Succubus World - Start with Incubus System

Chapter 68: PRINCIPLES

The room was so quiet that even the hum of the air conditioner became distinctly audible.

Elowen sat beside Erik, her emerald eyes still fixed on Laviana as though trying to confirm that she had heard correctly. Farther away, Vylana had put down her tablet, and her expression had also become somewhat stiff.

One-fifth of her entire business empire.

In exchange for one night.

Laviana had said it so calmly that she might as well have been discussing an ordinary investment contract.

Erik studied the red-haired woman in front of him for a long time. He had already grown accustomed to the way Succubi in this world took the initiative in pursuing men. He had also seen betrothal gifts worth more than an ordinary person could earn in an entire lifetime.

However, offering one-fifth of everything she owned in exchange for a single night still left him unsure how to react.

In the end, Erik leaned back against the sofa. ”I’ll think about it.”

Elowen immediately whipped her head toward him. ”Erik?”

Her voice was not loud, but the hand wrapped around his arm clearly tightened. In contrast, Laviana’s slightly tense eyes immediately brightened, and the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

”All right.” She turned toward the back of the room. ”Vylana, bring it here.”

Vylana froze. ”Mother?”

”Bring it here.”

She glanced at Erik before opening the thin briefcase on the table beside her. A thick stack of documents was taken out and placed in front of him.

Erik lowered his gaze. The very first line made the muscles in his face twitch slightly.

SHARE AND ASSET OWNERSHIP TRANSFER AGREEMENT

Erik remained silent for several seconds before slowly raising his head. ”You even prepared this?”

Laviana rested her chin on one hand. ”I don’t like promising things I can’t deliver.”

”You planned this before I arrived?”

”Yes.” Laviana pointed at the pen beside the agreement. ”As soon as you sign, one-fifth of all assets under my direct ownership will be transferred to you. The legal department has already handled everything else.”

Erik picked up the documents and flipped through several pages.

A media company, shares in several bars, real estate, content licensing rights, profits from multiple commercial districts, and several service chains he had never even known Laviana owned.

This was not an offer made in the heat of desire.

This woman had genuinely sat down, calculated her assets, called her lawyers, and prepared the paperwork.

”Laviana.”

”Hmm?”

”Are you serious?”

”Completely serious,” she answered immediately without the slightest hesitation.

Erik placed the agreement back on the table. ”You already have a Partner.”

Laviana’s smile paused slightly. Elowen also looked toward her, while Erik continued calmly, ”I’m not asking whether your relationship with him is good or bad. I only want to know why you’re seeking another man when your Contract still exists.”

The room remained silent for several seconds. Laviana did not become angry. She merely leaned back against the sofa, and some of the heat in her eyes faded.

”Partner...” She repeated the word before letting out a quiet, bitter laugh. ”He is currently a member of the Sacred Sun Men’s Council.”

Erik immediately frowned. Images of Zeka and the other men inside that building appeared in his mind. ”He’s a member of the Council?”

”Yes.” Laviana raised her glass but did not drink. ”To him, simply being forced to remain in the same room as a Succubus is already a form of punishment. Once, he even said that breathing the same air as us polluted his body.”

Elowen frowned slightly. Vylana, however, showed little reaction. She had clearly heard similar words since childhood.

Erik looked at Vylana for two seconds. Laviana immediately understood what he was thinking.

”You don’t need to look at her,” she said naturally. ”Vylana was conceived through artificial insemination.”

Erik paused slightly, and Elowen’s eyes widened. Vylana lowered her head, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but she did not deny it.

”He and I formed our Contract according to an arrangement between our families.” Laviana looked at her daughter. ”He didn’t want physical contact with a Succubus, but the family still needed a descendant with a suitable bloodline. So they used artificial means.”

”You were never pregnant?”

”Not in the normal way you’re imagining.” Laviana shrugged slightly. ”In fact, I have never even slept with him.”

Vylana lowered her head even further. Discussing her parents’ private life in front of Erik clearly made her uncomfortable, but Laviana had nothing she wanted to hide.

”After the Contract was established, the number of times he voluntarily touched me could be counted on one hand.” She raised her hand and smiled faintly. ”No, perhaps I wouldn’t even need all five fingers.”

After hearing that, Erik finally understood why Laviana showed none of the emotions a wife normally would when speaking about her husband.

Almost nothing remained between them beyond two names written on paper.

Even so, Erik picked up the agreement and pushed it back toward her.

Laviana paused. ”One-fifth isn’t enough?”

”That’s not it.”

”Then how much do you want?”

”I don’t need money.”

His answer silenced Laviana. Erik placed the pen back on top of the agreement. ”I understand that your relationship may exist in name only. But the Contract has not been dissolved. I don’t want to interfere with a family while that relationship still exists.”

”Even if there are no feelings between us?”

”Yes.”

”Even if he has never touched me?”

”Yes.”

”Even if he doesn’t consider me his wife?”

Erik still nodded.

Laviana rested her elbow on the arm of the sofa and stared at him for a long time. ”You’re truly strange.”

Erik laughed. ”I’ve heard that quite often.”

He did not consider himself noble, nor did he intend to force his standards onto Laviana. This world accepted a man having multiple Succubi. It even accepted a mother and daughter following the same man.

There were far too many customs that Erik needed time to adapt to.

But adapting did not mean he had to discard all of his own boundaries. If he had already decided that something should not be done, then there needed to be a sufficiently important reason for him to change his mind.

One-fifth of her fortune?

It was not enough.

Erik stood up. ”Continue with The Angel Succubus. Call me when you have a preliminary script.”

”What about my other proposal?” Laviana asked.

Erik paused slightly. He looked at the red-haired woman for several seconds before answering, ”Wait until you are truly a free woman. Then we can talk.”

Laviana’s eyes immediately changed. Elowen was also slightly stunned.

His words were not an agreement, but they had not completely closed the door either.

Erik did not give Laviana another opportunity to analyze his answer. He directly took Elowen’s hand. ”Let’s go.”

Elowen immediately stood up. ”All right.”

Before leaving the room, she looked at Laviana one more time. The tension from earlier had vanished from her eyes, replaced by even the slightest hint of smugness.

Laviana noticed it, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

’This girl...’

The door closed, and the sound of footsteps in the hallway gradually faded. The room immediately fell silent.

Laviana remained in the same position for several seconds before allowing herself to fall backward against the sofa. Her long red hair spread across the black cushions. Her daring outfit clung even more tightly to her body with the movement, revealing her slender waist and mature curves.

She raised an arm to cover her eyes and released a long sigh.

Vylana sat beside her and did not dare speak immediately. She looked at the agreement on the table, then at her mother. After a while, she cautiously asked, ”Mother, are you all right?”

Laviana lowered her arm.

Vylana immediately realized that her expression did not resemble that of a woman who had just been rejected.

There was no disappointment.

Nor was there any anger.

Instead, her green eyes were even brighter than before.

Laviana slowly sat up. ”I understand now.”

”Understand what?”

”Something very important.” Laviana braced both hands against the sofa, her voice becoming increasingly certain. ”He isn’t disgusted by me, nor does he think I’m too old. And it certainly isn’t because he doesn’t find me attractive.”

She looked down at the outfit she was wearing before smiling. ”I saw the way he looked at me.”

Vylana did not know how to respond.

”He rejected me because I still have a Contract.” Laviana looked at the agreement. ”Not because I offered too little. Not because I’m not beautiful enough. It was simply because of his principles.”

A man who could sit before one-fifth of her entire fortune and still push it back solely because of a boundary he had set for himself...

The corners of Laviana’s lips slowly curved upward.

”I want him even more now.”

Vylana lowered her head. An ordinary person might feel upset after being rejected, but Laviana only became more excited.

”What are you going to do, Mother?”

Laviana looked at her. ”If the Contract is the only problem...”

She took out her phone, her gaze gradually becoming calm.

”Then I’ll deal with the Contract.”