"Mr. Andrew, let's stop playing games. I am asking sincerely. You must be aware by now that the empire has its eye on you and consequently on me since I am your ally, so I want to know if I should be concerned or not."
Everyone present including Gaston was shocked at Candice's blunt comment. She like all merchants are people who do not like to speak directly about a subject because in a way it is synonymous with weakness.
A merchant who speaks in this way does not keep hidden cards and in a negotiation that is fatal, for that reason, Andrew and the others were surprised to see Candice speak directly and without beating around the bush.
"I like this new way of speaking, you should always speak this way when you are dealing with me, we will surely understand each other better," Andrew said smiling, and then added, "Now as for your concern I will tell you, if the empire considers creating the world's largest pleasure empire a threat, then you should be concerned."
"Make no mistake, I have no intention of going against the empire, I am not a terrorist or anything like it, I will even help the empire as long as it keeps the country stable and allows me to develop my goals," Andrew continued.
Although he was not being very explicit, Candice could see that he was sincere, and instantly all her doubts were cleared. After recovering her characteristic smile she said, "Then I think we can continue working together."
Andrew also smiled at Candice's statement, but before he could respond, Candice added, "Still, I will warn you. If I see you going around doing shady or damaging business, I'll be the first to report you."
A wry smile appeared on Andrew's face, but he was glad because Candice openly stated that she would denounce him showing her sincerity, it proved that she would not stab him in the back. there was no proof of that conclusion, but Andrew believed that.
"Well, since we are here and we have reaffirmed our alliance, how about we discuss Johan?" said Andrew changing his expression, showing the seriousness of the subject.
Candice for her part, shook her head as she said, "We can't talk about that yet." Candice's comment puzzled Andrew, who couldn't hold back and asked, "Why?".
"The situation about Silvio has not yet been clarified and the rewards have not been delivered, so it is good to assume that the nobles have not yet been warned. If we attack Johan now, the nobles will get involved and it will be problematic," explained Candice.
"Young master, I think Miss Candice is right. The best course of action at this time is to await word from the empire," Oliver interjected with a small bow.
Andrew nodded giving them to understand that he was clear on the situation and then changed the subject, "Well, since that business must be delayed, why don't we talk about fashion?".
"Do you already have the new designs?" asked Candice a little surprised at the speed Andrew was working. This was not strange considering everything that had happened with Silvio.
Candice was amazed that Andrew could fight multiple enemies on different fronts, find valuable information, run his business, and expand, all at the same time.
She really admired Andrew's ability because she was having difficulty diving so many things at once, but she quickly regained her composure and awaited Andrew's response.
"Well, I have a few designs and by next week I should be done with the remaining ones," Andrew replied with a smile. Andrew had been having sex with his wives practically every day.
Not to mention that he also slept with Nadila, so his points had increased by a large amount, to the point where all the new costumes for the Heavenly Palace dancers had been purchased in the system, he had also bought several designs to fulfill the agreement made to Candice.
Even after spending so many points on these clothing designs, Andrew still had a good amount of points, which he planned to spend improving some skills, but Fluffy stopped him and told him to concentrate on collecting 20 million points.
Andrew at first wanted to refuse, as he barely had a quarter of that amount and knew he could not collect that many points quickly, but Fluffy seemed extremely serious so Andrew said nothing and simply made a mental note to harass his wives.
Although Andrew didn't like to treat his wives as point banks, unfortunately at this point he had no choice. The good thing was that they knew about it and didn't mind, in fact, they were happy to help.
But back to the meeting, Andrew pulled out of his dimensional bag several sets of dresses and underwear. The dresses were casual, they conveyed a cool vibe, but strangely they were also sexy.
Although the dresses were novel, what caught Candice's attention was a set of clothing she had never seen before in her life. Andrew noticing that Candice had been caught by one specific outfit also looked at what it was and upon seeing it, smiled. Sёarᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
That set of clothes had been especially expensive, despite how simple it was, but its cost was high because something like that did not exist in this world. What Candice was looking at was what in his former world was known as shorts and a strappy blouse.
It was a simple outfit, but the garment that looked like a pair of pants too short to only cover a quarter of the woman's thigh and the blouse that completely exposed her shoulders and collarbone were novel.
Andrew knew that this style of dress was suitable for young women and although in his former world, it was a common outfit, there was no denying that it was erotic.
The thing is that in his previous world, it has already been normalized and so it is not seen this way, but in this world things are different. As an infant world in eroticism and sex, this outfit was pure poison for men.
"I see something caught your eye," Andrew said with a cheeky grin, to which Candice replied trying to hide her embarrassment at being caught, "Well, it's a peculiar design, I've never seen something like that before."
Andrew couldn't help but laugh and that embarrassed Candice who no matter how hard she tried couldn't hide it. Gaston watching the interaction was thoughtful because he had never seen Candice behave this way in front of anyone.
He had hinted to Candice some time ago that Andrew would be a good match as a couple and he still believed it, but he never expected Candice to consider it, it was better to think that she was falling in love without realizing it.
Gaston understood this perfectly. He knew Candice too well and knew that she would never actively seek a partner, but seeing how she acted in front of Andrew, he understood that his boss was falling prey to Andrew's charm and had not realized it.
Despite realizing this he said nothing and remained silent, as he observed the situation. Oliver was no different from Gaston. He had also noticed that since Candice had openly declared her thoughts at the beginning of the conversation, the girl had relaxed and somehow felt closer to Andrew.
Unlike Gaston, he did not intuit that she was in love with Andrew, but rather he thought she had decided to be closer to Andrew as an ally, and that made him glad as he knew Candice could be a great force to have as an ally.
The conversation ended after Andrew explained each of the designs to Candice and handed her the list of materials to make them. Although it was not complex, it did lengthen the conversation for about an hour, and at the end, Andrew said goodbye and returned to the Heavenly Palace.
When he returned, Oliver said goodbye as usual and went back to his office to coordinate the security and Shadow's missions. For his part, Andrew returned to the office, but not before taking a tour of the facility.
After seeing that Carolina and Helena were busy performing their respective duties, Andrew did not disturb them and returned to the office. Alone in the office, Andrew let out a sigh and relaxing on one of the sofas said, "Aki."
Unlike when Oliver accompanies Andrew out of the Heavenly Palace, Aki is always in the shadows protecting Andrew, so when he called out to her, she appeared from the shadows.
Seeing her appear, Andrew did not say anything to her, he only made a gesture with his hand giving her a hint to come closer and she obeyed. When the girl had arrived near Andrew, he grabbed her and sat her on his lap hugging her tightly.
"I'm not a pillow you know," Aki replied sounding disgruntled, but she was just acting, as she had gotten used to Andrew sitting her on his lap and hugging her.
"Of course you're not a pillow, you're so much better than any pillow," Andrew replied whispering in her ear and then gave her a tender and loving kiss on her cheek.