CHAPTER 508: JUST ANOTHER TRANSACTION?

Chapter 508 – Just Another Transaction?

-Ding!

The elevator doors slid open with a soft hiss, releasing a faint scent of chilled mana and polished obsidian. Lux stepped out, heels clicking against the smooth marble floors of his mansion’s main hall.

Home.

The air here was different. Thicker with perfume, layered in luxury. Soft lighting from enchanted glass chandeliers spilled golden warmth across the high ceilings. Velvet curtains shimmered gently in the breeze from the balcony, and in the distance, he could hear soft voices... maids, stewards, moving about like ghosts.

The preparations were nearly complete.

The housewarming party was real.

Goddess edition.

Celestials.

It was a hell of a PR opportunity.

It was also his house.

His rules.

His territory.

So why the hell did he feel like an imposter in his own foyer?

He didn’t move. Just stood there. Breathing in the moment.

Servants moved around him, bowing slightly as they passed, all polite efficiency.

The drapes had been changed. The lighting adjusted. The furniture layout optimized for mingling. Floral arrangements enhanced with scent-bending charms filled the corners. And that expensive soul-infused incense from the Pride district was already burning in glass holders.

It all looked perfect.

Too perfect.

His eyes drifted across the scene, but his mind wasn’t really there.

Zavros’s voice echoed.

Seraphyne’s look.

"You still handle things..."

The words gnawed at him. Chewed up whatever buzz he was supposed to feel.

Was this... personal?

Or was it just another transaction?

Every guest coming tonight had value.

Every conversation, potential leverage.

Even the bedroom invitations came with long-term impact projections.

’Was this really just pleasure anymore?’

"Lux?"

The soft voice pulled him back.

He blinked.

Lullaby stood in front of him.

Barefoot.

Sleepwear-style dress too cute to be lazy.

Bunny plushie tucked under one arm, ears drooping slightly.

Big, round eyes staring up at him, tired and concerned all at once.

"You okay?"

That... that made him pause.

Lullaby.

Worried?

"Uh," he cleared his throat. "Yeah. I’m fine. Don’t worry."

She tilted her head. Still staring. Still unreadable.

"I just... thinking," Lux said quickly. "I’ll get ready. Party’s soon. I need to dress. I look too... infernal."

He turned to head for his room, already pulling off his jacket.

But her steps followed his.

Lux glanced back. "Lullaby."

"You just fought," she said simply. Not accusing. Not surprised. Just... stating.

He raised a brow. "I didn’t even say anything."

"I smell ashes," she said. "And old fire. Not the fresh kind. Deep-burning kind."

Lux exhaled slowly. "Yeah. A bit. But I’m fine. No wound at all."

"You say that," Lullaby mumbled, squeezing her bunny plushie closer. "No wound. But you’re conflicted."

He stopped walking.

She continued forward, standing beside him now in the hallway, lit by a mix of amber crystal sconces and moonlight filtering in from the upper gallery windows.

"I feel it," she whispered.

Her voice barely above silence.

"You’re questioning yourself. You’re questioning this."

Lux stared ahead. The corridor stretched in silence, paintings and artifact niches glowing faintly around them.

Lullaby turned to him fully. "You don’t know if this is you anymore, do you?"

He didn’t answer. Not at first.

She waited.

"...I keep saying I’m not working," Lux muttered finally. "I keep acting like this is personal. That I’m doing what I want. That I’m living."

He looked down at his hands. The cufflinks gleamed.

Personalized. Branded.

"But everything I do ends up looking like business," he whispered. "Even when I mean it. Even when it starts as fun. It all curves back into strategy. Influence. Leverage. And it’s not that I plan it that way. It just... happens. I came here... for vacation. To fck around. For having the best coffee in my life. For sleeping like I’m a jobless dude, not the son of Lord of Greed who controls the infernal economy."

Lullaby stepped closer.

He didn’t stop her.

"You’re tired."

"I’m not."

"You are," she said again. "Not in the body. In the soul."

Lux looked at her. "That obvious?"

"Only to me."

He chuckled under his breath. "Of course."

She wrapped her arms around his waist suddenly. Her head pressed into his chest. The bunny plush squished between them.

"You can rest," she whispered.

"I don’t have time."

"You can make time."

"Not tonight."

"You can pretend," she offered.

Lux exhaled slowly. His fingers drifted up to rest on her hair. He stroked once. Soft. She smelled like sweet mist and linen.

"This party..." he started.

"You want it to be meaningful," she said.

"I want it to be real," he admitted. "Even if the people there only see me as an asset." He chuckled and smiled weakly. "Well, they won’t see me as one. I know them. But somehow I keep feeling that way."

"But you want them to like you."

He smiled weakly. "Yeah."

Lullaby looked up. "Then let yourself be liked."

He blinked.

"Not your suit. Not your investments. Not your aura. You."

"...How?"

"Don’t think about the ROI."

Lux snorted. "Impossible. That’s what’s been in my mind my whole life."

She giggled—soft, sleepy, warm. "Try."

They stood there in the quiet hallway. Her body small against his chest, arms wrapped around him like she belonged there. He held her gently, like if he squeezed too hard she’d dissolve into dreams. And maybe she would.

"I don’t know how to stop," Lux said finally, voice low. "I keep thinking like a CFO. A businessman. A hell accountant."

"I know," Lullaby whispered.

He brushed his hand through her hair. Silky. Cool. Familiar.

"But I want to."

"I know that too."

Her voice was slow like a lullaby, like forgiveness wrapped in silk.

"I’ll help you," she said. "Even if you fail. I’ll nap beside you and hum every time you break."

He didn’t answer. Just stood there, soaking in the quiet truth of her.

Then slowly, he hugged her tighter.

And for the first time since leaving the vault...

He didn’t feel like a machine wearing skin.

"Okay," he whispered. "I’ll change."

She nodded once.

And let him go.