Chapter 86: Pure Air

At the same time, in another part of the city, a changing room door slowly opened.

The four Succubi waiting outside immediately lowered their heads, though their expressions turned somewhat strange when they saw the man being wheeled out.

He was still seated in his familiar electric cart, but his entire body was now enclosed in an exceptionally thick silver-white suit. Two cylindrical air tanks were mounted on his back, and a transparent spherical helmet covered his head. The suit had been widened so much around his stomach that the garment, originally made for an astronaut, resembled a giant ball with arms and legs.

This was what Laviana had given him in exchange for dissolving their Contract: a suit discovered in an ancient human ruin, equipped with its own air circulation and filtration systems. It almost completely isolated the wearer from the outside environment.

To most Awakened, its practical value was hardly enough to drive anyone mad.

But to him—

It was nearly a sacred relic.

The man took a deep breath. The air passed through the suit’s filtration system, leaving only a faint metallic scent. His hands trembled involuntarily with excitement.

"Finally..."

A Succubus behind him looked at him in confusion.

"My lord?"

The man slowly opened his eyes. His voice sounded slightly distorted through the filter, but it could not hide his emotion.

"No Succubus smell."

All four women fell silent.

He took another deep breath, then raised his head as though he had discovered something sacred.

"Pure air. So this is what a noble man ought to breathe."

A maid moved a little closer, intending to check the safety clasp at his side. He immediately flinched.

"Stop!"

The girl froze.

"But the safety clasp—"

"I’ll check it myself." The man looked at her hand as if it were something filthy, his voice turning irritable. "I’ve been wearing this sacred suit for less than five minutes. Are you trying to dirty it?"

The maid immediately stepped back and bowed her head.

"I’m sorry, my lord."

The man nodded with satisfaction. But just as the electric cart was about to move, he pointed at the stone floor ahead.

"There."

Another Succubus immediately grew tense.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just saw you walk across it."

She fell silent.

The man stared at the floor, his tone so grave that one might have thought a dangerous plague had appeared there.

"Disinfect it."

After several seconds of silence, the Succubus obediently took out a sprayer. A disinfectant mist settled over the stone floor. Only when the chemical smell had spread and the suit’s system reported that the air ahead was clean did the man drive his cart across it.

Even while wearing a suit that covered his entire body, he had no intention of walking on his own.

In his view, a noble man certainly could walk. Whether he needed to was an entirely different matter.

The electric cart slowly left the changing room, with a group of Succubi following behind it. The man looked at the transparent visor surrounding his face, and the corners of his lips gradually curved upward.

Laviana probably thought that handing over this suit had settled everything.

Foolish woman.

A Succubus had dared to leave a man of her own accord while keeping such an enormous fortune. If he let that pass, what would other Succubi think?

He would never allow it to become a precedent.

"The Council."

The woman driving the cart immediately asked, "My lord, do you wish to go to Council headquarters?"

"Yes." He looked through the window ahead, his gaze gradually turning cold. "Laviana needs to be taught the rules again."

...

Nearly an hour later, the man sat in a reception room of the Sacred Sun Men’s Council, still wearing the entire protective suit. He had not even removed the helmet.

Several Council members seated around him gave him odd looks, but none mocked him. On the contrary, two seemed quite interested in the suit.

"You’re saying it doesn’t need outside air at all?"

"More or less." The man lifted his chin slightly, pride filling his voice. "I’ll find a way to give you the location of the ruins later."

Having said that, he quickly changed the subject.

"Laviana has dissolved our Contract."

A man sitting opposite him raised an eyebrow.

"Of her own accord?"

"Yes."

"And you agreed?"

"That isn’t the issue." His voice immediately grew more unpleasant. "The issue is that she believes she can leave a man and still keep all her assets."

The room fell quiet for several seconds.

He continued, utterly convinced that there was nothing wrong with what he was saying.

"Her media company, real estate, shares, and service chains. Everything she owns was built within a society whose order is maintained by men."

His gloved finger tapped lightly against the armrest.

"Succubi earn money to serve men. They own property because men permit it. Now that she has chosen to abandon the Contract, she must naturally return everything she acquired during that time."

Another man rested his chin on one hand.

"You want to confiscate it?"

"No." The man shook his head, the corner of his mouth lifting. "’Confiscate’ isn’t the right word. I merely want to return those assets to where they rightfully belong."

No one asked where that was.

They all understood.

The Council.

The man leaned back in his electric cart and continued.

"First, freeze some of her accounts. Then inspect her business licenses and contact the families with stakes in her companies. As for the Pairing Center..."

His gaze behind the visor grew colder.

"Flag Laviana as a Succubus displaying unstable behavior."

One man frowned slightly.

"Do you have evidence that she poses a danger?"

The man looked at him as though he had just heard an extraordinarily foolish question.

"She voluntarily left her Partner."

He paused.

"What more evidence do you need?"

The room was silent for several seconds. Then a few of the men slowly nodded.

Satisfied, the man settled back in his cart. The bulky astronaut suit made him look like a giant white ball placed on a chair, but the face behind the visor remained full of arrogance.

"Laviana will understand."

He sneered.

"Without a man, she won’t be able to keep a thing."

...

The following morning, gentle sunlight passed through the curtains and fell across the large bed in the wooden villa.

Laviana slowly woke. Her head still felt heavy, and her body was so weak that for the first few seconds, she hardly wanted to move. Her red hair lay scattered across the pillow, and a thin blanket covered her body. But when she instinctively turned to look beside her, she froze.

Empty.

A sudden feeling of loss washed over her.

An unfamiliar room.

An unfamiliar bed.

No Erik. No Meira or Elowen, either.

For an instant, Laviana almost believed that everything from the previous day had been a dream.

She remained silent for several seconds before slowly lowering a hand to her abdomen. The moment her fingertips touched the spot beneath her navel, a faint warmth spread from it.

The Succubus Mark.

A heart.

At its center, the pupil of a snake.

Laviana went still. Then the memories of yesterday quickly returned: the wooden house, Erik, Meira and her daughter, the feeling of being held, and the words she had spoken to herself before falling asleep.

This time... I’m not going back.

The corners of Laviana’s lips slowly curved upward.

She closed her eyes, her hand still resting over the Mark.

"It wasn’t a dream."

Her voice was very soft, but the smile on her lips grew clearer.

After a while, Laviana got out of bed, put on a nightgown, and went outside. The villa was quiet, with no servants or staff moving about. But as she neared the bottom of the stairs, voices and laughter reached her from the kitchen.

"Meira, put that down."

"I’m only having a little taste."

"You’ve tasted it three times already."

"Three times is still a little."

A brief silence followed. Then Elowen’s voice rang out.

"Erik, Mother’s sneaking food!"

"Good girls don’t tell on their mothers."

Laviana stopped at the foot of the stairs. A strange feeling slowly spread through her chest. She walked over, stood in the kitchen doorway, and looked inside.

Erik stood in front of the skillet. Beside him, Meira held a piece of meat she had just stolen, without the slightest trace of remorse on her face. Elowen was setting plates on the table, though she kept watching her mother as if guarding against a thief.

Three people.

Such a simple scene.

So noisy.

And yet so ordinary that Laviana stood watching for several more seconds.

Erik was the first to notice her. He turned, showing no surprise at all.

"You’re awake?"

Laviana paused slightly.

Erik smiled faintly.

"Have a seat. Breakfast is almost ready."