RISE OF EROS

While at the Heavenly Palace, Andrew gathered all the employees in the room they used as a dining room or whatever activity required them to meet, such as when Andrew needed to make an announcement.

Obviously, the guards were not included in this meeting, as they were on duty guarding the facility, Oliver would then comment to them on whatever was announced.

The Shadow members were also not present. As such they did not expose themselves to the other staff members of the Heavenly Palace, they only appeared in front of Oliver, Andrew, and their wives, however, those who were not on some mission outside the facility, were hidden in the shadows listening to the announcement.

All the employees of the Heavenly Palace were already assembled when Andrew in the company of his wives, Oliver and Castor entered the room. They were all curious about Castor, as many of them had seen him when he arrived and those who had not seen him had already heard of him.

At the Heavenly Palace, everyone was very close, they really seemed more like family than coworkers, so anything that happened, no matter how small, was known to everyone in no time.

Andrew had already noticed this and didn't know if it was good or bad, but as Eros's eyes showed him that all his employees were loyal, he didn't worry, at the end of the day what he really didn't want to be known, no one would know.

Standing in front of everyone, Andrew raised his hand asking everyone to be quiet, and before long the murmuring that was heard earlier ceased. Castor was amazed at the sight in front of him.

He was already surprised when he saw the establishment because he knew that Andrew had been in the capital for at most a year and already had such a magnificent establishment, but it was only now that he realized that he still underestimated his friend.

Thanks to his power, he was able to notice the Shadow members hiding and seeing all the employees, Castor could only look at his friend with seriousness because in such a short time he had accomplished so much and that was only the tip of the iceberg because when he found out about the other properties and businesses that Andrew has, Castor would be on the verge of insanity.

Ignoring Castor's surprise, Andrew began his speech, "I brought you together because I want to introduce you to my friend and brother Castor. From now on he will be joining the Heavenly Palace as a member of our surveillance team."

As he finished his introduction, Castor stepped forward and began to introduce himself, "A pleasure to meet you all, my name is Castor and as Andrew said, we are childhood friends, but I am joining the Heavenly Palace, as an employee just like you, I hope we will get along well."

Castor despite being a person who grew up in the slums of Calci like Andrew and belonged to a gang there, knew how to express himself, although he was not as studied and educated as Andrew.

Thanks to this quality, he easily won the approval of those present, who greeted him with applause. Castor smiled at the gesture of the other employees and bowed slightly to express his gratitude for the reception.

After the short presentation, everyone went back to work, but some remained in the room. Sonia, Lia, Carmen, Hector, and Victor to be more specific, as they were the leaders of their respective groups.

Obviously, Oliver, Marie, and Andrew's wives were also present. Andrew approached them and introduced them personally because while Castor would be a surveillance employee, the reality was that, as Andrew's sworn brother, he had the same qualifications they had.

"Castor, these are my bosses and team leaders. Sonia, this is the matron of the heavenly Palace, she is still new to the position, but she is our best courtesan and she earned the position with hard work," Andrew said with a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you miss," Castor said with a smile, which Sonia returned. "This is Lia, our chief dancer, although Sonia is technically her boss, her group butts separately, so her role is no small one," Andrew continued to introduce.

Castor again, greeted politely and Andrew continued the introductions, "This lady is Carmen, our head maid." Castor didn't mind that Carmen was a middle-aged and somewhat plump lady, he greeted her with equal courtesy to that of the two previous beauties.

Andrew was pleased with his friend's attitude, as he was really worried that Castor was acting pretentious in front of the others, but his worries were unnecessary.

"This gentleman is Hector, our head chef, you should pay special attention to him as he is the one who will be feeding you," Andrew said teasingly, which generated laughter from everyone.

"Hahaha, well, boss, I think we will be good friends because food is my priority," Castor said jocularly, generating another round of laughter. "Lastly this gentleman is Victor, our manager."

After the last presentation, everyone left and Andrew along with Castor and the others returned to the office. Once there, Castor couldn't help but say, "Bro, you have come a long way in such a short time, if I had known you were so amazing I would have been with you from the beginning."

Andrew laughed at his friend's comment, but he didn't think like him. Andrew believed that if Castor had come with him from the beginning he might not have known Oliver and therefore Marie and Shadow's group, but he didn't think much of that.

"Well, brother, you're left in Oliver's hands, I hope you don't cause trouble, especially with my courtesans," Andrew said with a smile that wasn't really a smile.

Castor understood the implications of Andrew's words because he knew that while Andrew considered him his brother, he would not allow him to act overbearingly, but Castor had no such ideas, he really just wanted shelter and to help as best he could.

After saying a few additional words, Andrew dismissed everyone, but before they left the office, a carrier pigeon flew in through the window. Upon seeing the bird, everyone except Castor recognized it, as it was one of the birds they used to communicate with Candice.

Oliver quickly approached the pigeon took the message, and after inspecting it for any traps, passed it to Andrew. Andrew opened it and read the message with a serious expression.

Everyone present waited a little anxiously for Andrew to comment on what the message said. Only Castor was a little lost, but sensing that the atmosphere was a little strange, he understood that it was something important.

A few seconds later Andrew finally spoke, "The empire has delivered the rewards for the Silvio-related event and wants me to visit, to discuss our next move."

Castor didn't understand what was going on, so he said nothing. Andrew turned to see him and said, "Castor, I'll tell you all the details later, for now, I need you to take command and keep an eye on the place while I'm gone."

Although Castor had only recently joined the Heavenly Palace, Andrew had full confidence in him. Besides, after Oliver, he is the strongest warrior in the place, so he is qualified to take on that task.

Castor did not shy away from the responsibility and nodded his head in agreement. Andrew seeing that Castor agreed, looked at Oliver and said, "Explain things to him quickly, and let's go to Candice's store, apparently she wants to meet urgently."

Oliver nodded in acknowledgment of the order and quickly left with Castor to explain everything he needed to know. It really wasn't much, it was just to introduce him to the other security members as deputy chief, as they didn't know him yet.

Meanwhile, Andrew told his wives what the message said. It was not very specific, but he understood that she had news about Johan's treatment, hence the urgency.

After about an hour, Oliver returned with Castor and reported that everything had been arranged, so in the company of Andrew, they left the Heavenly Palace.

Since they wanted to get to Candice quickly, they took a carriage. Taking this situation into consideration, Andrew reinforced his idea of buying a carriage of his own, as it was no longer a matter of status, but a necessity.

In a few minutes, they arrived at Candice's store, where they were greeted by Gaston as usual. After a short polite greeting, he led them into Candice's office.

Unlike when Donald and Teresa visited her, they did have to wait for one of the guards at the door to enter to notify Candice and after a few seconds, they were allowed to enter.

When they entered, Candice was already sitting at the furniture set where they always discussed their business, with her characteristic smile. Andrew at that moment remembered Fluffy's words and decided to pay attention, to see if he could confirm if his divine beast's claims were true.

"Welcome Mr. Andrew," she said inviting him to sit down. Andrew didn't act like a stranger and took a seat naturally. Candice didn't seem to want to waste time and said, "I will inform you that Marquis Valoid and his wife visited me a moment ago to inform me of the rewards of the event we already know about."

Andrew nodded at Candice's introduction with a serious expression. He had already forgotten about his decision to see if Candice was interested in him, as this was an important topic and he didn't want to miss any details.

Seeing Andrew's serious expression, Candice continued to explain, "First 3 rewards were awarded. The first 100,000 small gold coins. Second a small villa in the noble region and the third, I was notified that the nobles were already warned not to intervene in Johan's affair."