Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Lux laughed quietly, shaking his head.

Then… he stopped.

The smile faded, just a little. And his voice dipped low.

”I just…” He looked out over the ballroom, but not really seeing it. ”I feel like I have to do well. That I owe it.”

Asmo tilted his head. ”To who?”

”Everyone.” Lux shrugged. ”Mom. Dad. You. Seredor. Greed. Lust. The Court. The Hell. It’s like… if I stop for too long, everything unravels. The balance tips. The deals fall apart. And I’m back to being the unwanted bloodline again.”

Asmo was quiet.

Then he reached over and slapped the back of Lux’s head.

Hard.

”Ow—!”

”You’re not unwanted,” Asmo snapped. ”You’re just a perfectionist with infernal trauma.”

”Thanks, that’s comforting.”

”You were born to elevate the throne,” Asmo said firmly. ”Not to carry it alone. You think being powerful means being buried under expectation? That’s not strength, kiddo. That’s martyrdom. You want to do well? Good. But don’t forget, Greed takes. Lust enjoys. You need both.”

Lux looked at him.

For real.

And for once… didn’t argue.

He just nodded.

The music swelled somewhere behind them, a slow pulse of bass and silk and heat, but for a brief moment it felt like the two of them were standing in a pocket of quiet carved out of the gala. The smell of wine and incense hung heavy. Lux lifted his glass again, more out of habit than thirst.

Asmo watched him for a second longer than necessary.

Then, casually, like he wasn’t about to poke a bruise, he said, ”Your mom.”

Lux froze. Just a fraction. But Asmo caught it.

”I heard she visited you in the mortal realm,” Asmo continued, tone deceptively light. ”Dropped by unannounced. Very her.”

Lux cringed, shoulders tightening. ”…Yeah.”

Asmo waited. He knew better than to rush this.

”She walked in,” Lux said finally, eyes on the wine. ”I was… tied to the bed.”

Asmo snorted. ”Of course you were.”

Lux shot him a look. ”Not like that. Well. Actually, yes like that. But she didn’t comment. She just scanned me. Checked my aura. My pulse. Made sure I wasn’t cracked or cursed or bleeding out.”

Asmo hummed. ”Efficient.”

”She asked my girls to take care of me,” Lux went on, jaw tight. ”They said yes. She nodded. Said good. Told me not to overextend my system again.”

”And then?”

”And then she left.”

Just like that.

Asmo didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

”You mad about it?” he asked gently.

Lux didn’t answer.

The silence stretched. Thick. Heavy.

”I was hoping…” Lux started, then stopped. He swallowed. ”…I was hoping she’d say something nice.”

Asmo closed his eyes briefly.

”Maybe that she was worried,” Lux added quietly. ”Even just a little.”

He exhaled through his nose, a short, humorless breath. ”But no.”

Silence again.

Then Lux shrugged, a sharp, practiced motion. ”Uh… well. I don’t really expect much though. I mean… I’ve experienced this before. When I took the CFO of Hell position,” he said. ”Same thing. Check. Assess. No praise. No comfort. Just expectations and silence. So… yeah.”

His fingers tightened around the stem of the glass.

Asmo studied him. Really studied him.

”You’re disappointed,” he said.

Lux nodded once. ”As I should be.”

Then, like he realized how that sounded, he scoffed lightly. ”But yeah. We’re demons. That was too… melancholy. Too stupid. Too human.”

Asmo shook his head. ”No.”

Lux looked at him.

”No,” Asmo repeated, firmer now. ”It’s not stupid. And it’s not weak. Wanting to be seen by your parents doesn’t make you less infernal. It makes you honest.”

Lux opened his mouth to argue.

Asmo cut him off. ”But let me tell you something you don’t know.”

Lux stilled.

”After you disappeared,” Asmo said, gaze drifting toward the swirling crowd, ”things in the Greed court didn’t go well. Not at first.”

Lux’s brows furrowed. ”What do you mean?”

”The market spiked into turbulence. Panic investors. Soul-credit volatility. Everyone realized how much you’d been holding together with duct tape and charm.”

Lux’s lips pressed into a thin line.

”Most demons,” Asmo continued, ”started looking at your father and realizing… he’s not you.”

That landed harder than Lux expected.

”I heard he barely slept,” Asmo said. ”Trying to stabilize the economy. Assassination attempts went up. Internal coups. Greed nobles smelling blood.”

Lux’s jaw clenched.

”And your mother?” Asmo smiled faintly. ”She stepped in.”

Lux blinked. ”She did?”

”Oh yes,” Asmo said, clearly amused now. ”She showed up in the Greed court wearing a pencil skirt and a proper white shirt. Can you imagine? Covered from collarbone to knee. Lust nobles nearly fainted.”

Despite himself, Lux let out a small laugh.

”She sat in on meetings,” Asmo went on. ”Handled negotiations. Glared at would-be usurpers until they reconsidered their life choices. All while your father worked himself half to death trying to match even a fraction of your efficiency.”

Lux stared into his glass.

”They’re trying their best,” Asmo said. ”So you can rest. So you can heal. So you can come back when you’re ready.”

Lux took a slow sip of wine.

”…As they should be,” he said quietly.

Asmo nodded. ”As they should be.”

Another pause.

Then Lux tilted his head, dry humor creeping back in. ”So what, I’m parenting my parents now?”

Asmo laughed. Loud and genuine. ”Looks like it.”

Lux smirked. ”I should be proud of that.”

”You should,” Asmo said. ”Centuries of dumping responsibility on you, and now they’re finally carrying their share. That’s growth. Ugly, late growth, but still growth.”

Lux exhaled, some of the tightness in his chest easing.

”…That actually helps,” he admitted.

Asmo smiled at him. Warm. Proud. Unapologetically fond.

”Good,” he said. ”Now stop brooding. Go mingle. And maybe let someone else leave a few more marks.”

Lux lifted his wine, the old swagger sliding back into place. ”Grandpa of the year.”

”I’ll accept that,” Asmo said, clinking his glass against Lux’s. ”Now go show these demons how the real heir walks into a room.”