Her sensual body was adorned with a daring and refreshing outfit, consisting of a vivid red veil and a thin crimson silk fabric that provocatively covered her chest and lower body.

She gathered her flowing black hair and tied it up, then ran her fingers through a headband made of black silk.

“This is the contract that Tarek and Prince Lohan wrote.”

The contract, once valuable, had now become a piece of trash, as Iota did not yield to persuasion.

“But did Lohan really need to intervene in that trial? Anyway, Hades had the prescription, the evidence to extract that woman, and even planned a ridiculous play. There was no need for Prince Lohan to get involved.”

Muttering to herself, Iota gently touched her forehead and organized her thoughts. The reasons for Lohan’s involvement in the trial could be considered in two ways.

Firstly, there was a lack of proper communication between Lohan and Hades.

Secondly, Lohan had a reason to win in that trial.

On that dark night, Iota stood holding the contract, contemplating which possibility was true.

And then, she vividly recalled Lohan on the day of the trial.

Lohan, losing his composure rare for him, hugging the bleeding Latifa from the shoulder, displaying a rare moment of irrational anger.

“Oh, this. This might be a way to get rid of the two most troublesome guys at once. Indeed, she is not just a beauty in the East and West?”

A more alluring and enchanting smile than the rose scent emanating from her body appeared at the corners of her lips.

Shirak stood in front of a large warehouse in a luxurious corner of the upscale city frequented by wealthy people, wearing a flamboyant orange silk outfit with purple feathers pinned, but he was loudly reprimanding the subordinates.

“By now, at least 5,000 rolls of silk should have arrived! What’s going on?! Why has only 800 arrived yet?! Yesterday, the shipping rate was also below expectations!”

Shirak vented his frustration on the warehouse manager.

Beside him, Shirak’s step-aunt, Makali Daein, was holding her forehead, making painful sounds.

“Not only silk, but other fabrics also have insufficient inventory. We can’t release new products tailored for Merkatus at this rate!”

The warehouse manager lowered his head and reported, “I apologize! Due to a decrease in the number of available carts, we are using as much manpower as possible. Originally, there could be errors of a day or two in transportation, so we left it alone, but I didn’t expect the situation to be this severe!”

“Why have the number of available carts decreased?! Where did the usual carters we mainly trade with go?!”

“Lately, due to stricter illegal cart inspections by the market authorities and camel-drawn carts, the illegal four-wheel carts secretly used have become useless. We can’t use the profits from 4-wheel carts pulled secretly anymore. Pulling with 2-wheel carts reduces efficiency, resulting in a significant drop in the actual shipping rate.”

In the Grand Bazaar, only officially permitted livestock and carters could drive 4-wheel wagons and carts to prevent the chaos and accidents caused by carts.

However, small donkeys, old horses, and 2-wheel carts that people could pull had no restrictions on the number, but they couldn’t carry much, and their speed was low.

As grand bazaars usually used cheap illegal 4-wheel carts quietly, Hades limited the number of livestock pulled by 4-wheel wagons, and Lohan quietly pressured them by releasing soldiers into the illegal cart inspection, affecting the market of Makali Company.
Makali Company imported a massive amount of fabrics, but most of them remained in distant alternate warehouses, far from the central area. Only a portion of the fabrics was transported to Makali Company’s warehouses within the kingdom.

Since the fabrics had indeed arrived at the Grand Bazaar, it was recorded in their ledgers as such, making it difficult for Makali Daein or Shirak to verify.

“This is the doing of Prince Lohan and Hades! Damn it!”

“Even if it costs a lot, bring all the remaining labor in the job market to move them. If we don’t stock the fabrics quickly, we won’t have enough time to make clothes. Hurry!”

In preparation for Merkatus, Shyrak’s atelier, the pride of Makali Company, had already received pre-orders for tailoring from the supposed guests of the Grand Bazaar.

Commercial dealings in the Grand Bazaar were sacred. Breaking such contracts not only subjected them to strict legal scrutiny but also irreversibly damaged trust with customers.

And this was not just a contract between ordinary merchants; it involved the tailoring of garments for quasi-royals and magnates. Shirak didn’t even want to imagine how much damage that pressure would cause.

Rather than sparing expenses and using a lot of manpower, it was more important now to secure fabrics for the customers and fulfill the contracts.