Chapter 1039: Value [Part 1]

Chapter 1039 – Value [Part 1]

Adrian Delacour did not smile back. "All three."

Naomi’s fingers tightened slightly around her teacup.

Celeste’s gaze moved from her husband to Lux, then to Naomi, measuring the temperature of the room with the kind of quiet precision only mothers and assassins seemed to possess.

Adrian’s eyes sharpened. "My daughter had a perfect life before you came."

Naomi’s lips parted. "Dad—"

Lux lifted one hand slightly, stopping her.

Naomi looked at him, frustration and worry crossing her face, but she let him answer.

Lux turned back to Adrian. "Then I made your daughter’s life more than perfect."

The room froze.

Adrian’s face hardened so sharply Lux’s system practically flinched.

[Adrian Delacour]

[Disapproval: 94%]

[Trust: 18%]

[Commentary: Bold statement detected. Perhaps too bold. Mortals sometimes dislike confidence when it resembles theft.]

Lux kept his smile.

Because yes, it sounded arrogant.

It was arrogant.

But Lux was Greed. He did not enter negotiations by pretending he brought nothing to the table. That was how people lost value before the deal even started.

Adrian slowly leaned forward. "You?" His voice was soft now. Worse than anger. "I hear rumors about you, Mr. Vaelthorn. A lot of rumors."

Lux’s smile did not move.

"Mysterious billionaire," Adrian continued. "Appeared out of nowhere. No background that holds under scrutiny. No family records we can verify. No origin. No proper trail."

Adrian’s gaze stayed locked on him. "We tried to track your business as well."

Lux tilted his head. "How rude."

"We failed."

"How expected."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. "So..."

He leaned closer, elbows on knees, the polite father mask gone. What remained was a man with old money, protective instinct, suspicion, and enough pride to confront something he did not understand.

"What are you, Lux Vaelthorn?"

The room went quiet.

"What is your business?"

A pause.

"Why did you come to our city?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Tell me."

Lux’s expression stayed calm.

Adrian’s voice lowered further. "And your answer will determine your value."

Naomi’s gaze snapped to her father.

Celeste’s fingers tightened once in her lap.

Lux’s smile thinned. That word. Value.

In Greed’s language, value was not always insult. But in Adrian’s mouth, aimed at him like a courtroom blade, it carried judgment.

A price tag placed on a man dating his daughter.

Adrian continued, "Because who knows? Maybe you are only a con artist. A man with a pretty face, mysterious wealth, and no past. Maybe you are trying to seduce my daughter. Or all high society women. Maybe you are using them to climb a social ladder that respectable families built over generations."

Naomi stood halfway. "Enough."

Lux’s hand closed gently around hers.

She stopped.

Her eyes moved to him.

His fingers were warm.

His face was still calm.

Too calm.

Lux looked at Adrian, and for the first time since entering the estate, his smile sharpened with something that did not belong in a mortal receiving room.

"That is a dangerous question, Mr. Delacour."

Adrian did not back down. "Talk."

Lux’s eyes glimmered faintly. "My business is much bigger than any billionaire you know."

Adrian’s expression did not change. "I said talk."

Lux slowly swept his gaze around the room. At the servants. At every human ear pretending not to exist.

The meaning was obvious.

Privacy.

Celeste noticed immediately.

So did Adrian.

He hesitated. Only for one second. Then he lifted his hand. "Leave us."

The servants withdrew in silence.

One by one, the room emptied.

The doors closed.

A soft click echoed behind them.

Lux waited. Then looked toward a decorative mirror on the side wall.

"And that."

Celeste’s eyes sharpened.

Adrian’s gaze flicked to the mirror.

Lux smiled pleasantly. "Family houses love listening glass. Very practical. Very impolite."

Adrian’s face darkened, but Celeste raised her hand and made a small gesture.

The mirror dimmed.

The faint magical thread inside it snapped.

Lux’s system whispered in his vision.

[Private Environment: Improved.]

[Remaining Hidden Observation: None detected.]

[Commentary: Finally. Civilization.]

Lux relaxed slightly. Then smiled again. "I’m the Hell CFO, Mr. Delacour."

Silence.

Lux continued, smooth as polished gold. "My name is Lux Vaelthorn. Heir of Greed House. Son of Greed and Lust. Temporary Chief Financial Officer of Hell before my vacation."

For one moment, there was no reaction.

Just stillness.

Then Adrian blinked.

Once.

Slowly.

"So you are a con artist."

Naomi’s face went pale.

Lux’s system updated so brutally it might as well have coughed blood.

[Adrian Delacour]

[Trust: -50%]

[Disapproval: 100%]

[Conclusion: User identified as delusional fraud.]

[Commentary: Negotiation has entered what experts call a hole.]

Adrian stood.

His chair scraped across the floor.

He looked at Naomi, and the disappointment in his eyes hurt more than his anger. "I am truly disappointed in you, Naomi."

Naomi flinched.

Lux saw it.

The tiny recoil. The way her fingers tightened around nothing. The way she did not look angry first, but hurt.

Adrian turned toward the door. "This meeting is over."

Celeste rose slowly. "Adrian—"

"No." His voice cut through the room. "I allowed this because Naomi insisted there was something unusual about him. Because I trusted her judgment. But this?" He looked at Lux with open contempt now. "This is absurd."

Lux remained seated. "But I’m not done, Mr. Delacour."

Adrian’s eyes flashed.

"Please take a seat," Lux demanded.

"No. Get—"

Lux moved.

Something behind him opened.

Darkness spread.

Two massive demonic wings unfurled from his back, filling the space behind him like a royal banner born from night. Horns rose from his head, elegant and dangerous, catching the room’s light in dark metallic curves. His eyes sharpened, burning through the human disguise.

The air changed instantly.

Not like heat.

Like value itself had awakened and decided to kneel to him.

Greed aura flared across the receiving room.

The teacups trembled.

The chandelier dimmed.

Gold threads of pressure crawled along the walls, not destroying anything, but claiming the room’s attention with absolute authority.

Celeste staggered one step back, one hand flying to her chest.

Naomi stood still, eyes on Lux.

Adrian froze.

Lux’s voice lowered. "I said..." His wings spread wider. "Sit."