Meanwhile, as Lux predicted, Yue was watching him.

Not openly.

Not obviously.

But her golden eyes lingered longer than necessary as his back disappeared down the corridor, wings folding, shoulders slightly tense despite the casual way he walked. There was something… controlled about him. Not just his power. Not just his posture.

His restraint.

Yue stood still for a moment, the borrowed jacket resting against her skin. It was warm, faintly, like it still remembered his body. The scent clung to it too. Not overwhelming. Not artificial.

Just him.

A mix of iron, faint smoke, something dark and expensive… and underneath it, something warmer. Something alive.

Battlefield still lingered there, yes.

But not in a way that repulsed her.

It grounded it.

'This demon…' she thought quietly, fingers brushing the edge of the sleeve. 'Is weird.'

He didn't demand.

Didn't claim.

Didn't even ask for reward when she offered.

That alone made him abnormal.

In her time… no, in her world, power always came with expectation. Obligation. Claim.

But him?

He freed her.

Stood bleeding.

Smiled.

Then asked about history.

Yue exhaled slowly, a strange feeling blooming in her chest. Not discomfort. Not fear.

Something lighter.

Something unfamiliar.

Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric.

There it was again.

That flutter.

Soft.

Annoying.

Persistent.

"Come on," Mira's voice cut in, pulling her out of it.

Yue blinked once and followed.

They walked through Lux's mansion together, the space feeling almost unreal after the cavern. The warmth. The quiet. The lack of pressure. Everything here felt… chosen.

Controlled.

Lux's domain.

Yue's gaze drifted along the walls, the architecture, the subtle details. No excess without purpose. No waste without reason.

Very… Greed.

But not in the way she remembered.

Not hoarding.

Curating.

Mira pushed open a door, revealing a large chamber, soft lighting, elegant furnishings, and an unmistakable sense of personal space.

"Here," Mira said casually. "You can use this one."

Yue stepped inside slowly.

Her fingers brushed the fabric of the jacket again.

"You stay here," she said after a moment, glancing at Mira. "As his… What is the term… princess consort? Consort? Concubine?"

Mira choked.

"Pfft—what?"

Yue tilted her head slightly, genuinely curious. "You reside in his domain. You fight beside him. You share intimacy. That would be the classification in my era."

Mira stared at her.

Then laughed.

"Oh wow, no. No, no, no. That's not how it works anymore."

Yue blinked.

"…Explain."

Mira crossed her arms, leaning against the wall casually. "We're not… assigned roles like that. No titles like consort or concubine."

Yue frowned slightly. "Then what are you?"

Mira shrugged.

"We are his girlfriends."

Yue paused.

"…Girlfriends? Plural?"

"Yes. For time being."

Yue considered that.

"For time being?"

Mira smirked faintly. "Yeah."

Yue's gaze sharpened slightly. "For time being."

Mira sighed, pushing off the wall and walking toward a wardrobe. "Lux wants wives. He clearly said that."

She paused, glancing back.

"But I guess most of us aren't ready yet."

Yue tilted her head again, genuinely trying to understand.

"Why?"

Mira opened the wardrobe, pulling out clothes.

"Because things are different now," she said. "Women aren't bound the same way anymore. We have our own power. Our own choices. We don't have to marry just because someone strong exists."

Yue listened quietly.

"…Women do not wish to marry anymore?"

Mira shook her head immediately. "No, we do. Some of us do. I do." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

She tossed a set of clothes toward Yue.

"But we want it to be… right."

Yue caught the fabric without looking.

"Right."

Mira nodded.

"Yeah. Not obligation. Not power imbalance. Not survival."

She paused.

"Choice."

Yue lowered her gaze slightly, absorbing that.

Choice.

The word felt… heavy.

Foreign.

"I see," she murmured.

Mira softened slightly, stepping closer.

"Take it easy," she said gently. "You just woke up from five hundred years of nightmare. You don't have to understand everything right now."

Yue didn't respond immediately.

Her fingers traced the edge of Lux's jacket again.

That warmth.

That scent.

That strange flutter in her chest.

Her gaze drifted toward the door Lux had walked through earlier.

"He is not normal," she said quietly.

Mira snorted. "Oh, absolutely not."

Yue's lips curved faintly.

"Good."

Because if he were normal… This feeling wouldn't exist.

And Yue Xianlong wasn't entirely sure yet if that was a problem…

Or something far more dangerous.

Mira didn't press her further.

She simply turned, gesturing toward another door tucked neatly into the side of the chamber. "Come on," she said, tone softer now. "You should clean up first. You'll feel better."

Yue followed.

The space beyond was… different.

Enclosed. Warm. Smooth surfaces instead of stone or carved dragon halls. Everything felt crafted for comfort rather than endurance. Yue's golden eyes moved slowly, taking in the unfamiliar fixtures.

Mira stepped forward and reached toward a metallic knob.

"This is the shower," she explained casually. "You turn this—" she twisted it slightly, and water began to pour from above, steady and clear "—to start it. Adjust this side for temperature."

Steam began to rise almost instantly.

Yue blinked once.

Efficient.

Contained.

Civilized.

Mira picked up a bottle, squeezing a small amount into her palm. "This is soap. This is shampoo. You just… use them. Rinse after."

Yue nodded.

Simple mechanics.

Nothing foreign once explained.

"If you need anything, I'll be outside," Mira added, already stepping back toward the door.

Yue inclined her head once. "Understood."

The door closed quietly behind Mira.

For a moment, Yue simply stood there.

Listening.

The steady rhythm of falling water.

The warmth in the air.

The absence of pressure.

No chains.

No watchers.

No weight on her soul.

She dropped the jacket and stepped forward slowly.

The water touched her skin.

Warm.

Soft.

It slid down her shoulders, over old scars, along healed cracks that had once carried demonic corruption. Her breath caught, just slightly, as sensation returned fully.

Five hundred years.

Five hundred years of confinement.

And now…

This.

Yue closed her eyes.

Let the water run over her face.

Her body relaxed incrementally, tension unwinding in layers she hadn't even realized she carried. Her fingers moved instinctively, tracing over her arms, her shoulders, as if confirming she was… whole.

Alive.

Free.

But her mind…

Her mind didn't settle.

It drifted.

Backward.

Not to the moment of chains.

Not to the pain.

To before that.

To the first time she met him.

Kaelmor.