Chapter 1101: Bad Decision

Chapter 1101 – Bad Decision

Lux groaned.

Then another panel flashed.

[Hell Finance Department Summary]

[Overall: Stagnant, cautious, observant.]

[Royal House: No recovery momentum.]

[Greed House: Quietly gaining trust.]

Lux stared at it for a few seconds, one hand wrapped around his coffee cup, the other holding half a croissant like a tired king holding the last edible evidence of civilization.

"Okay..." His voice came out rough. "Good enough."

[That is a generous summary.]

Lux ignored the system with professional discipline and bit into the croissant.

The dining room was too calm for his current state.

The puppet maid returned with more food.

Not just one plate.

Several.

Eggs. Meat. Bread. Fruit. Soup. Another coffee pot. Something grilled that smelled like redemption with salt. And tea.

Lux watched the food arrive with the reverence of a man seeing an army reinforce a failing kingdom.

"Good," he murmured. "Very good."

The puppet maid arranged everything neatly. "Additional servings are being prepared, my lord."

Lux drank coffee, then finally noticed something that should have occurred to him sooner. "Where’s Lyra?"

The puppet maid tilted her head politely.

"I haven’t seen her since last night," Lux continued.

The puppet maid’s face remained perfectly calm, which was impressive because the sentence "since last night" now carried enough implications to damage furniture.

"Lady Lyra is staying at Lady Veyra’s place for the time being, my lord."

Lux blinked. "Veyra’s place?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Why?"

"Your pheromones were too thick last night, so..."

The maid paused with the dignified silence of artificial intelligence choosing not to embarrass its owner.

Lux slowly lowered his coffee. "So she evacuated?"

"Yes, my lord."

"To the poison garden?"

"Lady Veyra’s area has pollen-neutralizing wards and plant-based suppression effects."

Lux thought about that. Then nodded. "Okay. Makes sense."

He continued eating.

The puppet maid withdrew.

For a few blessed seconds, there was peace.

Then footsteps came from the hall.

Quiet.

Measured.

Barefoot, perhaps.

Lux lifted his coffee, already sensing the aura before she entered.

Aela stepped into the dining room.

The First Elf looked composed.

Mostly.

Her long hair was loose over her shoulders, still carrying faint traces of petals and glowing pollen. She wore a simple dress, pale and soft, as if she had chosen the most harmless clothing possible after surviving an entire mansion-wide pheromone disaster.

Her expression, however, was not harmless.

Aela walked straight to the table, pulled out the chair beside him, sat down, and stole his tea cup.

Lux stared at her hand. "That was mine."

"You have coffee."

"That is not the point."

She drank his tea. Then placed the cup down with an elegant little click. "I never thought staying with an incubus could be this intense."

Lux leaned back. "Good morning to you too."

Aela looked at him with calm annoyance.

At least, it began as annoyance.

Then her eyes made the terrible mistake of actually looking at him properly.

Lux sat there with his hair loose, chest bare, skin still marked by faint bites and scratches. The morning light made every line of his body sharper. His shoulders were broad, his arms relaxed but carved with quiet strength, and the scratches on his skin did not make him look injured.

They made him look worse.

More like a demon prince who had been thoroughly claimed and had enjoyed every second of the battle.

Aela’s gaze paused one moment too long.

Damn.

That body was nice.

The thought arrived before she could kill it.

Aela immediately regretted being conscious.

Her eyes dropped to the stolen tea cup with the speed of a woman retreating from political disaster.

Lux noticed. The corner of his mouth lifted. "Hope you had a good sleep last night."

Her eyes rose.

Slowly.

The look she gave him could have made a younger tree wither out of shame.

"With those thick pheromones?"

Lux opened his mouth.

Aela continued, "Luckily, I have the power to grow flowers."

Lux paused. Then his brows lifted. "Ah."

Aela nodded once. "A lot of flowers." She sipped tea. "Sleeping pollen flowers," she said. "So it did not affect me too badly."

Lux leaned back, genuinely thoughtful now. "I forgot you could do that."

Aela’s eyes narrowed. "You forgot I am the First Elf?"

"I had a busy night."

"Yes. Everyone knows."

Lux coughed once into his fist. "That wasn’t intentional, by the way."

Aela stared at him. "You mean that was normal?"

Lux hesitated. Then nodded. "Yup."

Aela slowly set the tea cup down.

The silence became very heavy.

Then she huffed. "You really have too much confidence."

Lux smiled faintly. "I answered honestly."

"That is not better."

Aela gave him the look of an ancient woman realizing modern demons had invented new names for old foolishness.

Then she looked at him again.

Bad decision.

Lux had lifted his coffee to his lips, and the movement drew her attention to his throat. His pulse moved there, slow and steady. A faint mark sat beneath his jaw, reddish against his skin. Sira, maybe. Or Gula. Or one of the others. The fact Aela could not know which woman had left which mark somehow made the whole thing more indecent.

She looked away again.

Too late.

Lux’s smile became sharper.

"Aela."

"No."

"I haven’t asked anything."

"And yet I refuse."

He chuckled softly.

The sound rolled warm across the table, low and dark. Aela hated how pleasant it was. It touched the edge of her nerves like sunlight through leaves, except the sunlight was sinful and owned a mansion.

She drank more tea.

His tea.

Because apparently stealing his drink was now her survival strategy.

Lux watched her over his coffee.

"Did it affect you at all?"

Aela’s ears seemed almost to sharpen with irritation.

"No."

Lux waited.

Aela lifted her chin. "...Not much."

The system chimed.

[Lie Detection: Gentle.]

Aela’s cheeks warmed faintly, which was a rare thing. A blush on someone as old and serene as Aela felt like watching a sacred statue discover gossip.

"I controlled it," she said.