Chapter 508 - Terry & Nicolae Meet Alaric

Nicolae admitted that the man in front of Terry was very intimidating, but he wasn't afraid at all. Without hesitation, he stared back at Alaric and the two looked at each other.

"Welcome to the Ritz Gala." Finally, Terry took the initiative to break the ice. He didn't want to be seen in the slightest conflict to maintain the reputation of the event. This prestigious event was held at his hotel, after all. Even though this guest in front of him looked super annoying, he must still act friendly. "My name is Terrence Chan. May I know who you are?"

Alaric finally looked back at him and nodded. "Good evening, Mr. Chan. I know who you are. My name is Elios Linden."

Alaric's attitude was neither friendly nor curtly, making Terry at a loss of what to say. Finally, he nodded back and raised his hand to invite Alaric into the ballroom.

"Please enjoy the program. Millian will see you soon."

He then walked back to the lobby and Nicolae followed suit, leaving Alaric to be surrounded by a group of girls looking for new prey short after the two left.

"That's the number one man from Forsythe's Most Influential Men this year," Terry whispered to Nicolae as they arrived at the lobby. "I didn't expect him to be so young!"

"Hmm..." Nicolae just nodded. He couldn't forget the face and appearance of the person earlier. For some reason, he felt that the person was familiar. As for where that familiar feeling came from, he didn't know.

"Did you notice his appearance?" Terry asked again. He shook his head and tried to find the right words, "I've never seen an ordinary person who looks like that. He's just like an Alchemist."

Nicolae frowned. He felt that what Terry said was right. After contemplating for a while, he finally nodded in agreement, "Actually, I thought so too. Why don't you ask Uncle Caspar? He might know him."

"Hmm... You're right." Terry massaged his forehead and hurried back into the ballroom. "I have to know if he really is an Alchemist or not."

Nicolae just laughed at Terry shuffling. His best friend was very competitive. He had met the President of Malta, who was the youngest president in the world, today and Terry just laughed when he realized William was not handsome at all. Prince Niels of Sweden had also experienced premature baldness, so Terry didn't feel that he had met any worthy rival.

But the appearance of Elios Linden just now really annoyed Terry and made him want to defeat Elios. That was why now Terry decided to reenter the ballroom and observe his rival.

Elios Linden got one of the most respected tables in the front part. There sat Pavel Adler and his wife, Sande, as guests from Splitz, and Rosalien, who came as the sole representative of Rhionen Industries.

The other guests and the committee seemed very focused on Alaric's table. This was because this year, Rhionen-Meier Industries and Splitz indeed became the talk of the world. In addition to his influence as the group's owner, Alaric's good looks and appearance were also of particular interest to most of the women present at the event and the tens of millions of viewers who attended the Ritz Gala from Virconnect's space.

As previously planned, the Ritz Gala event was opened for the first time to the public through the Virconnect facility, so people around the world could watch and see the excitement and how exclusive the event was. Tens of millions of curious people had purchased access to the Ritz Gala's Virconnect space and enthusiastically attended the event.

Even though these general visitors were given access, they were only given one-way access to see, thus unable to join and interact as Terry did to Nicolae. This ballroom wouldn't be able to accommodate that many people, after all.

At present, full access was only given to the award nominees so that they could invite their loved ones who couldn't be present in person.

Performances after performances were delivered by top artists. Then came the speeches, delicious dinners, and the award ceremony. Even the ceremony itself was very lively. A very famous comedian became the MC of the event and the audience was unceasingly made to laugh by his hilarious jokes.

Throughout the event, Terry noticed how Elios Linden didn't smile even once.

"Is he deaf?" he said angrily. "He hasn't laughed at all. He didn't even smile. The MC is the best comedian the world has ever known!"

Nicolae stared at Elios Linden for a long time and finally realized where he had gotten the familiar impression he had been feeling.

Elios Linden seemed very indifferent to his surroundings and was very stingy with his smile, which reminded him of Lauriel, his father. Elios' gestures and even his style of dressing reminded Nicolae of his naturally reclusive and reserved father. Both of them seemed to dislike the crowd.

Nicolae finally smiled. He realized Elios was not a cynical nor arrogant person. He just didn't like humans in general, and that wasn't a crime. After all, Lauriel was like that too, he thought.

"I think his hearing is fine. He just doesn't like crowds," Nicolae said to Terry, "Not everyone likes to be the center of attention like you. Do you see how nearly all the eyes focused their attention on him? If I were him, I'd feel uncomfortable too."

Alaric was well aware that he had been the center of attention since he first stepped into the St. Laurent Hotel building. Aleksis, his digital assistant, readily gave him information about all the people he met as well as those who were watching him from afar.

"I'm so happy you're the star of this party," Aleksis said in a voice filled with pride. "I bet you're also the most handsome man here."

Alaric just rolled his eyes at Aleksis's words before responding, "You're biased because you're my assistant."

Aleksis just laughed in amusement.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Millian Landon, the chair of the organizers, had gone up onto the stage, drawing the crowd's attention. The woman looked breathtaking albeit being in her 50's, and she looked surprisingly charming when she spoke.