Chapter 1171: Greed Doesn’t Protect The King. It Protects The Treasury

Chapter 1171 – Greed Doesn’t Protect The King. It Protects The Treasury

Lux pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sira... You named an ancient prisoner Slimy?"

"It didn’t remember its name."

"That doesn’t make Slimy better."

"It is descriptive."

The slime made a pleased wobbling motion.

Sira pointed. "See? Slimy likes it."

Lux looked at the creature. "Do you?"

The slime bubbled happily.

Lux closed his eyes. "Fine."

Sira continued proudly, "It was the supreme leader of the Forgotten Corridor."

Lux’s eyes opened again. "The supreme leader?"

"Yes."

Lux slowly turned toward Slimy.

The translucent creature took another dignified sip of coffee.

A supreme leader?

Named Slimy?

What the hell?

Then something shifted in Lux’s arms.

Runa.

His attention snapped downward.

Her face remained pale.

Enough nonsense.

Lux carried her toward the long sofa opposite Terra. "Move the medical supplies here."

The servants reacted immediately.

He lowered Runa carefully onto the cushions.

Her feline tail hung limply over the edge.

Lux crouched beside her. One hand went beneath her head while the other hovered over her chest. "Dark Healing."

Black magic flowed from his palm.

It spread gently this time.

Not the brutal ’patch it enough to keep fighting’ version.

Controlled.

Slow.

The cut on Runa’s forehead closed first.

Bruising along her ribs faded.

Lux’s eyes narrowed as his magic found deeper damage caused by repeated impacts from the formation. "Stubborn cat."

Runa didn’t respond.

Vaelor watched from nearby.

Eve had been transferred carefully into a chair, wrapped in blankets by the servants. She looked exhausted, but her pale-blue eyes remained fixed on Lux’s hands as he healed Runa.

"You care for her," Eve murmured.

Lux didn’t look up. "She’s mine."

Silence.

Sira’s eyebrows rose.

Then a slow, wicked smile curled across her lips.

"Well. That’s an interesting announcement."

Lux finally looked up from Runa. "All of you are mine. I’m Greed."

Sira’s smile widened.

Gula stopped halfway through biting a pastry.

Lux ignored them.

There were many disadvantages to being surrounded by women who knew exactly how to twist his words.

Unfortunately, Vaelor was learning quickly. The massive knight looked at Lux. "Now that’s an interesting announcement for me."

Lux’s head slowly turned.

Vaelor’s face remained remarkably straight.

Eve covered her mouth, but the faint curve of her lips betrayed her.

Four hundred years imprisoned inside a fortress, and the bastard had rediscovered humor within twenty minutes of freedom.

Lux pointed at him. "I know your loyalty belongs to your princess."

Vaelor’s amusement faded into something quieter.

Lux lowered his hand. "But Kaelmor’s people know you escaped with me. They know Eve escaped with me. That means from this moment onward, both of you are associated with me."

His red eyes hardened.

"So congratulations. You’re my problem too."

Vaelor stared at him.

That wasn’t ownership.

He understood the distinction.

For Lux, mine apparently covered an alarming number of definitions, including lovers, family, employees, investments, allies, responsibilities, people under his protection, and probably coffee beans.

Before Vaelor could answer, Lyra approached carrying a tray.

Two small crystal bottles rested on it.

"Please." She offered one to Eve. "Recovery elixir."

Eve shook her head gently. "Thank you, but I can heal."

Lyra smiled. "This will help your body recover faster, so your own healing doesn’t have to do all the work."

Eve hesitated.

Her eyes moved toward Lux.

Then Vaelor.

Finally, she accepted it.

"Thank you."

Vaelor received another bottle.

He inspected the liquid suspiciously.

Lux noticed. "You ate royal guards’ swords with your hands earlier. And now you’re suspicious of medicine?"

Vaelor drank the entire bottle.

"Good decision."

Lyra suppressed a smile. "I’ll bring some soup. Something light. Hopefully it will be suitable for your appetite."

Eve nodded gratefully. "That sounds wonderful."

The softness in her voice made Vaelor look at her immediately.

Centuries.

Lux couldn’t even imagine what ordinary soup might mean after centuries inside that chamber.

He looked away and returned his attention to Runa.

One final pulse passed through her.

The remaining bruising faded considerably.

Her breathing became deeper.

Better.

Lux withdrew his hand. Then his attention shifted toward Sira and Gula. "What about you guys?"

Sira tilted her head. "Hmm?"

"Anyone hurt?"

"The others are resting. Everyone’s fine. They already consumed elixirs."

Lux’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

Sira gestured between herself and Gula. "Us too. Mostly minor injuries."

Gula had already relocated to the pastry table.

She sat happily with one leg swinging beneath her chair while holding something covered in cream.

Lux stared.

Gula waved.

"That’s great," Lux said.

Sira smirked proudly. "I had Pride House elite soldiers backing me."

That caught Lux’s attention. "Pride soldiers?"

She nodded.

"Once the royal audits turned openly hostile, Pride stopped pretending this was an administrative disagreement." She pointed toward Gula. "Gula had Gluttony House soldiers."

Gula raised her pastry. "Very helpful."

Lux suspected her definition of helpful involved both violence and snacks. "And Yue?"

"Sloth House soldiers backed her team."

Lux became quiet.

So that was how far things had moved while he’d been underground.

House soldiers.

Openly deployed.

"I see." Lux leaned back against the sofa. "So everyone’s moving openly now."

Sira nodded.

There was no reason to pretend anymore.

Kaelmor had crossed the line first when royal enforcement attacked Wrath and attempted to seize restricted House assets. Now the Sin Houses were responding as sovereign powers rather than obedient departments beneath the throne.

Lyra approached Lux.

Another elixir appeared in front of him.

He looked at it.

She didn’t say anything.

Lux took it.

Gula noticed immediately. "You didn’t use Greed soldiers, Lux?"

"No." He uncorked the bottle.

"Why?"

Lux drank.

The elixir burned pleasantly down his throat, spreading warmth through his battered body. "Greed soldiers need to remain at Prime Nexus."

Sira understood immediately. "The Greed tower."

Lux nodded. "Prime Nexus can’t be taken." His voice lost its humor. "That tower controls too much of Hell’s economic infrastructure. Inter-house settlements, reserve channels, financial archives, secured contracts, emergency liquidity routes..." His fingers tightened around the empty bottle. "Every Sin House has funds running through systems housed there."

Vaelor stared at him.

He understood swords.

Armies.

Fortresses.

Apparently Lux’s fortress was accounting.

"If Prime Nexus falls," Lux continued, "Kaelmor doesn’t need to defeat every House militarily. He can cripple their ability to move money, pay soldiers, supply territories, settle obligations or access reserves."

Sira crossed her arms. "So your soldiers stayed behind."

"Every one I could spare." Lux smiled. "Prime Nexus was the more important mission."

Gula stopped chewing. "More important than protecting you?"

"Yes."

No hesitation.

Sira’s expression softened despite herself.

Lux set the empty bottle aside. "Greed doesn’t protect the king." His red eyes glinted. "It protects the treasury."

He leaned back, battered, dusty and exhausted.

"So I backed myself up."