[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati":3,"chapter-harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-189":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1410600,1864,"Chapter 189: The Half-Incubus Crown Prince of Finance","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-189",189,"\u003Cp>Chapter 189 – The Half-Incubus Crown Prince of Finance\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris finally broke the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t come here to fight you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then why did you come?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I think you’re about to become a problem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too late.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I think...\" She paused. \"You might not be able to control it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Malris,\" he said, swirling the tea gently in its cup, \"control is the only thing I have left.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And outside the windows of the restaurant, somewhere beyond the gold-glass walls and whispered tension, the world kept spinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unaware that a devil was changing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t say a word for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because yeah... there wasn’t much to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not after that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew he was right. That every deal he bound with a thread of his soul wasn’t drama—it was desperation masked as control. A leash forged from distrust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And unfortunately?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were reasons behind the iron-tight clauses in his contracts. Reasons he rarely talked about. Like the fact that when his father, Zavros, had Seraphyne, Lux had... no one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No backup. No team. No loyal right hand who wouldn’t sell him for a promotion or an exclusive trade route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Half-Incubus Crown Prince of Finance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too good to be killed. Too useful to be loved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So yeah... he learned. He adapted. He overcorrected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Control became religion. And if trust couldn’t be bought, he’d manufacture obedience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris drank the wine first. Then broke the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know how you are, Lux,\" she said finally. \"Maybe you’re not afraid. But I—no, we—we are.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux looked up, slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t trying to guilt trip him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone wasn’t judgment. It was worry. Honest, war-worn worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris didn’t fear easily. Which meant this wasn’t a bluff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Infernal Realm used to be pure chaos,\" she continued, placing her fork down like she was about to testify. \"Kill or be killed. Rob or be robbed. Every territory a petty kingdom trying to one-up the others. We were a joke. Until you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised a brow slightly, but didn’t interrupt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You brought a framework,\" she said. \"Not peace—but rules. Agreements. Contracts. You taught us to make deals instead of declarations of war.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t argue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because... yeah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d weaponized numbers. Made greed function instead of burn. He offered every Lord of Sin something too tempting to fight: predictable profit. Predictable vengeance. Predictable expansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not utopia—Hell didn’t do utopia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was efficient. And terrifyingly addictive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know,\" Malris added, her voice lower, \"you’ve become the most important demon in the Infernal Realm. And you don’t even act like it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t answer that either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because he was surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he wasn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew his name got whispered in council halls. That certain factions flinched when his sigil appeared on a ledger. That rebellious Dukes were being \"reminded\" quietly that upsetting Hell’s economy would upset him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just... didn’t like to think about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because power in Hell always came with a price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lux had been paying his in blood-stained balance sheets for centuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he used his reputation where it mattered. Painted narratives. Let the rumors swirl that he was untouchable, beautiful, and probably cursed. Half-truths were better than loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux leaned back and exhaled through his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" he said finally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris narrowed her eyes slightly. \"Then let me help. I’ll send you protection. You’re not in your tower anymore. If you don’t want the big brutish kind, I can send you female operatives. Or maybe something closer to that insane raven of yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone twisted slightly on the word raven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah... the disgust wasn’t subtle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could practically feel her allergic reaction to Corvus just from the way she curled her lip slightly at the memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus was a hacker. A shady, sarcastic, winged data thief with a borderline criminal relationship to surveillance laws and sarcasm. So, yeah. Understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But also loyal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Loyal in a way most demons weren’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux studied her a moment. His fingers drummed lazily on the polished blackwood table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No decision yet,\" he said. \"Give me time to think.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris frowned. \"You don’t have time. They already—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I said give me time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone wasn’t sharp. But it was final.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then nodded once, slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system pinged quietly in his vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Subject has entered Defensive Diplomacy Mode. Signature: subtle warning, passive-aggressive rhythm detected.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux ignored it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared out the window again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watched the mortals pass on the sidewalk below. Cars gleamed like insects in the sun. Buildings rose in golden arrogance against the skyline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From up here, everything looked clean. Simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Controlled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was the lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew what the mortal world really was now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hunting ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he wasn’t the prey anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris went back to eating, slower now. Her eyes didn’t leave him, but the fire in her posture had simmered down into something more... diplomatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew this wasn’t a negotiation she could win with pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still think you should’ve let me deploy the twins,\" she muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux raised a brow. \"The ones who broke the Pride Accountant’s jaw?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris smiled behind her glass. \"They were provoked.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux let out a breath that might’ve been a chuckle. Or maybe exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached for his tea again and took a sip. The herbal bitterness hit his tongue with a floral sting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calming. Sharp. Kind of like her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll think about it,\" he repeated, quieter this time. \"But for now... this is still my vacation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malris tilted her glass in a mock toast. \"Then enjoy it. Before the realms come knocking again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They already were, of course.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn’t say it out loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he watched her sip her wine, her red eyes glowing faintly under the warm restaurant lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could feel eyes on them again—mortal women watching the handsome devil in a tailored suit dine with a living flame of red and black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another scene. Another cover story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just two beautiful people pretending not to be monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somewhere inside him...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That old knot of control pulled tighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because trust?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, still a myth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But power?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Power was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as long as he held onto that, maybe—just maybe—he wouldn’t need anyone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the lie Lux kept reheating like yesterday’s coffee.\u003C\u002Fp>",1070,"2026-06-05T23:57:11.778Z",1,"novelbin.me","e25897ae8ff1134eaf236c1e455c5a12db9962b26bd8186f64115ba410442547","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-190","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-188",878,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fharem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-cover.jpg"]