The Alchemists

Caspar hadn't seen Portia, Ned, and many other people from the important families in the Alchemist clan for so long. The last time was the year before Aleksis fell into a coma. Now they needed to brainstorm and discuss the clan's succession.

The truth was, Caspar no longer wanted to be the clan leader and he just wanted to focus on his family. But since there was no strong candidate to replace him, at the last meeting, he still had to hold power.

Now he already had Nicolae and Caspar and thought Nicolae would be the perfect successor. Unfortunately, Nicolae did not seem to have the ambition to be a clan leader at all.

As the heir of the Medici family, he should be able to easily get the support from clan members if only he came to introduce himself in important events like this, especially with Caspar's full support.

But now, Nicolae actually chose to spend his vacation time with Aleksis and the children rather than go with Caspar to Glasgow. Nevertheless, in his heart, Caspar felt happy, because it meant that to Nicolae, nothing was more important than Aleksis and the twins.

At the appointed time, Caspar, Finland, London, Rune, and Aldebar left for Glasgow accompanied by their staff and personal bodyguards, including Jadeith.

After they departed, Terry left Grindelwald and went to spend time with Jean's family, while Aleksis and her children were invited to spend the new year holiday at Medici Castle.

It was the first time that the Schneider family members spent their new year's holidays separately.

"It's okay," Caspar commented while sipping his wine on the plane when Finland talked about it. "Terry does have to share his time with his father's family. And Aleksis... Someday, she'll definitely leave us to live with her husband. We should get used to it from now on."

Finland could only sigh. She knew that Caspar was right, but it was saddening to be separated like this.

"It's okay, technology is getting more advanced now. We can stay together even if we are separated by distance, especially with the new popular technology, Virconnect 4D." Caspar tried to comfort his wife. He put down his wine glass and took Finland's head and laid it on his lap. "Later, I'll try to use Virconnect in Glasgow, and we can bring the twins or Aleksis with us."

He caressed his wife's hair. Soon, Finland felt calmer.

They arrived in Glasgow the day before the party and used it to take a walk to see the beauty of the city. London and Rune, who had never been to the area, happily ventured around their hotel. Of course, they went with the supervision of Jadeith and a few bodyguards.

Aldebar took the opportunity to have a drink with his best friend who lived in Edinburgh and intentionally came to Glasgow to meet him. Caspar and Finland rested while enjoying their time alone.

***

The long-awaited moment finally arrived. The magnificent Lewis family's palace looked like Rivendell, the land of the elves, that night when their guests arrived one by one. All of the perfect humans who were handsome and beautiful made the place as if it was filled with stunning elves.

The host was the most beautiful female Alchemist and everyone ceaselessly expressed their admiration for her beauty. Finland also invited a look of awe because of her unique beauty due to the half Asian gene in her body.

"Welcome, Caspar and Finland," Ned and Portia personally welcomed Caspar and his family as he was the most respected guest invited to the event. Portia hugged Finland and kissed her cheeks, then gave her hand for Caspar to kiss. "I hope you all had a pleasant trip."

"Yes, everything was fun," Finland replied with a smile. "Happy new year."

"Ah, not yet... The new year has yet come," Portia said as she led Finland into a luxurious hall with high ceilings covered by glass revealing a starry night sky. It was stunning. "Who are these two handsome young men?"

She pointed at London and Rune who were following them.

"Oh, please meet our two sons, London and Rune." Finland gave a signal to her two children and they immediately bowed and kissed Portia's hand.

The lady of the house was very impressed. "What handsome and polite children you have here. You're quite lucky."

Finland nodded and smiled. She and her two children followed Portia to sit at a special table prepared for the Schneider family, next to the host's own table. Caspar and Ned followed while talking.

"I'll also introduce my son to you. Wait until he arrives. He's been really busy lately, but he promised he'll come." said Portia with pride in her voice.

Finland nodded. He also wanted to see what Ned and Portia's son was like.

The party was very lively and the guests took advantage of the opportunity to exchange news and enjoy world-class entertainment prepared by the host.

Aldebar's presence was very welcomed by many guests, especially the girls who were still single. He had countless fans who idolized him and hoped that one day he would give his heart to one of them.

He was the only bachelor left in the Schneider family and famously not interested in love, so for the girls, he became more attractive, because it made them feel challenged to win his heart.

"Thank you for your presence." After the event took place midway, the host got up and gave a speech. He had seen Alaric's presence at the entrance and walked towards the table of his adopted parents. Ned smiled and raised his hand for the attention of all. "We rarely throw parties, but this event is worth celebrating."

When the atmosphere had calmed down and everyone's attention was on Ned, the presence of Alaric, who was walking upright to him, immediately made the guests' eyes fixed onto him. The young man was indeed very attractive, even with the Alchemists' standards.

His body was tall and sturdy, but his steps were soft and quiet. His platinum hair was now down to his chin, framing his gentle face like a woman, immediately making every girl hold their breath.

Some of them came to the Ritz Gala either in person or via Virconnect 4D and immediately recognized him as Elios Linden, who was the event's buzz. The atmosphere that had quietened soon changed with whispers about this young man who had just arrived.

Caspar raised his face and looked carefully at Alaric, who was now standing very close to him, next to Ned whose table was next to the Schneiders' table. He narrowed his eyes to pay more attention to the young man. He felt like he recognized him.

This can't be Ned and Portia's biological child, he thought.

"Good evening, Father. Sorry, I'm late." Alaric said to Ned. He knew everyone's eyes were on him, but he didn't seem to care. He elegantly sat next to Portia and kissed his adopted mother's cheek and took a sip of his drink while watching Ned return to his speech.

Ned gave a speech and thanked the guests, then finally arrived at the audience's eagerly-awaited time. He introduced the young man who had just come and sat at his table.

By now, most of the guests there had already known that Elios Linden was a very influential person in the world, but they had never seen him in any of the Alchemist events before. So there were so many people who were curious. They all wanted to know who he really was.