Chapter 192 - Punishment for Katia (1)

"I have given Aleksis the antidote. You can rest now. We will know tomorrow morning whether or not my medicine worked, "Lauriel said, placing Aleksis back on her bed. He took the small bowl and stood up. "Petra and Esso will take care of Katia."

"Are you really going to leave Katia like that?" Finland asked in a choked voice. She could still hear Katia's scream and it was very disturbing.

"As I said, I will wait and see if Aleksis recovers. If she recovers completely, I will think about whether Katia has already got her punishment or not," Lauriel answered firmly. "We'll talk again tomorrow morning."

After saying that, Lauriel left the room and closed the door behind him. Finland could not say anything more. Lauriel was still using his charisma to make people do what he wanted, and Finland couldn't object to him.

She could only stare at the stunned Caspar.

"Are you not going to do anything?" Finland asked quietly. "Don't you have any justice system or what? I know Katia committed a crime against Aleksis, but if Aleksis can be cured... do you think torturing her like that is justified? I'm scared to see Lauriel angry like that..."

"You forgot that Lauriel was once a pirate. He is used to such harsh punishments," Caspar replied, "He tortured Katia with poison because she was a woman. Among pirates, they were accustomed to more horrible tortures, men could beheaded, skinned alive and even thrown from a plank into the open sea..."

Finland held her breath at Caspar's explanation. As a woman, her gentle feelings couldn't imagine the torture of fellow human beings, especially since she knew Katia personally.

"Let's leave it for tonight. Tomorrow I will decide for an appropriate punishment for Katia," Caspar finally said. "You should rest, I'll go down and control the situation for now."

Caspar could not bear to see his wife tormented by Katia's wailings. He then signaled for Finland to rest and he left the room for the kitchen.

"Katia..." Caspar suddenly realized that Katia could no longer hear him. So, he took Katia's right palm and wrote letters on her palm using his index finger.

T. H. I. S

I. S

C. A. S. P. A. R.

C.A.L.M

D.O.W.N

I.

W. I. L. L.

H. E. L. P.

Y. O. U.

T. O. M. O. R. R. O. W

N. O. W.

S. L. E. E. P.

Katia went silent. She understood that Caspar had asked her to stop screaming. Although she could not hear her own scream, surely everyone in the penthouse could hear it and were annoyed. Finally, because she was tired, Katia stopped wailing and bit her lip hard, holding back her own tears.

She had no choice but to trust Caspar.

G. O. O. D.

Caspar nodded at Petra, who immediately lifted Katia's body and placed her on the sofa in the living room. The penthouse was finally calm. Jean, who was tired and stressed, excused himself to rest in the hotel room. Jadeith and Lauriel had disappeared a long time ago.

Everyone agreed to come together the next morning and have breakfast together. Only Petra and Esso stayed in the living room to watch over Katia. Kara prepared the things they needed to spend a night there. Caspar then went into his room and accompanied Finland who was waiting on Aleksis.

"She stopped screaming... What did you do to her?" Finland asked when she saw Caspar enter.

"I said that I will help her tomorrow, as long as she is quiet."

"Oh..." Finland nodded slowly, "I understand."

The couple then tried to sleep and hoped that morning would come soon so they could find out whether Lauriel's treatment was successful.

Caspar hugged Finland tightly on the bed and comforted her with soft words so that the girl calmed down and she could close her eyes.

Finland finally fell asleep after midnight, but Caspar could not close his eyes until morning.

***

The atmosphere in the penthouse was again crowded and tensed at around sunrise when people came together. Caspar, who couldn't sleep all that night, seemed very tired and depressed. He tried to calm himself down by drinking a double espresso and went out to welcome his guests.

"Have you had breakfast?" he asked Lauriel and Jean, who just arrived.

"Not yet," Lauriel answered. "I came straight here to wait for Aleksis to wake up."

"All right, I'll call the chef up. I'm too tired to cook breakfast for us," Caspar said. He dialed the phone to the receptionist and asked the waiters and chefs to be sent up. Not long after, two chefs and a few staff arrived. They set up their equipment and were immediately busy in the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the master and his guests.

"I will examine Aleksis..." Lauriel said afterward. Caspar nodded and followed Lauriel to the bedroom.

Finland awakened when she heard a knock on the door. She quickly got up and opened the door for Lauriel and Caspar, who wanted to see how Aleksis was doing.

"She's still sleeping..." Finland whispered as she invited them in.

Lauriel stepped inside and sat beside Aleksis' bed, then checked her breathing and her pulse.

"Her pulse and heart rate are almost normal, it's no longer as slow as yesterday." His voice sounded very relieved. "Soon, she will wake up..."

Finland and Caspar sighed together. They both looked very relieved. Caspar hurriedly knelt at the foot of the bed and listened to his daughter's heartbeat to confirm Lauriel's words.

"You're right..." he whispered happily. Instantly his whole body tensed down and the heavy burden that had clung to his mind for the past two weeks disappeared. "She looks like she's really sleeping now..."

Just then, Aleksis's blue green eyes opened and she stared sleepily at Caspar, who was kneeling beside her, with a questioning expression.

"Daddy...?" An adorable little voice came from her tiny lips. It startled Caspar and he almost cried in happiness.

"Gosh... Aleksis... my baby Aleksis, are you awake, little angel...?" Caspar immediately kissed Aleksis's cheeks and hurriedly hugged the little girl to his chest. "Daddy is very scared..."

Finland ran toward her daughter with tears streaming down both of her cheeks. Finland and Caspar cried as they made sure that Aleksis was really awake and not lacking anything.

Lauriel only looked at the scene with a pained expression. At times like these, he could only think of his girlfriend Luna and their unborn child. If humans were not so fond of war, of course he would still have his family... The woman he loved would still be next to him and their children would grow up, enjoying his outpouring affections...

He really hated humans.

"Uncle Rory..." Aleksis suddenly called out to Lauriel, stirring him from his reverie.

"Hmm... what's up, sweetheart?" Lauriel asked, kneeling beside Caspar. "You called me?"

"Help me... Daddy and Mommy hug me so tight. They squeezed me so hard I'm afraid I can't breathe..." Aleksis complained with her cute expression.

Caspar and Finland immediately let go of their embraces and laughed. Lauriel smiled broadly and nodded. He rose and lifted Aleksis from her bed, away from her parents.

"Alright... Uncle Rory will save you. In return, you have to eat a lot, so I won't worry about your health." While saying so he placed Aleksis on his shoulders and walked out of the room to the kitchen.

The atmosphere in the penthouse, which was very dark and full of tension before, seemed to have lightened up and was now filled with warmth and laughter. Aleksis' presence at the dining table made everyone's faces brighten and adorned with smiles. Their most serious problems had been successfully resolved by Lauriel and now they were able to breathe with relief.

"Later in the afternoon we will all go to Scotland together. It's time to face Alexei in person and teach him a lesson," Caspar said. "Jadeith said he had arrived in Scotland this morning."

"Ned and Portia's party is a neutral zone, but as soon as he comes out of the vicinity, my men would be ready to take him down... We can wait until the party is over. Marion will disguise as Katia and be by Alexei's side the whole time. I will wait to hear from her," Lauriel said while sipping his tea.

"What about Katia...?" Finland asked quietly. She had seen Katia in the living room and remembered that the girl was still their prisoner.

"I actually want to kill her for what she did to Aleksis..." Lauriel said coldly. "But I have left such kind life. I don't want to get my hands dirty with another human's blood..."

"Will you let her go?" Finland asked.

"I will give her the antidote to my poison, and I hope Caspar will give her a proper punishment." Lauriel turned to Caspar and raised his eyebrows as if asking the man's decision. "I believe you can decide wisely."

Caspar nodded. He had thought about this all night when he could not sleep.

"Are you able to make a memory potion?" he asked Lauriel.

"Of course. What are your plans?" Lauriel asked.

"I want to break the vicious cycle of grudge between us..." Caspar said with a sigh.

"All right. I'll make it after breakfast." Lauriel nodded.

They then eat quietly.