[{"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-799":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},1411110,1864,"Chapter 799: Prank Call","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-799",799,"\u003Cp>Chapter 799 – Prank Call\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira staggered backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You were weak,\" she snapped, but it lacked conviction. \"You were exiled. Branded.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" Cyrinne replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I endured.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The artifact pulsed once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground beneath Vira’s feet cracked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira tried to gather her aura again, tried to summon that unstable, volatile distortion, but it sputtered. Her energy flared unevenly, like a candle fighting wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyrinne stepped forward one final time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The movement wasn’t dramatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You ruled through humiliation,\" she said. \"Through theft.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyrinne lifted her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not violent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But precise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The authority of the artifact condensed around her palm, dense, compressed, absolute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira felt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body froze, not from external restraint, but from internal severance. Her aura began peeling away from her core like cracked lacquer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can’t,\" she whispered now. Not defiant. Desperate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyrinne didn’t shout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t gloat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She placed her palm against Vira’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right where the envy-core pulsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no explosion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No dramatic scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp, clean rupture of authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The artifact answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira’s distorted reflections shattered in an instant, collapsing inward like glass drawn into vacuum. Her aura imploded silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes widened one last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then went still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just... empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles gasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just a body collapsing into cracked stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core had been severed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux watched without blinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Direct. Efficient. No hesitation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was leadership.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles began backing away instinctively now, not from Cyrinne’s rage, but from her certainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this wasn’t a peer-level exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was execution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux rolled his neck once. \"Good timing,\" he muttered quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air at the far edge of the destroyed garden warped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silhouette began forming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Refined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Controlled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira’s mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matriarch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her presence didn’t explode into the space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It pressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way wealth presses when it walks into a room and doesn’t need to announce itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, a familiar weight settled on Lux’s shoulder again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus materialized in a swirl of dark aura and smug self-satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That,\" the raven muttered quietly, \"was the best I could do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t look at him immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good enough,\" he said under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Anyway. What did you do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus puffed his chest slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hacked her phone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux slowly turned his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus nodded proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three calls.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One,\" Corvus began counting with a claw, \"from the Hell Lottery Authority. Told her she won.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux blinked once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two,\" Corvus continued without shame, \"from a voice modulator pretending to be her husband. Said he caught her affair.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux closed his eyes briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three,\" Corvus finished triumphantly, \"a call from an infernal debt collector saying her debt is due today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux stared at the raven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle-torn garden, the dead heir, the matriarch stepping through space-time...And this bird.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I tried,\" Corvus offered defensively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux cringed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s not how you destabilize an Envy matriarch,\" he muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus ruffled his feathers indignantly. \"I created emotional stress.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You created chaos spam.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s multi-layered psychological warfare!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s prank call.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus gasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux huffed softly through his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then looked back toward the matriarch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because she was stepping fully into the arena now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped through the distortion calmly, heels clicking softly against fractured stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze flicked downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vira’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unmoving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Cyrinne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Briefly...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Lux.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t smirk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just watched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Let’s see how Envy handles its own audit,’ he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matriarch’s expression did not crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something shifted in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not grief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Assessment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You moved too soon,\" she said softly to Cyrinne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyrinne didn’t bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I moved when the artifact answered.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matriarch’s gaze lingered on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then drifted to the faint resonance still humming in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The first Envy chose,\" Cyrinne continued evenly. \"Not me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence stretched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux observed every micro-movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles’ tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matriarch’s breathing pattern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way she did not look at Vira again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Efficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Envy didn’t mourn weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It replaced it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And you,\" the matriarch said finally, voice level, \"are prepared to carry that weight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyrinne didn’t hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The artifact pulsed once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux’s system chimed quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Authority Transfer Stabilized.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Envy Domain: Recalibrating.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux’s mind was already moving ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Envy House would restructure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Internal factions would shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old alliances would fracture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Funding gaps would open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infrastructure would need repair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Military arms would need upgrading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Image would need restoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And all of that...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Required liquidity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Required Greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux’s fingers tapped lightly inside his jacket pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’There it is.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Power consolidation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t needed for the violence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was needed for the aftermath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matriarch stepped fully into the ruined arena now, standing beside her fallen daughter without looking down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was smooth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Envy House will reconvene.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a request.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A declaration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles lowered their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cyrinne did not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux remained seated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Observing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calculating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this wasn’t about spectacle anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was about balance sheets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Vira’s mother was truly here to accept the shift...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the transition would be fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Public.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Controlled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lux?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exhaled softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Welcome back to the board,’ he thought, watching Cyrinne stand unbowed before the matriarch. ’Let’s see if you’re as solid in politics as you are in war.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The garden still smelled faintly of scorched stone and torn pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux adjusted the cuff of his jacket with lazy precision, posture relaxed, as if he hadn’t just watched an heiress die and another ascend in under ten minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, the matriarch turned her head toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Livia Karess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze wasn’t loud. It didn’t flare with wrath or hiss with envy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It weighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see,\" she said evenly, \"that Greed House is connected to this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t flinch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t smile either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not,\" he replied smoothly. \"I’m here because your daughter invited me. Just like the others.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swept one hand casually toward the scattered nobles still pretending to be furniture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A spectator.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I am very aware of Envy House rules.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone was mild.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost bored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If your husband were here,\" Lux continued, voice unhurried, \"I suspect he would have done exactly the same as I did.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tilted his head slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I wouldn’t mind sharing the wine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1066,"2026-06-05T23:57:28.825Z",1,"novelbin.me","d38f4bf8966f7f1c234fa5c7b65f96fda0feeb41b27f6b58e477e292882d4c29","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-800","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-798",878,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fharem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-cover.jpg"]