Chapter 7 – Vacation Mode: Flustered Heiress Unlocked
Inside the suite, steam curled into the air.
Lux sank into the massive marble bathtub with all the weariness of a cursed emperor slipping into a sacred spring. The water was hot—luxuriously so—infused with mineral salts and something floral from a fancy bottle he’d opened without reading the label.
He let out a long, ancient-sounding groan. "Oh gods. Yes."
His head tilted back against the rim. Red eyes half-closed. Arms resting along the tub edges like he was lounging on a throne made of steam.
This was nice.
This was vacation.
Could’ve used a few succubi scrubbing his shoulders, sure. Maybe someone feeding him grapes. But still... better than quarterly reports and screaming interns.
[System Active. Hello.]
[You are now clean. Mostly.]
[Estimated Stress Relief: 12.5%]
Lux sighed. "Aren’t you supposed to be quiet while I’m trying to soak?"
[My apologies, sir. I forgot being wet made you emotional.]
He narrowed one eye. "Do you want me to unplug you again?"
[You tried that last year. I rerouted through the cursed tax calculator. It gave your entire empire a refund.]
"Tch." He sank lower into the water until just his nose and eyes were above the surface. Bubbles rippled with every exhale.
[You appear content. Unusual.]
[Should I log this as an anomaly?]
"I’m on vacation," Lux mumbled, voice half-drowned in the water.
[What does one do on vacation, exactly?]
Lux blinked up at the ceiling. "You really screwed up your learning algorithm, huh?"
[Explain.]
"You’ve been running my empire for two centuries and don’t understand what a vacation is?"
[Historically, your vacations included interdimensional broker conferences, hell-tier negotiation battles, or collapsing hedge funds for fun.]
"That was fun," Lux admitted. "But this? This is different. No souls. No spreadsheets. No screaming interns whose souls were only partially bonded."
[Then what do you plan to do on this so-called break? You don’t have anything to manage. Nothing to build. You don’t even have a throne to sit on.]
Lux exhaled dramatically. "Exactly. I want to wake up late. Drink overpriced mortal coffee. Flirt a little. Do stupid things with pretty girls. Maybe finally sleep without the ghost of my fiscal responsibilities haunting my dreams."
[Ah.]
[A vacation is where you act irresponsible and seductive until someone either files a lawsuit or proposes.]
"...It’s worrying how accurate that is."
[Shall I assist by optimizing your seduction targets? I still have Incubus Protocols preloaded from your mother’s side.]
"Sure," Lux said, lifting his hand lazily to splash water across his neck. "But remember my standards."
[No gold-diggers. No influencers. No yacht-chasers. Must possess at least one brain cell.]
"Exactly." He closed his eyes. "Bonus if they’re the type who pretend not to like me and then end up begging for cuddles. Or an unstable rich babe."
[Updating Ideal Candidate Profile: "Emotionally Unavailable, Rich, and Accidentally Obsessed."]
"Perfect."
He stayed there a while longer, letting his mind drift. The warmth dulled the centuries of fatigue in his bones. He hadn’t felt this... light in so long. No contracts. No infernal alarms. No deals that required a soul deposit.
Just hot water and the faint, lingering image of Naomi’s stunned face staring at his abs.
Eventually, he rose from the bath with a full-body sigh, grabbed a fluffy black towel from the gold rack, and began drying himself off. Every motion was lazy, indulgent, just this side of smug.
He stood in front of the mirror, rubbing his wet hair with another towel.
Then paused.
Stared.
Red eyes met his own reflection.
Dripping hair. Skin still dewy from the bath. Shoulders broad and lean, abs well-defined. Sharp jaw. Collarbones. A face that straddled the line between fallen angel and corrupt CEO.
"Oh, for Hell’s sake," he murmured.
He tilted his head slightly, narrowed his eyes.
"...I look more like an incubus than a desperate accountant for once."
A slow, shocked grin spread across his face.
"I—" He swallowed thickly, blinking a few times. "I actually look good."
[System Update: Your Attractiveness Has Reached ’Ethereal Menace’ Tier.]
[You are now 20% more likely to cause inconvenient lust-related incidents.]
"...I could cry," Lux whispered.
[Please don’t. You’ll steam up the mirror.]
Towel wrapped securely around his waist, he stepped out of the bathroom just as the main door opened.
Naomi walked in with a slightly frantic look on her face.
Then she saw him.
Stopped.
Stared.
Froze.
Lux blinked. "Oh. You’re back. Where are my clothes?"
Naomi didn’t answer.
Her brain had stopped working. Full blue-screen-of-death. Her gaze locked on him, and her thoughts evaporated like cheap perfume in a sauna.
He looked fresh. Too fresh.
His hair was still damp and slicked back, a few strands falling over his forehead in a way that made her legs itch. His chest glistened faintly in the suite’s ambient lighting. His towel sat low. Too low. Everything about him screamed scandal waiting to happen.
And yet somehow... he looked more expensive now.
Like temptation dipped in platinum and sin.
She swallowed.
Her head tilted slightly on its own.
His chest.
His abs.
Down.
Oh gods.
"Hey," Lux said, waving slightly. "Don’t pass out yet. I still need my clothes."
"I—uh—clothes—yes!" she yelped, straightening so fast she nearly threw her spine out.
She shoved the receipt into his hand like it was evidence in a court trial. "They—they said your shirt will be ready by tomorrow morning!"
"Cool," Lux said, glancing at it. "Didn’t think I’d miss a shirt, but here we are."
"I’ll—I’ll go buy your new ones now!" Naomi rushed, trying to breathe through the fog in her brain. "I’ll get you a full set. And a watch! And maybe a phone—because you don’t have one! And maybe a table for dinner!"
Lux raised an eyebrow. "Rooftop," he added.
"Yeah. Yes. Yeah rooftop. Right. Dinner."
She spun on her heel, muttering under her breath, face beet red.
"I’m just going to run downstairs. And think about ceilings. And maybe jump off one."
Lux leaned against the doorframe, towel still slung low, and watched her go.
She tripped on her own heels on the way out.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Lux exhaled through his nose.
"...She’s cute," he murmured.