Chapter 805 – In The Mood

He exhaled softly, the faintest smile lingering on his lips as he glanced at Solara and Selena once more.

"...Thanks," he said quietly.

Solara smiled. Selena nodded.

They both stood at the same time, movements graceful in that effortless, divine way that never looked practiced, because it wasn’t. It was just... them.

"We’ll see you later, Lux," Solara said, her tone lighter now, though there was still something underneath it. Something unspoken.

Selena lingered half a second longer, her gaze resting on him.

"I hope someday..." she began softly.

Lux looked up.

"...me and Solara could stay here."

A pause.

"With you... with the others."

That one landed.

Not heavy.

Not sharp.

Just... quiet.

Lux’s lips curved into a small smile, soft, almost reluctant.

"Yeah..." he said.

A beat.

"I also hope the same."

And that was the truth.

That was the dangerous part.

Because hope?

Hope made things complicated.

Solara’s expression softened. Selena’s too. They didn’t say anything else. They didn’t need to.

A flicker of light.

Warm gold.

Cool silver.

And then...

They were gone.

Just like that.

No dramatic exit.

No lingering aura.

Just absence.

The room felt... bigger.

Quieter.

Lux didn’t move.

For a moment, just a moment, he sat there, coffee still in his hand, gaze unfocused as his thoughts slowed down... then spiraled again.

Yeah.

Complicated.

That was one way to put it.

His head tilted slightly back against the chair, eyes half-lidded as he stared at the ceiling.

He knew what this was.

He wasn’t blind.

Wasn’t naive.

Hell, if anything, Lux had always been too aware of emotional dynamics. Too good at reading people. Too precise when it came to intent, desire, weakness.

That included himself.

Sometimes...

Yeah.

Sometimes he wanted to make a move.

Not as Greed.

Not as a strategist.

Just as...

Him.

Because Solara and Selena weren’t just powerful.

They were... real.

In a way that didn’t revolve around contracts, manipulation, or power games.

And that?

That was rare.

Dangerously rare.

His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.

But how?

That was the problem.

Because this wasn’t some casual situation he could navigate with charm and control.

This was them.

Celestial.

Reputation-bound.

Watched.

If he crossed that line?

It wouldn’t just be a scandal.

It would be a statement.

A political shift.

A potential betrayal in the eyes of Heaven.

And Lux?

Lux didn’t do reckless.

Not like that.

Not when the cost wasn’t just his.

He exhaled slowly, leaning deeper into the chair.

"Patient, Lux..." he muttered under his breath.

One step at a time.

Always.

Before his thoughts could settle further...

The shadows shifted.

Subtle.

Smooth.

Like silk moving in darkness.

Lux didn’t even look up.

"Sira."

She stepped out from the shadow like she owned it, which, honestly, she kind of did. Pride wrapped around her like an invisible crown, her presence sharp, elegant, unapologetically hers.

"Oh," she said, spotting him, lips curving slightly. "You’re here."

"Yeah."

That was all he gave.

Sira didn’t ask permission.

She never did.

She walked straight toward him, heels clicking softly against the marble before she turned and sat directly on his lap, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Which, for her?

It was.

Her arms slipped around his neck, body leaning into his with a familiarity that didn’t question boundaries, it defined them.

"What’s with the long face?" she asked, voice light but curious.

Lux exhaled softly.

"And... were Solara and Selena just here?" she added, her nose brushing lightly against his collar as if confirming it through scent alone.

"Yeah," Lux said. "They’re gone already."

Sira hummed.

"And what’s with that face?"

Lux paused.

Then shrugged slightly.

"Nothing."

A beat.

"We were just... thinking about something that crosses the line."

Sira leaned back just enough to look at him properly.

Then... She smirked.

"S*x?"

Lux huffed.

"...Yeah."

Of course she went straight there.

Because Pride didn’t dance around things.

Pride named them.

"The bad thing is..." Lux continued, voice quieter now, more grounded. "The Old Order Celestials don’t like me. The King doesn’t like me. And they’re Celestials."

Sira listened.

Actually listened.

"I can’t drag them through the mud," he added. "I’m a demon. If I slept with them and the councils thought they betrayed Heaven..."

He exhaled slowly.

"It would be a mess."

A massive mess.

Political.

Social.

Existential.

Sira nodded once.

"True..."

No teasing.

No dismissal.

Just acknowledgment.

Her hand slid lightly across his chest, fingers tracing slow, deliberate patterns, not aggressive, not subtle either. Just... intentional.

Her body shifted slightly against his, the kind of movement that didn’t ask, it suggested.

Lux’s brow twitched faintly.

"...Seems like you’re in the mood," he muttered.

Sira’s smirk deepened.

"I’m always in the mood."

Yeah.

That tracked.

"And also..." she added, leaning closer, her voice dropping just slightly, more intimate.

"I smell something different from you."

Lux’s lips twitched faintly.

"Yeah."

A beat.

"Lust primordial sin blessed me."

Sira froze for half a second.

Then, she laughed.

A soft, rich sound that carried both amusement and interest.

"Well," she murmured, eyes glinting. "That explains a lot."

Her fingers pressed slightly firmer against him, testing, feeling, evaluating.

"And I also have nice news," she added.

Lux glanced at her.

"Oh?"

She leaned in closer, lips brushing near his ear as she whispered, "My dad already prepared the plan."

That got his attention.

Fully.

You know in case...

Lux didn’t react outwardly, but internally?

That filed immediately.

Contingency.

Good.

"And..." Sira continued, pulling back slightly, her expression shifting just a little.

"I heard the Envy heiress just went down today."

Lux stilled.

"Vira Karess died."

Silence.

"An exiled Envy took her place."

"Her name is... Cyntia?"

Lux shook his head faintly.

"It’s Cyrinne."

Sira blinked.

Then her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You know?"

A beat.

Then realization hit.

"Wait..."

Her smirk returned.

"No. You didn’t just know."

Lux smiled.

Small.

Controlled.

Dangerous in that quiet way.

"Yeah," he said.

"Not only know."

He leaned back slightly, one hand resting lazily against her waist.

"I only gave her a little push."