Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Lylith looked at Lux like she was inspecting a rare gem she'd already decided to purchase.

"Well," she said, voice honeyed, with just the right note of lazy dominance. "At last, we meet, Mr. Lux Vaelthorn."

Lux chuckled—low, amused, like he was halfway to being impressed.

"Honestly?" he said, stepping in slowly. "I thought it would be some masked freak trying to carve out my liver for money."

She laughed softly. A real laugh. Smooth, confident, indulgent.

"Disappointed?"

Lux gave her a slow once-over. "Mildly. But… you do dress the part. Your Highness."

He offered a mock bow, not deep enough to be sincere, but just enough to toe the line between respect and amusement.

Lylith's eyes gleamed. "You should've just come when I called."

"You didn't call. You abducted me."

"Because," she purred, "I knew you'd reject me if I did it politely. So I skipped the boring part."

Lux blinked. Then grinned.

Of course she did.

"And here I thought lamias were all subtle seduction and slow venom. But kidnapping? That's a bold twist."

"Bold is the only language I speak," she said, swirling a crystal goblet of amber wine. "Besides… I know that dragon heiress has put her eyes on you."

Lux raised a brow. "Mira?"

She smiled. "She's territorial. It's adorable."

"So this is a jealousy-fueled flex?"

Lylith sipped her wine like she was too rich to care.

"Not at all," she said. "I simply don't like competition getting to you before I do."

Lux smirked. "You really could've just sent an invitation."

"And risk you declining me?" She tsked. "No one's ever refused me."

He arched a brow. "You're really betting hard on my pride not kicking in right now."

"I tried to find about you," she said, setting the goblet down on a nearby gem-studded tray. "I really did. No background. No trace. No history. Nothing before this year. Just… receipts. Expensive ones."

Her gaze didn't waver.

"I know power when I see it, Mr. Vaelthorn. And you? You walk like you have a throne no one else can see."

She leaned forward now, elbows resting lightly on the curve of her coiled tail, posture regal and poised like a queen halfway through a conquest.

"And I also know," she continued, her voice dipping into something silken and sharp, "you have a particular eye for truth. A dangerous skill in this age of replicas and con artists."

Her jeweled fingers tapped once on the velvet box between them.

"You spot lies the way others spot price tags. You ruin fakes without flinching. And that makes you... valuable."

Lux just smiled, slow and unreadable.

She didn't know who he was.

Not really.

But she knew enough to be dangerous.

And that?

That made her interesting.

"Flattery," Lux said, "will get you a lawsuit."

"It will get me results," she said, her voice as smooth as polished ruby. "That fake Phoenix Egg you exposed at the auction? Masterful. I nearly bought it myself."

She lifted her glass, swirling the amber liquid inside. "But then you happened. Right on cue. You didn't just ruin the moment. You ruined the illusion. Publicly. Spectacularly."

Lux raised a brow, expression mild.

"That wasn't me," he said, lifting his hands in mock innocence. "Probably just a coincidence."

Lylith let out a rich, low laugh. A real one. The kind that uncoiled down her throat like velvet smoke.

"Nice try," she said, eyes gleaming like dagger-points in the dim light. "I know it was you. Even the way you watched it happen gave you away."

Lux shrugged, lips twitching into a half-smile. "I was bored."

"That's a good excuse," she replied smoothly. "One of my favorites, actually."

Her snake tail shifted behind her with a lazy, sinuous motion—like a god resting after a conquest. Then she leaned forward, just slightly, and added, "And if you're curious about what happened to the good Duke who tried to sell that pathetic forgery…"

She made a slow slithering sound across the floor, her coils subtly tightening around the legs of the sofa. Her thumb came up, ran slowly across her neck in a mock slicing gesture.

"He's dead," she said, eyes never leaving Lux's. "Along with his mistress. They tried to flee last night. Didn't get far."

Lux didn't flinch.

He simply tilted his head, studying her like he was recalculating the risk-to-reward ratio of humoring her any longer.

"You don't take betrayal lightly, I take it."

"I take offense at wasting my time," she replied. "There's a difference."

"I'm starting to see that."

She leaned back again, wine glass hovering between her fingers, her jewels catching the warm lamplight like captured lightning.

"I pay attention to people who break illusions," she said. "People who make liars bleed. And I reward them. So…" She smirked. "You're going to help me tonight."

"Help you with what exactly?"

She didn't answer right away. Just waved one languid hand.

A snakefolk servant emerged from the shadows—tall, smooth-scaled, silent. He carried a velvet-lined black box and placed it gently on the table between them.

Lux didn't move. Just watched.

Lylith rested her chin on one bejeweled knuckle. "Tell me," she said softly, "is it real?"

Lux glanced at the box. Then down.

Inside, nestled in midnight velvet, sat a flawless white diamond. Huge. Cold. Glittering like a frozen god's tear.

He didn't touch it. Didn't need to.

The magic was faint. Controlled. Buried like old secrets. Whoever had forged this wanted it perfect. Wanted it to pass under even magical scrutiny.

The shimmer was flawless. Too flawless.

And the small flaw on the lower left edge? Deliberate. A known trait of authentic Draconite Royal diamonds. A detail a forger would copy. A detail someone like Lux could see through, even without his system.

His eyes flickered—just faintly. Gold slipping into the edges. Infernal whisper trailing across his vision like smoke under glass.

"It's a fake," he said at last. "But not a cheap one."

Lylith's smile bloomed like a blood rose in fresh snow.

"I knew it," she said. "My instincts were close—but you? You make it certain."

She leaned forward again, predatory grace layered under velvet and silk.

"You'll be accompanying me to the exhibition," she said. "You'll tell me what's real. What's not. And you'll make it obvious when someone lies to me."

Lux leaned back, one arm draped over the sofa's edge.

"And if I refuse?"