RISE OF EROS

Candice had not noticed the strange look her friend was giving her, as she was focused on Donald's expression, at the end of the day he was the one she had to convince, for the plan to work.

While it was true that they had decided that they would provide food supplies to the empire, to put themselves on good terms, the Marquis would most likely not believe them because in his mind anyone in Andrew's position would prefer to run away under any excuse.

As if to check Candice's thoughts the marquis asked with a wry tone, "Do you want us to believe that excuse?", to which Candice replied nonchalantly, "It's not an excuse. He certainly has additional plans, but he will still deliver on the food supply."

The Marquis looked earnestly at Candice to see if he could see anything in her expression, but Candice remained with her characteristic business smile that was hard to read.

Donald had done a lot of business with Candice in the past, so he knew that expression. He long ago had given up trying to read her, as he knew he would get nowhere, and since Candice had always acted with integrity, he had confidence in her, but now the situation was different.

Being Andrew's wife and the latter being a research subject of the empire, the Marquis could no longer give her the same confidence she once had, but he was a little annoyed that Candice was so hard to read.

"Why are you so sure he will comply? How do you know he didn't just give that excuse to run away?", Donald asked trying to get information. Since he couldn't read her expression, he would ask the questions directly.

Although this strategy was unreliable since she could lie, he intended to see if he could find a question that would upset Candice and make her lose her composure, but he was not optimistic.

"It's simple, why would he give up his business?", Candice replied calmly as if the answer was obvious, but the marquis didn't hold back and said, "He could have just walked away and waited for the situation to calm down and come back."

Candice had to admit that the Marquis had a valid point with his statement, as many people did that, but she didn't back down and said, "Why would he leave his wives behind then?".

"He could have left them behind too," said the marquis with not very good intentions. He wanted to see if the comment could make Candice angry or show any opinion and it had a result because, for the first time, he saw Candice wrinkle her eyebrows, clearly annoyed.

Teresa who was watching from the side, noticed her husband's intentions and although she did not approve of them, she said nothing because she was also a noble of the empire, and she knew she had to look after the interests of the empire over her friendship, which made her feel bad.

"The Marquis is quite disrespectful, perhaps we should take his suggestion and follow our husband," Candice said annoyed. While it was a threat, the marquis was unfazed.

He was very happy internally, as he knew he had touched a sensitive nerve of Candice's and could take advantage of that, however, before he could continue pressing, Candice's voice came again, "Well, leaving us out of games I'll tell you plainly what's going on."

Donald could see that Candice had regained her composure and he cursed inwardly, but only waved his hand indicating Candice to continue.

"First, the Heavenly Palace being a pleasure-focused business does not have good business right now and when the war starts it will be worse. This is why Andrew traveled to another country to create an additional business to sustain his current business at this time," Candice began to explain.

Seeing that the marquis urged her to continue, she continued speaking, "As this situation would create suspicion, as is obvious by the disrespectful attitude of the marquis, it occurred to him to throw an olive branch to the empire so that you would not misunderstand his actions".

The marquis and his wife furrowed their brows as they listened to Candice because her apparent courteous tone did not match her words. It was obvious she was insulting them and didn't seem to care, but they allowed it nonetheless.

They were not wrong. Candice had said these words to let them know that she was upset and didn't mind breaking relations with them. Of course, this was due to her annoyance at the Marquis' earlier comment, as she didn't want to go to that extreme.

Seeing that they said nothing, Candice continued, "Besides, your claim that he abandoned his wives is wrong it was we who decided to stay, for different reasons, but they are none of the Marquis' business."

"Miss Candice, for me to allow you to insult me once is out of consideration for my wife, but don't think you can do it whenever you want. I ask you to moderate your words," Donald replied in a stern tone, demonstrating his disapproval of Candice's constant disrespect.

Had it been in another time, Candice would have been immediately alarmed and apologetic, but now that she was the wife of a future god and even she would ascend as one she did not fear the marquis.

She was unaware of this. Andrew and his other wives were not either, but with the rise and development of their divinity, they began to feel superior to others.

This is not to say that they looked down on mortals, but rather that they did not allow them to inhibit them or hurt their pride. This was inherent, thanks to the divinity they had received, so they could not control it and that is why they had not noticed it.

This was one of the reasons why god candidates like Andrew faced many dangers when they were in a mortal world because this nature gave them trouble.

Mortals were unfoundedly proud and this kind of attitude bothered them, which is why so many god candidates have met their deaths because of conflict.

Donald and Teresa realized that Candice did not feel anything at Donald's words and that made them wrinkle their eyebrows not understanding what was happening. They did not understand why Candice seemed so arrogant.

For her part, while Candice hadn't realized that her divinity was causing her problems, her brain, did notice that Donald and Teresa were looking at her strangely and she knew she had to correct the situation or the distance that was already between them would widen.

"Well, let's not get into arguments about that. My visit today was just to tell you that. I hope you consider it and don't misunderstand our actions," Candice said trying to end the conversation.

Find out what happens next on m_vl.em,pyr

She intended to get up and leave, but Donald spoke up, "When can we expect these supplies?". The Marquis' question made Candice sit back down when she was almost up.

"Well, it won't be soon. Between 1 and 2 months I would think. You must understand that he has to get overseas first and get established, before securing a supply chain," Candice replied.

Although her attitude was still haughty, it was no longer so disrespectful, or at least that's how the Marquis and his wife felt. Donald nodded his head at Candice's words and asked again, "May I know what country this supply would come from?".

Although the question seemed harmless, none of those present were stupid and all understood that the marquis just wanted to know where Andrew had gone, but Candice didn't bother to hide it because with the marquis's connections, it wouldn't be hard to find out.

"My husband is headed for the kingdom of Dunnas," Candice replied and before the marquis continued his interrogation she added, "At the moment we don't know what kind of supplies he will be able to get and he has no acquaintances there either, so you should understand that this will only delay his operation."

Although it seemed that Candice was informing them that Andrew's help would take time to arrive because of his difficulties, they all understood that she was telling them that she would not give them any more information than what had already been said.

Donald and Teresa were smart people and immediately took the hint, so they didn't ask any more questions. Seeing that they didn't ask anything else Candice smiled and got up.

She said goodbye to them in a formal way and when she was leaving the studio she said without turning around, "My business will continue without inconveniences, but I no longer attend my store, if you want to talk about something you can go to the Heavenly Palace, I would also appreciate if you could do something with the people who watch me because I do not want my business to be interrupted".

With those words, Candice left. Donald again wrinkled his eyebrows in annoyance, at Candice's attitude, but said nothing and just watched her leave. Seconds later Teresa, got up and followed Candice, but first, she said to her husband, "Let me talk to her, I think it's better."

Donald just nodded his head at his wife's words, as he felt it was for the best. They were friends and he felt that Candice no longer saw him as a reliable companion, which he did not want, but he had to exercise his duty as a nobleman.

Teresa caught up with Candice as she was waiting for her carriage to arrive. Although she entered the meeting alone, right now she was accompanied by Castor and Vala, as Erick was picking up the carriage.

When Candice saw her arrive she adopted her business smile again, which surprised Teresa, because when Candice was with her, she never adopted this expression, as they were friends. They always talked without status, but seeing this Teresa immediately understood, that her friend no longer saw her with the same confidence as before.

That saddened her, but she also understood it. Regaining her expression, Teresa asked with a smile trying to hide her sadness, "Can we talk?".