Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation-Chapter 561: No One’s Chaining Me to The Desk

Lux nodded. "I will."

"Today."

"I said I will."

Eros took a breath. Walked back over to the coffin. Rested both palms gently against the glass.

"…She's still dreaming," he whispered. "I can feel it. I can feel her, Lux. But I can't reach her. Not with words. Not with touch. Not even with all this…"

He gestured at the flowers, the pearls, the vials. All of it.

"She needs something stronger. And I'm not that anymore."

Lux stepped beside him. Looked down at the woman resting like a frozen star in that glass box.

"She trusted herself to survive," he said. "So now we trust ourselves to reach her."

Eros didn't answer right away.

But then he gave a slow nod.

And for once?

He didn't joke.

Lux turned to Ely.

"Ready to go?"

She startled. "Me?"

"Yes," Lux said, already adjusting the cuff of his shirt like this was just another day. "We need to return home. Or… I need to drop by somewhere first before we go back."

Eros glared at him. Really glared. Horns faintly glowing, lips pressed so tight you could slice air with them.

Lux met the stare evenly. "I'll try to reach Lullaby today. Okay? Just… give me time."

Eros didn't respond right away. He just kept his eyes on Azithra, resting in her glass coffin, bathed in flickering candlelight and surrounded by a thousand tokens of love. His jaw clenched once. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Fine," he muttered. His voice was rough but steady. "You know the exit. Go."

He didn't look away from her when he said it.

"See you later," Lux said quietly.

Then he turned to Ely, gently took her hand, and pulled her just a little closer. She didn't resist. His touch was warm, steady, and firm. Comforting in the strangest way.

He tilted his head, eyes glowing faint red.

[Shadow Step Activation Attempted]

[Error: Ward Barrier. Movement Denied]

[Status: Skill Use Nullified by Domain Lock]

Lux clicked his tongue.

"Figures," he muttered.

Eros glanced over his shoulder with a very pointed look. "Use your feet. No stupid magic in this place. You think how many demons tried to snatch her from me while she slept?"

Lux rubbed his temple. "Right. No teleportation. No shadow travel. Just a good old-fashioned walk like a normal mortal."

"Exactly," Eros grumbled. "Your legs still work, right?"

"Last I checked."

They started down the long hall. Ely followed closely, heels soft against the rune-etched floors. The candlelight flickered behind them as they moved.

But before she turned away fully, she risked a glance back.

Eros had moved again.

Now kneeling beside the glass coffin.

One hand rested gently on the edge. His fingers brushed her cheek through the glass, soft and reverent.

His other hand stayed pressed to his chest, as if trying to hold something in or maybe keep something from breaking further.

There was a look on his face that made Ely's heart twist a little.

It wasn't drama.

Or lust.

Or theatrics.

It was love.

The raw kind.

The kind that outlasts empires and war and even time itself.

She stared a moment longer, quiet, then turned back and walked with Lux.

"Azithra is so lucky," Ely said softly. "Eros really loves her."

Lux didn't speak at first. His gaze was on the path ahead.

Then, finally, "Yes. He does. It's rare for a royal demon."

They passed through the first marble archway. The vines hanging from above seemed to sway in sync with the heartbeat of the estate.

Ely looked at him again. "What about you, Lux?"

He paused.

Just a step.

Enough to feel the question linger.

"Ever think of that?" she asked. "Give up your status for a woman?"

His hand didn't tighten. But his silence did.

Then he spoke. Low. Honest. "Even if I want it… I can't."

Ely blinked, unsure what that meant. "Why not?"

"Eros was the prince of Lust," Lux said. "He gave it up. Stepped down. Lived a quiet life in the mortal realm. No real power. No obligations to the realm's core infrastructure. But me… I'm the backbone of Hell's economy, Ely."

His voice was flat, but something sad threaded underneath it. Almost too faint to catch unless you were listening carefully.

"The systems. The currencies. The contracts. Soul-credit vaults, tithe chains, realm-wide taxation structures, banking flows… all of it is tied to me."

He looked at her now.

Red eyes glowing softly in the low light.

"If I walk away… the structure collapses. Debt explodes. Realm authority fragments. Civil war."

Ely stopped walking.

Her boots scraped against the stone. The air tasted like iron and ash, heavy in her throat. She stared at him, not with shock, not even with sympathy at first, but with realization. She'd known Lux as the incorrigible charmer, the unbothered CFO.

But now she was seeing the scaffolding underneath.

Not the prince of Greed. The prisoner of it.

"You can't leave," she said quietly.

He gave a dry laugh. "I could. Technically. No one's chaining me to the desk. But if I do… it all burns. And not the sexy kind."

Ely walked closer. Slowly. Her heels clicked with more hesitation than usual.

"How long… have you known that?"

Lux exhaled and tilted his head like he was doing the math. "Since I was maybe twenty-five? My mom and dad went on a long honeymoon. The Infernal Board almost imploded, and I was the only direct-blood left. My signature started holding weight. I learned quickly, either take control or watch Greed burn from the inside out."

He shrugged, hand flexing as if he wanted to summon something to distract her. But didn't.

"I'm used to it," he said.

"No, you're not." Ely stepped into his path. "You're good at it. That's different."

Lux looked at her. Really looked at her. For a second, the usual mask cracked, the one made of velvet words and lazy amusement.

She could see what was behind it.

"You're right," he said.

Just like that.

No flourish. No evasion.

"I'm not good at being tired, Ely. I just learned to be efficient about hiding it."