RISE OF EROS

The construction started. Oto had brought a large group of workers and they were all good at their jobs and very professional because despite having the courtesans in sight, none of them were distracted, which surprised Andrew.

Certainly, the courtesans of the Heavenly Palace are not goddesses like the courtesans of the big pleasure houses of the red light district, but they are certainly beautiful. Attracting the attention of a group of common men like the workers that Oto brought in isn't difficult, even so, they kept their composure and kept working.

Andrew approached Oto and said, "Mr. Oto, I can see that your workers are very professional, but I still have to say this, please don't be distracted by my courtesans."

Oto was aware of what could happen in places like the Heavenly Palace, however, he assured, "You don't have to worry, I'll have them under control." Andrew did not doubt his words, because he knew thanks to Carolina that Oto's construction firm had an excellent reputation, especially with their professionalism.

Despite this, he had to warn him, and seeing the sincerity with which Oto responded, Andrew told him about the possible trouble, "Mr. Oto, I don't want to worry you, but there are a group of people who may come to cause trouble, however, Oliver and my men will maintain order and security."

Oto only nodded. He is a man with experience and knows that in the business world, there is no shortage of enemies, but seeing that Andrew had told him everything honestly and had assured him that his men would take care of any difficulty, he left him alone.

Knowing that he has enemies and that they could attack him, showed that Andrew knew the enemy's movements and had prepared a plan to counter them, so Oto was calm.

After talking with Oto, Andrew entered the Heavenly Palace and informed the staff that they could go out for a walk in the city, but with certain restrictions. Employees like Victor, Hector, and the kitchen team, could leave at their discretion.

Carmen and her team of maids were also free to leave at their convenience. Even though they are slaves, Andrew has never treated them as slaves, he even pays them a salary, so if they wanted to go out and enjoy the city maybe buy something, they could.

Courtesans were different. As the most valuable employees, Andrew felt they might be in danger, so he asked them to organize three-person outings.

Each group of courtesans would be accompanied by three guards when they left, and no more than six courtesans could be out walking at the same time. Although the courtesans were not happy with this arrangement, because they knew that they would not have as much fun as the other employees, they also understood that Andrew was only protecting them.

Oliver would be in the Heavenly Palace at all times in command of security. Since the guards had to stay guarding the security of the building, they couldn't get a break like the others, but Andrew proposed to Oliver that he rotate the guards of the courtesans, so that the guards, even as bodyguards, would enjoy a little break.

Finally, Andrew, Carolina, and Helena had jobs to do. Although it wasn't as stressful as their day job, they had to train Candice's staff for the fashion show.

Aki, was another of the employees who did not rest, since she was in charge of monitoring the movements of Rufal, Dinocal, and Canotto, while she searched where they kept their money.

Her mission was very important because once she found out that these men moved to attack the Heavenly Palace, she would have to tell Oliver and if she found the treasury of these guys, she had orders to eliminate them.

Andrew didn't want to get too involved with these people, but he needed money. After paying the construction expenses, his savings had practically been depleted, and running out of money was not an option, so he instructed Aki to as soon as she secured the money, kill those guys.

In fact, Candice was doing the same thing Andrew was doing with Zoltan. Although she had a lot more money than the old man and certainly did not lack money, there was no such thing as having too much money.

Andrew, Carolina, and Helena walked to Candice's store unconcerned of the surroundings. Well, Andrew was alert, as he was the only one who could fight to any degree in the group.

Well, to be more exact, it's not that he could fight since his combat level is not much higher than that of the two women, but he did have skills that could defend them.

Before long, they arrived at the Cherry Blossom store and were greeted by the same chubby manager as always, "Welcome, we've been waiting for you, please follow me."

Andrew and his companions followed the chubby manager to the back of the store where there was a large hall, similar in size to the hall in the Heavenly Palace where the fashion show was presented to Candice.

In the room were ten beautiful-looking women of great height and slim builds, just as Andrew had recommended to Candice. The girls had nice curves, but they weren't over the top.

There was also a man in his 30s, with black hair like his eyes. His expression was somewhat smug, his build was athletic, and he was wearing an obviously expensive suit.

The man had a good appearance, that had to be admitted, but for some reason with just one look, Andrew knew they wouldn't get along and when the chubby manager called him over to make the respective introductions there was a problem.

"Dastan, please come," the hubby manager called, and the well-dressed man walked toward them. Once in front of Andrew and the girls, the manager began the introductions, "Dastan, this is the young master of the Heavenly Palace, Andrew, and his companions, Miss Ca…"

The manager was halfway through the presentation when he was interrupted by Dastan, "I'm not interested in the prostitutes accompanying him, I think we should start working."

The manager's eyes widened and he grimaced at Dastan's comment because he knew the implications of the insult. He was one of Candice's trusted men, so he knew how much she valued this collaboration and Dastan's comment could ruin everything.

Carolina and Helena were also upset by Dastan's comment but remained silent. The Chubby manager who was called Gaston is a smart man, so quickly tried to apologize for Dastan's attitude and minimize the damage but it was too late.

"If you insult my wives again, I promise you that even Mrs. Candice won't be able to stop you from breathing your last breath," Andrew said coldly. Dastan and Gastón felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing Andrew's words.

They understood at that moment that the young man in front of them was not as naive as Candice had told them. His threat didn't seem empty to them, leading to an awkward silence between them.

Gastón was the first to recover and said, "Mr. Andrew, I am very sorry for my colleague's comment, I hope you don't take it to heart, he is just a little nervous about his new job. Let me have a few words with him alone and I promise I'll be more careful in the future."

Andrew didn't say anything, he just walked accompanied by Carolina and Helena to where the women who would be the models for the fashion show were. Once Dastan and Gaston were left alone, Gaston scolded, "Idiot, do you want to die?"

Dastan frowned at Gaston's comment as if he didn't understand what Gaston meant. Gastón noticing this, let out a resigned sigh and began to explain.

"Dastan, I think you have the wrong idea of the situation, if you continue with that arrogant attitude, Mr. Andrew won't have to take care of you, because Mrs. Candice will do it herself."

Listening to Gaston, Dastan broke out in a cold sweat. He was arrogant, but not stupid, and he immediately understood what Gastón's words implied. At first, he thought Candice was experimenting with an innovative idea, and she teamed up with Andrew because the idea came from him.

However, he now knew this cooperation was not as superficial as he thought. Gastón, seeing that his partner understood the situation, spoke again, "You should apologize to them, make it seem sincere, and put your arrogance aside while you are working on this, it's the last warning I'm giving you."

Then Gaston left. Dastan took a minute to reset himself and then approached Andrew, Carolina, and Helena saying, "Mr. Andrew, I apologize for my earlier rudeness, I am very nervous as it is my first important job and I talked too much. forgive me."

Carolina and Helena were surprised at Dastan's ability to act remorseful, even though they knew the excuse was just that, an excuse. On the other hand, Andrew kept his cold expression and said, "As I already said, there won't be a second time."

Dastan trembled upon hearing Andrew's response because he knew that the young man had not bought his excuse and that any possible friendly collaboration had ended before it began.

"I will do my part out of respect for Mrs. Candice, so as long as you do your job and do not offend me again, your head will remain on your shoulders, if our luck is good, after a week we will not cross paths again," Andrew continued saying.

Unlike Dastan who had a bitter expression on his face, Carolina was happy, as Andrew had strongly defended her. There was no woman who was not moved when her man defended her.

However, Helena on the other hand, although she was happy to be defended in this way, she was also confused, since the word "Wives" included her, and to date, she did not think she had that status, but she had to admit that her heart it was pounding and her cheeks were getting hot.