The silence in the dark cellar was suddenly charged thick with the heavy scent of fermented fruit and a growing sense of betrayal.
Rowan watched Elara Voss, aka Lyra Thorne, with a calm expression, the smirk on his face widening into a full, unapologetic smile. He lowered his own glass of blue wine to the small wooden table.
"A simple truth serum kind of wine, Ms. Voss," Rowan explained, his voice still low and warm.
"It's mostly of my finest grapes and berries, aged in Escenera wood, and a tiny, undetectable infusion of a high-grade truth berries, created by my beloved Nexia Lunecroft during her stay."
Elara's sapphire eyes, which had momentarily been wide with genuine shock, narrowed again, snapping back into their familiar, highly trained focus. She inhaled sharply, attempting to override the sudden, subtle mana flowing through her system.
The sensation was not intoxicating, but it was insistent, bypassing her mental barriers and making honesty feel like the easiest path. It was a strange feeling of being in control and not at the same time.
She understood instantly: the 'non-alcoholic wine' was a perfect delivery mechanism. The mana boost was a distraction that masked the true, minuscule dose of the truth serum.
"You set me up," Elara stated, the words leaving her mouth as an accusation. She felt a frustrating urge to elaborate, to explain her operation, but she fought the urge.
Rowan leaned back against the cool chair. "I set up a suspicious agent who appeared at the perfect moment to buy my goods and who claimed to see 'the poetry in a tomato' while representing a six month old, ridiculously wealthy trading house.
It was all too coincidental even if I went looking for you and you didn't come to me. Yes, Miss Voss, I set you up. It's called due diligence."
He paused, letting the silence stretch. "Now, Elara Voss. Tell me who you really work for, and what the Military Intelligence Department wants."
The cold look in Elara's eyes was only seen in MID agents. Royal intelligence officers were usually more arrogant or warm. He had asked this question to her while obviously knowing most of the answer.
Elara clenched her hands into fists, the smooth glass of the wine stem digging into her palm. The truth serum wasn't forcing her to speak, but it made holding back information incredibly difficult, like fighting against a powerful current.
"I am an agent of the Military Intelligence Department, Section Three," she confessed, the words escaping in a rage filled rush.
"My cover is Lyra Thorne, Principal Buyer for the Phoenix Trading Group. The group is a front, designed to handle large scale, discreet procurement and resource assessment for the Crown. It reports directly to Director Seraphina and General Stonehard."
Rowan nodded slowly, confirming Nytra's suspicion and his own gut feeling. "And the goal of this 'procurement'? Is it really just high quality food?"
"No," Elara said, the denial sharp and immediate. "The primary objective is risk assessment. The kingdom is in a precarious climate both literally and politically. The drought is far worse than the public knows. We needed to confirm your farm's capacity for magically enhanced, drought defying production.
The Crown needs a secure, untraceable supply chain for essential, high-nutrition goods, especially for the military and the Royal Family. The goods you sell are currently invaluable. They wouldn't rust any actual merchants since they don't have an identity to protect themselves from being killed by you.
You wouldn't kill a government and military agent, since even though you can kill us all, it would ruin your idyllic farm life. But you wouldnt mind killing a merchant if they slighted you. You've done it before."
"Invaluable, I believe, is the word you used to justify your astronomical price for my Ginseng," Rowan dryly observed. "But why the elaborate agent and the cover story? Why not simply dispatch a Royal Envoy with an official commission?"
Elara's lips thinned. "Because you are Rowan Blacksun. Retired Commander, known for his volatile nature and his intense desire for privacy. You are one of the few people who can say no to the royal's face, and they wouldn't do anything about it.
Your relationship with the royals is strange, sometimes good, other times estranged. An official request has a risk of an immediate public refusal.
The Agency needed a subtle approach, a non-threatening, commercially appealing persona that could gain your trust and assess your character and goal without giving you a reason to unleash your full capabilities on our people."
She looked directly into his eyes, her own sapphire gaze surprisingly frank. "The Agency believes you would view an official visit as an intrusion on your family's safety. They correctly hypothesized that you would be more likely to deal with a merchant than an envoy."
Rowan tapped his finger against the table, processing the layered confession. The Agency had played a long game, carefully constructing a scenario to bypass his known paranoia.
"And my kids?" he asked. "I can bet you guys want to know more about them?"
"We need to see if they have the potential to harm the kingdom," Elara replieif they instantly. "The background of almost each of your kids is too politically charged or of a powerful entity. Some are both."
Rowan sighed, but the tension in his shoulders eased. The information confirmed that her immediate exactly what he thought they were. She was not here to harm his family or steal his secrets, only to exploit his productivity for the good of the crown and to asses their risks his kids posed.
At least that is the case for now. You never know what might happen.
"Alright, Elara Voss," Rowan said, his voice returning to a casual tone. "The truth serum will wear off completely in about thirty minutes. You have given me the information I needed, and the information is acceptable.
You are exactly what I wanted: a discreet buyer with bottomless pockets and a desperate need for my product. The deal stands."
He pushed the two glasses of non-alcoholic wine aside. "Now, let's talk business as two professionals. My original price for the Ginseng was generous. Given that it is a matter of national emergency, I am increasing the price by another twenty percent."
Elara's eyes blinked with confusion. "You would extort the Crown in a time of need?"
"I am securing the future of my five children in a time of drought," Rowan countered, his eyes hardening. "You just confirmed that my product is invaluable and going to the Royal Family. The price must reflect its true value, especially when I know your budget is stupidly high.
Plus, those royals are a pain sometimes, so I count this as a tolerance fee. Take it or leave it. I can find plenty of other desperate merchants, whether they be in the kingdom or outside it."
Elara didn't hesitate for long. The truth serum had stripped away the layers of negotiation rhetoric, leaving only the urgent need. "Agreed. The new price is accepted. You will receive an change to the contract and an immediate transfer of funds."
"Good," Rowan said, standing up. "Now, Agent Voss, let's go back to your carriage. You can pretend to be a pretentious buyer."
As they walked back through the cool cellar door and into the bright sunlight, Rowan paused, turning his head slightly.
"One more thing, Agent Voss," he murmured, his voice low. "I know you are under General Stonehard, which means you were the person who researched me. What do you know about the security detail around my youngest daughter, Lucia?"
Elara, surprised by the abrupt shift back to personal matters, felt the lingering urge to disclose. "Princess Lucia Ichor Von Bloodsworth is currently under the discreet protection of agents from the Bloodsworth Clan's specialized detail…vampire ninjas, as they are informally known.
They are highly trained and operate with extreme ruthlessness. Our Agency has them under constant surveillance but avoids all direct contact. Their net is nearly infallible."
Rowan simply nodded, a look of profound satisfaction settling on his face. "Thank you. I knew you guys would not miss them. You may proceed with your departure, Ms. Thorne. And enjoy the lingering truth effects. Perhaps you'll tell your staff a few genuine compliments since you seem to be type to bottle things up."
Elara let out a small, weary sigh that was entirely genuine. "I would rather not."
…
Rowan watched Elara Voss's procession depart from the farm, the dark, elegant carriage of the 'Phoenix Trading Group' quickly shrinking down the dusty road. He waited until the last puff of dust had settled, ensuring they were truly gone.
He turned back toward the wine cellar and went to the house. After seeing Alexia reading some books about herbs, he pulled a small, thin, sealed vial from his pocket. It contained the leftover blue wine from Elara's glass.
"Can you extract a person's unique essence from this, Alexia?" Rowan said, placing the vial gently on the dinner table.
Alexia immediately stopped her task. "Father, mother has taught me the spell, but I'm not very good at it yet."
Rowan gave his daughter a proud smile. "It is fine if you can't get any. It's just a contingency. We now know that Lyra Thorne is Elara Voss, an agent of military intelligence, and that she has paid a truly obscene amount for your our ginseng, confirming its value as a powerful ingredient in potions."
Alexia's eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock crossing her usually composed features. "Military Intelligence? And the ginseng is going to the Crown? That significantly increases the complexity of your business, Father."
"Indeed…but that is a problem for me, the adult, to handle. Now, I need you to analyze this." Rowan gestured to the leftover wine. "She was honest about the Bloodsworth ninjas, a detail she wouldn't have known without high-level clearance.
I need to know if she was exposed to any counter-agent or if the serum was partially neutralized. A confirmation that your mother's serum worked as in."
Alexia carefully picked up the vial. "I will run a full range of simple tests that can be done with my current equipment. Give me one hour, Father. And I will also need access to the wine itself to compare control samples."
"I'll bring it," Rowan confirmed. "And we can upgrade your equipment to even better ones later. Your father has just been paid enough to buy every piece of alchemy equipment in the Capital."
This daughter of his was the most intelligent and well learned of the 5 and seemed to have the most maturity. She must have seen plenty of schemes, even at her young age of 7, at the forsaken witch tower.
That's why he was always sharing everything he could with her as she wasnt easily shocked.
...
Lunch was a loud, happy affair in the main farmhouse kitchen.
Rowan made a simple and massive meal. Today's menu was roasted vegetables sauteed with pork loin, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs from the garden.
Lilly, Darius, Alex, Alexia, and Lucia were gathered around the table, their energy restored after a productive morning.
Lilly was narrating her battle with the practice dummies to Alexia, describing her 'retreat and thrust' strategy with theatrical flair. Alex was silently calculating the total cost of the Ginseng sale in his ledger, his face grim with the weight of the numbers.
The boy was probably confused as to why someone would pay so much for some mere root herbs. He had heard what Alexia said they had the potential for but he couldn't understand the absurd amount of gold that it earned. Gold! Not silver.
He only believed it when Rowan showed him the heaping chest of coins they were handed as the initial payment. His mother had said his father was poor by choice. He once thought that as impossible because who wouldn't want easy money?
Now he believed her, too. His father really could have made money before but he liked staying frugal. He only seemed to be willing to splurge on his kids.
While he was in a dilemma, Darius was quiet. He was still holding the small, now much smoother, wooden sphere in his lap, his fingers running over its surface.
"Darius," Rowan said, setting a large plate of roasted potatoes in front of him. "Your grandfather tells me you really enjoyed the carving lesson. Did you find your rhythm in the wood?"
Darius looked up, his dark eyes serious. "Yes, Father. It was… quiet. Everything else was loud, but the wood was quiet. Grandfather said the bear was already inside the block, and he just had to take the outside away."
He held up his rough sphere. "I think i found a shape inside the wood, too. I just haven't found the right way to take the outside away yet. It's hard to get the round shape."
"Then keep working at it, son," Rowan encouraged him. "Every craftsman starts with a rough shape. It's the persistence that makes it art."
The conversation was interrupted by a sharp voice echoing from the back door.
P.S. Thank you, Owl_14 for the first powerstones on this novel.