The Alchemists

I am so sorry...

I'm sorry for hiding my identity from you when we first met ...

I'm sorry for not knowing how to behave when I requested information about your whereabouts from Kurt, thus causing his death ...

Forgive me for thinking that you really are gone. Four years ago, I even stopped looking for you...

Alaric continued to apologize for all the things he considered his mistakes, for all the things which caused him to separate from Aleksis for ten years. However, it was now too late for self-blame. The lost time would never return.

Aleksis looked closely at the man's face and tried to remember where she had seen him. She could not remember. Yet people with a face as attractive as this, there was no way she could possibly forget.

"Who are you?" asked Aleksis once more.

Before the man could answer, a beautiful girl entered the library and approached him. Sophia arrived just before the party began. Not long after, she learned from Portia that Alaric was behaving strangely as he looked for the host's daughter.

Not wasting time, she hurriedly went after Alaric to the library. She was eager to witness the chaos that would soon ensue. A faint smile bloomed on her face when she found Alaric and Aleksis facing each other awkwardly.

"Hey, you're actually here. Aunt Portia is worried about you since you still haven't come back. She asked me to look for you." She took Alaric's arm and turned to Aleksis, "Do you know each other?"

Alaric quickly broke free from Sophia's grip. "That is none of your business."

"Who are you two?" Aleksis asked again in a probing tone.

"Oh, sorry, we didn't have time to introduce ourselves. We're waiting for the program this evening to start. I'm Sophia Meier, and this is ... my cousin."

Aleksis was stunned. When she heard the name of the woman before her, she subconsciously stepped back as if she was distancing herself from an enemy. Alaric felt puzzled by her attitude.

"How dare you to come here!!! Your brother almost killed me 28 years ago!" Aleksis hissed in hostility, "You are not welcomed in our house!"

"What did she mean by your brother almost killed her?" Alaric asked Sophia in a voice as cold as ice. "What did your brother do to Aleksis?!?"

Sophia felt cornered and subconsciously stepped back, trying to avoid the gaze of the man who seemed ready to kill her with a single blow at any moment. She knew that Alaric was a cold person, but Sophia never knew he could be this scary. She had never seen him sporting this kind of expression.

Aleksis watched the two with a thudding chest. The more she heard Alaric's voice, the more she felt it was familiar. She hadn't heard this voice for a long time ...

But Aleksis didn't know his face at all. Who was this person really? Her heart wondered. Ugh ... if Sophia didn't come, she would have forced the man to confess his true identity to her.

"What's with the commotion here?" Suddenly a young man in casual clothes entered the library. His face was very handsome. He had long hair that was tied carelessly using a blue string. His eyes that were dark blue and reminiscent of the deep ocean was currently narrowed at the tense atmosphere among the three people at the place.

On Nicolae's raised right arm was Vega who was clinging happily like a koala. She smiled broadly while swinging, showing how strong her pair of tiny hands were, that she could casually hold her weight like that.

Her beautiful face, platinum blonde hair and witty blue eyes looked very similar to Altair's, so Alaric immediately thought the child was Altair.

Oh ... this is the kid chasing a butterfly this afternoon, thought Alaric.

He said my voice was like lavender.

Subconsciously, his face that was filled with wrath just now immediately got wreathed in smiles.

"Hello Altair, nice to meet you again," Alaric said, smiling kindly to the little girl. He could see the resemblance between the child and Nicolae who was holding him. He immediately assumed that the two were father and son.

What a lucky man, he thought. To have such a cute child...

While Aleksis looked surprised to hear Alaric calling Vega Altair.

Ah ... of course, this man had met Altair but did not know that he had a twin sister.

"Daddy Nic, I want to go down." Suddenly Vega whispered to Nic's ear. Before the man could respond, Vega jumped down from Nicolae's arm and walked toward Alaric with light footsteps.

Vega then pointed to Alaric's right arm and gave a signal for him to raise it. With astonishment, Alaric obeyed. Unexpectedly Vega jumped up and put her arms around Alaric's, then swung like she did when she was hanging on Nicolae's arm.

Cheerful laughter filled the library. Alaric had never seen a child so cheerful and agile in his entire life. This child had been running around chasing butterflies this afternoon and now he was dangling like a monkey, treating an adult man's arm like a tree branch. He had so much energy, thought Alaric exasperatedly.

Alaric subconsciously laughed following Vega's contagious laughter. He realized the child had made him laugh twice today. This was something that had never happened before.

His chest was filled with warmth. In his heart, Alaric really wanted to have a child like this little one.

Aleksis hurriedly approached Alaric and signaled Vega to get down from Alaric's arm. "Honey ... you can't be rude to our guests."

Nicolae went to Alaric and spread his arms to receive the little girl. "Honey, come here."

Alaric reluctantly swung his arm to hand him Vega over who was hanging there. Nicolae received the girl from Alaric with a complicated look. He had never met this man before but he immediately felt disturbed when he saw the way the other man looked at Vega and Aleksis.

"What's going on, Aleksis?" Nicolae asked again. He wanted to know who the two strangers were. As far as he could recall, they only invited the Schneider family, Terry's family, and also Ned and Portia. These two people were completely unfamiliar to him.

"There was no commotion, Nic. They are guests who came together with Auntie Portia and Uncle Ned." Aleksis rushed to Nicolae and Vega's side. Nicolae reflexively stood in front of Aleksis as if to protect her from any possible danger.

"Please forgive this little one, my child has been too spoiled by the whole family," Aleksis apologized for Vega's mischief while massaging her forehead. She then slightly bowed to Alaric who was staring at her, barely blinking.

The man looked stunned after hearing Aleksis' apology. His smile slowly vanished. His heart was truly shocked and for a moment he frowned like he was in pain. Wait a minute ...

Child? Is this Aleksis' child ...?

He thought this was the son of the man who just came.

But, just now, Aleksis referred to the child as hers.

Did this mean the newcomer and she were the parents of this child?

Was this man her future husband?

Alaric immediately realized that the girl was now no longer the Aleksis he got acquainted with and married ten years ago. Everything he knew about her was wrong. He had assumed Aleksis was an ordinary human, when in fact she was also an immortal like himself.