Chapter 187 – Arrogance is The Whole al
Serelina had that look now—half confusion, half indignation. The kind of look that said ’why isn’t this working mixed with maybe if I pout harder, he’ll cave’. Lux didn’t even bother to sigh this ti. He just picked up the edge of his linen napkin and gently unfolded it over his lap, like her presence wasn’t worth even acknowledging verbally anymore.
The staff returned just in ti to spare Serelina further embarrassnt.
A silver tray.
A steaming cup of herbal tea in a thin white porcelain cup with gold trim.
A plate of smoked duck slices over sweet potato mash and grilled persimmon, drizzled with sothing honeyed and infernal. Lux didn’t ask what it was, but the sll said expensive sin.
The waiter placed the al in front of him and smiled politely.
"Here you go, sir. And for your guest—?"
He turned toward Serelina, still lounging in Lux’s booth like she thought this scene belonged to her.
"Would you like sothing as well, miss?"
Before anyone could answer, the temperature changed.
It started in the space behind Serelina’s back—subtle at first. Like velvet heat licking at your collar. The air thickened. Every breath felt heavier. Richer. The faintest tremble of sulfur and rosewood. The room didn’t go cold—it went warm.
Warm like fire trapped in silk.
Like power dipped in elegance.
"Move," ca the voice.
Serelina blinked. Looked to her right.
Lux sipped his tea. Calmly. The cup clinked gently against the saucer.
Ah. Finally.
She’d arrived.
The woman who stood beside Serelina was striking in the kind of way that broke atmospheres.
Red hair. Red like a slow, burning heart. Red like wrath dressed for court. Eyes the sa color—luminous, ancient, lined with kohl and nace. Her outfit was black and fla, tailored close to her body like it belonged to her and only her. Not skin-tight, but lethal. Shadow-fla silk. Long sleeves. A slit that showed just enough thigh to make angels squirm and mortals reconsider their life choices.
She didn’t need to sing.
She didn’t need to flirt.
Her presence commanded.
And the staff boy who had just asked Serelina for her order?
He turned red.
Several n in the restaurant openly stared. One dropped a fork. Another whispered sothing to his date and was promptly smacked.
Lux set his cup down gently.
"She is my partner," he said, finally addressing the new woman. His voice was calm. Polite.
But cold.
"Please move, Miss."
Serelina opened her mouth to object. "I—"
But sothing in Lux’s eyes—sothing colder than money and sharper than sin—froze her mid-sentence.
She stood. A little too fast. Smoothed her dress awkwardly. And walked back to her original table with the grace of a cat caught falling off a shelf.
The red-haired woman sat down smoothly in the booth across from Lux, one leg over the other. Her fingers barely grazed the table. She didn’t speak right away. She didn’t need to.
The staff boy stamred, "W-what can I get you, miss?"
She glanced at Lux. "Sa as him."
"And bring your wine," she added. "The good one. You know which."
The boy nodded way too fast and vanished before he could combust on the spot.
Lux watched him go, then leaned back in his chair and exhaled like he’d just survived an opera.
"So," he said dryly, "why’d you co here, Officer Malris Korr?"
She scoffed. "Oh, cut that ’officer’ crap. We’re not in a boardroom."
"Fair enough," Lux said. "Then why the dramatic entrance?"
"I will ask you a question," she said instead. "Why’d you turn down?"
Lux arched a brow. "Turn you down?"
"The bodyguards."
Lux smirked. "Ah. That."
She leaned forward. "They just attacked you. High-level demons. You know that’s not random."
"I do."
"And yet you still think you don’t need anyone watching your back?"
"I don’t," Lux said, calm as hellfire. "What I need is space. And I don’t want an entourage of muscle interrupting my breakfast because soone twitches near the minibar."
Malris tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "You’re impossible."
"I’m efficient."
"You’re reckless."
"I’m bored."
She sighed and leaned back, eyes scanning him. The kind of scan that could strip a man of lies, clothes, and confidence—depending on the day.
"You’re different than the last ti I saw you."
Lux smirked. "You an hotter?"
She ignored that. "I an angrier."
He went quiet for a second. Picked up his cup again.
Sipped.
"I was hunted," he said. "Again. I didn’t start it. But they wanted dead. Both angels and demons."
"So hire protection—"
"I am the protection."
She stared at him, lips parting just slightly.
"You think you’re untouchable?"
"No," Lux said. "I think I’m dangerous. That’s not the sa thing."
Malris was quiet. Then—finally—she let out a soft laugh.
It wasn’t nice.
But it was real.
"You’re still an arrogant bastard," she said.
Lux didn’t even blink. He just sipped his tea and replied smoothly, "All demons are. Including you."
Malris gave him a look.
That sharp, narrowed, barely-smiling kind of look that said touché and I could still kill you with my heel in the sa breath.
She lifted her wine glass and murmured, "At least I’m the elegant kind."
Lux tilted his head. "Oh, I don’t know. Elegance is a flavor. Arrogance is the whole al."
The food arrived with perfect timing.
The server nearly dropped a spoon when Malris smiled at him—just once, faint and distracted—and Lux caught the flicker of heat that radiated from her skin like a subtle warning.
They both ignored it.
"So," Lux said, slicing into his duck, "do you have a report? An update? Or are you just here to watch eat like an exhibit?"
"I ca for answers," Malris said. "The system flagged you. Not just for the bounty. Sothing else. Sothing buried."
"Let guess," Lux said, chewing, "bloodline? New power?"
She nodded slowly.
"Sothing encrypted. Sothing that shouldn’t exist. Your core signature doesn’t match any known demonic origin catalogued in our registry."
Lux smiled around his fork. "That’s because I don’t belong to their system."
"Whose system do you belong to, then?"
"I’m working on that."
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