The Alchemists

"Good evening, everyone. Nice to see you all," Aleksis said with a sweet smile. Pavel was still stunned seeing her.

He couldn't forget her because ten years ago, Aleksis was the cause of the countless problems that befell his boss. She even caused Alaric to 'die' and only woke up from a coma six years later.

He saw that Aleksis was getting more beautiful and her aura appeared to be imposing. Although her face still looked like a 20-year-old girl, her body was becoming increasingly more beautiful and womanly, and her attitude became more m.a.t.u.r.e, reminding Pavel of Alaric himself.

Although Alaric always looked young, his imposing attitude and aura felt as though he was older than Pavel himself, who was now nearly 50 years old.

He silently wondered whether Aleksis and Alaric were people of the same clan. He remembered that Rosalien used to say that the people who were after Alaric were someone like him, as their leader claimed to be 570 years old.

"This is my wife, Aleksis Linden from the Schneider family, and these are her brothers," Alaric said afterward, to the four's surprise.

London and the Rune politely greeted them and introduce themselves.

"Good evening. I'm London Schneider," London amiably greeted them.

He still maintained his family's privacy as usual, but once or twice, he would appear in the media with Terry. So now, his handsome face had begun to be recognized by the upper classes of the world.

"I'm Rune Schneider," Rune told.

The people at the table realized that the heirs of the Schneider family indeed came as honored guests of their event tonight.

They were very impressed to learn that the girl who became the wife of their big boss turned out to be the daughter of the Schneider family. They couldn't believe how the members of such a reserved family were really attending this event together tonight. Undoubtedly, this was because they have a close relationship with Mr. Elios Linden. And, of course, they also admired the girl's beauty and elegance. Truly a match made in Heaven.

After a brief introduction, they all sat down and enjoyed the snacks and refreshments that were available at the table. Pavel, as the only person who knew Alaric and Aleksis's history ten years ago, finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked his boss what had happened.

"I don't understand..." Pavel voiced as he sat beside Alaric. "Sir, isn't Miss... er, Mrs. Aleksis informed to be dead at the time? I spoke to the director of the hospital myself."

Alaric looked at Pavel and answered his question in three words, "The Schneider family."

Of course! Only a family as powerful as the Schneider family would be able to hide Aleksis from the Rhionen Assassins and make the hospital director of those of Stamford Hospital's level issue a death certificate even though the girl was still alive.

It turned out that the enemy they faced was the Schneider family!

Then... ten years after... did they finally get back together? And Aleksis' brothers came here... Did this mean that their relationship had been approved by the Schneider family?

Did this mean that RMI and Schneider Group will start being on good terms?

When exactly did Alaric meet again with Aleksis? Was it when he disappeared from the office for three weeks yesterday? Oh... so many things happened in such a short amount of time!

Pavel was forced to swallow all of his questions. One thing for sure was that he was very happy to see that Alaric could finally be happy.

After he found Sande and fell in love with her, then married her and had children with her, Pavel felt how wonderful it was to have a mutually-loving life partner and a family to go back to.

In his heart, he had always hoped that one day, Alaric would succeed in forgetting his love for Aleksis and finding another woman to anchor his heart.

That was why when he saw the beautiful and gentle Elien Mikhailova at the Ritz Gala, he thought Alaric could begin to pay attention to other women, especially when Elien was later appointed as an ambassador of Virconnect and was sponsored by Splitz to become a world superstar far more famous than before.

Pavel didn't think that even after ten years, Alaric's love for Aleksis was still burning, and tonight, he finally came to this important event with her. It turned out that Alaric somehow managed to find the girl...

And apparently, they both had lived happily.

Ah, hopefully, they can have children soon, Pavel thought to himself. He felt it for himself how much happier his life became after Max was born. He believed that his boss would be happier if he and his wife later have children of their own, like himself and Sande.

As though he just read Pavel's mind, Alaric leaned his head and asked his former assistant how Max, his son, was. "You didn't bring Max?"

"Ah, no, sir. He has to go to school tomorrow. This event is too late for him."

"Hmm..." Alaric nodded. "When our children come home next year, you can bring Max to our house so they can get acquainted and play together."

"Eh...?" Pavel could hardly believe his own ears. "Children...? Did you just say… children?"

"Right." Alaric proudly smiled, "I have twins. They're very similar to me. You can see for yourself later."

Pavel secretly pinched himself really hard. He truly thought he was dreaming. It felt like everything that had happened in the past ten minutes wasn't real.

This must be a dream, right? Mr. Alaric Rhionen looked warm and kept smiling. He also came to bring his wife who should have died ten years ago. And the two young men from the Schneider family couldn't possibly be present at the Splitz event... And... he even said that he had twins... hahahaha.

His hand was immediately struck with pain when he pinched himself, and Pavel soon realized that he wasn't dreaming.

Meanwhile, on the stage, the Rainfall Band, who was the ambassador of Virconnect for Asia, was getting ready to perform. The MC went on stage to greet the guests, especially the people of high standing from Splitz who were already present.

"Will Elien appear in the show tonight?" Alaric casually asked. Pavel shook his head.

"She is still in a hysterical state, sir, it seems that it will be difficult for her to perform a dance."

Alaric's face looked murky. "She was paid to work. If she doesn't appear tonight, tell her that her contract will be canceled."

Pavel and the directors at the table looked surprised at Alaric's orders. They knew that Elien had been kidnapped and locked up in a suite to trap Alaric, and her current mental state was depressed. Despite that, she was forced to perform dancing at the Virconnect celebrations tonight?

Isn't that a little inhumane? they thought.

"Are you blaming Elien for what happened tonight?" Pavel cautiously asked. "She was in a very pitiful state when we found her..."

He whispered to Alaric to explain what had happened, not wanting the two women at their table to listen.

"When we found her, she was tied to the bed... n.a.k.e.d. It was clear that those who wanted to set you up made her a bait. She was really depressed and frightened. She kept crying when we found her..."

"Is she still in the suite?" Alaric nonchalantly questioned, "Call her here. I need to hear it from her directly."

Pavel couldn't argue. He immediately wrote a text message to a staff member who was accompanying Elien in the presidential suite above and ordered him to bring Elien.

A moment later, the phone rang. It turned out that his staff called Pavel.

"Sorry, sir. Miss Elien is really traumatized and can't get out of the room," the staff said. "We can't possibly force her to come in this condition..."

Alaric took Pavel's call and scolded the staff, "Force and drag her here if necessary. If I don't see her in this room in five minutes, you can go straight home and never go back to the office. Pavel will take care of your severance pay."

"Eh... Sir... Mr. Linden? Yes, Sir. We'll be there soon."

The phone call was hurriedly hung up.

Alaric handed the phone to Pavel and grumbled, "We are not running a charity, Pavel. The people we employ must do their job."

Pavel slowly nodded.

Hmm, this really isn't a dream, he thought. Alaric was still as cold and cruel as before, and he only changed around Aleksis.