The Alchemists

For various reasons today, Marion who usually could think clearly suddenly couldn't come up with any good tactics or strategy so she could deceive Alaric. She was too shaken to sit still and analyze the situation.

One thing was for certain, she did not want Alaric to know that she was only disguising as Aleksis. The man would be very hurt once he found out that the girl he saved was not really his wife, but a fake Aleksis sent by his own father.

The longer Marion stayed with him, the more she became afraid that her disguise would be exposed.

Alaric must not know that his father was the one after him ...

Marion could not imagine how bad the relationship between the two men would become once Alaric learned the truth.

Lauriel would be very sorry, but his regrets would come too late. By then, Alaric would have already hated him so much...

"Alaric ..!" Marion suddenly turned around and raised her hands, signaling that he shouldn't follow her. "Please, I need to be alone. If you love me, please don't follow me. I need time to process all of this in my head ..."

She must escape from Alaric, then find a way to meet Lauriel.

The man was instantly rooted in his place.

A few dozen men in black surrounded them, looking alert and cautious. Alaric raised his right hand. They all nodded and left him and Marion.

"Calm down ... I'll leave you alone. So don't run away like that, I won't chase you," Alaric said in a very gentle voice.

He understood that everything he just told her, for an ordinary human, was too overwhelming to handle. It was not surprising that 'Aleksis' became this shocked and tried to leave. He had to give her some time to think things through.

As he had promised to himself, even if Aleksis did not remember him, he would simply try to make her fall in love with him again. He would wait until forever. He had a very long life to spend with her.

Marion, who saw the bodyguards leaving them, became quite relieved. Right now, she had no weapon with her and would be unlikely to escape from him, much less with others around. She must use Alaric's love for Aleksis to get some freedom of movement for herself.

However, when she looked at those loving purple eyes, her heart felt very guilty. This man really loved Aleksis and was willing to do anything for her, she realized. But now Marion was actually planning to use his sincere and deep love against him.

All her life, Marion was used to carrying out various missions that were not at all clean, but she found herself wallowing in guilt only this one time. She thought of Aleksis who was still lying in a coma in another country. For sure, she would want to be with the man she loved. However, the man Aleksis loved was actually being targeted by her fathers.

"Alaric ... I ..." Marion swallowed hard.

She almost spilled out all her secrets to him and told him that the real Aleksis was in Switzerland.

Ah, you can't do that, Marion. Not yet. The situation is still currently very bad. 

She did not know what Alaric would do once he discovered that he got cheated.

Marion unconsciously touched the necklace around her neck, remembering that inside its locket was Princess Luna's hair.

She better go to Lauriel quietly and tell him what had happened. She had to show his girlfriend's hair as proof and then convinced them that they all had to retreat and leave Alaric alone.

Later, once they were back in Switzerland, she would make sure Lauriel find a way to apologize to his son and reunite him with the real Aleksis.

Yes ... that's the only way.

"Yes, Honey? What is it? What do you want?" Alaric asked patiently.

"I need some time alone ... Please, don't follow me." Marion gave Alaric a pleading look. "I promise I will return, but for now, I need to go somewhere to calm down. Do you believe me?"

Alaric nodded, "Of course."

He stood in place and let Marion slowly walked out the door leading to the flower garden where his mother's grave was. Alaric just stared at the back of the departing girl, his thoughts ranged from wanting to follow her to leaving her alone.

Marion tried to make her steps look as miserable as possible as if she was walking without a plan or destination in mind. During the first 10 minutes, she kept observing her surroundings to make sure she was not being followed.

Thankfully, Alaric stayed true to his words. None of his bodyguards went after her. The girl's vision and hearing were very sharp so she would easily know if somebody did.

Ah, this was a relief. She could calmly meet her friends and tell them to go away from here. Soon they would be able to clear up all this mess.

And, oh ... Marion could already imagine how happy Lauriel would be once he learned that he had had another son with Princess Luna. Furthermore, this son had a face that was very similar to his late girlfriend!

While walking towards the south, Marion's gaze accidentally went to a beautiful monument that had two statues of angels on each side. It looked like a tomb, except there was no gravestone.

She approached the monument and using her fingers, she traced the writing carved on it.

[You're the best woman in the world.]

Unconsciously, after she read the inscriptions, a drop of tears fell on Marion's cheeks. She realized the monument was made by Alaric for his mother. She remembered that Luna's tracks disappeared in Romania and after that, Lauriel was unable to find her at all.

Who would have thought that In actuality, Luna died at this place? That she left a son here who later lived in sufferings and ended up mingling with people from the underworld?

If she thought about Nicolae's story and linked it to what happened to Alaric, it would be easy to conclude that Nicolae was born first and was saved by the hospital doctor. As for Alaric, he was born sometime later. Most likely, before Luna died, she asked the midwife to cut her hair to give to her son.

Alaric then lived alone, keeping his mother's hair as a memento without knowing that he had an older brother and father. The harsh life was what made him who he was today ... The leader of Rhionen Assassins.

What a poor child ... Marion thought sadly.

She immediately wiped her tears and hurried towards the meeting place Lauriel specified. She must get there before Alaric became suspicious of why she had not yet returned.

She couldn't wait to tell Lauriel what she discovered.

Marion walked with long strides. She soon learned that the place Lauriel designated was at the top of a cliff. Most likely, they planned to pick her up by a helicopter. She was told to go to high ground so that she could be spotted easily.

Almost there...

"Aleksis ..."

Marion was almost at the top of the cliff when suddenly Alaric's voice rang behind her. Oh, apparently the young man could no longer help but follow her as she had been gone for so long ...

But then, from behind the cliff, she suddenly saw a stealth helicopter hovering up.

Lauriel had arrived!