Chapter 562: The Fruit of Seeds Long Sown

At first, Kai struggled to even understand what he had heard. For all that he'd grown up from the young man he had once been, the idea of having a child - much less a child that he was completely unaware of - was baffling.

Was it possible? He looked first to the mother, trying to remember if she was among the ex-slaves who had joined in him the raucous celebrations, and felt ashamed to admit that he couldn't be sure. After getting his emotions tangled with Nirka and Yurwa, he had entered a wild period. It had seemed gratifying at the time, and he'd remembered it with only a little embarrassment that now felt far too little for the seriousness of what this really meant.

If only he'd talked to Zae Zin Nim earlier... but it was too late to think that, because he was currently staring at a child who might be his son.

The boy was slim, with Krysali skin but dark hair that might be Goralian. Kai wasn't good with ages, but the boy was a bit older, so it was plausible that he could have been born around the time of the revolution. Of course, getting anyone pregnant should have been impossible, yet Kai found himself scrutinizing that young face for a resemblance, some sparkle in the eye that would instantly reveal their bond.

Instead, he just wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry..." he began, only to be interrupted.

"Are you saying you don't even remember me?" The woman's eyes flashed in anger that looked real to him, and she gripped the shoulders of the potential son. "Do you know how difficult your son's life has been, growing up without a father?"

As shocking as this was, Kai's mind had started to reengage. Maintaining his shell-shocked tone, he asked, "What do you want?"

It was a more difficult question than it appeared, and based on her hesitation, the woman knew it. If she demanded money, that wouldn't necessarily invalidate her claim, but it would say something about her - and they did have an audience. On the other hand, if she wanted him to be a real father, that would put him in a very difficult position.

"I just want you to do right by him," she said. "You say you care about everyone in Krysal, don't you care about us?"

"Look..." Kai wasn't sure what he wanted her to see, though. Even though he was having trouble believing her claim, for several reasons, it ran against his instincts to be aggressive with a woman who was apparently distraught.

"So why did you confront him in public?" Omilaena asked - she clearly had no such compunctions. "You basically just announced that your son is a bastard in front of everyone."

"Kai Clanless already ran off once!" the woman insisted. "This way he can't run off again. He has to do right by us."

"Of course, of course. It would be a horrible injustice for Kai Clanless to father a child and then abandon them, and dishonesty deserves to be punished."

Kai shot a glance at Omilaena, wondering what her game was - and saw she was coming at him with a needle. He had a split second to decide that he trusted her, and so he remained still and allowed her to draw a syringe of blood from his arm.

"Since we have an audience, we can prove it for all of them." Omilaena smiled, entirely too brightly, as she held up the syringe. "Blood tells, it always does. Now, just let me draw some from you and your son, and I'll be able to check his ancestry with complete certainty. Then everyone watching will have proof of your claims."

The woman froze. Not for long, but Kai saw the shock in her expression and knew that she was lying.

Part of him still wanted to be sympathetic: being a single mother in the wake of the revolution must have been difficult, and she must have seen him as an opportunity. But the child... the boy looked hurt and confused. Whether he had been lied to or just tutored in what to do, he was being used as a tool, which killed Kai's sympathy for the mother.

"I won't let you do horrible things to my child!" The woman put her arms around her son as if protectively and began to withdraw. "You can't ignore us, Kai Clanless! You have to do right by us one day!"

As she retreated from the courtyard, Kai clenched his jaw. This was theoretically an intensely personal issue, but it had been made public and thus political, so he had to consider it that way. Fortunately, it looked like Omilaena's ultimatum had been effective: the soldiers in the courtyard were far from friendly toward the supposed mother.

Still, Kai didn't like the fact that his reputation allowed for someone to try. He shook his head as a public response and retreated to a rooftop where few could jump high enough to follow him. That included Omilaena, who casually leaned an elbow against his side.

"So, did you knock her up?"

"You weren't sure?" Kai asked in exasperation. "I assumed you were bluffing about the blood test, but are you telling me that you were really in doubt?"

"Hey, I would absolutely cover for you against some random woman I don't like." Omilaena gave an exaggerated shrug, then grinned. "But honestly, I don't buy it. You were-"

"I was very careful about contraceptive potions. Juray taught me to make them from almost anything."

"Actually, I was going to say that she didn't seem like your type. You might have been a bit loose during the revolution, but you weren't out there being a total slut."

Kai sighed and rubbed his eyes. Omilaena's irreverence was annoying him, but it was also bringing him back after the surreal encounter. "You're taking this too well."

"Honestly, it's fun watching you squirm. But I do so wonder what Zae Zin Nim will think..."

"Ugh, you tell her."

Omilaena's smile grew wider and crueler. "Are you sure you want me to do that?"

"Look." This time Kai knew what he wanted to say: he reached out and grasped Omilaena's shoulder in one hand, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Omilaena, don't make light of this. It will be serious to Zin Nim, and it could ruin my reputation here. This matters, and I need your support."

"Wow." Omilaena's malicious aura evaporated and she gave him a weary smile instead. "I guess I don't have any defenses against you being all sincere like that. Fine, I have your back here. I can't actually do a blood test, but if we're smart, we can still use it to weed out fakers."

Kai froze. "Wait, you mean...?"

"I'm not messing with you this time. If one woman thought of this, do you think she'll be the only one?"

.

..

.

When Kai had used his reputation to smooth over conflicts, he had never considered that this might be a consequence of his actions. His previous visits to Krysal had been swift and relatively subtle, but now that he was throwing his weight around, he'd basically put a target on his back. He'd been prepared for potential assassination attempts, just not...

"So that makes half a dozen claims, more or less," Maggle said. They'd used him to gather rumors and he'd been too enthusiastic about it. "A couple came to Yulthens a few years back, not having heard that you left, and they stuck around here. Plus, there was one lady in Teraklis who has been saying that you were the father of her kid for years."

"I see." Kai closed his eyes and accepted the magnitude of the problem. "Thank you, Maggle."

"Gotta say, congratulations! Being a father is an amazing thing... now, I'm a pretty shitty father, but it's been an amazing thing every time. At least until the mother starts coming after me with whatever weapon is handy..."

"These claims aren't true."

"You sure?" Maggle peered up at him, entire face scrunching up. "Back during the fighting, you were way more successful than I was. You really sowed the wild oats, if you know what I mean."

"Maggle..."

"And what I mean is that you-"

"Enough." Kai gripped the man's shoulder hard enough to make him stop. "Keep your ear open for any more rumors. If anyone asks you questions, tell them what I said: I don't have any children."

"Alright, alright." Maggle raised both hands. "But how are you playing this?"

"I haven't decided yet. Giving in to liars would be a mistake, but if I confront everyone, that would reflect poorly on me. It's a question of-"

"No, I mean how the hell are you playing this with your wives?"

"Maggle..." Kai gave him a caustic look and the man skittered back, cackling to himself.

"Twice the fun, twice the trouble!" Maggle headed off, loping over the rooftop, presumably to listen to and/or spread more rumors. Hopefully that wouldn't be a problem.

But now that he had more information, Kai couldn't focus on Maggle for long. He'd been dismissive of the whole subject, but now that the man was gone, he could admit that he was delaying. Because he really did have something he needed to do.

So Kai turned back to enter their rooms, where Omilaena had gone ahead, and Zae Zin Nim sat waiting with a new sort of glare.