Chapter 141 – Chain and I’ll Behave
He’d seen it before.
Lux’s eyes flicked toward the back of the room. Past the mirrors. Past the veils.
Soone was watching more than just the auction.
They were watching reactions.
Lux smiled slowly.
Then drained the last of his whiskey and leaned back in his chair like he was settling into fire.
If they wanted a performance?
He could give them hell.
Literally.
The room was still simring with reverent awe over the so-called phoenix egg. Nobles whispered, drooled, plotted their bids. But Lux? He sat there like a man watching a trash fire get dressed in branded clothes.
"I don’t like this," Mira said suddenly, voice sharp enough to slice the glamours off the stage.
" neither," Lux replied, casually brushing imaginary lint off his lapel.
Elyndra groaned, folding her arms. "Stop it, you two. This is not a great chance to ss up an event."
Mira turned her head slightly, golden eyes flashing. "You want to tolerate a fraud?"
Lux smirked sideways. "I like your way of thinking, Miss Xianlong. I hate this thing too."
"Lux, behave," Rava muttered, the rim of her wineglass touching her lip as she sighed.
He leaned in, whispering low so only she could hear, "Chain and I’ll behave."
She choked slightly.
"No chain?" he murmured, brushing her thigh under the table with the back of his hand, "No behave."
Rava’s pupils dilated. Her tentacle twitched. Sowhere deep down in her soul, sothing purred in agreent—and then imdiately threw cold water on itself.
Mira didn’t even glance over. "So what’s your plan, Mr. Vaelthorn?" she said coolly, "I prefer action over words."
Lux’s lips curved slowly.
He didn’t answer her.
Not directly.
Instead, his vision flicked lazily toward the floating platform on the stage—the gleaming, falsely glowing phoenix egg basking under layers of magical lighting and showman lies. He blinked once.
[System Directive: Trace Item Ownership.]
[Analyzing Source...]
[Registered Vault Code: GRXN-221-AZ]
[Item Origin: Personal Vault of Duke Albrecht.]
[Intent Pattern Detected: Market Manipulation. Artificial Bid Inflation. Seller Bidding on Own Item.]
Lux’s smile didn’t fade, but it sharpened.
The host lifted his hand theatrically, voice projecting with showman’s flair, "We now have a standing bid of $19.5 million from Lady Lylith Seravelle. Do we have twenty?"
Lylith sat coiled like royalty carved from obsidian, her ruby-ringed fingers elegantly resting beneath her chin. The glow from the phoenix egg reflected in her gold-flecked eyes, but she didn’t look at the stage. She looked across the room. Past the host. Past the relic. At the crowd.
At him.
She offered a small, amused smile, like she already knew how this ga ended and was simply waiting for others to catch up.
Then—
A new voice rang out.
Male. Deep. Confident. The tone glamoured, but Lux heard the tremor under it.
"Twenty million," the voice said from the far end of the chamber.
The Duke wasn’t just pushing the price.
He was playing the room. Stirring the flas beneath every heir and heiress, dangling legacy and myth like a carrot tied to a flaming stick.
And it worked.
Because Lylith Seravelle raised her hand with a sleek smile and purred, "Twenty-two."
A ripple of gasps. Nobles leaned forward like sheep sensing a higher cliff to leap from.
Lux’s eyes glead.
He leaned back in his chair, took a slow breath, and murmured under it, quiet enough that only the table—and Rava—might catch it.
"Let’s play, shall we?"
Instead, he sighed dramatically and shifted in his seat. Just enough to press a hand to his stomach, letting his face scrunch ever so slightly. Not too much. Just enough discomfort to look human.
Rava arched an eyebrow instantly.
"No," she whispered. "You are not doing this."
Lux glanced at her with the perfect balance of false innocence and I-do-what-I-want.
"Oh no," she groaned under her breath. "Here cos the performance."
He stood slowly, hand still resting on his abdon like a man overco by noble digestive defeat. His mouth twitched just slightly—as if in pain. Or mild demonic glee.
Fiera tilted her head. "Don’t tell —"
Mira narrowed her eyes. "He’s acting."
Elyndra blinked. "He’s what?"
Rava put her glass down. "Stomach," she deadpanned. "Ergency. He’s faking it."
Mira, still smirked, muttered, "This better be worth it."
Lux glanced back over his shoulder just before disappearing past the curtains toward the private corridor.
His eyes locked with Mira’s for half a second.
And his smirk?
Was pure devil.
As soon as he passed the double doors into the pristine private restroom—marble, gold-trimd, slling like lavender, pride, and obscenely overpriced soap—his expression dropped completely.
Flat.
Cold.
Bored.
He strolled to the sink, adjusted his sleeves, and spoke aloud.
"Corvus."
A sudden swirl of smoke and flickering dark sigils exploded mid-air near the ceiling, and from the swirling black ca.
A jet-black raven burst into the room like it had been waiting in hell’s lounge for soone to finally give it sothing juicy. Its wings beat once—twice—and then it perched on the mirror fra, eyes glowing like glitching embers.
"Here I am," Corvus said, his voice a rich mix of sarcastic butler and caffeinated hacker. "Let guess... fake phoenix egg. Gilded scam. And you want to ruin soone’s inheritance."
Lux raised an eyebrow. "How’d you know?"
Corvus preened his wing. "It’s always a fake phoenix egg with stupid mortals. Or a cursed chalice. Or so demon-summoning app written in code. Amateurs. Who’s the target?"
"Duke Albrecht."
Corvus flared his feathers dramatically. "Okay ."
Lux rolled his sleeves, eyes gleaming. "I want you to expose the egg. Show the real contents. Broadcast it to the hall’s central scrying lens without it tracing back to us."
Corvus cawed once, then leaned forward. "And let guess... You want him to eat his own shit."
Lux smiled. "On a silver spoon."
"Ohhh you are in a mood," Corvus purred. "I love when you’re in a mood."
He dove straight into the air, vanished into shadow mid-flap, and was gone.
Lux exhaled.
Rolled his shoulders.
Straightened his cuffs.
The system pinged softly.
[Alert: Threat Detection – Three mortal presences approaching. Status: Werewolves. One Alpha, two Beta. Trajectory: Corridor path outside restrooms.]
User Comments
0 comments from readers