Sylvara's Rebirth A New Dawn for Abel novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44 Her

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Agares leaned into his chair. He stared at the optical computer resting on his palm. A massive lemon tree filled the entire screen. It was the Level 7 plant healer’s second post. The post claimed she was trying to win her husband back. “Colonel Kael,” Agares said, “you never informed me the Level 7 healer was a woman.”

Carlos blinked fast. “Commander, I thought I mentioned it. I used ‘she’ the whole time. I never said ‘he.””

Agares turned those eyes on him.

Carlos snapped into a stiff stance. His voice rang out. “Commander, I accept my mistake. I should have reported something so important.”

Agares tapped the corner of the optical computer with a steady rhythm. The image stayed bright. The lemon tree rested in the healer’s slender hand. Her fingers looked soft instead of strong. Those were not the hands of a fighter. Yet those same fingers grew fruit that repaired genetic breakdown.

“It is not an issue,” Agares said.

Carlos let out a shaky breath.

He believed he escaped disaster.

Agares spoke again. His tone dropped low and heavy. “Carry 110 pounds. Run one hundred laps around the warship. Then complete three hours of training under five times gravity.”

Carlos folded when his legs gave out. He hit the floor in a heap.

This was not a punishment. This was a burial notice.

An hour passed.

Every single bright red pepper in the academy vanished.

None remained.

The stalks were chopped. Bare roots stuck up like tiny bones.

The older students stared with blank faces. The new students looked devastated. They did not even get a chance to admire the academy’s special peppers.

Then the older students caught on. The harvest robots wore the Agriculture Department markings.

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Chapter 44 Her

Silence fell over the whole field.

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Only one person had that authority. Aslan. Beautiful and frightening.

No one questioned it.

Every plant on the academy’s grounds fell under his control.

Acres of peppers gone.

Thousands of pounds collected. More than ten thousand in total.

Sylvara kept one pot. Saphron stuffed the rest into his spatial button.

He stayed silent. He followed every order. He packed until his fingers ached. He thanked every star. He brought more than one spatial button today.

Sylvara saw Aslan still standing nearby. She waved a hand. “Why are you still hanging around? I am not feeding you dinner.”

Aslan’s jaw twitched. “Sweetheart, you cannot use a man and kick him out the door. I want to see how you make those peppers.”

Sylvara flashed a bright grin. “As if. I know what you’re playing at. You want to check if I have lemons.”

He froze in place. She hit the truth in one strike.

“Sweetheart, be nice,” Aslan said. “You belong to the Agriculture Department now. We are teammates.” He never imagined he would beg like this. He was the boss of the Agriculture Department.

“Let me come inside and watch,” Aslan said. “If you run out of credits later, I will boost your score. I will make sure you rise in this department.”

Sylvara laughed. “If I can’t rise, my husband will take care of me. He is loaded.”

Sweetheart has a Level 7 healer in her pocket.

She doesn’t need me.

If she goes back, how am I supposed to get to know that healer?

Aslan tried again. His voice tightened. “A woman needs her own path. Depending on a man shows no promise.

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Chapter 44 Her

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“You have to stand tall. You have to stay steady. Even if you can reach the top of the grower ranks, you can still do well. Do not lean on a man. You will lose yourself.”

Aslan underestimated her completely. Sylvara smiled with wicked confidence. “I do not mind losing myself. My husband looks that good. His legs look that good. I can stare at him all day.”

Aslan’s eyes went wide. He poked her forehead. “You impossible brat. Move along.”

Sylvara stuck out her tongue. “I am impossible. Deal with it.”

Aslan groaned loudly and spun around. “Goodbye.”

He stormed away.

He did not look back.

He told himself nothing bothered him.

He walked three steps. Sylvara called his name. He turned fast.

A bright object shot toward his face.

He jerked back so hard the stone under his heel cracked with a loud burst. He swept his arm and knocked the object away.

Sylvara caught it with one hand. It was a lemon. She tossed it up, let it fall, and caught it again. She looked down at the broken tile under Aslan’s foot. Her smile held a sharp edge. “Aslan, you are not just Agriculture and healing. You also trained with Combat Department.”

Aslan watched the lemon rise and fall in her palm. He still did not know the flavor of lemon, yet his chest twisted with a sharp jealous sting.

He regretted every moment he believed sweetheart was slow.

She was sharp enough to strip him bare with one tossed lemon.

He tried to cover it up. “It is not official Combat Department. I sat in a few classes. If you want to sit in too, I will speak to the right people.”

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