RISE OF EROS

"You mean this is the work of the empire?" asked Belenio incredulously. He was a self-centered and overbearing man, so he never thought that the Cannaris empire might learn of his plans and strike back.

It was this same egocentrism that led him to ignore Dulma's warning and plan against the Cannaris empire, believing that the strength of his kingdom was superior to that of the empire. At the time Dulma had warned him that it was not wise to attack them, but his arrogance blinded him and this was the result.

Dulma despite being younger in age than Arturios and Demon looked older, which showed that he was weaker than them, it is common knowledge that, in this world apart from certain special methods, strength helps to maintain vitality which is why powerful experts generally look young.

It was for this very reason that Dulma knew that it was not a good idea to antagonize the empire, as he was clear that the kingdom of Tripia still did not reach the strength of the Cannaris empire, but he also could not go against the king's wishes, so he could not do anything.

Although he is stronger than Belenio and any other expert in the kingdom of Tripia and is even considered a powerful expert on the continent, he had sworn an oath of loyalty to the crown, so he could not go against the commands of Belenio, so he just let him act, but now he regretted not having pressed to prevent Belenio to act, because the empire had counterattacked and he knew that things would not end with just the death of some ministers and the burning of some warehouses.

News flew fast and in no time, Augustus, Arturios, the elves, and the beastmen learned of Demon's actions. Although they were surprised by Demon's forceful action, they were not upset, in fact, they rejoiced at his action.

Despite that, none of them were negligent and immediately organized high-level meetings in preparation for what could be retaliatory actions by Tripia's kingdom.

Countermeasures were quickly adopted. The borders with the kingdom of Tripia were reinforced, security in the territory of the elves and beastmen had been strengthened and the capital city was no exception.

All the inhabitants of the capital city were confused by the sudden, but strong security measures, so the organizations concentrated in the capital began to collect information. Candice and Andrew were not negligent either and also sent their agents to collect information.

It was really not difficult for them to find information about what was going on, as the empire was not hiding it. Many with ambitious thoughts were waiting for the right moment to carry out their plans, but little did they know that Augustus and his ministers were waiting for them to act.

While Augustus is a good king and his ministers are people loyal to the empire who had helped improve the quality of life for its citizens, the reality is that there is no organization that does not have some rotten eggs, let alone a country.

If such an organization exists, it could only be Andrew's Heavenly Palace, as it was under his absolute control not to mention that his Eros eyes would detect any ill intent instantly and his small size also benefited him.

After a day of investigations, Shadow's agents returned to the Heavenly Palace and recounted what they had found out. Although they did not know the exact details, they discovered the important points.

Simplifying the situation, Shadow's agents learned that the kingdom of Tripia had played some tricks to upset the empire and the empire counterattacked, so now they are taking steps for a possible war.

Although it was highly unlikely that a war between the two countries would directly affect the capital, everyone in the Heavenly Palace was worried, as a war would cause problems for their business.

It is obvious that, if a war breaks out, the sector that will suffer the most will be the entertainment sector, as the money will go to the war, that's means soldiers, food, and weapons, so the red light district will suffer.

Unfortunately, although they were worried, there was nothing they could do, as they had no power, or influence to intervene in such a big event, so they could only take some security measures and hope that war would not break out.

The night came and as Candice had promised she moved to the Heavenly Palace. She arrived in her carriage accompanied by her subordinates who would also be installed there.

Candice had intended that only Gaston would go for the moment, but her relationship with Andrew generated that Erick and Vala could not continue training in the mansion of Marquis Valoide.

Since Andrew was still considered an ambiguous character by the empire, no matter how much friendship Candice had with Teresa, the marquis could not allow two of Candice's agents to walk through his territory, so he apologized to Candice and sent them back.

Candice had not expected such a strong response. She knew that her relationship with Andrew would put her in the Marquis' crosshairs, but she didn't expect him to cut ties so strongly.

The only thing that relieved her was that the marquis did not intend to end all cooperation with her, as their business dealings were not affected and that was already a win.

She also didn't care much that Erick and Vala could no longer train with the marquis because she wanted her subordinates to become stronger in the first place because she felt the pressure from Andrew, but now that they were husband and wife, that pressure was gone.

She and her three subordinates were greeted by Victor very respectfully because all employees already knew that there was a new lady in the Heavenly Palace, so they treated her with the same respect as the other wives.

Quickly, they were led to the office, where Andrew and his trusted staff were and the instant they had entered, Candice said, "I imagine you know the situation."

"You know, I was hoping for a kiss or at least a hug from my wife whom I haven't seen all day, but you tell me that," Andrew said feigning sadness. Everyone let out a laugh at Andrew's fake performance and Candice, annoyed replied, "Be more serious."

After the comical performance, Andrew stopped his annoyance and replied, "Well, don't be mad. Yes, I know the situation." Candice also put her annoyance aside and asked a little dismayed, "I don't see you worried though."

"Well, what do you want me to do? It's not a situation where I can get involved," Andrew replied with a shrug. "True, but are you forgetting that your wife is a grocery merchant?" asked Candice wrinkling her eyebrows.

Until Candice said that, Andrew and the others had not remembered that Candice's main business was groceries, so she would be directly impacted if a war broke out.

At that moment, everyone adopted a serious expression and Andrew couldn't help but ask, "Do you have any plans in mind?" to which Candice replied, "If it were another time I wouldn't worry because with Marquis Valoid's backing, no one would dare play tricks on me, but now it's different."

Confused Andrew was about to ask the reason, but Oliver beat him to it by saying, "I see, now that Miss Candice is the young master's wife, she is considered part of the Heavenly Palace, so they will have their reservations too."

Candice just nodded slightly and began to tell about Teresa's visit and her warning, as she noticed that Andrew had not considered that this might happen.

Hearing Candice's story, Andrew understood everything. It wasn't that he was a dumb person, but he was really bad at the whole political thing, so it had never crossed his mind that his relationship with her would generate so much trouble.

Seeing that Andrew and the others had understood her situation Candice began to explain, "Even if I don't have his protection like before, I don't think he'll abandon me completely either, but he'll probably let me suffer a little so I should take action."

"What kind?" asked Andrew seriously because while he was not interested in his wife's business, that referred to participating in it, that did not mean that he would tell her that she should abandon them.

He knew Candice cherished her business because she had built it with her sweat and tears, so she would not part with it easily and he as her husband, would support her as much as he could.

Candice was a little reluctant to speak, as she had never had to ask for help of this kind, her pride would not allow it, but Gaston being the one who knew her best stepped forward and stated what Candice could not say, "Young master Andrew, what the young lady needs is protection."

Hearing Gaston, Candice was about to scold him and Andrew realized that, so he got up from his seat, walked over to Candice hugged her, and said, "I know you are a strong and independent woman, but you are also my wife now. Swallow your pride, if you need me just be selfish and ask for whatever you want."

Candice melted at Andrew's words and embrace and just nodded her head slightly. Noticing that Candice had understood his feelings, he let her go and without hesitation said, "Castor, starting tomorrow you will be in charge of Candice's protection. Oliver, send two Shadow agents with the best skills to support them."

Castor and Oliver instantly replied, "Understood." Hearing the responses Andrew turned to Candice again and giving her a loving smile said, "I know you have fended for yourself all your life, but now that you are my wife, you can trust me."

Candice felt an immense urge to cry, for no one had ever cared for her in this way, but she managed to hold it in. On the other hand, Gaston, Erick, and Vala were touched by Andrew's decisive way of acting. They still had their reservations about him, but now they knew that Andrew would not mistreat their boss and that relieved them.