The Alchemists

The high tea went very pleasant. London was happy to see how much his mother and L had in common, and they soon became close. He could also see how his father and younger brother both liked L, seen from the way they talked to her, and kept adding tea to her cup and cakes to her plate.

Ahh ... it would be wonderful if L already knew that they were all my own family, thought London with a grim face.

Ugh ... he really had to contact Auntie Billie, invite her to sing at their wedding, and that's when he would be able to introduce his whole family.

Yes, that's a good plan.

The fun event finally ended, and with a heavy heart, London and L excused themselves while taking their naughty dog ​​home.

"What do you think of the Schneider family?" asked London when they arrived at the gate of their house. He pressed the gate remote and entered with L inside.

L seemed impressed. "I didn't expect them to be so friendly! For people as wealthy as them, they were really humble and pleasant. I often meet people who are not as rich, but they are so pretentious."

"Oh, is that so?" London nodded happily. He already had one less problem if L and his family liked each other. Later, after he disclosed his identity to L, he wouldn't need to worry that L wouldn't like his family.

Moreover, her mother's wish to visit Lily could be fulfilled immediately, because L had invited the Schneider family to visit their house sometime.

"I will start working today. Are you busy this week?" asked London as they both had breakfast at the dining table that morning.

"I just practice my singing at home," L answered. "Next week I am scheduled to appear on TV. The show would be broadcasted live, so I have to attend a rehearsal this weekend."

"Alright ... if you miss me, don't hesitate to call," London said with a big smile. L just rolled her eyes.

L's mood had improved lately. Her busy days allowed her to forget the various problems that surrounded his life, and this made London happy. He still had to take care of the Swann family and L's family secretly. He did not want L to be bothered by these things, so he did not mention the two things at all.

He deliberately asked Brilliant Mind Media to immediately find an opportunity for L to appear on a show to make the girl busy. They quickly complied. In addition to singing on a TV show next week, L would also be involved in a new Virconnect campaign with a world-famous band, Rainfall.

London would go back to his work as usual. L, who saw him going to the office every day, thought that London had gotten a job as an HR assistant manager in one of the Schneider Group's subsidiaries.

London still stopped by the penthouse every day to change clothes to suit his status, and sometimes he would choose to work from the penthouse if he wanted to get more privacy.

This afternoon, after London attended various meetings that needed his attention, he had lunch in his room. Jan accompanied him while explaining to him all the latest developments in L's family case. Unfortunately, there weren't many clues available about the murder case because it happened a long time ago. So many pieces of evidence were missing.

"Do you know why L was not helped by the Swann family after the murder?" asked London, looking at the old photos Jan had collected about L's family. He was touched to see the judge's family and his wife and two children in one of the pictures.

L was maybe around six years old, and her younger brother was still a baby in their mother's arms. The murder occurred about two years after this photo was taken, he thought. The happy faces in the picture did not show a notion that death would come quickly.

"The Swann family was devastated when they learned of the murder, and the family flew directly to Paris from London to find out what happened. They could not find Miss L, or her name at that time was Marianne De Maestri. They thought she was kidnapped, and the Swann family could only offer big prize money to anyone who could find her. After five years of no news, they finally gave up."

"Hmmm ... the news about the prize money to find L might not reach Germany here. It seems like L was either kidnapped or someone took her to Germany to avoid the killers ... Clearly, L herself or that person couldn't contact the Swann family. Or, it could be that they didn't know the relationship between these two families ..." London guessed.

He really wanted to ask L what happened in full, but he didn't want to make L sad. He was determined to solve all these problems without involving L at all. He must be able to mobilize all of his resources to help L.

"There is someone who knows the underworld in Europe from years ago. He might know who was responsible for the murder. You can ask ..." Jan stopped his words mid-sentence.

He intended to mention Alaric Rhionen, but it was still difficult to say the name without feeling a hint of anger in his c.h.e.s.t. Eleven years ago, Alaric Rhionen and Rhionen Assassins were responsible for the death of his father.

Although the incident happened due to a misunderstanding and the Schneider family had always treated him so well, coupled with a few months ago, Alaric himself had apologized to him personally, it was still difficult for Jan to forgive him.

London instantly understood what Jan wanted to convey, and he nodded. He did not want Jan to be furious and his mood worsened. "I know what you mean. I'll ask him."

Jan nodded, then, as if there was nothing wrong, he continued the discussion. "The Swann family learned that Ms. L was still alive when he saw her in Virconnect after Miss L became one of the ambassadors. Maybe after that, Danny tried to contact Miss L and finally told her about her family and the engagement between them ..."

"Ugh ... that means it only happened 1.5 months ago," said London, looking annoyed. "I met L first. That swan can't take L away from me just because of a ridiculous agreement between their grandfathers. Try to find out what is the reason why Danny insisted on not wanting to break off their engagement. I'm curious. There's no way he would want to accept a woman who was pregnant with someone else's child with no-frills ... Looking at his face, he was not an angel at all."