bathed every day; if he hadn't run to the roof to look at Bai Yu, his fur wouldn't have gotten dirty.

As the Grand Duke of Illyria, being held down for a bath was simply too bizarre.

Imuel began to struggle violently.

He was tiny, but he flailed with considerable strength. Bai Yu lost his grip for a moment. The doctor looked at the dumpling that had bounced out of the bathtub and asked in surprise, "You don't want to wash?"

He pointedly added, "...But, you're so dirty, and a little ugly."

"?"

Imuel turned his head and looked into the mirror.

"!"

His fur was splashed with water, plastered limply to his body, and his tail and belly were smeared with dust, looking all gray and dingy.

He was indeed a little ugly.

And so, Bai Yu successfully picked the crestfallen kitten back up.

The sink in his house wasn't big enough, and he didn't know what the original owner had washed in it, as the bottom of the basin was covered in rust. So, Bai Yu simply decided to use the bathtub.

The height of the bathtub was still too high for a kitten. The dumpling clung to the edge of the tub, staring fixedly at Bai Yu, seemingly a bit scared.

Bai Yu reached out to support him, scratched his little head, adjusted the water temperature and flow, and gently sprayed it over him. During this, he parted the grown-out fur on the abdomen to check on that wound.

Imuel: "Mew."

He clung to the bathtub, kicking his legs uncomfortably.

Having his belly exposed and stared at like this felt very strange.

Bai Yu: "Don't move."

The doctor carefully examined the wound. It had already healed, leaving a faint mark. The uneven scar was perched on his lower abdomen, heavily concealed by the fur.

Imuel trembled slightly and also looked down.

'So ugly.'

When he transformed into a human, he also had a scar like this on his abdomen. The newly formed scar was still light pink and would tremble sensitively at the lightest touch. Now, the doctor traced his fingers along the wound to check the healing progress. Those warm fingertips traced the scar little by little, going lower and lower, lower and lower...

"..."

Imuel lost his footing and plunged directly into the bathtub. The water wasn't deep right now, so he sputtered abruptly and stood up.

Bai Yu was taken aback and laughed, "You can slip doing this too?"

He reached out to support the dumpling, but hanging over the edge of the tub didn't give him enough leverage. Bai Yu considered it for a moment, then simply stepped his long legs over and got into the bathtub as well.

Imuel: "!"

The doctor sat cross-legged in the bathtub, and he was placed on the doctor's lap.

When he was injured, the Grand Duke would often sleep on the doctor's thighs. The feel of those muscles was full and springy. He stood there blankly, not daring to move a muscle.

The doctor was still wearing the valet's undershirt, which was now completely soaked.

The pure white fabric, wet with water, clung tightly to his body. Imuel looked up, and through the fabric, he could even faintly see a hint of red.

The kitten hurriedly lowered his head.

Imuel never knew that the footmen's attire at the Grand Duke's Mansion could be so seductive. At this moment, he seemed to have inherently understood a certain Eastern idiom: 'See no evil.'

Bai Yu washed him very gently. Perhaps thinking of the kitten's previous ordeals, he would occasionally rub the dumpling's head to soothe him. Once the washing was done, he carried Imuel out and wrapped him snugly in a towel.

The doctor carefully wiped him with a blanket, then turned the hairdryer to the lowest setting, covered the dumpling's ears, and gently blew his fur dry before placing him on the ground.

He was thoroughly patient and meticulous.

Bai Yu was completely drenched himself, so he also took a shower. Imuel strolled around the clinic with his cat steps. Through the window, he suddenly saw someone at the door.

It was a young man dressed as a postman, dropping a letter into the doctor's mailbox.

The man was dressed ordinarily and looked hurried. Like any young person in Illyria struggling to make ends meet with a tight salary, he was unremarkable. Imuel only took one glance before looking away.

The doctor finished his shower and came out.

System 55, which remained shut down whenever the host showered or slept, booted up again at this moment. It rested on the doctor's shoulder and let out a yawn, "Someone delivered a letter to you."

Bai Yu paused, "The Black Robe Society?"

System 55: "Probably. Aside from them, no one else sends you letters."

Bai Yu took out his keys and retrieved the letter from the mailbox. He didn't even think to avoid the kitten and just sat down at the desk to read it.

Imuel stepped on the doctor's thigh, jumped onto the desk, and tilted his head to look.

He slightly narrowed his eyes.

It was an advertisement, poorly printed with some varying font sizes. It looked perfectly normal, but as Imuel swished his tail, he inexplicably felt something was off.

Even though it was an ad, the doctor spent far too long reading it.

Bai Yu held the advertising flyer, his gaze focused, seemingly reading it word by word.

The Black Robe Society used their usual encryption method: several specific characters were bolded, disguised to look like a printer ink leak. System 55 scanned it quickly, "Host, the Black Robe Society is reminding you not to forget the gathering. At the same time, they've issued your second mission. Aside from investigating the forbidden area, they also want you to slip a certain powder into the Grand Duke's tea before he summons the ministers in seven days."

Bai Yu: "Powder?"

System 55: "The letter says it's a spice imported from outer regions. They still need time to transport it and will send it to you through Madam."

Bai Yu nodded.

According to the novel, he should have died long ago; these were all plot points that never occurred. The novel stipulated that Bai Yu must not proactively reveal his undercover identity, which meant if the Black Robe Society wanted his cooperation, he had to play along.

Bai Yu tore the ad into irrecoverable pieces, then flushed them down the drain.

Imuel tilted his head, "...Meow?"

'It's just an ordinary advertising flyer. Is it necessary to dispose of it like this?'

The Grand Duke frowned slightly; something flashed through his mind, but before he could figure it out, the doctor had already stood up.

Bai Yu scooped up the kitten, "I'm going to take a nap. Do you want to join me?"

A kitten's brain capacity was only so big. Imuel instantly forgot about the ad flyer, "Mew!"

'Yes!'

He firmly curled his tail around the doctor's arm to show his determination.

Tabby and Tortoiseshell also wanted to come over, but they hadn't been washed in a while, so the doctor rejected them.

Imuel lay on the doctor's shoulder. He was originally shorter than Tabby and Tortoiseshell, but now he was much higher. The kitten's tail curled up triumphantly. He looked smugly at the two meowing kittens on the floor and let out a reserved meow.

'Goodbye!'

Imuel was accustomed to sleeping on the doctor's large bed. He rolled to the center of the bed like a natural and bounced twice on the doctor's pillow.

Bai Yu half-lay down.

He had a habit of reading books or newspapers before bed. He picked up a book to read, and under the pull of gravity, his pajamas clung closely to his body, outlining the curves of his waist and abdomen.

Imuel tentatively stretched out his paw and placed it on the doctor's pectoral muscle.

He tilted his head to gauge Bai Yu's reaction.

No reaction.

Imuel kneaded twice. When the muscles were relaxed, they felt soft to the touch; pushing against them was like pushing a piece of tofu, complete with faint ripples. It was very comfortable.

The doctor continued to read, paying no mind to the kitten, nor did he roll over or toss him off.

The kitten observed cautiously for a moment, then perked up his tail.

'No reaction, which means I can knead!'