Chapter 425 - Aleksis' Progress

Nicolae had always known that his body was special. He stopped aging after entering his 20s, he had never been ill, and his physical endurance had always been very strong.

He used to think that he was the victim of a Nazi Human Experimentation[1] during the second world war, performed by their 'mad' scientists. He never once thought that he was an Alchemist, and that there were other people who were just like him, who could live for hundreds of years with their youthful looks.

His father, Lauriel, was currently the oldest Alchemist in the world who had lived for nearly 600 years, and still they could walk next to each other and look like brothers.

Now seeing Aleksis' rapid progress, Nicolae was very relieved. He never dreamed that he could ever see a patient with a severe brain stem injury have such a remarkable recovery. Today, Aleksis had begun to move her hand in response to the presence of her two younger brothers.

London, Rune, and Nicolae were moved to tears.

They were very relieved and they couldn't wait to see Aleksis wake up. The sleeping princess had been unconscious for over a month and everyone was very worried about her.

Nicolae hurriedly called the girl's parents and informed them of her startling progress, then he called his father, Lauriel, who could only stay silent on the other end of the line, speechless. He also later informed Terry and Jean in Singapore.

Everyone was very relieved to hear the good news and slowly the gray clouds that had been hovering over the big family slowly began to disappear.

Everyone could now feel the hope for their beloved girl.

"Thank you for looking after Aleksis there," Finland whispered tearfully over the phone. "I will come tomorrow to see my daughter."

"It is my pleasure, Auntie. This is a very miraculous thing. As a doctor I want to learn from Aleksis' healing process," Nicolae answered modestly.

"Still, we are deeply indebted to you," Finland said again. "We, the Schneider family, amass our debt to you; both your father and you. I don't know how we can ever repay your kindness."

"Ouch, Auntie ... don't say things like that. We are family. Aleksis is my father's goddaughter and he loves her very much. We also owe a lot to Aleksis. Without her, Father might have taken Death 20 years ago and I wouldn't be able to meet him," Nicolae said quickly. "Between our families, there are no debts ... Auntie should not think that way anymore."

Finland smiled at Nicolae's very soothing words. She really liked the young man. Nicolae was like Lauriel, but in a warmer and more pleasant version.

Inwardly, Finland hoped that someday their close family relations could be formalized by the marriage between Aleksis and Nicolae.

They both looked very compatible for each other, and she could imagine how happy Lauriel would be if his biological son would marry his goddaughter. Caspar and Finland had given their blessings. Now, they just needed to wait for Aleksis to wake up.

"How about now?" Caspar asked in a very tired voice. He had been listening to the telephone conversation between Finland and Nicolae and was very relieved to know that Aleksis was getting better.

What he meant with his question was Finland's plan to return to Switzerland to look after their children. He really wanted to go with her.

There was no place he wanted to be in this world more than with his wife and children, but unfortunately, he still had to take care of his huge business which was currently hit by a crisis caused by Kurt's sudden death which shook the group. Moreover, his successor had not yet been prepared.

It was actually Aleksis who was being prepared to take over from Kurt in a few more years, but Aleksis was now lying unconscious due to the accident that had befallen her.

Meanwhile, Rhionen Industries, which in recent years had been competing with the Schneider Group in many fields, was taking the opportunity to seize important projects which were initially carried out by the Schneider Group.

Their goal was to push through their automation projects into many new countries. Caspar was forced to work hard to restore the market confidence in his group.

"I have to go home to Switzerland ... I am worried about the children," Finland whispered sadly. "I hope you can settle your business immediately and come home to us."

Caspar shook his head, "If it is true that Rhionen Industries and Rhionen Assasins are led by the same person, I cannot stay quiet. I will fight them, to avenge what they did to Aleksis."

Finland hugged Caspar for a long time, trying to lighten his burden. "If not for the children, I will stay here forever with you, and even help you in the office."

Finland remembered that 17 years ago she had worked in the same office as Caspar, and they were able to spend a lot of time together. Later, when Aleksis had recovered, she was determined to join the company and help Caspar with the business. She would not let her husband work alone.

"I miss the days when we worked together in the New York office," Caspar said, kissing Finland's hair gently. "Later, when Aleksis wakes up, you have to help me in the office. I can't stand being apart from you even for just a few hours. I can make you my personal assistant. Ben is busy taking care of too many things, I need a real assistant."

"I will, Honey. Later, when Aleksis recovers, I will come to help you." Finland kissed her husband's lips lovingly then let go of his arms. She must prepare for her flight to Switzerland to see their children.

***

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[1]  Nazi Human Experimentation

It was a series of medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners, including children, by Nazi Germany in its concentration camps in the early to mid 1940s, during World War II and the Holocaust. Chief target populations included Romani, Sinti, ethnic Poles, Soviet POWs, disabled Germans, and Jews from across Europe.

Nazi physicians and their assistants forced prisoners into participating; they did not willingly volunteer and no consent was given for the procedures. Typically, the experiments resulted in death, trauma, disfigurement or permanent disability, and as such are considered examples of medical torture.

Some examples of experiments they conducted are:

- Experiments on twins

- Bone, muscle, and nerve transplantation experiments

- Head injury experiments

- Freezing experiments

- Sterilization and fertility experiments

- Etc.