Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 402 – Debts Paid in Blood and Dividends

Maybe it was the caffeine. Maybe it was Mira’s claws still tingling across his chest. Or maybe it was because it had been too long since he sent auditors and wraiths to tear into idiot warlords. He could practically imagine their faces when the shadows crawled into their fortresses, ledger in one hand, blade in the other.

Panic. Always panic when Lux reminded them that greed had teeth.

[You appear... cheerful. Would you like accompanying music?]

Lux grinned, licking juice from his knuckle. ”Good idea. Something sexy. You know the one.”

[Understood.]

A melody slid into the air, smooth and sin-soaked, carried by unseen strings. Dark jazz laced with infernal undertones. It was his favorite—something he’d once called ”strip club music for gods.”

Lux laughed under his breath and started walking, the apple in one hand, his other hand flicking through the holograms as he passed. He scrolled without looking sometimes, eyes dancing from chart to chart, tapping notes, sending silent orders. Numbers adjusted with each flick of his fingers.

And he danced a little.

Not a full performance, but a sway of the hips, a spin of the wrist, a roll of the shoulders. A devil moving to his own rhythm in the morning sun while auditing warlords for embezzling soul credits.

It was ridiculous. It was obscene. It was perfectly him.

The music pulsed. The reports glowed. And Lux grinned like the bastard son of Greed and Lust he was.

”Yeah...” he murmured around another bite of apple. ”That’s the balance I like. Debts paid in blood and dividends.”

His steps carried him toward the wide glass doors, pushed open to let in the cool morning air. Outside, the pool gleamed under the faint sun, the water still, waiting. The scent of chlorine mixed with fresh-cut grass and the faint sweetness of garden blooms.

He strolled closer, holograms floating behind him like an entourage of spectral accountants, music following as if the whole mansion knew to keep up with his mood.

Lux stopped at the pool’s edge, tossing the apple core into the trash with a flick of his wrist. He looked at his reflection in the water—horns glinting faintly, hair a mess, scars still fading from Mira’s dragon claws. His grin widened.

The water rippled as his tail lazily dipped into it, his reflection warping. He sipped the last of his coffee from the cup he’d carried out, eyes still half on the glowing holograms. Deficits. Overspending. Idiots pretending they could slip past him.

He smirked at his reflection, murmuring, ”Please. Try harder. You’ll only make me richer.”

The pool shimmered back, his reflection laughing with him.

And Hell’s financial department? Already bleeding from his silent signatures.

Lux was humming, his hips rolling lazily in rhythm with the music. A devil in the morning light, topless, wings flexing as if they too enjoyed the melody while destroying warlords financially. His claws flicked over hovering charts as if they were dance partners. Every movement smooth, indulgent, shameless.

The perfect picture of someone who could ruin economies before breakfast and still look good doing it.

He was so lost in the rhythm he almost didn’t hear the faint splash of bare feet stepping onto the tiles.

Ariel.

She had woken early, nerves tangling her stomach. Sleep hadn’t stayed with her for long. Lux’s words from yesterday echoed in her mind—you can use the pool whenever you want. So she had wrapped herself in a loose robe, her long hair still damp from the shower, and padded softly through the halls.

The air outside was cool, crisp, and she had thought the pool would be empty.

It wasn’t.

She froze in the doorway.

Lux stood at the far edge of the pool, back half-turned, his horns catching the early light. His tail flicked lazily, the spade tip tapping against the tiles like a metronome. His wings—broad, shadowy, undeniable—arched behind him as if they owned the sky.

And he was dancing.

Not clumsy. Not drunk. Not restrained. Dancing like a man who had music stitched into his blood. His body moved with casual grace, the kind that made your throat dry, every ripple of muscle flexing under marked skin.

Her heart thudded painfully.

Because yesterday? Yesterday there had been no horns. No wings. No tail. Just Lux—the man who had spoken softly to her, who had been her anchor when she felt like she was breaking apart.

Now...

Now he looked like something out of myth. A demon.

Her breath caught. Weren’t demons supposed to be evil? Monsters out of the old stories? Yet here he was. The man who had sat beside her, calm and steady, while she confessed pieces of her shame. The man who told her she was safe.

But how could he look this hot?

Her cheeks burned, eyes tracing him helplessly. His torso was littered with faint lines—marks, scratches, some glowing faintly as if still knitting together. Others healed smooth, silvered scars fading. He looked wrecked and gorgeous all at once.

A mess.

A beautiful, dangerous mess.

Ariel’s throat bobbed as she tried to swallow.

Lux’s ears twitched—he’d noticed.

He turned, red eyes locking onto hers, his grin slow and easy, like catching her here was part of his morning plan all along.

”Oh,” he drawled, voice rich with sleep and sin. ”Morning, darling.”

Her stomach flipped. She clutched the edge of her robe tighter. ”Uh... morning...”

His grin widened. He leaned on the hologram screen like it was a desk, wings stretching lazily behind him. The motion made his shoulders flex, the muscles of his chest standing out under the soft light. Ariel’s gaze dropped helplessly, lingering on the healed marks across his ribs, the claw-marks that weren’t fully gone.

Her voice came out quieter than she meant. ”Your... body...”

Lux raised a brow, smirking. ”Like what you see?”

Her face went red instantly. ”N-no! I mean—yes—uh—wait—”

[Sir, you are currently flustering the traumatized mermaid. Probability of anchor strengthening: 84%. Probability of fainting: 16%.]