RISE OF EROS

After Andrew's cold and threatening words, everyone present fell silent. It wasn't because they were scared, but because they all felt the same, so there was no need to say anything. Even so, Candice broke the silence by saying, "It's true that we're no longer weak enough to be underestimated, but it'll be hard to get those eggs without getting cheated in the market without Conrad's help."

Andrew looked at her strangely and couldn't help but ask, "Why? He may be the main supplier, but not the only one, right?" There was some truth to his words; otherwise, Conrad wouldn't seek the Pixoy family's support through Andrew.

It was because he had competitors and enemies that he sought this support, so Andrew couldn't understand his wife's words. Candice, understanding Andrew's confusion, began to explain.

"It's true there are other suppliers, and if it weren't a special situation, they'd even be happy to help us, but the problem is Conrad's status," said Candice with some concern. Not only Andrew but everyone else was a bit confused by those words — everyone except Gaston, who, as Candice's mentor and confidant, knew the whole story.

Letting out a sigh, he stepped forward and explained, "The firebird eggs come from the kingdom of Catus to the south of the duchy of Cannes. They may not be very rare there, but outside the country, it's a different story."

Everyone turned their gaze to Gaston, who had started to explain, and, taking his time, Gaston continued, "As I said, they aren't strange in that country, but only nobles control the breeding and production process of these goods."

Upon hearing this, many started to see what was going on, but not leaving anything to the imagination, Gaston continued, "Conrad is a merchant in the duchy of Cannes, but in Catus, he's a noble, more specifically, a count."

"And the other merchants?" Andrew suddenly asked, and Gaston replied, "Contrary to what you think, Conrad already has a monopoly on firebird eggs here."

"How is that possible?" Andrew asked again, not understanding. Gaston sighed and explained everything from the beginning. It turns out Conrad's territory in Catus borders the duchy of Cannes.

This meant that all Catus products entering the duchy had to go through his territory. Not only could he prevent them from crossing by imposing exorbitant export taxes and other tactics, but Conrad took another path, a more intelligent one might say.

It turns out that all of Conrad's so-called competitors weren't really competitors. All the firebird eggs came from Conrad's territory in Catus, and he produced all.

The competitors were nothing more than Conrad's employees who simulated a competitive market in the duchy of Cannes, but in reality, everything belonged to Conrad. So his claim of seeking support from the Pixoy family to counter competitors was a lie.

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but be surprised. Andrew was even more skeptical because he couldn't believe the Pixoy family would allow it, so he asked, "Does the Pixoy family know about this?"

Gaston and Candice showed a disdainful smile, and this time Candice answered, "Who do you think gave us this information?" Andrew immediately frowned and asked again, "Why do they allow it?"

"When those products entered the duchy, they didn't know they all belonged to Conrad. They believed they were just regular merchants," Candice replied, adding, "Firebird eggs became popular and coveted, so by the time they found out, they couldn't pull them out."

"It would only cause more trouble to ban them from being sold," Andrew said, understanding what Candice meant. "That's correct. The only thing they could do was control it," said Candice.

"In short, he's allowed a monopoly as long as he doesn't abuse it," Andrew said with a bitter smile, and Candice and Gaston nodded heavily. Leaning back, Andrew took a deep breath to calm himself, and after a few seconds, he said, "Well, it's not important."

Andrew's words surprised everyone. Andrew had shown how much he liked those eggs, so they didn't expect him to give them up so easily.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Andrew laughed and said, "Guys, I think you're misinterpreting things. It's true that I like those eggs, but it's not as if I wanted them so badly that I'd get into that mess."

Pausing, he spoke again, "I've lived so far without them; they're not essential. If they can't be obtained, then they just can't." Andrew tended to obsess over what he liked, so they were surprised to see him leave this matter so easily.

Andrew could understand their thoughts, but he also knew they were misinterpreting him. What he wanted and obsessed over were things valuable for his progress, while the eggs were just a pleasure.

The first couldn't be ignored, so he always sought a way to acquire it, but the second was not important. Although he didn't clarify the matter, no one asked since if Andrew had already made a decision, they didn't need to keep discussing the subject.

Conrad, unaware of Andrew's thoughts, returned to his office in the duchy's city and quickly began planning how to approach the next negotiation, not knowing there wouldn't be one.

Conrad was very ambitious. He already had a monopoly on firebird eggs in the duchy, but his goal was to expand even further. The problem was that he had to go past the duchy to the west, east, and north to do so.

That was unknown territory for him, and he couldn't do it without support, and that's where the Pixoy family came in. He had reached an agreement with the Pixoy family when his scheme was discovered.

While the Pixoy family in the duchy isn't someone to mess with, Conrad had played his cards well, and that's why they reached a consensus, but he also knew that the Pixoy family didn't like him for what he'd done.

If he wanted to expand further to the duchy's territory, he needed the Pixoy family to support him since that was too far from his territory to control those businesses, but he knew the Pixoy family would rather kill him than help him.

So when he saw that Andrew had a close relationship with the Pixoy family, he thought he could use him as a bridge to make them accept. He had even told his former employee Ves to recommend his products to Andrew to establish a connection.

He hadn't lied to Andrew. Ves had genuinely quit working for Conrad and only wanted to work at the Palace of Cannes, and Conrad had simply asked him to recommend his products if he had the chance.
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Ves had no bad or ulterior intentions. He thought it wouldn't hurt to say that firebird eggs were delicious and close an extra sale for his former employer, so Andrew's Eros Eyes hadn't detected anything.

Initially, Andrew doubted Ves, but after a while, he understood that it was just a coincidence and simply wasn't bothered with the young employee. After a couple of hours, Victoria returned to the Palace of Cannes.

Erick had accompanied her the entire time, and fortunately, nothing had happened. Upon arriving, she went to the office where everyone was, but seeing them, she felt an unusual atmosphere.

"Did something happen?" she asked worriedly, to which Andrew replied calmly, "Nothing. How did it go for you? Did you have fun?" Victoria didn't believe him, but she didn't pursue the matter and replied, "Yes, we just had some drinks and chatted, nothing more."

After those words, they talked for a while, and then Andrew excused himself and went to the lab to talk with Carolina. Her healing potions are an important emerging business, and until now, they hadn't planned well for it, so since he had nothing else to do, he decided to address the topic.

Once Andrew had left, Victoria looked at Candice and asked again, "Can you tell me what happened?" Candice wasn't stingy with her sister and told her everything that had happened during Conrad's visit.

Victoria was surprised but didn't give it much importance. She looked at Candice and the others and said, "You should stop worrying. If Andrew said it didn't matter, just leave it at that."

Candice looked at her and couldn't help but respond, "But is it really okay?" to which Victoria replied, "Girls, I think you're overthinking. Has Andrew ever lied to us?"

Candice looked at Aki and Zany, who shook their heads, then looking at Victoria, she replied, "No," to which Victoria responded, "Then, we shouldn't worry." Somehow Victoria, who had been the last to join the harem and seemingly knew Andrew the least, seemed to understand him the best.

The reality was that Andrew's wives were always trying to please him, which had become a habit as time went on, and that's why they sometimes didn't fully grasp what Andrew truly wanted.

However, Victoria was more objective since she hadn't had this habit for as long. While they discussed this in the office, Andrew arrived at the lab. In reality, it was a room they adapted into a lab, but it was much more spacious and had more materials than other Heavenly Palace labs, so Carolina now preferred to work here.

None of them had realized it, but it seemed they had moved to the duchy of Cannes from Dunnas. It wasn't that they had abandoned Dunnas, but they now spent more time in Cannes.

The Palace of Cannes was more spacious and comfortable, so it was natural to move, but unlike when they did it upon leaving Cannaris, this time it wasn't discussed; it just happened.

Carolina's skills had developed well, and she no longer immersed herself in studies in an unhealthy way. So, when Andrew entered, he saw her at the desk, writing something, and as she noticed him, she asked, Do you need something?