MTLNOVEL Chapter 214: I Stay When I Care
He exhaled through his nose, eyes still on her.
"Here's supposed to be better. More real. Isn't that what mortals are always screaming about? Love? Loyalty? Trust?"
Mira didn't respond immediately. Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her teacup.
"I didn't think you cared about that," she admitted, her voice unusually soft.
"Why not?"
She stared into her cup. "You wear the persona too well. All that charm. The confidence. The half-lidded eyes and smug little grins. It's hard to tell if you're sincere or just… playing."
Lux didn't respond right away.
He tapped one finger on the table. Slow. Even.
Then said, "I flirt because it's my nature. But I stay when I care."
Mira's heart kicked again.
Too sharp.
Too loud.
She hated that he could make her heart race with a few honest syllables. Hated that he was suddenly less demon and more person. Hated that she liked it.
"Do you always flirt like this?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed.
Trying.
He leaned forward again.
Close enough she could feel the heat off his chest.
"Only with the ones who can stab me."
Her cheeks definitely flushed now.
She picked up her teacup to cover it.
"You're exhausting."
"And you're intrigued," he said.
"I'm in shock."
"Same thing."
She scoffed. "You're lucky you're handsome."
He grinned. "So you do think I'm handsome."
"I said lucky, not—ugh."
Lux chuckled under his breath and took another bite of dessert like he hadn't just unraveled part of her defenses with casual honesty and a smirk.
She lowered her cup slightly.
"And if I said I didn't want to be part of this?" she asked quietly. "Not the flirting. The… bigger thing. The bounty. The demons. The wives."
He shrugged.
"I'd respect it," he said. "No strings. No pressure. You're already braver than most. You stayed. You fought. You didn't run."
Her mouth tightened into a line. "I didn't exactly have a choice."
"Maybe not at first," he said. "But you didn't freeze. You kicked a demon in the face."
She tried to look unaffected.
Failed.
A small, very unwilling smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
And Lux—damn him—saw it.
Of course he did.
He didn't say anything. Just leaned back again, casually lounging in the velvet booth like he owned the restaurant, the city, and maybe the sun. Fork tapping lazily against his dessert plate, expression unreadable. Except for that little smirk that haunted the corners of his lips.
Mira looked away, just to breathe.
The clinking of dishes. The smell of lightly charred soy butter fish. The sweet haze of dragonfruit creme brulee rising from the center of the table. It all felt too... grounded. Too intimate for what just happened.
He wanted wives.
Not just a harem. Not just sex.
Connection.
The word kept echoing in her skull.
And yeah, she wasn't proud of it, but she got it now. Rava. Naomi. Those weren't weak, naive girls. They were sharp, dangerous women. And if they fell for him—the real him, with all the horns and ambition and deadly history behind those tired gold eyes—then maybe it wasn't because they were bewitched.
Maybe it was because he gave a damn.
A real one.
She picked up her spoon, mostly just to have something to do with her hands. The dessert was rich, a creamy citrus-laced mousse that practically melted before it even hit her tongue. But she barely tasted it. Not when her mind was spinning with everything he'd said.
Hell's CFO.
Son of Greed.
And Lust.
On vacation.
She almost laughed. Out loud. But the thought of it—him scrolling mortal social media in some infernal skyscraper to learn about memes and coffee shop etiquette—it was too much. Too human.
"You okay over there?" he asked, voice low.
She didn't look at him.
"Just thinking."
"Dangerous habit."
"I'm a dragon," she muttered. "I get to think."
"I like that."
She glanced at him sideways.
He was still watching her. Not leering. Not trying to charm. Just—watching. Calm. Amused. The kind of amusement that didn't need approval. Or conquest. He was just... there.
And it was annoying how much space he took up even when he wasn't doing anything.
"So," she said, stabbing her dessert with a bit too much force, "you're here, vacationing. Dodging death. Flirting with billionaires."
"Correct."
"And you think that makes you dateable."
"I know it makes me dateable. The flirting is just extra."
She narrowed her eyes. "You're impossible."
"And you're intrigued," he said again, soft this time.
Her tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth.
Damn it.
He wasn't wrong.
She tried to mentally catalogue what made him different. Not just hot—plenty of demons were hot. Not just clever—plenty of devils played their games well.
But Lux...
He made vulnerability a blade. And he used it.
He spoke of wanting wives, not like a pickup line, but like it was something sacred to him. Something he couldn't admit back home. Something that would be considered a weakness.
He wanted a real bond. He wanted loyalty.
He wanted someone who could stab him.
Mira leaned her elbow on the table and set down the spoon, her voice quieter than before.
"You know, I don't do this."
Lux tilted his head. "Eat dessert?"
"Talk like this."
"With demons?"
"With anyone."
That made him pause.
She shrugged, eyes fixed on the candle flickering between them.
"Too many vultures in the sky. Too many people who want your worth, not your self."
"I know the type."
"No," she said, meeting his gaze. "I don't think you do. Not from this side."
Lux didn't flinch. But he didn't joke, either.
And that silence between them was heavier than the shadows they'd just fought through.
She straightened, suddenly feeling too warm.
"Rava," she started slowly. "And Naomi. You didn't force them?"
"I never do."
"But they still... choose you."
Lux didn't smile this time. He just folded his hands on the table.
"They choose me. Every time. Even knowing. Even after. Even with the bounty."
"You don't think they're just addicted to the pheromones or whatever demonic nonsense you carry around?"
"They were already powerful before I touched them," he said. "They stayed because they wanted me. Not the perks."