The Alchemists

Alaric and Aleksis were talking together on the third-floor terrace when staff reported that his three foster children had arrived and were waiting for him in the hall on the first floor.

Alaric and Aleksis exchanged glances and nodded. This would be the first moment for Alaric to officially introduce his four foster children to his wife.

Mischa and Takeshi had met Aleksis, and they liked each other, while Rosalien and Kai never had that chance. They only knew that last year Alaric reunited with his wife and two biological children.

Now, the man had decided to quit most of his business and handed over to them.

Kai and Rosalien also realized that there were many changes in direction in RMI's automation projects and visions and missions following that event. This made them curious to meet the woman who made Alaric change.

They also secretly wanted to know more about the Alchemist clan, because they were told that Alaric and Aleksis's extended family would be present at Aleksis' birthday.

"Good day, Sir. I'm glad to see you look healthy," Kai greeted Alaric when he saw his foster father enter the hall with Aleksis. Alaric smiled and hugged Kai warmly, making the man feel astonished.

As he recalled, until last year, Alaric did not like being touched, but now his foster father initiated the hug. With hesitation, Kai returned Alaric's hug and smiled broadly.

"I hope you're well," Alaric said, patting Kai's shoulder. He then approached Rosalien, who was looking at him with moist eyes. The girl was naturally cold and aloof, but today she was visibly moved, seeing how much Alaric looked like the gentle person she remembered from the past. She hugged Alaric, very tightly.

"We haven't seen each other for a long time, Sir." Rosalien then kissed Alaric on both cheeks and looked at him with adoration. Alaric nodded and lightly ruffled Rosalien's hair as if she was still the ten-year-old girl he had rescued from the streets in New York.

Among his four foster children, Rosalien was the closest to him when she was little. As the only foster daughter, she was protected and given special treatment by her three foster siblings and by their protector, mentor, and father figure: Alaric.

Rosalien admired Alaric the most and looked up him in many ways. She was the most devastated when Alaric 'died' eleven years ago. That incident was enough to turn her into a cold and ruthless woman, more than ever. It was only in the last few years after Alaric returned, that Rosalien got better.

When she found out that Alaric was reunited with Aleksis and decided to resign from most of his activities, Rosalien felt unwilling. She and her foster siblings had worked hard to help Alaric realize his ambitions to rule the world, and at the last moment, Alaric will just drop his ideals?

But today ... when she saw firsthand how her foster father was filled with happiness, all those thoughts disappeared from Rosalien's mind. At the moment, she could only be happy to see how Alaric seemed to have found what he was looking for.

Rosalien broke free from Alaric's arms and smiled lightly. She then turned to Aleksis, who was staring at their encounter with a smile. Rosalien nodded at her, and Aleksis nodded back.

"Honey, this is Rosalien, and that's Kai. I've told you about them. You've met Takeshi." Alaric waved to Kai and Rosalien to introduce them to Aleksis. His wife nodded and smiled at both of them. Alaric then introduced Aleksis to them. "Kai, Rosalien, this is my wife, Aleksis."

"Nice to meet you," Aleksis smiled kindly. Inwardly, she felt Alaric's life was quite interesting. Before he had his four biological children, three boys, and one girl, it turned out that Alaric had raised four orphans as his foster children. The four foster children also consisted of three boys and one girl.

"Nice to meet you, Madam." Kai and Rosalien greeted Aleksis together. Aleksis did not want to make them feel awkward toward her, so she stepped forward and hugged them one by one.

"Don't be too formal with me," she said in a friendly voice. "Thank you for coming here. We are all family."

She then hugged Takeshi, who came with a big flower bouquet.

"As usual, a bouquet of Lavender for Madam. These are the last of what we could find from summer," Takeshi commented as he handed over the flowers he had brought to Aleksis.

"Thank you," Aleksis accepted it happily. Lavender was indeed her favorite flower, and it was hard to find it in autumn like this, so she was touched by Takeshi taking the time to find it for her.

After the introduction, Alaric invited his three foster children to come to meet his in-laws' family. Mischa and Takeshi were no longer surprised at how all the members of the Schneider family looked very young and stunning. Mischa had met them yesterday, and Takeshi met them three months ago at Caspar's birthday party in Singapore while celebrating the birth of Ireland and Scotland.

Only Kai and Rosalien felt very surprised. They had often heard about the Schneider family, who was so mysterious and reclusive, and now they understood why this family had taken great care of their privacy.

These people are really impressive, they thought inwardly.

"Finally, almost all of my family members are here. Just waiting for Dad and Nicolae and the twins," Alaric said with a happy face. "Dad will arrive shortly, and Nic will arrive tonight."

The servants had prepared the large garden in the center of the castle with beautiful tables and various elegant decorations. Aleksis' birthday party would be held at lunch, and once Lauriel arrived, they would start immediately.

"I told you, I will never forget your birthday, now and forever," Alaric whispered, holding Aleksis through all the tables and making sure the flowers, cutlery, and purple decorations in their beautiful garden looked perfect.

Hearing that, Aleksis smiled happily and gave an intimate kiss on her husband's lips.