Chapter 344 - Cousins

Aleksis finally called Alaric. She had woken up at the sound of an incoming phone call from Alaric, but unfortunately when she was about to pick up the phone, it stopped ringing. 

After washing her face and drinking a cup of coffee, she decided to call him back. She longed to hear Alaric's voice.

She felt like crying and she wanted to tell Alaric about the anxiety she was feeling because she had to hide their relationship from Lauriel. She wanted Alaric to come home soon so that they could talk about the incident that happened 20 years ago, when Alaric's organization targeted her father.

At that time, Alaric was probably still very young, so there was a possibility that he wasn't even involved ... but still, it would be difficult to bring him to meet Aleksis' parents given his relationship with Rhionen Assassins.

Maybe it was time for Aleksis to open her identity to Alaric, considering that at this point, no matter what happened, they were committed to being together... They were married! They must work together to think of a way out of this complicated situation.

Maybe Alaric would be very surprised at first to hear Aleksis' secrets, but the girl had no shortcomings nor negativity in her life that would make her feel ashamed. Her family was a respectable family and they were very powerful. Alaric would definitely be able to receive the information well. Now all that remained was to convince her family to accept Alaric ...

RING

RING

RING

A dozen rings went by and her call was not picked up. Aleksis became confused. She looked at the clock; it was 5am in Singapore, meaning that it was 9:00 pm in England ... Alaric should not have slept yet.

Was he busy?

Aleksis decided to send him a message asking Alaric to call her back when he had the chance, because Aleksis was already awake and was waiting for his call.

[It is already morning here. Don't forget to call me before you sleep. I love you.] She sent the message to Alaric.

Unfortunately, Alaric still did not reply to her message. Aleksis could only take a deep breath.

Could it be that Alaric was hit by jet lag because he went to a country that was 8 hours behind Singapore and was so exhausted that he was asleep now?

Aleksis decided that she would not disturb him.

***

In his penthouse, Alaric still sat pensive. Sophia had briefly told him about the history of the Alchemists and the order of their society.

He still could not believe that there were apparently hundreds of people like him out there. He was not alone at all. He had an extended family and even a whole clan in this world.

For the first time in his life, he felt that finally the pieces of the puzzle in his life were brought to light and he was able to form a complete picture. He finally could see himself as a whole.

"The Linden family does not have an apparent heir anymore, because all their children have died. My mother was the first daughter and she married a prince from the Meier family, giving birth to my brother, Alexei, and me. While Princess Luna was not married ..."

Alaric was stunned to hear Sophia's words. He was just about to ask about his father. It turned out that his mother was not married. This meant that he was a child born outside of marriage … an illegitimate son.

"So ... I don't have a father?" he asked softly.

Sophia shook her head with a face full of regret. "I'm sorry. Lady Luna kept her private life a secret. We don't know who your father is … She did have a relationship with a man but we were not sure if he was your father because when Aunt Luna came home, she refused to talk about the man."

"Oh ..."

"Many of our people died during the First World War, including my parents, many of our relatives, and other friends ... Possibly, your father also died during the war," Sophia said sadly, "Although we are immortals, our bodies cannot withstand bullets and bombs ... It is estimated that more than 300 Alchemists died at that time."

Alaric could not hold back his sorrow and anger. His hands clenched fiercely because anger regained control of his mind. Those stupid and wicked humans who loved war ... they took his parents, and many of their relatives, away from him in vain.

"I really hate humans ..." his words, coming out through his clenched jaw, sounded very cold. "That's why ... I want to make sure that they can no longer do whatever they want ..."

Sophia looked at Alaric attentively. She hadn't seen Princess Luna for more than 100 years and so she no longer remembered her face well, but now seeing Alaric in front of her, she slowly thought of her aunt.

Alaric's personality was very different from Luna's warm and open nature, but they had eerily similar faces.

She was deeply moved to imagine that for nearly 100 years, Alaric had to survive alone, without knowing who he was. His life must certainly be very hard.

But the young man proved to be very formidable, because he succeeded in establishing Rhionen Assassins and now he even acquired very sophisticated technologies to control humans through Rhionen Industries. With the help and support of the Meier Group, he would certainly be more powerful.

Looking at Alaric, whose face was filled with revenge and sadness, Sophia felt touched, and at that moment she was determined to support whatever her cousin would do.

Of course it would be better if Ned and Portia also supported Alaric ... Sophia thought again.

He knew how much Portia loved Luna ... Portia would be very happy to know that Luna had a son ...

"I want to invite you to meet someone ..." Sophia said. "She will definitely be very happy to see you ..."

Alaric nodded. "When?"

"We can go tomorrow. Tonight I'm sure you need to rest and calm your mind. I will pick you up here tomorrow morning."

"Thank you."

Sophia got up and tidied her clothes, "I'll go home now. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Alright."

"I'm glad to meet you, Alaric," said Sophia, kissing Alaric's cheek. "I initially thought that I would meet an old man who wore a mask - rumors have it that your face was damaged in an accident ... It turned out it's all just baseless rumors. I'm glad I managed to recognize you, otherwise you might never know your origins ..."

Alaric nodded slowly. "I have indeed hidden my face for the past 8 years. Tonight I decided to show my face because ..."

He was silent. He had already decided to open up himself to Aleksis and show her his true face. Aleksis would certainly be happy by this surprise.

He did not expect that the first time he finally showed his face to someone, it was to Sophia, who was able to recognize him and provide him with all the answers he was looking for.

Maybe it was fate ... after searching for almost 100 years, he finally met Sophia here. Finally he got his answers.

"Obviously I'm glad we met. I don't want to make your head full with too much information. Rest ... I'll tell you more tomorrow." Sophia then excused herself and left Alaric's office. "Thank you for the drink."

"Hmm ..." Alaric nodded.

Pavel entered a few minutes after Sophia left.

"Is there anything else you need?" he asked respectfully.

"Hmm ... accompany me for a drink, Pavel. There are many things that fill my mind at the moment ..." Alaric said, pointing at his tequila bottle. "I do not know where to start."

Pavel was stunned. For the 20 years he had been with the young man, he had never seen Alaric behave like this before.

He obediently took a new shot glass and poured tequila for himself and Alaric.

Both of them drank without saying anything. They were busy with their own thoughts.

***