CHAPTER 443: KNOWLEDGE AND CHAOS

Chapter 443 – Knowledge and Chaos

He leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, his tone suddenly lighter—mocking, like a devil wrapping gold around a blade.

"I know where I am. I’ll behave."

Her brow arched ever so slightly.

"So why are you here?" she asked, finally cutting to it.

He looked at her, face unreadable now. Voice even.

"My bounty went up again."

That got her to stop mid-sip.

He let it sink in before continuing.

"I even had to use The Coin during the last battle," he added. "You know I never use that thing unless I’m cutting through negotiations. Not for street combat."

Her face didn’t change, but her aura flared slightly.

She set her teacup down with a quiet click.

"That’s not a small claim, Lux. That’s not something you just toss at a skirmish."

"It wasn’t a skirmish," he said. "It was an assassination attempt. Three warlords. High-powered. Coordinated."

Celestaria frowned faintly. "And you think someone from the Celestial Realm... raised the price?"

"I don’t think," he said. "I suspect. And you know me. I don’t throw suspicions lightly."

She was quiet for a beat.

Then she spoke, slower this time.

"Selena cleansed one of them yesterday."

His fingers twitched.

"And Solara," she added, "is currently chasing down another."

"So it should be dropping," he said. "Not climbing."

Celestaria leaned forward slightly.

"You’re sure it wasn’t from Infernal sources?"

"I’m also investigating that," he admitted. "But no clear trace. And I know how the infernal court moves."

She stared at him again.

Quiet. Intense. Like she was trying to read past the words, past the grin, past the charm he always wore like a second robe. Celestaria had known Lux long enough to tell when he was speaking from instinct versus strategy.

This was instinct.

She didn’t like it.

Not because he was wrong—but because it meant something worse was brewing.

The kind of thing that didn’t make a sound until it was already at your throat.

Lux leaned back in the white-and-gold celestial chair like he owned the place, fingers idly brushing the rim of his milk glass. He didn’t drink it again. He just let it sit, catching the light like the scene needed softness.

But his voice?

Still cold underneath the warmth.

"Well, the ones who just attacked me?" he said, tone easy. "Warlords. Infernal-class. Not subtle."

Her gaze sharpened. "Displeasure?"

"Yeah." He nodded once, then grinned. "I declined their request for more funding and sent auditors instead."

Celestaria blinked. "...You sent auditors?"

"Yup."

His smirk widened, like he was proud of it.

"They didn’t take it well," he added. "Started growling about territory rights, asset freezes, all that testosterone-and-brimstone chest-beating."

She exhaled through her nose, elegant as always. "So Infernal has problems with you now, too."

"Oh, both realms hate me," Lux said cheerfully. "I’m very consistent."

She folded her hands over her lap, staring at him over the rim of her teacup. "And you take it like it’s nothing."

"Hey." He lifted his hands. "I’m here, aren’t I? Filing a formal complaint, no less."

Her eyes deadpanned.

It wasn’t just a look. It was an art form.

She closed her eyes for a beat. "You are exhausting."

"Admit it," he said with a sly grin, "you’d miss me if I died."

Her hand twitched slightly on the teacup.

He didn’t miss it.

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she changed the subject with the subtlety of a sword to the ribs.

"You said the source of the raised bounty was Celestial."

He nodded again. "Yeah. Infernal side’s my business. But when I looked at the routing spells, some of the energy threads traced back to Celestial signature marks. Elegant. Controlled. Too polished for the usual bounty rat. And not a whisper in the Court of Greed or the Sin Houses. That’s... not normal."

Celestaria pursed her lips.

Lux shrugged. "Now, Infernal? Sure. They’ve got beef. I’ve been cleaning house. But yeah, that much money? That made the demons drool."

A pause.

"How bad is it?" she asked.

Lux exhaled, folding his arms. "I’ve sent over eighty-seven auditors in the past six months."

She choked on her tea.

He continued casually. "That’s not counting the shadow inspection teams. You know how it is. Greed has books. And hell has loopholes. It’s all fun and corruption until someone starts embezzling soul quotas and rerouting blood-tithe subsidies into illegal flesh markets."

Celestaria blinked. "You just... said that like it’s normal."

"It is normal," Lux muttered. "That’s the problem. I let the small stuff slide. Broken fountain contracts. Black-market prayer tokens. Minor demon-lord bribes. Whatever. But they kept pushing. Kept thinking ’oh, it’s just Lux, he won’t follow through.’"

He leaned forward now, tapping a cookie against the rim of his milk glass.

"So I followed through."

"And the warlords want to kill you," she said flatly.

He shrugged again. "Occupational hazard."

She stared at him. Then exhaled, long and steady.

"...Do you ever get tired?"

Lux tilted his head. "Tired of what?"

"This," she said, voice quieter now. "All of it. The weight. The responsibility. Wearing ten masks just to survive one day."

His smile flickered.

Just briefly.

Like a candle facing wind.

He didn’t answer at first. Just looked at her.

At her perfect robe. Her calm face. Her eyes that always saw more than she said.

"I do," he said eventually. "But I can’t afford to stop."

Silence.

He glanced down at the table, at the innocent little angel-shaped cookie still in his hand. Then back at her.

"You think I like being the CFO of Hell?" he said, voice softer now. "I wanted to be a librarian once. Thought it would be quiet. Safe. I liked scrolls."

He paused, then grinned. "I also like... pleasure, so maybe that makes me a librarian lover type. Knowledge and chaos. Paper and sin."

Celestaria blinked, expression somewhere between disbelief and restrained horror.

"There’s no such profession," she said finally, lips twitching in reluctant amusement.

Lux shrugged. "There should be. Imagine it—rows of books, candlelight, and I’m somewhere in the corner cataloguing sins alphabetically."