The Alchemists

Nicolae immediately rose from his chair when he saw Terry casually walk out of the arrival terminal at Basel Airport. The two hugged each other and laughed aloud.

"Thank you for coming," Nicolae said, patting Terry on the shoulder. "I know you're busy."

Terry waved his hand with a big smile, "Ahh... I'll always have time if it's for my sister. By the way, because you're going to marry Aleksis, it means you have to respect me as your brother-in-law. Even though you're older, in this family hierarchy, I'm now above you. "

Nicolae just rolled his eyes hearing how Terry was still, as usual, trying to win from him. Even after ten years, his best friend was still very competitive.

"Don't be chatty. There's still a long way to go," Nicolae grumbled.

Both of them got into the driverless automatic sports car which had been arranged to take them to Jean and Marion's newest address. Nicolae wanted to invite both of them personally, so he asked Terry to help him persuade Jean and Marion to come to his wedding.

Nicolae knew that Finland, her mother-in-law, really missed her best friend, Jean, and Aleksis really wanted to meet Marion to get clarity about Alaric. Therefore, Nicolae really hoped that the couple would forget all the past problems and would be willing to come.

***

Jean, who was writing a script in his study, heard the sound of his dogs barking noisily from the front of the house.

"I'll be the one to open the dooooor... I'm already all grown up!!!"  Jean-Marie, who was reading a book on the couch while accompanying her father to work, jumped off and hurriedly ran to the front door to open the automatic gate so the car could enter the yard.

Jean got up and came out of his study to see who was coming. Marion, who was sunbathing in the backyard of their house, came forward to see who their guests were.

"Good afternoon, Little Monkey. You haven't been naughty today, have you?" Terry exclaimed in a joyful voice as the car stopped in the yard. He immediately got out to get Jean-Marie, who greeted him at the door.

His sister was now eight years old and very beautiful. Her face really resembled Terry, as they both inherited the appearance of their father, Jean.

Her eyes were a bit narrow, but they were shining brightly. Her curly brown hair hung down, reaching the level of her waist. At a glance, one wouldn't have thought that this beautiful and elegant little girl was very agile and couldn't stay still.

Nicolae was elated when he saw Jean-Marie. He could imagine this child would be able to befriend Altair and Vega if they meet later.

"Why is she called Little Monkey?" Nicolae asked in amazement. He couldn't imagine a girl this cute as a monkey.

"Uhmm... You'll see," Terry answered with a chuckle. He hugged Jean-Marie and lifted her into the air. "I missed you so much. After this, you should come with me to New York... So that your mom and dad can be alone and give us more siblings… hehe."

He winked at Jean, who just smiled and glanced at Marion. Meanwhile, his wife only rolled her eyes.

Jean invited his guests in, and a moment later, they were relaxedly sitting in lawn chairs while enjoying sparkling wine.

"It's been a long time," Jean voiced to Nicolae with a pleasant smile in his face, "How's everything?"

"Everything's good. I even came here to deliver the invitation in person. I really hope you'll come." Nicolae pulled a card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Jean. "Aunty Finland really misses you… She really wants you to come."

Jean read the invitation with a frown. Ah... The invitation to the wedding between the son of the Medici family and the daughter of the Schneider family.

"You... and Aleksis?" Jean asked, raising his face. A smile curved upon his face. This was indeed good news. Marion looked at Nicolae with a complicated look.

"Yes, that's right. Aleksis finally accepted my proposal, and we'll get married in three weeks. We hope you'd be willing to come and give your blessings." Nicolae then pointed to Jean-Marie, "And take Jean-Marie too... My children would be delighted to meet her."

Marion opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Her voice was stuck in her throat.

Aleksis and Nicolae are getting married?

Looking at the young man in front of her made her recall that Nicolae was Lauriel's biological son. The twin brother of Alaric Rhionen, who died ten years ago, and his body was thrown into a gorge by Marion.

Subconsciously, she bit her lip. Nicolae looked very mature and kind, and it seemed that he and Aleksis would build a happy home together. Maybe it was time for Aleksis to move on.

Marion must be able to act as if nothing had happened. She should assume that Alaric Rhionen never existed, that Lauriel's son was only Nicolae, and he would soon marry Aleksis. That's all for the better... What's important now is that Nicolae will make Aleksis happy, so she could forget about Alaric.

Marion also had to move on from what happened five years ago. That would be much better than continuously being haunted by guilt.

If Aleksis succeeded in moving on and starting a new life with Nicolae, Marion must also be able to forget the traumatic event and move on. She could just think that Alaric Rhionen never existed.

If Lauriel didn't know, Aleksis didn't know, and everybody went on to continue their lives well, then this problem would one day disappear like the wind.

"We'll come," Marion said after struggling with her own feelings for a few moments. Jean was surprised to hear his wife's words.

"Are you serious? Don't force yourself if you don't want to come," he gently said. "Nobody will blame you."

Marion slowly shook her head. She raised her face and smiled, "I'm glad to see that Aleksis has found her happiness. My husband and I will come with Jean-Marie to give you our blessings."

"Oh... Alright. Thank you!" Nicolae didn't expect it to be this easy. He had thought he would need to rely on Terry to persuade his father. It turned out that Jean left all the decisions in the hands of his wife, and when Marion agreed to come, everything was immediately solved.

Maybe Marion had recovered from the trauma of ten years ago, Nicolae thought.

"Should we come on the 2nd at the family event or the 3rd on the wedding day?" Jean asked, reading the schedule on the card he was holding.

"We'd be very happy if you could come on the 2nd. We'll be celebrating Aleksis' birthday as well as an intimate little event for the family. The 3rd will be the wedding day, and there will be a great number of guests present, so it'll be difficult to find family gathering time there."

Jean nodded happily, "Alright. We'll come."

He exchanged glances with his wife. He was ecstatic to see Marion's confirming smile.

Ah... He was truly ecstatic. Marion finally wanted to go back to meet her friends. Jean really missed his best friend and Finland's children. They must have grown up by now!

He remembered the last time he met London and Rune, they were both still teenagers.

The atmosphere at Jean and Marion's house became warm and pleasant. They talked for several hours before, finally, Nicolae and Terry excused themselves to return to Grindelwald to visit Aleksis.