Chapter 1100: I am a Responsible Man

Chapter 1100 – I am a Responsible Man

Sira and Yue took their turn leaving briefly to eat.

Fiera arrived with Mira, both already fed and looking far too pleased about the state of the room.

Then Gula returned again.

Not alone.

She had dragged Lullaby to dinner first because, apparently, even during a pheromone crisis, Gula respected meal schedules for Sloth.

Then they both came back.

So yes.

All his girls had dinner.

Lux had not.

Because he had become too indulged in his own incubus instinct.

He looked toward the ceiling again. "I am a responsible man."

[Evidence unavailable.]

"Coffee first," Lux muttered. "Then croissants." His stomach growled again. "Eggs too. Something with protein."

[Recommendation: Full breakfast.]

"Agreed."

First, he needed his robe.

Lux stared at the fox woman wearing it.

One of her white tails curled possessively over the robe’s hem. "Thief."

Fiera smiled in her sleep.

Unrepentant.

Lux considered reclaiming it. Then considered the consequences of waking a fox woman after a night like that while she was wearing his robe and probably willing to call it a mating trophy.

No.

Pants were safer.

He searched the floor.

Found pants near the wardrobe.

How did they get there?

No memory.

He pulled them on carefully.

No shirt.

Well, acceptable.

The mansion had seen worse.

He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

The corridor was peaceful.

A puppet maid passed by with a tray, stopped, and bowed. "Good morning, Lord Lux."

Lux lifted one hand like a defeated king returning from war. "Coffee."

"Immediately, my lord."

"And food."

"Full breakfast?"

Lux’s stomach growled with the authority of a dying kingdom. "Full war ration disguised as breakfast."

The puppet maid bowed again, perfectly calm.

"Understood."

The puppet maid turned and walked away with terrifying efficiency.

Lux continued toward the stairs.

Then paused outside the guest room hallway.

Runa.

His pheromones should be canceled enough by now. The candle would last several hours. The soap and perfume she had deployed like battlefield defenses probably helped too.

He listened.

Quiet.

No distress.

Good.

He did not enter.

Boundaries.

Very important.

Especially with traumatized ancient sorcerer cat women who had already almost blasted him once.

He walked downstairs.

The mansion smelled faintly of morning air, old magic, and impending breakfast. Outside, sunlight touched the windows, making the entire place look innocent.

Lies.

This mansion had no innocence left.

Lux reached the dining room.

A servant puppet appeared with coffee so quickly it looked like teleportation.

Lux took the cup with both hands.

Inhaled.

Dark roast.

"Beautiful," he muttered.

He drank.

The first sip hit his soul.

His eyes closed. "Now I can be civilized."

[Do you want to check Hell Finance Department Report? You haven’t check them for a while.]

Lux stared at the floating system panel above his coffee.

The coffee steamed.

The croissant waited.

His body still felt like he had personally negotiated peace treaties with every woman in his mansion using nothing but stamina, pheromones, and very questionable furniture durability.

He lifted the cup. "Give me the summary."

[Clarification Requested: Hell Finance Department Report, Lower Realm market conditions, or personal shame index?]

Lux drank.

"Royal House stock price after everything Kaelmor did. And the Hell Finance Department reports."

[Understood.]

The system flared.

Dark-gold panels unfolded before him, neat, elegant, and smugly judgmental.

[Lower Realm Market Overview]

[Greed House: Stable Positive]

[Lust House: Elevated Volatility]

[Pride House: Slight Uptrend]

[Sloth House: Minimal Movement. As Expected.]

[Wrath House: Defensive Holding Pattern]

[Envy House: Speculative Noise Detected]

[Gluttony House: Snack Futures Increased]

Lux paused. "Snack futures?"

[Relevant due to Lord Sloth’s projected breakfast demand.]

Lux closed his eyes. "Continue."

[Royal House: Stagnant]

Lux’s brows lifted. "Stagnant? That’s unexpected."

[Deeply unexpected. The market has apparently chosen to stare at Kaelmor’s latest actions while refusing to blink.]

Lux leaned back in his chair, shirtless, coffee in hand, hair messy, looking like a scandalous demon billionaire who had survived an orgy and was now returning to spreadsheets like a responsible sinner.

"After he declared he would take over Upper Realm negotiations personally, I expected either panic selling or forced artificial recovery."

[Both began.]

"And?"

[Both stopped.]

Lux’s gaze sharpened. "Why?"

[Investor confidence is frozen. Not dead. Not alive. Merely pretending to be a decorative corpse.]

A second panel opened.

[Royal Authority Index: Negative Pressure Maintained]

[Public Trust: Unstable]

[Investor Behavior: Wait-and-See]

[Shadow Corridor Rumor Impact: Continuing]

[Upper Realm Confidence In Royal House: Not Improving]

[The market appears to be asking, politely, ’What exactly is the king doing?’]

The servant placed eggs before him. Lux immediately took a bite.

Protein.

His brain returned another six percent. "And my dad?"

The system paused.

Lux noticed. He slowly lowered his fork. "What?"

[Report: Lord Zavros Performance Review.]

Lux narrowed his eyes. "Say it."

[Surprisingly competent.]

Lux stared.

The dining room went quiet.

Even the puppet maid froze for half a second, which was impressive because she was carved wood and professional trauma.

Lux blinked. "My dad? Doing his work?"

[Correct.]

"Good?"

[Regrettably, yes.]

Lux leaned back.

The chair creaked.

"This morning keeps getting stranger."

[Lord Zavros has stabilized multiple internal ledgers, delayed unnecessary speculative exposure, avoided bait contracts from Royal intermediaries, and refused three obviously poisoned investment offers.]

Lux’s expression turned blank. "He refused poisoned offers? Without signing first? Without asking if the poison had good terms?"

[Yes.]

Lux looked genuinely shaken.

The system continued.

[He also redirected House Greed liquidity into defensive holdings, strengthened merchant confidence, and instructed branch auditors to avoid Royal-linked debt instruments.]

Lux slowly set his fork down. "Are we under attack? Or... doomsday is coming?"

[Likely, but unrelated.]

Lux stared at the panel like it had betrayed him personally.

The system added another line.

[Zavros included a written remark.]

Lux’s eyes narrowed. "Read it."

[Message From Lord Zavros:]

["If my son is going to seduce Heaven, embarrass the King, destabilize Royal authority, and somehow make ancient women move into his mansion, then someone must keep the ledgers clean."]

Lux’s mouth opened. Closed.

Lux pointed at the panel.

"He said that?"

[Yes. Congratulations. Your father has discovered responsible parenting through market panic.]