RISE OF EROS

Returning to the Duchy of Cannes, it was a sunny day, but not too hot. The Cannes Palace was just waking up in the morning after a night of fruitful business.

Although there was already some activity in the establishment, it was mostly among the cleaning staff, as the courtesans and other workers who stayed up late the night before due to their work were still sleeping.

Andrew, Aki, Zany, Oliver, Sansa, and Castor also woke up early to do their morning exercises. It had become a habit for them to train early in the morning, trying to increase their power. Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire

Over time, and after meeting monsters like Lucian, Zaros, Elidyr, and Lugia, they know they are weak and need to grow stronger. Oliver, Castor, and Sansa trained together since they are the strongest, making their training more intense.

Andrew and Aki, on the other hand, were not purely fighters. Aki is an assassin, and despite Andrew's strength, it came from his status as a candidate for the god Eros, but his domain is sex and eroticism.

Still, they trained, knowing their strength would be necessary at some point, and they couldn't slack off. Zany, being an Amazon warrior, could have joined the others' training, but she still trained with Andrew and Aki.

Although strong, Zany was still weaker than the three guardians, so it was better for her to train with Andrew and Aki to help them improve. Even though their training wasn't as intense as Oliver's group, they didn't take it lightly either.

In the underground of the Cannes Palace, there was a large room with reinforced walls, and this was where they trained. For people as strong as them, these walls didn't mean much, but they weren't using their auras.

They were all experts, and their aura defined their strength, but these sessions weren't meant to strengthen their auras but to refine their combat techniques. That's why this room served its purpose.

The fast, nearly invisible movements and the sound of strong punches and kicks could be heard. Andrew and Aki fought with all they had against Zany, yet she could still dominate them with ease.

Aki specialized in stealth and surprise attacks as a good assassin, so face-to-face combat wasn't her strength, and Andrew was a complete novice, so Zany corrected them while they fought.

In the other group, the situation was similar. Castor and Oliver fought against Sansa in the same way, but the results were different. These three had combat experience, so Sansa wasn't as relaxed as Zany.

If they had been using their full power, Sansa could have handled them, but they were only using their physical bodies, so the fight was close, though Sansa still managed to hold them off.

After a couple of hours of battle, completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, they finished their practice. They left the room and went to take a bath to start their usual tasks for the day.

By the time they had bathed and returned to the office, the entire Cannes Palace was awake, with everyone attending to their activities. The courtesans trained their bodies with some yoga, the cleaners tidied up the rooms, and the cooks prepared breakfast.

Andrew's wives had also begun their tasks. Carolina was in the lab, researching and producing items for sale, such as rejuvenating creams and similar products.

Candice, along with Gastón and Canna, discussed details for new business ventures. Helena accompanied Sonia to supervise the courtesans and the rest of the staff, while Victoria had gone to visit Helga, which surprised Andrew.

Even in the Duchy of Cannes, they didn't dare leave without protection, so she took Erick along. While he wasn't the strongest guardian, he was the only one available.

"Why did Victoria go to visit Helga?" Andrew asked as he entered the office. There was a mix of concern and curiosity in his voice. The concern came from Victoria going out without sufficient guards, even though the family Pixoy always protected them in this city.

The curiosity came from wondering what she would have to discuss with the vampire. He knew that Victoria and Helena had become very close with Helga, but he hadn't expected them to be close enough for casual visits.

He wasn't complaining or opposed to it; he was just curious. Candice looked at him and, smiling, said, "She's negotiating the price for your blood." Andrew jumped at hearing that and looked at Candice with a bit of fear.

Seeing his reaction, Candice couldn't help but burst into laughter. Seeing his wife laugh, Andrew realized she was joking, but he really couldn't laugh along.

"Don't joke about that, woman," Andrew said, a little annoyed, but Candice didn't care and kept laughing until she couldn't anymore. Andrew didn't scold her any further, simply waited for her laughter to subside, and then asked again, "So what's really going on?"

"Helga invited her to hang out. A girl's day out," Candice responded, not giving it much importance. Andrew didn't think that was the real reason but didn't want to doubt her, so he stopped asking.

He approached one of the cabinets and poured himself some tea, trying to relax after the exhausting training session he had just finished. Previously, Andrew would have used this moment to review the accounting books and other matters, but with their expansion, he no longer had to do that.

Candice and other people now handled the accounting, so after training, Andrew really had nothing to do. He could go out to find girls to earn points, but with three assassination attempts, he couldn't just be out flaunting himself.

The Duchy of Cannes might have been safe, but there were still dangers, which is why he was concerned that Victoria had gone out with just Erick, but, in the end, he couldn't live in fear, so he let the matter drop.

They started discussing minor issues as they passed the time until a sound came from the door. All of Andrew's close circle was in the office, so it had to be an employee, so Andrew allowed them to enter.

A young man, about 20 years old, appeared and respectfully bowed while saying, "Young master, there's a guest here to see you." Not only Andrew but everyone present frowned.

They had made it clear that unless it was an announced guest or someone from the Pixoy family, they would not receive anyone. If it had been a member of the Pixoy family, the staff wouldn't have come to announce it; they would have brought them in immediately, and since they weren't expecting anyone, it was obvious something strange was happening.

"We didn't invite anyone, and this isn't someone from the Pixoy family. Why are you announcing that someone is here for me?" Andrew asked, puzzled and even a bit dissatisfied, as it seemed this employee wasn't following his instructions.

The young employee got a little scared seeing Andrew's dissatisfaction, but still mustered up the courage to say, "Young master, the guest is Mr. Conrad." The name didn't ring a bell for anyone present.

They all looked at each other as if wondering if anyone knew this Conrad, and when they realized no one did, they looked back at the young employee. Understanding, he explained, "Mr. Conrad is the largest merchant of firebird eggs in the city. The ladies had mentioned wanting to speak with him."

At that moment, all of Andrew's wives present immediately stood up, and excitedly, Candice said, "Let him in," and the young man went to fetch the merchant.

Andrew looked at them in confusion and asked, "Why are you looking for the egg merchant?" To which Candice replied, "Didn't you say you liked those eggs for breakfast?"

Andrew was stunned by the response. He did like them, as they reminded him of his previous life, but those eggs could be bought at the market, and in fact, they had been doing so.

Candice, guessing what Andrew was thinking, said, "Do you know how expensive it is to buy those eggs at the market? It's better to go straight to the source, especially since you eat them almost every day."

Andrew felt embarrassed because, obviously, his wives were spoiling him, and he had criticized their act of affection, so he kept quiet. Soon after, the employee returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man who radiated youth.

Though he seemed cheerful, if you looked into his eyes, you could tell he wasn't naive. After entering, he introduced himself, "Greetings, everyone. I'm Conrad. Young Ves told me you wanted to do business."

Ves was the employee who had brought him. Andrew was surprised, as he hadn't expected this employee to know a big shot, but Candice didn't allow him to say anything and began to speak. "Indeed, Mr. Conrad. My name is Candice, these are Aki and Zany, wives of Andrew, whom I assume you already know."

Conrad was surprised by Candice's introduction but quickly recovered his posture and greeted again, "A pleasure to meet you, ladies. Indeed, I know of Mr. Andrew, though only by sight, as I haven't had the pleasure of speaking with him."

"The pleasure is ours, Mr. Conrad," Andrew said politely. Though he hadn't arranged this meeting, he couldn't be disrespectful. He stood up and shook Conrad's hand.

After inviting him to sit and offering him tea, Candice took control of the conversation again. "Mr. Conrad, I believe you understand what kind of business we wish to discuss. Could we come to an arrangement?"

Seeing Candice in control of the conversation, Andrew focused more on observing Conrad's reactions. Conrad took a sip of the tea and smiled before answering, "My business relies on the finest firebird eggs in the region, but acquiring them isn't easy. The birds are rare, and many people seek them, so I must say, it won't be cheap to arrange a direct sale." It was obvious that he wanted something more than money.