Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 143 – Big Mistake

The rest of the auction?

A half-mess.

At least for Lux.

For the girls?

Total nuclear-grade meltdown.

The kind of meltdown where nobles didn’t just fume—they plotted.

Whispers turned sharp. Posture stiffened. Old money started side-eying old power like it had just farted in church.

Lux sipped his drink with the casual grace of a man watching it all unfold from a leather throne in Hell’s VIP box.

The scent in the air had changed. No more overpriced perfumes and excited sweat. Now it was sour—like fear mingled with pride. The kind of pride that had just taken a very public, very expensive slap to the face.

Especially the lamia.

Lylith Seravelle didn’t scream, didn’t throw a chair, didn’t claw the drapes like a noob investor watching her first portfolio crash. No—she just sat there. Perfect posture. Eyes forward.

But her glare?

It could’ve stripped skin off a lesser man.

Or cracked through diplomatic immunity.

Her scaled tail coiled tighter, twitching like it wanted to crush something. Her entourage noticed. Two guards moved immediately—hands on blades, scanning for an outlet to this humiliation.

Duke Albrecht stood up.

Big mistake.

He turned sharply, cloak dragging behind him like it still had dignity left to protect. One step. Two.

Then the lamia guards moved.

Fast.

Not killing fast, but very, very politely ”you’re not going anywhere” fast.

Lux didn’t even look surprised. Just nodded to himself, fingers tracing the rim of his glass.

”Mm. Yup. That’s the part where he regrets being born noble.”

The host tried to salvage things. Poor bastard was practically foaming with polite desperation.

”Ladies and gentlemen! A minor hiccup! Please allow us a moment to—”

”No,” someone barked from the corner.

A noblewoman—high up, draped in feathers and fur dress. Her voice cut through the air like winter in a ballroom.

”I refuse to sit another second in a fraud-tainted auction.”

She stood.

And just like that—others followed.

One by one. Like dominos. Like rich, angry, well-dressed dominos.

Because when the elite are pissed?

It’s not shouting or stomping.

It’s pulling strings. Writing names.

And more dangerously—pulling money.

The auction was shut down within the next ten minutes.

No closing ceremony. No ”thank you for attending.” Just tension, hushed arguments, and the sound of heavy heels clicking toward exits like declarations of war.

Lux exhaled through his nose, finally standing up and brushing invisible lint from his sleeve.

He didn’t need to say anything.

The damage had already been done.

Reputation shattered.

Illusion broken.

And in a room full of masks, exposing one fraud was like setting fire to a masquerade.

He didn’t need a sword.

Not when reputation was sharper.

He followed the flow of departing guests with practiced ease, the girls trailing behind.

Rava pinched the bridge of her nose as they exited the hall, her brows furrowed like she’d just read six pages of financial stupidity and found them all profitable.

Elyndra muttered something about ”nobility rot” under her breath.

Fiera, for once, had no sass left.

And Mira?

Mira was glowing.

Her eyes sparkled with something that looked suspiciously like arousal wrapped in business euphoria.

She didn’t wait.

She closed the gap between them with a catlike gait and said, ”You know... I need you to do more of it.”

Lux raised a brow. ”More of what?”

”That.” She gestured vaguely back at the auction building. ”The sabotage. The bloodless executions.”

He chuckled. ”That was light mischief.”

She leaned in slightly. ”Exactly. And I loved it.”

Elyndra groaned. ”Mira, please. We are still in public. That sadistic little streak of yours needs a leash.”

Fiera joined in. ”Why do you even like him for that? I mean, you’re literally turned on because he exposed a noble with a glorified chicken egg scam—”

Mira grinned, sharp and cold. ”Because a man who can destroy his enemies’ empires without blinking means he has power. Real power. Which means...”

Her gaze drifted over Lux’s lips, then down to his collarbone.

”...he can control.”

Fiera’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. ”Okay, ew. Business flirting is gross.”

Rava scoffed. ”You literally danced on the stage just now.”

”That was fashion, not fraud!”

Lux just hummed, amused.

Rava glanced at him sideways, her tone dry. ”You are enjoying this.”

He shrugged. ”I didn’t start it.”

Fiera narrowed her eyes. ”No—you definitely planned it. You left. Then bam—you’re back just in time for the exposé.”

”Add werewolves to that. Three of them,” he added.

Mira tilted her head. ”Wolves?”

Lux nodded faintly. ”Minor inconvenience.”

Fiera looked horrified. ”There were assassins?”

He offered a lazy grin. ”You make it sound so personal. They weren’t after you.”

”Gee, thanks,” she grumbled.

Rava crossed her arms, still watching him closely. ”You did it again.”

Lux raised a brow. ”Did what?”

”You brought chaos. Then slipped out. Then returned just in time to look unbothered while the world caught fire.”

He pretended to consider it. ”That does sound like me.”

”It is you.”

Mira suddenly linked arms with him, dragging him down the steps outside the venue. Her voice was practically a purr.

”You know, Lux... you’re the kind of man I’d marry just to file the divorce papers myself. Publicly. At a press conference. In flames.”

He laughed. ”That sounds romantic.”

Elyndra groaned. ”I’m surrounded by lunatics.”

Rava sighed. ”Welcome to hell.”

Lux smirked at that. ”Actually, hell’s more structured. I helped build the departments.”

The girls paused.

Fiera blinked. ”You what?”

Lux smiled, not elaborating.

Mira’s pupils dilated slightly.

Rava muttered under her breath, ”He’s not kidding.”

Lux tilted his head toward her, voice low enough that only she could hear it. ”You’re breaking our little secret, darling.”

”I’m not,” she replied just as softly. ”But they’re already halfway obsessed. What’s one more sin?”

The air outside was thick with humidity and tension. Neon signs reflected off the parked luxury cars, stretching over their clothes in waves of red and gold.

Mira’s grip on his arm tightened slightly. ”Next time you do something like this, Lux... let me help.”

He turned to her, genuinely intrigued. ”Help?”

Her eyes burned. ”I know how to ruin reputations too. I’ve invested in it.”