The Alchemists

After preparing for everything, Caspar, Finland, and Aleksis finally left for America. As usual, Jadeith and all the other guards joined them. Only when they were on the plane did Finland realize that her small apartment would not be able to accommodate them all.

"Uhmm... where will your people stay?" Finland asked Caspar, "My apartment only has one bedroom and the unit is quite small."

Caspar, who was playing with Aleksis who was sitting on his lap, almost chuckled at the innocent question. After all this time, Finland still did not seem to grasp that Caspar was very wealthy. It was very easy for him to arrange for a place to live all over the world.

He took his cellphone from the cabinet and called Stanis.

"Stanis, do I have any property in San Francisco?" he asked quickly. Finland was again stunned. She just realized that her worries were very unreasonable.

Caspar seemed to nod and a minute later hung up the phone.

"So?" Finland asked curiously.

"Well, apparently I have a vineyard in Napa Valley, two hotels near Union Square - San Francisco and a mansion in Palo Alto. I rarely go to San Francisco so I can't remember what properties I have there." Caspar shrugged. "Now, it's up to you, where do you want to stay...?"

"Gosh..." Finland covered her mouth with the back of her hand, unable to hide her surprise. Aside from downtown SF, Palo Alto was one of the most expensive areas in San Francisco. It was home to the Facebook headquarters and property prices have skyrocketed in the past 10 years. And Caspar mentioned that he had a mansion there??

"So?" Caspar asked.

"Do we have to bring this whole circus?" Finland asked, looking around. The six bodyguards were too many, and not to mention that Ben would join them in San Francisco after they landed. She was still not accustomed to living like this. "Palo Alto is too far for me to commute to my office every day. We can stay in one of the hotels, but I would personally prefer if we lived in my apartment... It's my own place, and if we are going to move to Germany, I still need to pack all my stuff. Our personal belongings are there too... "

"All right," Caspar nodded, understanding. "I can make them stay at the hotel when we arrive in San Francisco, while we stay in your apartment if you really prefer... As usual, they will keep us safe from afar."

"Yes, I prefer it like that..." Finland said happily. "Thank you."

"Of course..." Caspar smiled sweetly. Granting such a small request was nothing for him, but it seemed to make Finland very happy.

They landed at night and several cars from St. Laurent Hotel were waiting for them at the arrival terminal. As always, Stanis was very efficient in managing everything.

"The others will go straight to the hotel, but we can to go to Chinatown," Caspar said. He gave the address of Finland's apartment to the driver.

They enjoyed a comfortable trip to the apartment and half hour later arrived at the apartment building.

Finland carried Aleksis while Caspar pushed both of their suitcases into the building. For a moment, Finland felt touched to see that for the first time, Caspar looked like an ordinary person. He looked like an ordinary husband and father who carried his family belongings into their apartment.

Finland couldn't remember when she had seen Caspar carry his own things. There was always Ben, Jadeith, or Ivan to carry their stuff or drive them. She had also never seen Caspar living in a mere apartment. They always stayed in mansions, penthouses, or castles...

Tonight she felt as if they were just an ordinary couple.

"What's wrong? Why are you smiling?" Caspar asked when he saw Finland standing unmoved in her place, "What's the pass key?"

"Uhm… 3012..." Finland answered with a blush. That was the date of their wedding. Caspar smiled and opened the door to the apartment. He held the door for Finland, who carried Aleksis in her arms.

Once they were inside, Caspar immediately acted as if he was at home and headed for the kitchen.

"What tea would you like?" he asked, lifting the teapot.

"Fruit-flavored tea, thank you," answered Finland.

"OK." Caspar boiled water and prepared a pot of tea for the two of them while Finland placed Aleksis in her bedroom.

A moment later, the two of them were sitting on the living room couch while enjoying tea and chatting.

"My apartment is maybe too small for you..." Finland said apologetically. She knew that compared to where Caspar lived, her apartment looked very simple.

"You have a lot of money in your account, why not rent a nicer apartment?" Caspar asked in confusion. What he meant was, of course, the money he had transferred when Finland insisted on moving out of Rose Mansion. "You're still stingy like you used to be... hahaha..."

"That's not it..." Finland said quickly, "I couldn't splurge, because I had to think about Aleksis' future. The cost of raising her and her school fee will be very expensive. I couldn't spend the money just on renting luxury apartments. This was enough for us."

"Of course, I will be the one to pay for all Aleksis' needs..." Caspar frowned in surprise. He looked at Finland intently, "Unless… it was not your intention to tell me that Aleksis is my daughter…"

Finland felt guilty again. Indeed, that was what she was thinking when she rented this apartment. She had to prepare for the worst, that was, to leave Caspar forever and not tell him that he was Aleksis' father. Given that, Finland felt embarrassed and selfish. She was so young and selfish at that time. The experience of being separated for several years made her learn many things and become more mature.

Caspar saw her guilty expression and felt a little bad. He had no intention to bring up the past again. He touched Finland's chin and kissed her lips tenderly.

"We don't need to talk about this anymore. What is clear is that from now on, I will be responsible for you both. How long do you need to stay in San Francisco to settle your business?" he said later.

"At most one month..." answered Finland.

"Hmm... we can stay here for one month, so you can work as usual. Every weekend we can stay in Napa Valley or Palo Alto, or go to Seattle. Do you remember the house in Seattle that I bought for you? We still haven't been there together. "

"Oh... that's a good idea. Thank you!" Finland was very relieved. She was pleased to see that Caspar was not being fussy and wanted to live in her modest apartment while she finished her work with LTX.

That night they slept comfortably in Finland's bed. Caspar himself was quite surprised, because for the first time in centuries, he slept in a regular bed, which was not as luxurious as what he was used to, but he could still sleep soundly. In his heart he suspected that the girl sleeping in his arms was the reason.

During the three years of their separation, he was not able to sleep well even though he had the best and most comfortable beds in his beautiful homes... But now, with Finland by his side, everything felt comfortable and fine.

He kissed Finland's hair and closed his eyes, enjoying his sleep.

***