Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 605 – Not Fast Enough for Politics

Rava made a sound halfway between a cough and a choke, quickly turning away so no one could see her lips twitch. Help her, even now he was like this. Tied up. Recovering. Still flirting with divinity like it was a slow Tuesday afternoon.

Celestaria did not laugh.

She huffed softly instead, then looked at him. Not glanced. Not scanned like a diplomat checking a threat level. She really looked.

At the ropes biting into his wrists. At the faint shadows under his eyes. At the way his posture was relaxed but not truly at ease, like a man who had trained himself to hold still through pain. At the smug curve of his mouth that hadn’t quite reached his eyes this time.

”Lux,” she said, tone shifting. Lower. Serious. ”Can we talk a bit?”

Lux exhaled.

A long breath.

Not irritated. Not annoyed. Just... preparing.

Rava felt it immediately. The air changed. Not magically. Psychologically. The playful incubus persona folded inward like a coat being shrugged off. Something colder slid into place behind his eyes. Sharper. Calculating.

In a snap, he was back.

Hell CFO mode.

Still tied to the bed. Still half dressed. Still very much in recovery. But that expression... it had closed deals that toppled empires. It had rewritten infernal trade routes and celestial interest clauses. It had made ancient demons sweat across marble tables.

”Talk,” Lux said simply.

The goddesses exchanged looks.

Selena blinked once. Solara straightened without realizing it. Even Celestaria paused for half a heartbeat, clearly thrown by the contrast.

It was weird. That was the only word for it.

Seeing Lux like this.

Bound. Helpless in body. Untouchable in mind.

Celestaria flicked her fingers and the air responded. A chair slid smoothly across the room, legs whispering over the carpet, stopping beside the bed. She sat down, crossing one leg over the other with controlled grace.

”Let’s start with the obvious,” she said. ”You killed your uncle.”

Lux nodded once. No drama. No denial.

”Yes.”

”Will that affect you?” Celestaria pressed. ”Your position? Your standing? Will it trigger a revolution in Hell?”

Rava held her breath.

Lux didn’t.

”No,” he said calmly. ”My uncle was disowned long before I killed him.”

Selena frowned slightly. ”Disowned?”

”He was exiled from the bloodline,” Lux continued. ”Stripped of legitimacy. The King of Hell did not recognize him anymore.”

Solara’s eyes narrowed. ”And yet he was still alive. Still powerful.”

Lux’s lips curved faintly. Not amusement. Something darker.

”The King didn’t want to dirty his hands,” Lux said. ”So it was either me or my father who had to kill that bastard.”

Rava felt something cold coil in her stomach.

”And I did,” Lux finished.

Selena’s voice was softer when she asked, ”Why not your father?”

Lux turned his head just enough to meet her gaze directly.

”You can use the same question on him,” Lux said evenly. ”When I made contracts with the Celestials. With you.”

The room went very still.

”Why me?” he continued. ”Why the prince of Greed? Why not the Lord of Greed himself?”

Silence.

Not awkward. Not hesitant.

Knowing.

Rava could feel it. The unspoken rule. The one question no one ever asked out loud. The line no one crossed.

They would not ask about Lux’s father.

They would not ask why he let his son take the risk. Why he let Lux stand at the intersection of Hell and Heaven like a living bridge made of contracts and sacrifice.

Celestaria looked away first.

”...I see,” she said quietly.

She straightened again, professional mask sliding back into place. ”Then how long are you planning to stay like this?”

Lux lifted a brow. ”Like what? Gorgeous?”

”Tied up,” Celestaria said flatly. ”The King of Hell may already know your condition. But up there...” she gestured vaguely toward the ceiling, meaning Heaven, ”some Virtues are asking questions. They need clarity.”

Selena nodded. ”That you are fine. And alive.”

Solara added, ”We can’t hold them off much longer.”

Celestaria sighed. ”Especially since lying isn’t our specialty.”

Lux went silent.

Rava watched his face carefully. This wasn’t calculation now. This was something heavier.

”The problem is...” Lux began.

He paused.

His gaze drifted upward. To his bound hand.

He flexed his fingers.

Once.

Again.

The movement was subtle, but Rava saw it. The tremor. Just a faint shiver running through his hand before he forced it still.

Her chest tightened.

The room held its breath with him.

[Nerve Recovery Status: 86%]

[Warning: Overexertion may cause regression]

The words flickered briefly in the air, visible to Lux. Not to the goddesses.

But they didn’t need the system to tell.

They saw the tremble too.

Lux closed his hand into a fist. Held it. Waited.

Slowly, the shaking stopped.

He exhaled through his nose.

”That’s the problem,” Lux said quietly.

Rava swallowed hard.

Celestaria’s expression softened despite herself. ”That’s... not nothing.”

”It’s not enough,” Lux replied.

Selena leaned forward. ”You’re healing.”

”Yes,” Lux said. ”Not fast enough for politics.”

Solara tilted her head. ”You could delegate.”

Lux snorted. ”I tried. Naomi brews herbal soups. Sira gave me the best elixirs. Mira stuck needles into me.”

”Acupuncture,” Lux added dryly. ”And the girls made me teas. Broths. Tonics. Things that smell like forests and regret.”

Rava huffed despite herself. ”You drank them.”

”I did,” Lux admitted. ”Every single one.”

”And complained the whole time,” Rava added.

”Productively.”

Celestaria watched the exchange, something unreadable in her eyes.

”You’re surrounded,” she said finally. ”By people who won’t let you burn out quietly.”

Lux glanced at Rava again.

”I noticed.”

Rava crossed her arms. Her heart was doing that stupid, tight thing again. She hated it. Loved it. All at once.

Celestaria leaned back in her chair. ”The Virtues want reassurance. A public appearance. Something minimal. Enough to quiet speculation.”

Lux considered that.

”Appearances are leverage,” he said slowly. ”If I show myself too early, it signals weakness.”

”And if you don’t,” Selena said, ”it signals absence.”

Lux smiled faintly. ”And absence invites bids.”

Solara sighed. ”You really do see the universe as a balance sheet.”

”It works,” Lux replied.