The days that followed fell into a stable, productive rhythm.
Rowan spent his afternoons in the fields, preparing the promised ten tons of imperial wheat for the harvest and overseeing the meticulous cleaning and uprooting of the ginseng. The ginseng was then placed into specially prepared, mana sealing storage boxes, ready for the Crown's private collection team.
Alexia was consumed by her analysis. Her final report on the truth serum was delivered three days later.
"The efficacy was complete, Father," Alexia reported, standing before him in the parlor, holding her notepad. "The truth berry compound was fully released by the mana of the berry wine. Her physiological response to the confession was minimal, suggesting high mental training, but the formula did its job."
"And the residue?" Rowan asked.
"Clean," Alexia confirmed. "No trace of any counter-agent or neutralizing magic. Her admission of the details was genuine, corroborating your hypothesis. She is an agent, and she was truthful."
Meanwhile, Darius was completely lost in the world of carving. His grandfather had even visited the other day to check on the boy and had nothing but praise.
"The boy is a prodigy, Rowan," Bjorn said that evening, wiping the wood dust from his beard.
"He hasn't asked me for a single technique. He just watches, then he goes to his own block and tries. He has finished his sphere, and it is perfectly, flawlessly round. Now, he is attempting make some changes to it. He is a creator, not a soldier, son."
Darius's focus was absolute. He would sit for hours in the backyard, small curls of wood piling up around him.
…
The weeks passed quickly. The ginseng was at some point picked up by a quiet, efficient team of Royal Alchemists, and the large down payment of gold was secured and deposited into a chest. The wheat was crushed by his own magical mill and was boxed and ready for Lyra Voss's return.
On one morning, the farm was lively as always, the kids running around doing their own thing or playing with each other.
Lilly, dressed in a clean tunic and practice pants, was practicing her thrusts with religious fervor, trying to memorize every instruction her father had given her.
Rowan himself was making a massive, slow-cooked beef roast seasoned with the mountain herbs and a fresh, warm batch of his legendary sourdough bread. He had already finished the morning shift of farm work and wanted to give the kids a massive meal.
The reason for this is that he had sensed a familiar presence a couple of miles away when he woke up this morning. He usually could not feel things at such a range, but that aura was screaming at him, as if asking for something.
And as he expected, just before noon, a dark, fast carriage pulled by a single person and no horse raced down the main road and stopped with a sharp, controlled jolt at the farm gate.
The woman who was somehow pulling the carriage by herself out was everything Rowan remembered.
Lieutenant Selene Amon was a vision of dust and grime. She was tall, with sharp, intelligent features, and her ocean blue, dark hair was pulled back into a severe, high braid that was nearly the color of her silver-plated rapier hilt. She wore a tailored, deep navy blue tunic and riding trousers, designed for freedom of movement.
She was covered in dust from head to toe; her clothes looked like they needed to be burned, not washed. Her own face and exposed skin were covered in bits of grime and some of her hair looked quite unhealthy.
The only thing clean on her was her rapier that she had a habit of polishing every day.
Her eyes, a piercing gray, immediately scanned the farm, assessing the security, the productivity, and the impossible plant growth.
Rowan was waiting for her by the gate, a massive, unashamed grin on his face.
"Selene! You look like you haven't showered in weeks! Did the kraken give you any trouble?" he said, striding forward to embrace his former second-in-command.
Selene accepted the hug with a sigh, her demeanor of excitement momentarily melting into one of genuine affection. The two hugged with the closeness of great friends, it was deep and platonic.
"Hello, Rowan. No, the kraken was easily managed. But the dusty road nearly ruined my boots, and I didn't have the money to pay for a shower at an inn."
She pulled back, her eyes landing instantly on the small figure standing stiffly behind Rowan's leg.
Lilly, holding her wooden rapier like a sacred relic, was shaking slightly.
"And this must be the little warrior," Selene murmured, her piercing gaze softening slightly. She walked slowly toward Lilly, her movement a study in controlled grace.
Lilly carefully said. "Hello, miss. Are you the one who daddy said would train me?" Her eyes wandered to the fancy rapier at Selene's waist.
Selene smiled, a rare, beautiful expression that touched only her eyes. "What a cute little Warrior. Call me Selene. Show me your stance."
Lilly immediately dropped into a tentative but focused forward stance, her wooden rapier held out.
Selene circled her, her own hands resting lightly on the hilt of her true, silver-plated rapier. "Good base. But your shoulder is too tense. The rapier is a dance, not a push. You must let your body flow."
She looked up at Rowan. "Your wife taught her the basics well, but she needs the finesse. Where is her mother, Rowan?"
The question was direct and unavoidable, and it instantly stripped the joy from his moment.
Rowan's smile faded. "She is… occupied, Selene. I will explain everything later. For now, you are here for my daughter."
Selene's eyes held his for a long moment, reading the unspoken weight in his silence. The look of concern for Rowan, her old friend, was clear.
"Very well, Commander," Selene said, the old title used with a new, grave respect. "Show me the house. I need to unpack, assess my accommodations, and then, the training begins after I clean up and eat. And Rowan, I mean it. No spiders."
…
The Blacksun family lunch that day was a feast of old stories and new connections.
Selene, seated next to Lilly, spent the meal peppering the little girl with rapid-fire questions about her stance, her favorite move, and her ultimate goal.
"I want to be fast," Lilly said, her eyes shining. "Fast enough to never be hit. And I want to protect my brothers and sisters."
"Good goal," Selene approved, taking a bite of the expertly roasted boar. "But speed is meaningless without precision. We will work on the core. No grand moves, only effective ones."
She turned her attention to the rest of the children, her sharp gaze assessing them all.
"Darius, what do you do, boy?"
Darius, momentarily flustered, held up his perfectly smooth wooden sphere, which now seemed to have some additional lines cut into it. "I carve, Lieutenant. I made this."
Selene examined the sphere, her long, elegant fingers testing the surface. "Flawless control. No flaws in the cuts. A creator. Interesting. Your father and your mother are both masters of destruction."
Alexia spoke up. "Aunty Selene, I have completed a stability analysis of my father's magic ginseng. Would you care to see the spectral graph of its arcane signature?"
Selene blinked. "A spectral graph? Alexia, you are the smart one then. A good potion base is always of interest."
Alex was more reserved. "Welcome to the farm, aunt Selene. I will be handling your pay. If you require any resources, direct all requests to me for immediate processing."
Selene just laughed, a low, melodic sound. "A accountant at six years old. Rowan, your kids are more mature than expected."
Rowan merely shrugged, pouring himself a glass of the blue wine. "They grew up in their mothers' home, Selene. Those were troublesome places. That's all."
Lucia was the one who avoided Selene for some reason. It was as if the girl wasnt comfortable with this stranger who shared no blood with her.
As the lunch ended, and the children were off to play with Lucia who was showing off her newly learned magic. Rowan and Selene retreated to the parlor. Rowan had already poured two generous glasses of the mana infused non-alcoholic wine.
Selene took a long, thoughtful sip. "This is incredible, Rowan. It's better than any of the high-end liquor I tasted back then in the Capital. Pure mana and a clean flavor. You truly are a master farmer."
"I've had a lot of time to practice," Rowan admitted, settling into a comfortable armchair.
The pretense was over. It was time for the truth.
"Artemis and the other's," Selene began, her voice dropping. "Where is she?"
In past letters to Selene, Rowan had talked about the woman he was engaged too. So she knew about them and that they had left. But after seeing the children, she logically thought they had returned.
Rowan took a deep breath, running a hand over his tired face. "Artemis, along with Yue Ling, my other two wives, and two of my children's mothers, are currently… avoiding me. They must be worried about the havoc caused by the drought. They probably just wanted the kids to be safe with me."
Selene's gray eyes widened, her composure utterly shattered. "Does that mean they wouldn't even tell you they had your kids if it wasn't for the current chaos?"
Selene gritted her teeth at the sheer audacity of the woman who hid the kids from their father for years. She was angry. She knew that Rowan had always been the best man she knew and that he would be a great father and husband.
She couldn't tolerate those women who would do that to Rowan and his kids.
The sheer injustice of the situation made her want to punch a wall.
Rowan smiled wryly at her reaction. "I am taking this remarkably well, I know. But it's a long story, Selene. A very long, complicated story involving things that I do not want to talk about."
He paused, letting the absurd weight of his statement settle. "In short, they had their reasons, and those reasons are ones I will figure out eventually. I'm not saying I agree with what they did but the reality is the kids here now, and I'm their father, and that's what matters."
Selene leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her expression intense. "Rowan, you were the most loyal, honorable man in the entire Legion. These women are probably idiots or crazy."
"Probably a bit of both," Rowan conceded. "But let's not dwell on the past. The present is here, in this farm. The kids are safe, they're fed, and they're being raised by their father. That's the victory."
He lifted his glass. "A toast to the future, Selene. And to a very hard training regimen for my little Lilly."
Selene took the glass, her gray eyes softening slightly as she met his gaze. "To the future, Rowan."
She took a longer sip of the wine, letting the mana calm her anger. "About Lilly. She has a natural, aggressive drive. That's good. But she needs discipline, and she needs to learn how to fight small. Against me, her current 'retreat and thrust' would lead to her death in milliseconds. Her stance is too wide, her focus too broad."
"I know," Rowan admitted. "I can teach her power, but your finesse and control are what she needs most. You were always a master of economy of movement."
Selene nodded, her expression turning professional. "Exactly. I want to spend the rest of today getting a feel for the farm, and catching up properly. I want to see the impossible crops, and I want a full breakdown of who these women are that think they can hide your children from you."
She stood up, her rapier rattling slightly against the chair. "Lilly's training starts tomorrow morning, right after sunrise. I need the rest of the day to properly assess the grounds and talk some sense into my old commander."
Rowan smiled, a genuine, relieved smile. "Sounds like a plan, Lieutenant. I'll give you the grand tour, and then we'll talk. I've missed your brutally honest opinions."
"Don't worry, Rowan," Selene said, her voice dry. "You're about to get a lifetime supply of them."