“I’ve finished changing. You can turn around now.”
The little succubus’s sweet voice chimed from behind. As Xavier turned, his pupils dilated instantly, locking unblinkingly onto the small succubus standing before him.
The former leather jacket and trousers had been discarded. The young succubus now draped a sheer, translucent layer of black silk over his frame, drawn together at his slender waist by a golden chain belt. Behind him, Xavier’s hands instinctively clenched into fists, as though he had already grasped that soft, delicate waistline within his palms.
As for the chest chain…
Xavier’s gaze settled upon the unfastened collar of the little succubus’s attire. The black fabric rendered his skin as flawlessly white as driven snow, while several delicate gold chains traced across the fair “canvas” before vanishing into the pulled-together collar, shifting gently with every movement of their owner.
Even the normally calm, self-restrained Grand Archangel was captivated by this near-flawless creation, having eyes for nothing else.
“How does it look, my lord?” Tugging softly at his hem, Huey spun around slowly to give Xavier a full display.
Truth be told, any overly vigorous movement risked snapping the delicate chains apart.
His Adam’s apple bobbing, Xavier spoke in a voice deepened by huskiness, “It looks stunning.”
A succubus’s innate allure was brought to its absolute peak before this Archangel.
With his eyebrows curving happily at the praise, Huey’s heart-shaped tail also partially veiled beneath a dusting of black silk swished playfully, half-concealing a dairy-white little heart tip.
The privacy cloth covering the broadcasting camera had been removed. Raising his tail high, the little succubus cast a sultry, alluring wink straight toward the lens.
“Upon closer inspection, this waist and chest chain set are actually quite lovely, aren’t they!” Twirling his frame lightly, the fine gold chains draping from Huey’s body caught the studio lighting and cast a dazzling glare.
The frantic barrage of bullet comments flashing across the screen drew a frown from Xavier. For a fleeting second, an impulse to grab a cloth and re-cover the camera lens actually crossed his mind.
This is getting entirely too chaotic, Xavier thought, shaking his head gently as he pressed a hand to his throbbing temple. A spark of light-element energy slipped from his fingertips directly into his brow, soothing his tangled emotions.
“My lord?” Reclining comfortably upon a padded chaise lounge, Huey beckoned to Xavier with an inviting crook of his finger.
“Come here, my lord.”
Resting his cheek upon one hand, the little succubus leaned sideways against the embroidered gold-threaded daybed. His long tail coiled into a heart shape behind him, leaving the glowing platinum-gold heart tip suspended right at the center of the loop. Once reclined, the black silk draped over him proved somewhat short, managing to cover only as far down as his shins while a pair of mischievous, fair little feet peeked out from beneath the fabric, adorned with a pair of delicate ankle chains.
Remaining silent, Xavier simply closed the distance toward Huey at a measured pace, his tall, imposing silhouette gradually enveloping the bewildered little succubus.
Blinking, Huey hadn’t forgotten his primary professional duty. Fanning his fingers lightly across the golden chain girding his waist, he cooed:
“As everyone knows, this jewelry set crafted from bone dragons is exquisitely made. However, they suffer from one fatal flaw: they are terribly fragile!!!”
“Setting aside demons with immense physical strength, even we succubi can snap them apart with minimal effort. Consequently, wearing these accessories out and about is quite impractical. However…”
Taking a sudden pivot, Huey reached out to wrap his arms around Xavier’s neck, drawing the towering man down toward himself until his entire body was cradled within the man’s arms and embrace.
Resting his head against the man’s shoulder, the little succubus poked out the tip of a soft, pink little tongue, dangling a tiny gold chain right across his lips.
“Under certain circumstances… being fragile isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you know~”
With a firm exertion of strength from Xavier, Huey tumbled backward onto the daybed. The small heart-shaped tip in his eyes flickered with a hazy, intoxicating luminescence as the golden chains wound in a messy tangle across his silk-draped frame, resembling a seductive gift ribbon wrapped around a prize waiting to be unwrapped.
The man’s large hand came to rest upon the little succubus’s waist. The delicate chains felt exceptionally frail beneath his grip; with a slight compression of his palm, link after link began fracturing and snapping apart, showering across the dark silk like starlight scattered across a midnight sky.
“As you can all see, although the bone dragons deliberately manufactured this jewelry to be fragile, their choice of raw materials is undeniably top-tier exquisite and stunning.”
Picking up a short segment of broken gold chain to display, Huey continued smoothly: “If you feel this is too extravagant, you can always commission a goblin later to reforge them into an alternative style. Or, you can simply tuck them away inside a keepsake box as a cherished token of romance.”
As Huey spoke, the large hand continued tracing downward across his body, leaving his attire scattered with “starlight.”
In the next instant, as the final strand securing his narrow waist snapped cleanly apart, the soft, silky black fabric lost its restraint and threatened to drift open, revealing the young succubus’s flawless skin…
Shifting his position slightly, Huey prepared to showcase the chest chain properly.
However, with a nimble and practiced flick of his fingers, Xavier produced a length of exceptionally sturdy cord from thin air, firmly binding the little succubus’s waist in a tight wrap before tying it off in a secure double knot.
Stunned into blank incomprehension, Huey blinked down at the impromptu “belt” tied around his waist.
“The previous belt wasn’t secure enough,” Xavier declared, casually pressing down on Huey’s hands to stop him from untying it. “This one is sturdy.”
A cascade of dark lines crossed Huey’s face; he thought to himself that of course it was sturdy the man had practically used rope meant for capturing magical beast captives!
“My lord!” The little succubus protested with an indignant glare. “We haven’t even demonstrated the chest chain yet!”
Frowning slightly, Xavier offered a soothing pat to the young demon before turning his gaze directly toward the broadcasting camera, stating with absolute flatness:
“A succubus belonging to oneself… should naturally be pampered using only the finest things available.”
Isn’t that delivery far too cold and blunt?! Huey panicked inwardly, horrified that such a sales pitch would tank their numbers!
Scrambling off the daybed, he rushed past Xavier straight to the broadcasting lens, desperately hoping to salvage the situation. Glancing sideways at the screen, however, he froze the sales volume was skyrocketing at breakneck speed, teetering on the verge of a complete sellout.
A closer look left Huey simultaneously amused and exasperated.
While his initial marketing angle had worked by introducing a novel romantic utility, brawny demons with immense physical strength naturally preferred sturdier, everyday alternatives. The current surge in purchases was entirely driven by Xavier’s arrogant, overbearing proclamation moments prior, which had instantly triggered the competitive possessiveness of the watching demons.
“They’re all sold out?” Walking up behind him, Xavier cast a glance at the interface.
Nodding, Huey sighed in lingering disbelief. “My lord, you are truly incredible!”
Now… only a single item remained.
While the waist and chest chains had cleared out instantly, the lie-detector potion hadn’t moved a single unit.
Viewers continuously flooded the chat with assertions that a potion carrying such a pungent odor could never fool a partner into consuming it.
A crafty, calculating glint flashed in Huey’s eyes. If passive administration won’t work, we’ll just have to go active.
“Demons in the Underworld tend to be quite fickle, don’t they?” Lifting the potion vial to give it a shake, Huey let out a soft sigh. “Whether you’re a succubus or a demon, the odds of running into an emotional swindler are remarkably high.”
“You clearly just want to enjoy a sincere romance, only to stumble upon one heartbreak after another. It’s truly heartbreaking for us.”
Lowering his gaze, the little succubus fluttered his long eyelashes like a pair of dancing butterflies, utterly unable to conceal the sorrow written across his face as he looked on the verge of tears.
Having never practiced comforting anyone or anything in his life, Xavier found himself completely thrown off balance by the abrupt emotional shift. Before his brain could process his actions, his body reacted autonomously: when he snapped back to reality, the little succubus was already safely tucked against his chest.
“If it brings you sorrow, then we simply won’t engage in romance,” Xavier murmured in a low, soothing tone.
Come back to Heaven with me, and no demon will ever deceive you again.
Taken aback by his reaction for a split second, Huey quickly seized the momentum, leaning fully into the embrace to lift his tear-glistened face and peer up at the man with a pitiable expression. “Would you ever deceive me?”
A pitiful little succubus, pools of crystalline tears welling up in his large eyes, gazing up at the tall, handsome man with an expression of utter, unquestioning devotion as though he had surrendered his entire mind and soul into the man’s keeping.
Pausing for a fraction of a second, Xavier extended his hand, inviting the restless, panicking heart-shaped tail behind the young demon to coil itself reassuringly around his arm.
“I would never deceive you.”
The Grand Archangel reasoned with absolute composure that he had never explicitly claimed to be a demon, meaning no falsehood had technically been spoken.
Nodding obediently, Huey pressed further with a soft inquiry: “My lord… do you find me cute?”
When a soft, delicate succubus looked at you with such eager, longing anticipation, even the most cold-hearted angel could find no justification for a refusal.
Curving his lips into a faint smile, Xavier reached out to stroke the young demon’s head gently. “You are the most adorable little succubus I have ever laid eyes on.”
So adorable that I find myself wanting to carry you back to Heaven to keep.
Blinking bashfully, Huey followed up with a sweet, wheedling tone: “Then… my lord, is my tail cute?”
Hearing its name called, the platinum-gold little heart tip perked straight up, shaking itself energetically before consciously reining in its brilliant luminescence in a clumsy attempt to disguise itself as an ordinary-colored heart.
“There is no need for that.” Reaching out, Xavier closed his palm around the frantically camouflaging heart tip, channeling a surge of pure light-element energy directly into it that flooded the tail with warm, restorative vitality.
In an instant, Huey felt his knees turn to jelly, leaving him completely boneless as he melted against Xavier’s chest. By contrast, the little heart-shaped tail was overflowing with vibrant energy, radiating a brilliance that outshone every single display throughout Huey’s three centuries of life.
“I stated as much upon our very first meeting,” Xavier murmured, his strong arm circling the waist of the nearly liquefied little succubus to provide sturdy support and keep him from sliding to the floor. “You possess a wonderfully cute, wonderfully enthusiastic little tail.”
How is it that this lord’s sweet talk puts even us succubi to shame? Huey’s brain whirled in a hazy blur.
Shaking his head slightly in an effort to clear away the intoxicating fog and resist the allure of the demon’s honeyed words
“Then, my lord.” Wrapping both arms around the man’s neck, the little succubus pressed his delicate nose lightly against the bobbing line of Xavier’s throat, inhaling and pressing a soft kiss to his skin.
“Would you be willing to drink this lie-detector potion for my sake, to prove your absolute sincerity?”
A succubus’s charm is saturated with tenderness, wrapping razor-sharp barbs in layers of warmth as it subtly seduces the holy, detached angel.
Lowering his gaze, Xavier locked eyes with Huey’s violet irises, drowning entirely in the vast, boundless ocean of affection swirling within them.
Succubi were, without a shadow of a doubt, creatures dangerously skilled at captivating human and angelic hearts.