[{"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-481":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},1410992,1864,"Chapter 481: Public Proposal","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-481",481,"\u003Cp>Chapter 481 – Public Proposal\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Jeremy was already motioning toward the final display case—the one that held the third pearl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy stepped forward, the spotlights adjusting automatically to bathe him in soft amber glow. He lifted his hand toward the case like he was revealing a jewel to royalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Incredible, isn’t it?\" he said, voice practiced and smooth. \"Our final piece today is not for the faint of heart. This siren pearl is... beyond rare. It contains a full enchantment core—unbroken, refined in its natural agony. Look closely. See the way it pulses? That’s a living tear signature, still intact.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gasps. Muted awe. Envy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t awe pulsing in the pearl. That was pain. Frozen and sold as luxury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy smiled wider, clearly savoring the attention. \"We appraised this piece at a baseline value of seventy million.\" He turned slightly. \"But the truth is—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused for dramatic effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not going to sell it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whole room stilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Lux tilted his head a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy’s gaze slid across the rows of buyers, performers, masked socialites and bored royalty—until it landed directly, obviously, intentionally—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Sira.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And stayed there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to give this,\" Jeremy said, voice softening to that awful romantic tone Lux had heard too many times in failed contract negotiations, \"to someone special.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux blinked once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy’s eyes didn’t move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s strong,\" he continued. \"Independent. Beautiful. I fell for her on the first sight. I’ve admired her. And I would be honored—if she would accept not just the pearl... but me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beat of silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy held his hand to the side. One of his assistants rushed forward, holding something in a velvet-lined box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A stupid, mortal, glittering ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want her to stand beside me. Not as a guest—\" he paused, chest puffed. \"—but as my wife. My partner. My queen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux sighed, dry as bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh,\" he said softly, \"he’s proposing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sira didn’t respond right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then slowly—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ew,\" she muttered. Then again, louder. \"Ew. Ew.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She crossed her legs in the other direction like she needed to spiritually realign herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh for Pride’s sake,\" she groaned, clutching the armrest like the seat itself was about to betray her. \"I feel like toilet slimes just crawled all over my skin. It’s disgusting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux’s eyes glittered. \"I think you broke him without touching him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I feel violated,\" Sira hissed. \"I’d rather drown in low-interest mortgages.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A nearby guest actually gasped softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy, still holding the ring, looked confused by the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room, polite and awkward, didn’t know whether to clap or cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux leaned toward Sira and whispered, \"Want me to reject him with flair, or just leak his offshore laundering records?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Surprise me,\" she whispered back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just as Lux was about to stand—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus spoke again in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Boss. Showtime. Got the recordings. Visuals. Audio. Witness testimony. And a bonus: surveillance from the pearl extraction room. Wanna cue it up? Got a signal running through the building’s display projector. Just give the word.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux exhaled slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Project. Now. Overlay their system. Let them choke on the truth.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’With pleasure.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lights dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not part of the program.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not scheduled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy looked confused, turning slightly as the display behind him shimmered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen flickered once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then played.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A grainy, magically recorded video from inside a sterile, rune-lined chamber. White walls. Alchemical restraints. A small figure chained on the table—familiar to those who’d seen her before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes wide. Terrified. Her mouth trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her legs?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, there were no legs. Only fish tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mermaid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no sound yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just the image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Delmar technician stepped into frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Begin the extraction.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone else moved into view, pressing a glowing needle against Ariel’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body arched in agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the first pearl shimmered into being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room gasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeremy’s face drained of color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sira?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sira didn’t breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux remained seated. Still. Silent. Watching the silence detonate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The video continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pearl after pearl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screams finally added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound had been filtered for legal reasons. But Corvus found the original. Raw. Echoing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mariell Delmar stood up in her seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" she whispered. \"No, this wasn’t—this was—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And every head turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He adjusted his sleeve calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Before anyone gets confused,\" he said, voice smooth as gold over a dagger, \"these aren’t siren pearls. Sirens don’t produce pearls. The Delmars are no exception.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked slowly toward the stage, shoes clicking softly on polished marble, each step peeling the silence open like a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re Ariel Avariel’s. Her tears. Her pain. Her body.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped directly in front of Jeremy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who looked ready to faint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pale. Shaking. Ring still clutched in hand like some desperate romantic prop from a tragedy that no one wanted to watch anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Jeremy snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You—who are you?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice echoed through the suddenly too-quiet hall, cracking under emotion. Anger. Embarrassment. Fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t invite you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to the staff. \"Guards! Get him out—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t blink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t raise his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just leaned in, eyes cool, steady, glowing faintly under the surface like coals in velvet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wouldn’t,\" he said softly. \"You know why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tilted his head just enough to make Jeremy flinch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because those recordings... the ones we just showed everyone here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re already saved in seventeen backups and a few off-shore blackboxes. Including one set to deliver to the authorities if you so much as touch me wrong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hush fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux’s tone didn’t rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t need to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well,\" he added casually, \"not that it matters. The entire room already saw it. And unlike you, I don’t need a mic to be heard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Mariell stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You,\" she breathed, pointing like accusation was an act of nobility. \"You’re with Ariel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux turned his head toward her slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" he said. \"I’m with Ariel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he took a step closer. Not enough to threaten. Just enough to dominate the air between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The girl you tossed away after you drained her pearls.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1032,"2026-06-05T23:57:11.779Z",1,"novelbin.me","324821080c6a60df7fd6d681855397696b7922237cc32df0e101c6040d73b0b0","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-482","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-480",878,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fharem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-cover.jpg"]