My Lust System: I Inherited The Sin Of Lust And His Three Wives

Chapter 378: Clara’s Dilema

Clara glanced at Damian in surprise, but the latter did not seem bothered in the slightest. To him, exchanging death threats with his brothers appeared to be the most ordinary thing imaginable. There was no lingering anger on his face, no frustration, no excitement. It was simply another conversation concluded.

He picked up the tablet resting on the glass table and calmly began scrolling through the latest reports covering Lebanon alongside fresh headlines describing similar uprisings beginning to spread throughout parts of the Middle East. His expression never changed as article after article slid past beneath his fingertips.

"Wrath may just send in his subordinates next." Damian spoke without looking away from the screen. "So what should I expect?"

"Dragons," Rin answered immediately without needing even a second to think. The little fox folded his paws together as his ears twitched. "Real dragons. They will probably be the strongest demigods you’ve fought so far."

Clara visibly flinched upon hearing that single word. Dragons belonged in fairy tales and ancient myths, yet the way Damian merely nodded made it sound as routine as preparing for another business meeting. Then she remembered Hagrid.

She remembered the overwhelming pressure that had filled the church, the hopelessness she had felt, and the moment Damian’s true body arrived only to tear Hagrid apart so effortlessly that the battle became one sided. Among creatures she once believed to be monsters, Damian himself had become something entirely different. Even monsters measured themselves against him.

She quietly studied his face while he continued reading the news with complete indifference, almost as though he were not the catalyst behind everything unfolding on the screen. She wanted to ask him about the countless lives being lost because of the revolution, yet every time the thought reached her lips, it died there.

As one of the members of the Order of Moses assigned to that region, she already knew the people there had been dying long before Damian arrived. Families disappeared. Journalists vanished. Entire villages suffered beneath the Blood Dunes for years. The difference now was that they were dying fighting for their own freedom instead of quietly accepting oppression. It made condemning him far more difficult than she wanted it to be.

Eventually she released a weary sigh and leaned back against the couch, rubbing her forehead. Navigating whatever existed between herself and Damian had become exhausting.

Once upon a time they had simply been coworkers who fell in love. Now the man sitting opposite her was capable of altering the fate of entire nations without leaving his seat. She wanted to love him wholeheartedly, but the world surrounding him challenged every belief she had spent her life building. Every step she took toward him felt like another step away from the person she had always believed herself to be.

After finishing the article, Damian slowly raised his eyes from the tablet and looked directly at her. That conflicted expression had become painfully familiar.

Ever since bringing Clara here, it had become the face she wore most often. Saving her from Hagrid had intensified the affection burning within her gaze, yet it had never erased the hesitation hidden beneath it. She wanted him, but she also questioned him, and those two emotions continuously battled one another.

He quietly placed both the tablet and his untouched coffee onto the table before giving her his full attention.

"You always look conflicted." A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I already told you one night together will rid you of your doubts."

Clara nearly choked on her own breath. Heat instantly rushed into her face until even the tips of her ears turned red. She instinctively lowered her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. Damian could practically feel the longing stirring inside her, but he could also sense the immense restraint she continued imposing upon herself.

"If we do that..." she murmured quietly, "...I may never be fair in my judgment."

Damian leaned forward slightly, genuine curiosity appearing in his eyes.

"We’re lovers. Why must we judge each other?" he asked. "And even if we do judge each other, must it be by the same standards we judge everyone else?"

Those words struck Clara far harder than she expected. She bit her lower lip while struggling to answer. The conflict inside her became even more obvious. Damian simply watched her in silence. He knew how easy it would be to use his authority. He could strip away her doubt, strengthen her desire and erase every hesitation within seconds. Yet that thought disgusted him. He wanted Clara because she chose him, not because he had rewritten her heart. An eternity spent surrounded by people who loved him only because he compelled them to would become its own prison.

After watching her struggle for several more moments, he sighed softly.

"Then let’s go on a date."

Clara blinked in surprise, her head lifting immediately.

"What?"

"A date." Damian shrugged. "I’m thinking of something simple. Something human."

She continued staring at him, almost convinced she had misheard. The same man manipulating governments and confronting gods was asking her on a normal date.

When she still failed to answer, Damian tilted his head.

"What?" he asked. "Am I not allowed to go on dates?"

She hurriedly shook her head.

"It’s not that..."

"Then explain it in a way I can understand."

Clara opened her mouth before closing it again. Eventually she slumped back against the couch with another exhausted sigh.

How was she supposed to explain that it felt wrong going on a romantic date while an entire country burned? The words sounded unfair even inside her own mind.

"I understand why you’re attracted to her, but I don’t understand why you’re making an effort to keep her, especially when it’s obvious she’ll become a liability."

Both Clara and Damian turned toward the source of the voice.

Racheal lay comfortably across the bed on her stomach, hugging one of Damian’s pillows beneath her chest while absentmindedly kicking her feet in the air behind her. She looked completely relaxed, as though she had been listening to the entire conversation for some time.

"I mean," she continued matter of factly, "if she joins this family she’ll question everything we do. She’ll hesitate every time a difficult decision has to be made, and you know better than anyone how dangerous hesitation can be."

She spoke without hostility or jealousy. There was no bitterness in her tone. To Racheal, this was simply a practical concern. She never interfered with Damian’s decisions lightly, but she also refused to remain silent when she believed he was making a mistake.

"She’ll come around," Damian answered calmly. "Be patient."

He looked back toward Clara.

When he first rescued her, she could barely look him in the eyes. She argued with nearly everything he did and openly criticized his decisions. Now she no longer condemned him outright. Instead she questioned herself. She wrestled with her own beliefs before judging him. To Damian, that alone was undeniable progress, and more importantly, it was genuine progress.

Clara offered him a tired smile.

"Maybe..." she said softly, "...we should postpone the date for now. I don’t think this is the right time."

Without waiting for a reply, she rose from the couch and quietly walked toward the door.

Damian watched her leave without trying to stop her. He had eternity ahead of him. There was no reason to rush something he wanted to happen naturally.

Once the door closed behind her, he slowly shifted his gaze toward Racheal.

"Really?" he asked, raising a single brow.

"I’m serious." Racheal sat upright and met his eyes without backing down. "If she’s going to stay like this, she’ll become a problem for everyone else. A team is only as strong as its weakest link."

Damian remained silent for several moments before slowly nodding.

"I understand."

He truly did.

He understood Racheal’s concerns just as clearly as he understood Clara’s hesitation. Neither woman was wrong. One viewed the situation through the lens of protecting the family. The other viewed it through the lens of protecting her conscience. Both perspectives could exist without canceling each other out.

Inside his mind, Rin let out a low whistle.

"Ooh, shit... you’ve actually become really mature."

A faint smile finally appeared on Damian’s face.

"Don’t get used to it," he answered inwardly. "I’m still capable of making terrible decisions."