Chapter 99: Nulissa’s Thoughts!

Jax watched them withdraw, their movements graceful, controlled, practiced. None lingered long enough to appear desperate. None left without making sure they were seen leaving politely. It was a retreat designed to preserve dignity, and options.

All of them seemed to be scheming to meet him somehow in the future. When they were gone, the avenue felt quieter than before, as if Nightengale itself had leaned in during the exchange and was now pretending it hadn’t listened.

Jax exhaled slowly.

“Yep,” he muttered to himself. “This is already messier than a battlefield.”

He didn’t linger. The longer he stayed visible and unescorted in districts like this, the more interest he would attract, and next time, the approach might be less polite and more aggressive.

While he doubted anyone would do that, knowing how powerful he was, there would always be a couple crazy people, and he didn’t want anything insane happening.

He turned smoothly and headed toward the administrative spires, his steps unhurried but purposeful.

As he walked, his plan crystallized. He wasn’t going to let Nightengale tear itself apart over him and he wasn’t going to let Nulissa shoulder this alone, and he certainly wasn’t going to let ambitious elders weaponize him like a breeding contract with legs.

Which meant there was only one responsible move. Talk to her directly and immediately.

The bells hadn’t rung yet, but that didn’t matter, he didn’t need ceremony for this.

Nulissa was in the upper administrative tower when Jax arrived, standing before a wide obsidian window that overlooked the heart of Nightengale City. Sigil-lit documents floated around her in quiet orbit, projections of schedules, rites, blood allocation ledgers, and security preparations for his official introduction.

She sensed him before he spoke, confused as he arrived but she immediately straightened her shoulders a fraction and looked towards hi, “Demon King Jax,” she said, turning with a precise, formal curtsy, “I was just preparing, ”

“We need to talk,” Jax said calmly.

That alone made her pause.

She dismissed the floating documents with a subtle gesture, the sigils dissolving into sparks of crimson light. “Of course,” she said. “Has something gone wrong?”

“No,” Jax replied. “But something will, if we don’t clear the air.”

That earned him her full attention.

She gestured toward a small, isolated seating area, polished black stone chairs, a low table inlaid with silver runes. “Please.”

They sat and Nulissa waited with practiced composure, hands folded neatly in her lap, crimson eyes attentive but guarded. She looked every bit the Clan Leader—calm, controlled, unflappable.

Jax studied her, now knowing what that composure cost.

“I met Virexa,” he said at last.

The effect was immediate. Her eyes widened, not dramatically, but unmistakably. Her fingers tightened together, knuckles paling slightly.

“…You found her,” she said quietly.

“I did, not that it was particularly difficult,” Jax muttered.

A breath left her that she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I apologize if she was… difficult.”

Jax smiled faintly. “She threatened to kill me within ten seconds. I’d call that honest.”

Despite herself, Nulissa let out a small, startled laugh before catching it and lowering her gaze. “That sounds like her.”

“She told me why you’re under pressure,” Jax continued gently. “About my blood. About what I represent to Vampire kind. About the elders.”

Silence fell.

This time, it was heavier.

Nulissa’s shoulders sank—just a little. Enough to betray the weight she’d been carrying.

“I wanted to tell you,” she said softly. “I truly did. But this is not a… comfortable subject. For anyone.”

“You didn’t have to carry it alone,” Jax said. “You could’ve just told me.”

She looked up sharply, startled. “I, what?”

“I’m not offended,” he said evenly. “And I’m not oblivious. I noticed the tension when you were giving me that tour y’know?” Her lips parted slightly, words failing her for once.

“I would have helped you from the start,” he continued.

The room felt very quiet and Nulissa swallowed, “You’re the Demon King,” she said. “Your time is valuable. Your position is… precarious. I didn’t want Nightengale’s internal struggles to become your burden.”

Jax leaned forward slightly, forearms resting on his knees. “You’re a pillar of the Demon Kingdom. Your struggles are my business.”

That did it.

Her composure softened, her posture less rigid. She looked… relieved. And suddenly very aware of herself.

“I was afraid,” she admitted quietly. “Afraid that if I brought this to you, you’d think we were trying to claim you. Or manipulate you. Or, ”

“Exploit me?” Jax offered.

She nodded, cheeks faintly darkening. “Yes.”

He shook his head. “I know the difference between ambition and desperation. And I know when someone is trying to do right by their people.”

She let out a slow breath, one hand rising unconsciously to rest over her heart. “You have no idea how much that means.”

“I might,” Jax said gently. “I’ve been on the receiving end of impossible expectations too.”

That earned him a small, shy smile.

But it also made her more nervous, not less.

“About the aristocrats…” she began hesitantly.

“I met them,” Jax said. “Several.”

Her ears, normally hidden beneath her hair, twitched slightly, a subtle vampiric tell. “I was afraid of that.”

“They’re moving fast,” he said. “Too fast. Which tells me the elders are already pressing harder than you let on.”

She nodded. “They are, pretty much daily,”

“And you didn’t want to force me into the middle of it.”

“Yes.”

Jax stood, pacing slowly toward the window beside her. “Here’s what we’re not going to do,” he said calmly. “We’re not going to let them dictate the narrative. And we’re not going to let you look isolated or cornered.”

She turned toward him. “Then… what do we do?”

He looked back at her, golden eyes steady, confident.

“We control the pace,” he said. “Together.”

Her breath caught—just slightly.

“I’ll make it clear,” he continued, “publicly and unmistakably, that any relationship involving me is my choice. Not a bargaining chip. Not a bloodline strategy.”

“That alone will shake them,” Nulissa said quietly.

“Good,” Jax replied. “They need shaking.”

She hesitated, then asked softly, “And… us?”

Jax met her gaze.

“We take our time,” he said. “No pressure. No expectations. You don’t owe me anything.”

Her cheeks darkened further, a rare, vulnerable flush.

“…Thank you,” she said. “For trusting me.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep