It took Blanc over two hours to harvest all the beasts that he had, which delayed everyone as they stood and watched.
Once Celine, Miyanna, Kael, and Lune were done, they joined in watching him kill beast after beast, harvesting them without a single expression made, unaware of the grief Blanc was feeling at that moment.
"How are you feeling, Blanc?" Lucien asked.
"Alive," Blanc replied, looking sideways towards the beasts dead in their cages, "Unlike them."
"Congratulations on a new fragment," Lucien chuckled, walking close to him and placing his hands on both of Blanc's shoulders. "Do you think you are ready?"
"No," Blanc shook his head after thinking for a few moments, "But it must be done."
"It must," Lucien nodded, "But before that, come, eat with us all."
To which Blanc agreed wholeheartedly.
A late breakfast filled the table in the inner mansion's Dining Hall, where all of them, now including the Daughter, stood eating in silence. It was beautiful seeing almost all enjoy the company of each other silently. No games, no politics, just a meal at the table with people who cared for each other.
But the silence vanished in the middle of the meal, as Lune had something to say.
"Brother, you did not manage to teach me that attack yet," she complained, stabbing a piece of ham with her fork. "Do you promise you will teach me when you come back?"
"It is not that I did not manage to teach you, Little Flower; it is that you did not learn it yet," Blanc grinned. "But yes, I promise to teach you when I come back."
"When will that be?" she asked, curious.
"When all I have to do is done," he replied, a bit annoyed, not yet accustomed to the depth of his emotions that came together with the harvest.
"I see…" Lune muttered, sensing her older brother's displeasure at the question she asked.
Blanc sighed, not wanting to be annoyed by such an innocent question. "I'm sorry, Lune, I did not mean to sound angry, but I will be back, hopefully in two to three months, as we have to travel on foot."
"But there are horses, no?" Lune said, turning towards Lucien, who watched the siblings talk.
He choked a bit, not expecting to be addressed during breakfast, but as he regained his composure, he replied.
"I apologize," he said, clearing his throat, before replying to Lune. "Horses attract too much attention, and in certain Domains, the terrain is so harsh that it would harm them more than help."
"So, no horses?" Lune made sure she understood right.
"No horses," Lucien smiled sadly.
With that, they continued the rest of the breakfast in silence, before Blanc went to make sure he had all the things he needed ready for departure.
His sword.
Polished and sharpened.
His knife.
Sharpened, sheathed, and hidden.
His bow.
Tightened, with a quiver with over fifty arrows by his side.
His armor.
Light, so as to keep his attire as basic and unsuspecting as possible, making it easier to move around without drawing too much attention from the possible sounds it could make.
His backpack.
A few changes of basic clothes, a second pair of shoes, a pouch with twenty gold coins in case of an emergency, a tent, the bed artifact, enough food supplies to last him for two weeks, a few potions in case of harm, and his waterskin.
And there was also a wooden locked box, given to him by Lucien a few days prior.
Its contents, Lucien claimed, could serve as leverage during negotiations with Blood Seraph.
There was only one problem... There was no key. But according to Lucien, no key was needed, since the Matriarch of Blood Seraph would understand what it was the moment she laid eyes on it. Which, of course, only deepened Blanc's curiosity about what lay hidden inside.
Still, after placing it carefully at the bottom of the backpack, he made sure to push it from his mind, for now at least.
Unfortunately, he had to leave behind the chain Miyanna gifted him at their wedding, as it would be too heavy and too loud to carry around.
However, he planned to take the ring with him, the same ring that never left his finger, and the same ring that had precious stones carrying the colour of his wives' eyes.
He would take that ring with him even if it killed him.
But with that out of the way, after putting on the attire his wives chose for him, the preparations were more or less completed, meaning he was finally ready to say his goodbyes.
Once outside, as if expecting him, all stood there, waiting.
"That's a lot of faces," Blanc smiled, trying to keep his tears, fears, and excitement all in check as the people waiting began laughing.
Laughter that soon ceased as the first to approach him was the Daughter.
"Lord Blanc of Blood Denegis," the Daughter bowed lightly.
"Daughter," Blanc bowed as well.
"I have come to wish you farewell," the Daughter said, her crimson eyes studying his own, "And to bring you a message from the Order."
"Feel free to speak it," Blanc replied, curious.
"An order has been issued to Blanc of Blood Denegis, our valuable ally," the Daughter began, her voice slightly deeper than before. "Come back in one piece."
Blanc couldn't help but laugh at her words, despite the serious, emotionless look on her face.
"Understood!" he nodded sharply.
With that, the Daughter made way for Blanc to pass and greet the next few in line.
"Mothers-in-Law," he bowed lightly.
"Son-in-Law," Lea replied as all three of them nodded, "May the Vita offer you Her grace."
"Thank you," he replied, wanting to move to the next, before Lea's hand grabbed his forearm, stopping him mid-step.
"Do not make my daughter a widow," she whispered in his ear.
"Not yet," he replied, which was satisfying enough for Lea to let go of his hand.
The next waiting for him were the daughters of Blood Maroux: Sophie, Louise, Charlotte, and Crina.
Which surprised Blanc, since he expected Sophie to stare at him from a distance this time as well. But he had no intention to exchange words with her now, so he made sure to address all of them as a whole.
"Take care of yourselves and please aid your sisters with whatever they need," he nodded lightly to the four.
"As my Lord commands," Crina curtsied playfully while laughing.
And as he placed a hand on her head, roughing up her hair lightly, a sudden thug came from his side.
It was Sophie who jumped into his arms, hugging him.
"I will miss you so much, Brother-in-Law," she said dramatically.
Which made Blanc blink in surprise, as he pushed her off of him. "Sophie?"
Her yellow eyes were teary, and for the life of him, he couldn't tell if she was making a scene or really about to cry. But to ensure this scene did not escalate further, and no misunderstanding was made, he spoke.
"Yeah, me too, me too," he roughed her blonde hair playfully before moving to the expectant twins, who ensured to make him uncomfortable with their staring.
But at least, that seemed to satisfy Sophie's random outburst.
"Little Ones," he said as he crouched in front of the two, "I will leave you to defend our Blood. Can I count on you while I'm gone?"
"You can count on me," Lune raised her hand. "I fear Kael might read too many books and forget about protecting anything but the library."
Which, besides the laughter that erupted all around them, made Kael's cheeks turn crimson in embarrassment. He was ready to storm off back into the mansion, but not before hugging Blanc tightly.
"Good luck, Brother Blanc," Kael whispered before running off, leaving Blanc hanging.
"That was mean, Lune," Blanc sighed.
"Oops," Lune giggled, "I guess I have to buy another book for him to forgive me."
"You do that then," Blanc smiled as he got to his feet, now face to face with his mothers.
"Son," Mera nodded.
Blanc bowed deeply, "Mothers."
"Stop acting as cold as a Daughter." Auren elbowed Mera, "Say what you have to say."
Which sent Mera straight into Blanc's arms.
"You take care out there, my beautiful boy," Mera sniffed, "And come back no matter what, please."
"Once I have Sera with me, we will rush back like the wind, Mama," Blanc giggled, hugging her back.
"You do that." She kissed his forehead before letting go of him.
"This is from us, Blanc dear," Auren said, giving him a golden bracelet, "A defensive artifact of your father's. May it protect you from any danger coming your way."
Blanc stared at the bracelet, too shocked to receive such a gift. But Auren placed it directly in his hand, closed it, gave him a peck on the forehead, and sent him on his way to the next in line.
"May the Vita be with you, Son-in-Law." Lucien placed a hand on his shoulders.
"And with you, Father-in-Law," Blanc nodded, "Please take care of all of them."
"With all I have," Lucien promised, "A favor for the favor you are doing to me and all of the Empire. But now go, we will give you space to speak properly, and I will tell Velakia and her protectors she can come down."
"Thank you," Blanc smiled as all those he said goodbye to earlier went inside the mansion, leaving him with Celine and Miyanna, who awaited a bit of distance away.
He turned towards them, walking straight and with purpose.
"Stop pretending," Miyanna sighed, annoyed at her husband, who tried to appear tougher than he was.
"At least I tried," Blanc sighed, getting in front of the two, his shoulder slumping slightly, breaking the confident look he had earlier attempted to portray.
"Stop trying and come back soon," Miyanna approached him. "Or I will kill you myself, understand?"
"So I die either way?" Blanc asked.
"You fucking…" Miyanna cursed but could not help herself but hug and kiss him.
"I love you," Blanc said to her once she let go of his lips, only for him to go back for yet another kiss.
"I love you too," Miyanna replied, before Blanc moved to Celine, who watched all of this, grinning.
"I almost felt jealous for a second," she said, putting her hands around Blanc's neck, their nose almost touching.
"Come on," Blanc chuckled, "You will have her all for yourself, and you speak of jealousy when I am the one who should be jealous."
"I will enjoy every second of it," Celine laughed, before kissing him, "I love you."
"And I love you," Blanc replied, before kissing both women a few more times.
He then moved downward, kneeling in the dirt as he stared at the stomachs of the two women who carried his children.
"And you be good and do not make too much trouble for your mothers, hm?" Blanc said, before giving each of their stomachs a quick peck.
"Blanc," Celine muttered as Blanc got back to his feet, "I do not care what you do when out there, as long as you return to us."
"Well, I do!" Miyanna intervened, "Fuck do you mean you do not care? Listen, Blanc, if I hear about you doing anything dumb, I will cut it off myself."
"I-I did not even say anything though," Blanc stuttered defensively.
Celine giggled, looking at the chaos she created, but stopped it all as she hugged both of them.
"All I am saying is that you take care out there, okay?" she said.
"I promise," Blanc nodded.
"Well then, you should be on your way," Celine replied as the doors of the mansion opened, revealing Velakia, Tahreni, and Lendros.
"I should," he nodded, but not before another kiss to his wives, "Take care of yourselves, beautiful wives."
"And you of yourself, handsome husband," Celine replied.
"Take care, hubby," Miyanna added before they turned and headed into the mansion.
"Ready to go?" Velakia asked as they approached Blanc.
"Let's get this over with," he nodded, his face now devoid of any emotion as he turned on his heel, looking at the mountains in the distance and the first stop in the journey ahead of them.
"Let's go then," Velakia replied, as the iron gates slowly opened for their departure.
With a final look back, he inhaled deeply and allowed himself a second of silence, breathing the air around him, tasting its sweetness, letting his hair fall backward.
Here I come, Sister, Blanc said to himself as he watched the sky.
And with that, he was out the gate, catching up with his three protectors on this newfound journey of his.