The Alchemists

Finland almost couldn't believe her own eyes when the elevator door opened at the 40th floor and she saw the familiar door to Caspar's penthouse. She really missed this place.

Caspar opened the door and took Finland inside. His hand was still faithfully holding the girl's hand.

"Do you want to go straight to sleep or would you like to take a shower first?" Caspar asked. "There's a kimono in the closet."

Finland realized that she must look very disheveled and worn out after crying and kneeling for hours in the lobby. She hurriedly shook her head, "I want to take a shower first..."

"OK." Caspar entered a room, took a towel and a kimono, and gave it to her. "Do you need help?"

"N... no, thank you..." Finland suddenly looked uncomfortable. Of course, she could take a shower on her own. She didn't need any help, not even from Caspar.

They hadn't seen each other for almost three years and, somehow, she felt a little awkward if they had to behave like husband and wife right now. After all, it was Caspar who asked to separate from her.

Caspar seemed to read her mind. He then smiled and raised his hand to invite Finland towards the bathroom, "Take your time. I need to take care of something in my study."

As soon as Finland closed the bathroom door, Caspar took his phone and contacted Jadeith. His face now looked dark and the air around him seemed to cool down by a few degrees. His anger was clearly visible on his face.

"Jadeith, I need you in my study now."

"Okay, Uncle."

Caspar waited for Jadeith while working on something on his laptop. His face was tense and full of concentration. Five minutes later, Jadeith softly knocked on the door and entered the study.

"What's wrong, Uncle?" he asked softly. He had never seen his uncle's face this scary before.

"I want to kill Alexei and Katia."

"Uncle... you barely made it out of Famke's murder alive... Please think carefully..." said Jadeith anxiously, "What did they do now?"

"They tried to kill my daughter, and I won't forgive them. I don't care if I have to commit the unforgivable mistake again..." Caspar hardened his jaw as he answered Jadeith. He saw Jadeith's confused face and so he was finally forced to explain what had happened. "Finland's daughter... isn't Lauriel's, but mine. Katia and Alexei poisoned her a few days ago... We must find them immediately and force them to give us the antidote."

"Oh..." Jadeith covered his mouth in surprise, but his expression immediately calmed down and he nodded quickly, "I understand. I will return with the latest report tomorrow morning."

"Hmm."

Jadeith excused himself and disappeared. A few minutes later Finland entered with her body wrapped in a kimono. Her face seemed to have calmed down even though her pair of brown eyes still looked sad. Her beautiful hair hung over her shoulders.

The vulnerability that hung around her really touched Caspar's heart. His furious face immediately softened. He smiled and raised his both hands to signal Finland to come closer to him.

"Come here..." he said.

Finland slowly came closer, and once she was within his reach, Caspar immediately embraced the girl onto his lap.

"Let me hold you for a moment..." he whispered softly. "I missed you so much..."

Finland relaxed and stayed on Caspar's lap. Her hand rubbed the man's cheeks lovingly. She really missed this face. She really missed Caspar's smile, and his heart-melting dimples...

"Hmmm... that's enough. You'd better go to sleep now," Caspar said a few minutes later. He seemed very reluctant to let go of Finland from his lap, but he realized that it was very late and they had to rest. "You can sleep in the master bedroom. I will sleep in the guest room."

Finland looked at him for a while, and after gathering her courage, she finally spoke in a soft voice, "Uhm... don't you want to accompany me?"

The girl's face flushed red and she looked very adorable, making Caspar's heart flutter. He then smiled, showcasing his dimples. He nodded, stood up, and took Finland's hand and led her to the master bedroom.

Finland climbed into bed followed by Caspar who covered her with the duvet then turned off the lights and hugged her from behind.

For the first time in several years, Finland finally had a peaceful sleep.

***

Caspar couldn't sleep at all that night. He was busy thinking about everything that had happened the past few hours. He tried his best to suppress his emotions as he didn't want to disturb Finland who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He did not want to toss and turn in bed and wake the girl, so he could only lie still and think.

He suspected that Lauriel would take action by mobilizing his old team, which had been disbanded decades ago when he went to seclusion. They were a team of immortal adventurers who were highly experienced in various dangerous operations for hundreds of years. Some of them joined Lauriel when he was still venturing the oceans as Black Bart. He called his team "The Wolf Pack" and their presence would be very helpful if Caspar and Lauriel were to take Alexei down.

As for Caspar, if he needed to mobilize tens of thousands of mercenaries to attack the Meier family, all he had to do was to order Jadeith to contact the Academi*. However, he preferred to use it only as the last resort.

He would rather approach Alexei quietly and capture him. Sending so many troops to England would attract too much attention and could lead to war. It would have been a different story if Alexei were in the Middle East. It would be very easy to send troops there and kill him without raising suspicion because the region was always embroiled in conflict.

***

When Finland woke up the next morning, Caspar was no longer in bed. Apparently he blacked-out the window curtains to block the incoming sunlight so as not to wake her up. She turned on the lights to see her surroundings.

On the bedside table there was a set of neatly folded new clothes and a glass of water. Finland realized that Caspar had brought her clothes so she could take a shower and get ready without having to go to Jean's suite to change clothes. Feeling touched, she hugged her clothes and rushed to the bathroom to get ready.

After finishing her bath and changing into fresh clothes, Finland felt much better. She was no longer the sad and fragile girl she was the day before. She felt hopeful. She believed that Caspar and Lauriel would do anything in their power to save Aleksis. They were both the smartest people she knew... She could entrust her life and Aleksis' to them.

When Finland entered the dining room, she saw all the people she loved gathered at the dining table. Caspar was preparing breakfast, assisted by Jean who prepared the plates and cutleries, and Lauriel was holding Aleksis who was laughing and playing with his hair.

For a moment Finland stood transfixed at the sight. Her heart was filled with gratitude. This was HER FAMILY.

Finland, the poor orphan who had always been alone, now had a family to call her own. There was Caspar, the man she loved, her daughter Aleksis, her best friend Jean, and Lauriel whom she regarded as her older brother. Maybe this was a reward for all the suffering she endured all her life…

"Mummyyyy...!!" exclaimed Aleksis who suddenly saw her presence. The three men turned their heads towards Finland and smiled at the same time.

"Good morning..." Jean approached Finland and spread his arms, "Guess who just got his memory back?"

"Whoaa...? Jean... you have recovered? Really? The medicine worked?" Finland covered her mouth in surprise. Her eyes filled with tears as she ran toward Jean and hugged him tightly. "Oh my God... I missed you so much..."

"Yeah... this morning I woke up and my head felt like it was hit by a hammer... but I remember everything..." Jean said. "I am indebted to Lauriel."

"I'm glad it worked..." Lauriel said, shrugging. "I haven't been to the Amazon for such a long time. It's good to be able to go to my favorite place to look for medicinal ingredients for you..."

Caspar looked at Lauriel with a complicated look. Now he only understood why Lauriel invited Finland and Aleksis to Manaus at that time. They were collecting the medicinal ingredients for Jean. He mistakenly suspected that Lauriel and Finland were together and that Lauriel took the girl to his favorite place because he loved Finland. Given this, a shy smile tugged on his lips.

"I'm sorry for wiping out your memories..." Caspar said to Jean. "I only did what I thought was the best thing to do at that time. You shouldn't know our secrets."

Jean had forgiven Caspar because the man also saved his life by giving him the immortality potion, and now Jean had obtained what every human dreamed of: to be young forever.

"You have made up to it, I thank you for saving my life," Jean replied. "Now I too have become an immortal thanks to you."

Lauriel then remembered something, "How long will Aldebar carry out his experiment?"

"Ten years," Caspar answered. "Seven more years."

Lauriel nodded. "Oh, that's not too long. Finland is half Asian, so her face won't change until she's over 40 years old. She can wait if it's only 7 years. That's the good thing about being Asian, they are genetically blessed with youthful looks."

"What do you mean?" asked Jean, not understanding.

Finland hurriedly signaled to Lauriel and Caspar not to discuss the matter further. Jean did not know that the immortality potion he took was the potion intended for Finland, and there would be no more potion until Aldebar woke up from his long experiment.

"Why are you talking about something so serious this morning? I'm so hungry... let's eat." she said to distract the men. She took Aleksis from Lauriel's lap and kissed her. "Good morning, Little Angel. Did you miss Mummy?"

Aleksis laughed in amusement and nodded. "I miss Mummy."

Caspar stopped flipping the pancakes and watched the scene heavy heartedly. He wanted so much to carry his child, but Aleksis always clung to Lauriel and he did not want to force the child and make her cry.

"Mummy misses you too..." Finland said, smiling. "Do you know who else is missing you?"

Aleksis shook her head. "I don't know."

"Your dad really misses you," Finland whispered. She brought Aleksis to Caspar and showed the man his child. "Aleksis, this is your daddy..."

Caspar looked awkward when Finland suddenly brought Aleksis to him. He hesitantly stretched out his hand and tried to smile. Aleksis looked at him attentively, then touched his dimples and smiled broadly.

"Daddy..."

Just with that one simple world, Caspar's heart stirred with emotion. He never thought that he would ever fall in love again with someone other than Finland. His heart was suddenly filled with a warm feeling, like spring when flowers bloom.

He looked emotional when he took Aleksis from Finland and held her close to his heart. "My child..."

It was then that Lauriel realized that Caspar had really changed. He saw how he treated Finland last night and he was impressed.

But now, seeing Caspar's interaction and emotion with his daughter, he was truly convinced. Never in his life did he expect this bachelor, famous for being a womanizer, who dumped many lovers, change into the man he saw today. All because of one woman.

Lauriel had initially harbored feelings for Finland because he admired her resilience and because of his affection for Aleksis, but seeing how much Caspar loved Finland, he was willing to step aside and give his blessing to them, especially since Caspar promised not to keep Aleksis away from him. Without Aleksis, Lauriel had no reason to live anymore.

At that moment, his priority was to save the child and make sure Aleksis lived a long and happy life. His feelings and wellbeing was not at all important.

A few moments later they gathered at the dining table for breakfast. Aleksis was already willing to sit and eat on Caspar's lap and the man patiently fed her a pancake with chocolate. Caspar never thought that he could be this patient with another human, and he felt proud of himself. He knew he had a natural talent to be a father.

While peeling an apple, he glanced at Finland who was sitting next to him. After all these problems were behind their backs, he would formalize their relationship again, go on a honeymoon, and have more children together. He really couldn't wait for that day to come.

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*Academi = a private military company that can be hired by corporates and governments to work on conflict zones for dangerous missions.