The Alchemists

Katia smiled and approached Caspar first. The man stood up from his chair and returned Katia's embrace.

"Hi, Katia. It's been a while," he said with a smile. He kissed Katia's cheek and let go of the hug. Katia then approached Finland and did the same thing. The girl felt rather uncomfortable after Katia came.

"Hi, Finland. Good evening," Katia realized that her arrival surprised Finland. She did not expect Katia to suddenly come in like this.

Caspar, on the other hand, did not look surprised at all. It was of course expected from the guy who knew it all.

Katia therefore apologized, "Sorry I came without telling you in advance. I just wanted to make sure of something."

"Make sure of something? I don't understand..." Finland admitted softly.

She turned to Caspar but the man already sat down. He was casually sipping his tea, as if not at all surprised by the arrival the woman who had been his fiancée for decades.

"I saw the flowers from Heinrich Schneider in the office, and I needed to make sure he was the same Heinrich Schneider I know." Katia explained. "You probably already know that it's very difficult to meet this person if he doesn't want to be seen. The only way I can make sure that they are the same person is by coming here... I didn't expect you to be here too, just... "

"Oh... uhm, do you guys want to talk? I can get out for a while." Finland was about to leave the kitchen, but Katia shook her head and smiled.

"No need... we will talk outside." She looked at Caspar and smiled thinly. "Only briefly..."

Caspar nodded and followed Katia out of the house.

Finland felt nervous during the time they were talking outside. She could not imagine what the ex-lovers were talking about out there. Why did Katia come and what did she want to tell Caspar?

Ten minutes later the guy returned without Katia. His expression was the same as before he left. Finland could not guess what had happened.

"Uhm... where is Katia?" Finland asked.

"She went home." Caspar answered shortly. "Let's eat, I'm hungry. I was very busy today."

"May I know what the two of you were talking about outside?" Finland asked carefully.

"Katia warned me to treat you well. She said that you are a good girl and she didn't want me to ruin your life." Caspar shrugged, "She didn't have to do it. I would never treat you badly."

"Oh..."

Finland did not understand why Katia came all the way to Rose Mansion just to say that to Caspar.

Wasn't she jealous to see her ex-fiancé, the man she said she loved so much and the man who didn't reciprocate her love, now being with Finland in this mansion?

It doesn't make sense that she would warn Caspar on Finland's behalf. Why would she do that?

Finland finally decided not to entertain bad thoughts in her head and learn to be grateful for the good deeds other people did for her, as suggested by Caspar and Jean.

Maybe Katia really cared about her...

They continued their dinner in silence. After dinner Caspar took out the egg tarts he bought in Macau earlier that day for dessert. Finland, who had never tasted an egg tart freshly made from Macau before, really liked the taste. Caspar never ceased to impress her.

"The egg tart originated from Portugal and was brought to Macau when the Portuguese colonized Macau. One day, when we go to Portugal, you can taste the even better ones," Caspar explained.

After they finished the egg tarts, the two drank dessert wine in the library because Caspar had to attend a conference call with the directors of his company in Germany.

"If you are busy with work, I can go to my room," Finland said.

"It's okay. What will you do in your room?"

"I want to read a book about design and organize some upcoming programs."

"This library is huge, you can sit and work next to me." Caspar stretched his arms as if to show how big the library was. "Unless you really prefer to be alone in your room."

Finland shook her head and smiled.

"No, I prefer to be near you. I will take my laptop and books from my room."

"Good girl."

When Finland returned with her laptop and books, Caspar was already in deep discussion with his board of directors. The girl's presence stunned the people at the other end of the conversation.

For a moment, they stopped speaking.

When Caspar saw Finland approach, he stood up and opened the chair next to him for the girl to sit on. Then, as if nothing happened, he continued the meeting, ignoring the confused and astonished looks of the people in his conference.

Finland smiled awkwardly and sat next to Caspar. She adjusted her seat so she was not visible to the people in the conference call and started working. She did not want to distract nor disturb their work.