The Alchemists

Finally, the girl could only nod and kiss Alaric's cheek gently to excuse herself. As her lips touched her husband's cheek, she whispered, begging Alaric not to kill Elien. "Honey, please don't kill anymore... I'll be waiting for you at the penthouse."

She then nodded to Pavel and her two younger brothers before stepping out of the venue. Three burly bodyguards swiftly welcomed her and escorted her up to the penthouse.

Alaric gave a signal and the two staff members who guarded Elien immediately brought the girl before Alaric, who was sitting relaxedly in his chair. London and Rune just stood there staring at the scene in front of them. Pavel, who was well acquainted with his boss, immediately understood that Alaric knew what had happened and who was responsible for all the embarrassing events earlier this evening.

"Pavel, try to tell my two brothers-in-law what happened earlier and how you found this woman in the Presidential Suite," Alaric demanded while sitting cross-legged, seeming relaxed yet so intimidating.

He deliberately didn't bring London and Rune to the Presidential Suite because he didn't want them to see first-hand the place that was almost a witness to the depraved act of the woman who deliberately set him up. It would be better for them to hear what happened from Pavel.

"Uhm... Elien was missing for hours, and when we tracked down her phone, we found her locked up in the presidential suite, n.a.k.e.d and tied to a bed, ready as a bait to trap you, who had been given an aphrodisiac this afternoon... she looked very hysterical and frightened, so we thought she was a victim, "Pavel said.

"We found a variety of video recording equipment in the suite, ready to record the moment you came there and have s.e.x with her to defame you." He continued.

London and Rune looked at each other with embarrassed faces when they heard Pavel's explanation. They then remembered their own father, who was also a man who was immensely wealthy and powerful, and Terry, their eldest brother... had they also experienced such traps? How scary!

"I was wrong because I was careless this afternoon, giving her the opportunity to put aphrodisiac into my drink. You know I'm very careful and I don't take drinks from strangers. Apparently, this female fox used our working relationship to secretly give me aphrodisiacs." Alaric briefly explained, glaring at Elien who was forced to kneel on the floor in front of him.

The girl shook her head while crying.

"I... That's not true, Sir. I wouldn't dare..." she wept in a pitiful voice. "I was framed... I didn't know the drink had aphrodisiac in it..."

"The secretary you bribed to leak my schedule confessed everything," Alaric took the glass of wine from the table and sipped it in a nonchalant manner. "The check-in clerk confirmed that your assistant booked the Presidential Suite and entered before you arrived, I suppose... he installed all of the cameras."

"No... N-No, Sir... you're misinformed... it wasn't me... I'm just a victim..." Elien's weeps sounded more poignant. "If you don't believe me, try asking the hotel staff... There were bad guys who entered the suite after and caught me..."

Elien knew it was impossible to expect mercy from anyone, so she finally shamelessly knelt and kissed Alaric's shoes.

"Please... Sir, I admit I was wrong. I'm in love with you and I really want to be with you, but I cannot possibly do such a deed... I booked a presidential suite here because I wanted... I wanted to flirt with you once again... But I didn't think that there would be bad guys who would take advantage of my feelings for you...

They tricked me saying you were sick and were heading to the suite, so I prepared to wait for your arrival... I was stupid, I really thought you would come of your own accord... But when they came, beat me up, and tied me to the bed... I realized you were being framed... I felt devastated... because I didn't want you to fall into their trap... I would kill myself if I caused your reputation to be tarnished..."

Elien ceaselessly begged in tears to the point that Pavel, who had long since come out of the world of assassins, could feel his heart begin to soften, unable to bear seeing such a sight. But Alaric's heart was still ice cold. He nonchalantly slapped Elien's face which was trying to kiss his shoes, causing the girl to fall back and scream in pain.

"Maybe if you had played the show more convincingly, I would trust you. Unfortunately, your game was too plain," he said in a sharp, piercing voice. "If you had allowed those 'bad guys' to beat you to death, your pretense would've attracted more sympathy. Too bad you loved your face and body more and only allowed yourself to be tied…"

Elien held her aching head and her expression was now filled with terror. She already realized that it was impossible for her to lie to Alaric...

"I... I... It wasn't me... You must believe me..." She was still trying to defend herself, but her voice was now very weak and inconclusive.

"The Russian Mafia who paid you to trap me will receive their punishment... They don't know who they're dealing with this time," Alaric calmly stated. His appearance had returned to look as peaceful and breezy as before. He remembered that Aleksis didn't want him to kill people anymore, so he set his emotions so that he would not be overcome by anger. "I actually feel offended. My worth was only 30 million dollars to you... the worth of your gambling debt to them. You should've asked for more."

London and Rune were still watching everything before them unfold with palpitations. They understood why Aleksis was asked to leave first. Alaric didn't want his wife to witness such an intense situation. Moreover, it seemed that Alaric was still not done.

"Pavel, do you have waterproof markers?" Alaric then asked. He put down his empty wine glass.

Pavel nodded and ordered a staff member to pick up the markers requested. Alaric took the marker and walked over to Elien. With quick movements, he drew a line on her wrists and ankles, then tossed the markers away.

"I won't kill you, but I'll make sure the mobsters who hired you know that you've revealed all their secrets to me, so they'll punish you." He shook his suit and walked away, "They'll know where they have to break your arms and legs."

Alaric patted London and Rune's shoulders, signaling that they should follow him out of the ballroom. Meanwhile, Elien, who had just realized what the four marker lines meant, immediately screamed in horror. She tried to go after Alaric, but the two bodyguards were holding her, rendering her immobile as she could only roar hysterically.

After Alaric came out, they let her go. Elien immediately ran away, stumbling in her steps. She had to immediately hide so as to not become the target of the Russian mafias who would soon go after her as soon as they're hunted by the assassins sent by Mischa. The mobsters would think that Elien was the one who uncovered the secrets of their crime, so they would look for her to get revenge.

Alaric kept his promise to Aleksis. He didn't kill Elien. He would let the Russian mafia punish the girl for him.

On the way back to the penthouse, he clicked his tongue in pity. The Russian mobsters didn't know that Elios Linden was the former leader of the Rhionen Assassins.

Even though he had disbanded his group, he could still easily send the world's best killers to eradicate them.