V-Very beautiful?

Imuel pursed his lips, trying hard to suppress his smile and maintain the elegant and calm demeanor of a Duke.

The Grand Duke had heard countless praises for his appearance in his life, but this time was absolutely the happiest.

Imuel looked up. Bai Yu was standing in front of him, leaning against the railing, with a faint smile on his lips.

Imuel wanted to hold the doctor's hand.

Not only did he want to hold hands, but he also wanted to hug the doctor, kiss the doctor's cheek and the corners of his lips, and finally rub against his chest like a kitten and curl up in the doctor's arms to sleep.

But now he was a Duke, so he could only pretend to be calm and walk to the doctor's side, coughing to clear his throat: "Mr. B-Bai, I want to talk to you about the Black Robe Society."

He actually wasn't sure what to call Bai Yu now, so he politely kept it the same as before.

Bai Yu gave a half-smile and nodded, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

They sat down at opposite ends of the desk in the Duke's bedroom. Imuel lowered his eyes to look at the decorations on the corner of the desk, his fingers pressing hard against the edge: "I want to know what you think of the Black Robe Society, whether you currently belong to the Black Robe Society, and why you were unwilling to leave the city and turned back halfway."

The undercover matter hadn't been clearly explained, and it remained a thorn between the two of them.

Bai Yu paused and said frankly, "I have no relationship with the Black Robe Society."

The one related to the Black Robe Society was the original owner; Bai Yu was just a person doing a task.

He sighed slightly: "It sounds a bit bizarre, but if you're willing to believe it, you can treat it as if I've lost my memory. I might have once served the Black Robe Society, but after losing my memory, I have nothing to do with them."

Bai Yu had a system, but he couldn't explain this to Imuel. The original owner was a running dog for the Black Robe Society. After Bai Yu transmigrated, he had neither memory nor plot, completely blind and relying entirely on fumbling around in the dark. Saying he had amnesia was absolutely fine.

After speaking, Bai Yu stopped talking and waited for Imuel's reaction.

In all fairness, this reason was exaggerated and outrageous. No person in power would believe it, but Imuel frowned in thought, and after a moment, he calmly accepted it: "So that's how it is."

If the doctor wanted to harm him, it wouldn't have waited until now.

"As for why I came back..." Bai Yu paused for a moment to answer the next question. He thought briefly, "Hmm—"

The Duke leaned forward slightly, and Bai Yu could even hallucinate erect kitten ears on his head.

Bai Yu: "The straw on the cart was too hard and made my back hurt. The bed in the Duke's Mansion is more comfortable to sleep in."

Imuel: "!"

It was actually because of this!

He gritted his back teeth, wanting to scratch the doctor.

So the platinum kitten wasn't that important at all?!

Bai Yu just shook his head, smiling without saying a word.

—Of course, it was because he was worried about his kitten. But Bai Yu was, after all, an Easterner, carrying the unique subtlety of an Easterner. Seeing Imuel starting to bristle, the Duke's non-existent tail seemingly standing straight up, he changed the subject: "I have met the leader of the Black Robe Society. It should be your uncle, but I suppose you already know that."

This matter was considered an open secret among the top-tier nobles. Imuel knew it very well; he just had no evidence.

Speaking of business, Imuel straightened his posture and nodded: "I know. Unfortunately, he is cunning, and I haven't caught any leverage on him."

Bai Yu pondered for a moment: "Although I have 'amnesia,' I faintly feel that I might have something in my hands that the Black Robe Society cares about."

He looked at Imuel: "During the fire at the Grand Duke's Mansion earlier, I heard an assassin came specifically to assassinate me?"

Imuel: "Yes, but we didn't pry anything out of him. That assassin was a captive death squad member with excellent skills. It took a dozen personal guards besieging him to barely capture him successfully. Unfortunately, he was brainwashed and controlled by the Black Robe Society, so he couldn't be used by me. His mouth was also very stubborn. We used all sorts of methods, and he only confessed some insignificant things. Later, the interrogator failed to keep an eye on him, and he committed suicide in prison."

Bai Yu: "So there are other dungeons in the mansion?"

The topic changed too fast, and Imuel was stunned: "What?"

Bai Yu slightly raised his eyebrows: "Isn't the small building I live in the dungeon? Since you interrogated him in the prison, why didn't I hear any screams?"

Not only did he not hear screams, he didn't even hear a bird chirp.

"..."

What else could it be for? Of course, it was because the Grand Duke couldn't bear it, so he deliberately miscalled it, insisting the small building was a dungeon. Bai Yu knew this perfectly well; he just found Imuel's embarrassed look cute and wanted to tease the kitten.

The kitten indeed couldn't stand being teased. Imuel stared at him blankly, his ears suddenly turning red. His eyes dodged away: "...Actually, the Duke's Mansion has... um, two dungeons."

Bai Yu let out an 'oh': "So there are two dungeons."

His tone was strange, making it unclear whether he believed it or not.

"Y-Yes." Imuel twisted the hem of his clothes and said stiffly, "Why mention that assassin all of a sudden?"

Bai Yu said, "I just find it a bit odd... You also said that the assassin had excellent skills and was very loyal. Such assassins are one in ten thousand and cost a huge amount to cultivate. Even for the Black Robe Society, they are precious manpower. Given my status in the Black Robe Society, deploying a killer of this caliber to assassinate me isn't cost-effective."

Bai Yu, Madam, and Hammerhead Shark all belonged to the lower-middle management of the Black Robe Society. They had some status and knew some information, but that was all. And that assassin was clearly a top-tier killer. What made the Black Robe Society deploy such a person just to assassinate Bai Yu?

Bai Yu: "That assassin came straight for me, did he go look for Madam?"

Imuel: "No, he passed by the dungeon, but didn't look at Madam; he came straight for you."

This was even more bizarre.

He and Madam had similar statuses, but in the eyes of the black robes, Madam was treated as nothing. And Madam was even the nominal controller of a certain mineral property in Illyria, who knew how much better off than Bai Yu, a penniless doctor.

But compared to Madam, what exactly was so special about Bai Yu?

Bai Yu thought to himself that the original owner must know some things he didn't know, which were also the Black Robe Society's fatal weakness.

But what was it exactly?

He and Imuel sat face to face and pondered for a moment, but had absolutely no clue. Having not figured out anything, and seeing that the sky was about to brighten, a wave of sleepiness washed over Bai Yu. He bowed slightly: "Then we will discuss this later. I'll go rest first."

Imuel: "...Mn."

He watched helplessly as Bai Yu left the room and entered the male servant's quarters next door.

The furnishings in that room remained exactly as they were when the doctor had left.

Imuel scratched the bedding with his fingers, feeling a bit of annoyance.

He wanted the doctor to stay and sleep with him.

But a kitten and a human were, after all, different. The doctor could recklessly hug the kitten, but given their current relationship, he couldn't recklessly hug the Grand Duke. After pondering for a moment, he still went next door.

Before long, the lights next door also went out.

The late-night Duke's Mansion was so quiet and peaceful that a pin drop could be heard. Imuel, pressing against the wall, could hear the doctor's faint breathing.

The rhythmic breathing was like the best white noise. Imuel lowered his eyes, and before long, he also grew sleepy.

Half asleep, he thought: 'What kind of identity should I arrange for the doctor?'

The identity of a male servant could no longer be used; he had to pick a new one.

Early the next morning, the Duke's Mansion welcomed back its master, and the mansion became lively again.

Meanwhile, rumors and gossip about the Duke never stopped for a moment. The story of the undercover male servant had come to an end; now, what the maids liked to discuss was a brand new character.

—Legend had it that three days after the death of the male servant Bai Yu, who seduced his superiors and bewitched the lord, Grand Duke Imuel returned from his mother's main estate and brought back a new favorite.

The new favorite was just like Bai Yu, very tall, with a narrow waist under his cummerbund, and straight, slender legs wrapped in suit pants. His back figure was a good ninety percent similar to that dead male servant. Grand Duke Imuel loved him deeply; as soon as he arrived at the Duke's Mansion, he was granted the title of Baron.

There was only one thing: the Duke had bestowed a mask upon him, requiring the man to wear it day and night without ever taking it off.

Thus, rumors spread all over the mansion, saying that the Duke still harbored lingering feelings for that male servant and had found a substitute. It was just that the substitute had an ugly appearance and didn't look like Bai Yu, so he had to cover it up.

Furthermore, some servants observed that this newly appointed Baron never spoke or made a sound, not even an "ah" or "oh" of exclamation. Therefore, there were rumors saying that because his voice didn't sound like Bai Yu's either, the Duke didn't want to let him speak, so he was poisoned mute by the Duke.

The rumors became increasingly outrageous. By the time they reached Bai Yu's ears, they had already morphed into who knows how many versions.

In the versions of the story, the platinum kitten had practically become a heinous villain who played with people's hearts.

Bai Yu: "..."

He wore a silver mask. In order to distance himself from his doctor persona, the mask was deliberately made to look ferocious. However, when many maids passed by him, they actually showed pity on their faces.

—Oh, look, this is the poor man whose body and mind are being toyed with by the Duke.

Bai Yu: "..."

These past few days, he naturally took over part of the butler's work and began to take charge of the Grand Duke's diet. The kitten was incredibly obedient in his hands; eating leaves when told to eat leaves, sleeping when told to sleep, even willing to nibble on cucumbers that he usually disliked. Bai Yu calculated the time, estimating that with two years of nurturing, he could replenish the deficits in Imuel's body.

Kittens, after all, look better when they're a bit fluffy.

He settled down in the Duke's Mansion. After discussing with Imuel, he also brought Tabby and Tortoiseshell over. The Duke gritted his teeth and agreed, throwing the two kittens to the old butler, absolutely refusing to let Bai Yu take care of them.

They lived and carried on their daily routines as usual, but two people living together was ultimately different from raising a kitten. The Grand Duke and his male servant maintained a subtle distance. While eating, Imuel would unconsciously rub closer to Bai Yu. Rubbing and rubbing, knees would touch knees, and elbows would touch elbows.

Bai Yu disliked physical contact with others, but the kitten was an exception. He indulged Imuel leaning closer to him, crowding his dining space, and would occasionally give the kitten's paw a soothing squeeze under the table, but that was all.

After all, it was also the doctor's first time raising a kitten that could turn into a person.

The servants and female officials saw everything, so the exaggerated rumors intensified. In the end, they had morphed into the Duke wantonly molesting the newly promoted male servant at the dining table, and the male servant, hindered by his status, not daring to fight back.

Whether intentional or unintentional, this news even spread outside the Duke's Mansion, causing a huge uproar in the noble circles.

As Grand Duke Imuel's new favorite and the principality's newly promoted Baron, Bai Yu received many banquet invitations from the nobles. He had no interest in them; after a hasty glance at the invitations, he put them into the drawer.

But on this day, an unusual one was actually delivered.

The paper of this invitation was exceptionally thick, stamped with a vermilion wax seal coated in a layer of gold powder. Bai Yu casually opened it. Stripping away the meaningless pleasantries, the signature was actually—Rhys.

Grand Duke Imuel's biological uncle, the old man he had met at the Black Robe Society.

Calling him out by name, inviting Bai Yu for a meeting.