The Alchemists

The man was stunned to hear Marion's words. A moment later, his expression became more relaxed, and his lips smiled.

"Apparently you're not just anyone ... There aren't many people who know me that well," he commented. "Who are you?"

"You won't know me, Boy," Marion said, smiling faintly. Mischa stared at the woman for a long time and finally, he nodded.

"You must be a lot older than me. Then I must show my respects," he said later, bowing his head slightly.

"Ah ... you have good manners." Marion nodded while smiling back. "You can call me Auntie."

The waiter she called to bring a bottle of red wine had come and stood beside their table respectfully. After Marion gave the signal, he then poured red wine into the glass of the two guests.

"Cheers!" Marion raised her glass and clinked it to Mischa's. "Everyone needs to experience a broken heart so that they can appreciate love more."

Mischa just looked at Marion and didn't answer, but he accepted the clink of their glass and gulped down the wine. His face still looked sad, but he had managed to stop himself from chasing his ex-girlfriend.

"I'll give her a few more days," Mischa muttered, refilling his glass. "Thank you, Auntie, for accompanying me here."

"You're welcome, Son," Marion said. "I'm actually feeling a bit bored."

Outsiders who didn't know them would be surprised to hear a grown man who clearly looked older called a beautiful girl who seemed to be in her 20s before him with Auntie. Nobody would guess that Marion was actually almost 150 years old. She had walked the earth so much longer than Mischa.

Marion was naturally a kind woman, and she decided to invite Mischa to talk to divert his attention from the problem that was making him upset. It was true that even the most ruthless men were not immune from heartbreak and grief when the girl they loved broke up with them one-sidedly.

Mischa met Lisa eight years ago, and for the first time in life, he felt how to it was to fall in love with a woman. He had changed his life and was busy taking care of RMI's business in Eastern Europe, as entrusted by Alaric, his foster father.

Lisa did not know of his past as a professional assassin and they had a loving relationship, which eventually became serious. Six years ago, they decided to live together. Mischa had no idea that he would be given the gift of the immortality potion by Aldebar as Alaric's foster son.

He did not tell Lisa about his life secrets now and then. He still wanted to check his heart, whether he really wanted to spend his forever with Lisa or not. As time went on and he got older, he finally made the decision to marry the girl.

Before he disclosed the Alchemist clan's secrets, Mischa decided to open up and tell her about his past as an assassin since he was a teenager. In his mind, if Lisa could accept his past, he would share his other secrets.

Unfortunately, Lisa couldn't accept Mischa's past well. She felt devastated and deceived. After thinking about it for a month, the girl finally gave up and chose to leave the man who had been with her for the past eight years.

She could not marry a former killer because her father was killed by his political opponents using a hitman. She could not forgive Mischa's past at all and chose to break up. Lisa decided to go to Paris and started a new life there.

But tonight, Lisa reiterated that they could not get back together. Even though she still loved Mischa too much, Lisa really couldn't change her heart.

"I really love her..." Mischa said in a low voice after the third glass of wine. His brilliant blue eyes seemed to glitter with tears. He sighed and resumed filling his glass with wine. "I shouldn't have been honest with her."

Marion held Mischa's hand and took the wine bottle from his hand. "That's enough. Later you might do things that you will regret. I'm accompanying you here to advise you not to get you drunk. Believe me ... women who don't accept you for who you are don't deserve your love."

"I should have kept lying ..." complained Mischa. "Everything was fine until when I told her about my past."

Marion really understood how it felt to be broken-hearted. She had an unrequited love for Lauriel for decades. After she gave up her love and decided to open her heart to others, she met a man who turned out to be perfect for her.

In addition to having similar appearances, both were complementing each other perfectly. After Marion was with Jean, she felt how her life was finally complete. They had been married for 16 years and now lived happily with two children. She was sure, one day, Mischa would feel the same way.

"Don't be stupid. A relationship based on lie won't last. If you want to wait for her to change her mind, go ahead, but don't torture yourself just because of a woman," Marion rose from her seat and patted Mischa on the shoulder. She lifted the man's chin and looked at him intently. "Now, you must rest. Stop drinking."

Her voice sounded very authoritative and had a certain tone that made Mischa become a little confused. His eyes went round, and then as if he had turned into an obedient child, Mischa nodded and rose.

"I'll go and rest," he said. He leaned slightly toward Marion and walked out of the restaurant to his suite. Marion had hypnotized him just now so he would follow her orders and go to his room to sleep.

Altair and Vega and JM were still busy chatting and laughing. When Marion returned, they immediately welcomed her.

"Gosh ... it's already 11 pm. You have to go back to your hotel and rest. Tomorrow you will be busy," she said. "Do you want me to call you a taxi?"

"It's okay, Auntie. I don't want to bother you. We will order a taxi through the receptionist," Altair said.

"All right, then. When you have free time tomorrow, come here. I will take you to dinner at my favorite restaurant."

"Thank you, Auntie Marion. We will let you know via Jean-Marie," answered Altair.

"Very nice."

Because it was close to midnight, the two teenagers decided to go back to their own hotel.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the lobby of the Amarylis Hotel and immediately headed to their room. Before going to sleep, they told Alaric and Nicolae that they had met Marion and Jean-Marie.

"Wow ... it looks like you guys are having fun, huh," commented Nicolae, who was in Grosetto. "I will arrive in Paris tomorrow afternoon. We can have dinner with Marion and Jean-Marie. It will be very pleasant."

"Wow ... sounds fun! We will wait for Daddy to come," Vega said enthusiastically.