The Alchemists

Alaric arrived at Ned's magnificent mansion five minutes before his appointment with them. The butler respectfully greeted him and invited Alaric directly into the luxurious open-air dining room overlooking the large, lush garden on the side of the mansion.

"Good afternoon, Son," Portia immediately got up and hugged Alaric. She kissed his cheeks, while Alaric kissed her hand respectfully. After he greeted Ned, he immediately received a glass of wine from his adopted father.

They sat at the dining table and Portia was sighing incessantly. She then smiled happily upon seeing Alaric as healthy as ever. She kept staring at the young man lovingly.

"It's a good thing we listened to Professor Muller's advice and waited until the artificial heart was successfully produced," Portia said emotionally. "Seeing you rely on life-support machines for years was truly heartbreaking ... After two years I almost gave up."

Alaric nodded. He had already heard for the umpteenth time what happened after he was shot and proclaimed dead. The internal organs in his body were so badly damaged and even failed to work one after another.

Medically he should have died the same day bullets rained on him, but his strong physical endurance made him last for a month, even with only a one percent chance of survival. But after one month his body could no longer keep going and was also giving up.

That was why his subordinates announced his death, so there was a change of leadership in the company group, with his foster children taking over the projects that were his life's goal. The announcement made the news of his death reach Portia's ears. After that, Portia stubbornly forcefully took Alaric and made every effort to save his life.

For several years Alaric was on the verge of death because his body needed life support machines just to stay alive. Apart from his brain, none of his organs could function properly without the machines.

Portia loved her nephew as if he was her own child and, thus, she insisted on getting the world's best medical experts to treat him. She even got the best scientists to make all the artificial organs that Alaric needed to recover completely.

Last year, Alaric's body had finally been freed from all the life support machines and began to adjust to his new organs. Then four months ago, he woke up.

During his six-years-long sleep, Alaric felt like he was in a very long dream. There were already so many things that happened before he woke up, and now he felt like he had experienced many changes.

For one, his body became more sensitive. He did not like having body contact with others. He increasingly disliked the existence of humans around him, only giving an exception to a few people. He also liked to be alone and didn't care about his surroundings.

This was the first time he met Ned and Portia after he woke up from a coma and they would be talking about many important things.

"I'm not too late, am I?" asked Sophia who had just arrived. She brought with her a bottle of expensive wine and put it on the table. After that, she hugged Portia and kissed her on both cheeks.

"Don't worry about being late. You're not. Sit down. We're just about to start." Portia sat back on her chair and then beckoned her staff to start serving food.

They began with an appetizer and talked about something light. Sophia told Portia that starting today,  after handing over her company group to Alaric, she was finally free and would enjoy a new life.

"So what are your plans?" Portia asked with interest.

"Hmm ... I want to go back to school. I think I'll go to France and attend a fashion school there," Sophia shrugged. "But I will always be ready to help if you need my support in making Alaric the new clan leader."

"Of course, but he must first be introduced to the clan members." Portia nodded. "We plan to do that later this year. At the New Year party in Glasgow, we will invite all the members of the clan and announce Elios as our heir."

Alaric was silent upon hearing Portia call him Elios Linden. According to the woman, Elios was the name that Luna, his mother, prepared for him when she was pregnant with him.

Her mother's name meant Moon, and so she wanted her son to be the Sun (Elios). Linden's last name was given to him because his mother was not married.

Alaric liked his own name because it was the name he chose for himself when he was still a child. He found it in an ancient book in a library. However, if Elios Linden was the name his mother wanted for him, then he didn't mind using it. Especially in his current situation that required a new identity to live. A new name was naturally needed for his current self.

"Are we going to invite everyone?" Sophia asked. "I mean, the Schneider family and the others too?"

Portia nodded. "Of course, as Caspar is the current clan leader, we must invite him and his family."

"What about Lauriel?" Sophia asked again.

He glanced at Alaric who looked calm and unaffected. They all knew that Lauriel was the young man's father.

However, if Alaric could stay calm after hearing his father's name, not Portia. With an angry face, she snorted. "After what he did to his own son??? I won't invite him. That will only make the situation awkward."

"He doesn't know I'm his son," Alaric commented casually. Wearing a deadpan expression on his face, he took a sip of his wine.

"Alright, then do you want to tell him that you are his son?" Portia asked in a vexed tone.

"I'm not interested," Alaric answered, still expressionless. "The relationship between us had been cut off when my mother left him. He is not fit to be a father."

Portia gulped her wine down and nodded in agreement. "When I heard that he was responsible for your attack, I really wanted to find him and beat him senseless. But he could not be found. As usual, he disappeared from civilization."

"Hmm ... how do you know it was Lauriel who attacked me?" Alaric asked her. He realized he had never asked this before. "Didn't you say Rosalien told you?"

"Yes, Rosalien met Lauriel when she was taken prisoner in Singapore. He told Rosalien his age, which made us think it was really him. After all, the characteristics of his group are the same as the members of the Wolf Pack, Lauriel's team who have followed him for 200 years. Then there is Marion who is famous for her ability to change appearances. She must have disguised herself as your dead wife to lure you out. No doubt about it."

"Did Rosalien tell you the reason?" Alaric questioned again.

"Hmm ... We know that Lauriel was friendly with Caspar. Most likely he did it for Caspar. Rosalien mentioned two names. They are the reason why  Lauriel went after you, namely Kurt Van Derven, and Aleksis." Portia answered. "You can ask Rosalien yourself tonight."

Alaric remembered that he had indeed caused the deaths of those two people. Aleksis had an accident on campus after almost being killed by Rosemary who became vengeful due to her family being slaughtered by Rhionen Assassins. As for Kurt, he killed himself when Alaric forced him to move Aleksis from the hospital in Singapore.

Of course, Caspar would be very angry because the ones who died were his right-hand man, Kurt and Kurt's daughter. Because he knew that he was facing Rhionen Assassins, he asked for help from the only person he considered capable of handling the assassination organization, namely Lauriel and his team.

"If only Kurt did what I asked him to do, he wouldn't need to die ... and if Aleksis just wanted to come with me from the beginning... Or if she just she didn't care that much about her family... she would still be alive." Alaric murmured apologetically, "These are all a very bad mistake."

Sophia looked frowned at the mention of the name Aleksis. This was the first time she had heard Alaric mention his 'late' wife's name.

Wait ... Aleksis?

Was this Aleksis the same child poisoned by her brother 24 years ago?

She stared at Alaric with widened eyes.

Was Alaric's wife actually Caspar Schneider's daughter??