Chapter : 1347

"I am not ready for anyone!" Lloyd shouted. "I am ready for a nap! I am ready for silence!"

"Well, you better get ready," Amina said. "My uncle is not a patient man. He brings a retinue of fifty guards and twelve elephants. He will be here in a week."

"Elephants?" Lloyd squeaked. "Why elephants?"

"Gifts," Amina smiled. "You will like them. They are very big."

Lloyd felt dizzy. Elephants. Uncles. Weddings. It was too much.

"I have to go," Lloyd said. "I have to leave. Right now."

He started running towards the stables. He didn't care if he looked undignified. He was fleeing for his life.

But fate was not done with him. Just as he reached the stable doors, a carriage pulled up. The door opened, and Faria Kruts stepped out. She looked fiery and determined.

"Lloyd!" she shouted.

"Oh, come on!" Lloyd cried out to the sky. "Is there a line? Did you all buy tickets?"

Faria marched up to him. She looked angry. "My mother just wrote to me."

"That's nice," Lloyd said, backing away. "Mothers are great. I love mothers."

"Do not play dumb," Faria snapped. "Your mother, the Duchess, had tea with my parents yesterday."

Lloyd froze. "Oh no. What did she do?"

"She proposed a union," Faria said. "Between our houses. She told my parents that your marriage to Rosa is 'complicated' and that you need a partner who understands your soul. She practically offered me a ring!"

Lloyd groaned. His mother. Of course. Duchess Milody was playing 4D chess with his love life. She wanted to replace Rosa with Faria. She was trying to build him a harem of political alliances.

"Faria, listen," Lloyd said desperately. "My mother does not speak for me. I did not authorize any tea parties. I did not offer any rings."

"Well, my parents are very excited," Faria said, crossing her arms. "They think it is a great match. They are already planning the engagement party."

Lloyd looked around. He was trapped. Rosa inside the house with her blackmail. Amina in the courtyard with her elephants. Faria at the gate with her parents' expectations.

He was surrounded. It was a pincer movement. It was a siege.

"I have to go," Lloyd said. "I have a very contagious disease. It's called 'Commitment Phobia'. It's fatal. Goodbye!"

He scrambled onto the nearest horse. It wasn't even his horse. It was a stable boy's pony. He didn't care.

"Lloyd, wait!" Faria shouted.

"We will discuss the elephants later!" Lloyd yelled back at Amina.

"Don't forget you are married!" Rosa's voice drifted from an open window.

Lloyd kicked the pony into a gallop. He rode out of the estate like the devil was chasing him. In a way, three devils were chasing him. Three beautiful, terrifying, political devils.

He rode until the estate was just a speck in the distance. He slowed down, his heart pounding. He was safe. For now.

"I am never going back there," Lloyd muttered to the pony. "I will live in the woods. I will eat berries. It is safer than dealing with those women."

He took a deep breath. He had escaped. He felt like a soldier who had just run through a minefield and somehow kept all his limbs.

"Ramos," he said. "Just focus on Ramos. Find the heart. Build the suit. Ignore the weddings."

He steered the pony towards the main road. He needed to swap it for a real horse at the next town. But for now, the slow, bumpy ride was freedom. Sweet, silent freedom.

He looked back one last time. He shivered. Fighting a demon lord? Scary. Fighting three women who wanted to marry him (or ruin him)? Terrifying.

"Note to self," Lloyd thought. "Invent a potion that makes me invisible. Permanent invisibility. That seems like a good life choice right now."

He rode on, leaving the chaos of his personal life behind, riding towards the chaos of his professional life. It was a trade he was happy to make.

Lloyd arrived at the headquarters of the AURA company. It was a large building in the merchant district. It bustled with activity. Carts loaded with soap were leaving. Clerks were running around with papers. It smelled like rosemary and money.

He walked into the main conference room. His team was waiting. Mei Jing sat at the head of the table, looking sharp and professional. Tisha was there, smiling. Rolf, the security chief, stood by the door like a statue. Günther, the finance guy, was counting coins.

Chapter : 1348

"Boss!" Tisha cheered. "You're alive! We heard rumors you were eaten by elephants."

"Not yet," Lloyd said, taking a seat. "But it was close. Very close."

He looked at them. This was his other army. His economic army. While the Wraiths would fight in the shadows, AURA fought in the market. And right now, he needed money. Lots of money. The Aegis project was expensive. The trip to Ramos would cost gold.

"Report," Lloyd said. He switched into his CEO mode. It was easier than his Husband mode.

Mei Jing stood up. She placed a large map on the table. It showed the eastern kingdoms.

"We are doing well here," she said, pointing to their current territory. "The soap is a hit. The laundry powder is standard in every noble house. We have a monopoly."

"Good," Lloyd said. "But monopolies get boring. We need growth."

"Exactly," Mei Jing agreed. "That is why I have prepared this proposal. 'Operation Sunrise'."

She pointed to the east. "The Eastern Kingdoms. They are rich. They have a lot of people. And they smell terrible. They still use ash and sand to clean themselves. It is a tragedy."

"And a market opportunity," Günther added, his eyes gleaming.

"We want to expand," Mei Jing said. "We open three new manufactories in the border cities. We hire local workers to lower costs. We flood their market with AURA soap. We make it cheap enough for the commoners but keep the luxury line for the nobles."

Lloyd studied the map. It was ambitious. It was risky. Moving into new territory meant dealing with new laws, new guilds, and new bandits.

"The logistics?" Lloyd asked.

"Already planned," Rolf said. "I have hired mercenaries to guard the caravans. We have bribed—I mean, negotiated with—the border officials. The road is clear."

"The finances?" Lloyd asked.

"We have the capital," Günther said. "The profits from the last quarter are huge. If we reinvest now, we can double our revenue in six months."

Lloyd nodded slowly. It was a solid plan. Mei Jing was a genius. She had taken his small idea and turned it into an empire.

"Do it," Lloyd said. "Approve Operation Sunrise. Expand to the east. Make them clean. Make them smell like lavender."

The team cheered. They were excited. Expansion meant bonuses. It meant success.

But Lloyd raised his hand. The room went quiet. His face was serious. The playful CEO was gone. The Major General had arrived.

"There is one more thing," Lloyd said. His voice was low. "This expansion is good. We need the gold. But it is also dangerous."

He looked at each of them. "We are not just selling soap anymore. We are fighting a war."

The mood in the room shifted instantly. The excitement evaporated. Tisha looked worried. Mei Jing narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean, Lloyd?" Mei Jing asked.

Lloyd stood up and walked to the window. He looked out at the busy street.

"The attack on the wedding," Lloyd said. "It wasn't just an assassination attempt. It was a declaration. The Devil Race is active. The Seventh Circle is moving."

"We know," Rolf said, touching his sword. "We increased security."

"Physical security is not enough," Lloyd said, turning back to them. "The enemy is not just using swords and fireballs. They are smart. They are insidious. They know that wars are won with gold as much as with steel."

He walked back to the table and leaned over the map.

"While we expand east, they will try to infiltrate us," Lloyd warned. "They won't send an army. They will send merchants. They will send corrupt officials. They will try to buy our suppliers. They will try to sabotage our shipments. They will try to introduce counterfeit products that hurt people."

He remembered the counterfeit soap in Zakaria. That was a test run. A probe.

"This is a war on two fronts," Lloyd declared. "Front one is the battlefield. That is my job. Front two is the economy. That is your job."

He looked at Günther. "Watch the money. Look for strange investments. Look for shell companies buying up our raw materials. If the price of oil spikes for no reason, assume it is an attack."

He looked at Rolf. "Watch the workers. The enemy will try to place spies in our factories. They will try to bribe our people. Be paranoid. If someone suddenly buys a big house they can't afford, investigate them."