Lauriel's grip on Alexei's neck became stronger and his voice sounded dangerous.

"I can kill you right now... Do you want to take this risk?"

Alexei coughed but he stubbornly closed his eyes.

"Not only that child ... but we will also target her mother... If my life were exchanged for the lives of those two people, I don't mind... hahah..." Alexei forced a laugh whilst coughing, which made him sound heartless. "Their deaths will destroy not only Caspar but also you ... Please, kill me if you want to take the risk."

A few seconds passed and Lauriel finally let go of his grip.

"Why are you doing this? They are innocent..." Lauriel said. His face looked very angry.

"All is fair in love and war..." said Alexei as he fixed his collar. He still coughed for a while before sitting down elegantly on the sofa. "Katia's love and my war..."

"Katia?" Lauriel frowned. "What does this have to do with Katia?"

Alexei just smiled and nodded towards Lauriel's back. The man turned around. The library door opened and a beautiful platinum-haired girl entered the library, looking as graceful as a queen.

"Hello Lauriel, long time no see. The last time we met was in London, wasn't it?"

"Hm..." Lauriel studied Katia without saying anything. He suspected that Katia and Alexei had joined forces to plan something bad. He now understood why this situation seemed personal. Katia still held a grudge against Caspar and wanted to hurt him in any way.

"You know what he did to me..." Katia said coldly, "I'm only responding to his actions."

"Then hurt him, don't hurt Aleksis and Finland," Lauriel said. "They don't know anything."

"Finland knew what Caspar did to me... and yet she married him. She chose her happiness over my suffering. You don't know what it's like to be thrown away like a used object after faithfully accompanying Caspar for 50 years..." Katia spoke furiously. "Hurting Caspar physically won't mean anything. I want him to feel the same pain as I did. I want him to feel so hurt that he doesn't want to live anymore..."

"Do you know whose daughter Aleksis is?" Lauriel asked intently.

"I'm not as stupid as Caspar. He saw you at the airport and thought Aleksis was your daughter. Sophia then assured him that you and Finland were together. He suffered greatly because he thought Finland had left him for you... hahaha... he even decided to isolate himself after Ned's and Portia's wedding. Finally, he is feeling the pain of being abandoned by a loved one..." Katia closed her eyes and smiled, picturing Caspar's hurt face," But I'm won't be satisfied until I break his heart completely. I don't want him to go into seclusion... I want him to choose death. "

Lauriel looked at Katia in surprise. This beautiful girl was no longer the gentle girl he knew decades ago. Her expression was ice cold and her eyes looked cruel. Lauriel sighed.

"How can I be sure that you will give Aleksis the antidote if I do as you wish?" he asked later.

"I'll give it to you at Ned and Portia's wedding. If I break my promise, you can take me to the council of 5 families," Alexei answered, his smile tilted, triumphant. "You sure believe in Ned?"

"Does Ned know that you're doing this kind of thing to a child?"

"Ned doesn't need to know the details..." Alexei looked away, "If you tell him, then the antidote will not be given. You must be well acquainted with the Meier family scientists and how powerful the poisons they can make... Aldebar is currently not around to provide an immortality potion for that kid. I know you're a poison expert, but you won't have enough time to make an antidote for her... So you are left with no option but to obey us."

A soft knock was heard from the door and a woman in black came in carrying Aleksis, who was sleeping. Lauriel quickly took the little girl from her and examined her breathing.

"Hmm..." He did not notice any changes in her skin color and expression and felt more relieved. "So, the poison will be activated in two weeks. That means it will be activated on the wedding of Ned and Portia?"

"Right. You must come to get the antidote... We will wait for you there."

Lauriel took a deep breath and finally gave up, "What do you want?"

Alexei and Katia looked at each other and smiled.

***

"Finland, somebody wants to meet you..." Jean woke Finland who was sleeping. Finland opened her eyes and sat on her bed.

"Mummyyyy..." Aleksis, who was sitting on Lauriel's shoulders, immediately called out and asked to be lowered. Finland was very surprised to see the two of them suddenly appear in her hospital room without prior notice.

"Eh... didn't you say that Aleksis shouldn't be taken to the hospital? What changed your mind?" she asked.

Lauriel smiled faintly, not answering. He turned to Jean and Finland immediately introduced the two.

"Oh... please meet Jean, my best friend. Jean, this is Lauriel... my friend in San Francisco. He is also the Aleksis' godfather..."

"Hello..." Jean reached out to shake hands with Lauriel. For a long second the men stared at each other, carefully assessing the other party. They only let go of their gaze when Finland cleared her throat.

"Uhm ... Lauriel is an alchemist, and he is an expert in poisons and medicines. He is the one who made the medicine to restore your memory, Jean," Finland said.

"Why... thank you," said Jean. "I've heard about your people from Finland. Very interesting..."

"Well, now you are part of us..." Lauriel said curtly.

"Oh yes, about that... I just wanted to ask, could Jean attend Ned and Portia's wedding in two weeks...? I think it would be good for him to meet with other clan members and get to know them a bit. After all, he is now part of your clan... " Finland noticed Lauriel looked a little worried - when he was usually calm and composed. She immediately had a bad feeling, "What's wrong...? You don't like the idea...?"

"That's not it..." Lauriel shook his head slowly, "I have something to tell you, but it can wait. I want to stay with you here until you can get out of the hospital, and after that we can treat Jean."

"Can't Jean come to Ned and Portia's party?" Finland asked again.

"Ned didn't invite him, and I can't casually bring strangers to Ned's party. I can contact him and ask for an additional invitation..." Lauriel said. "It shouldn't be a problem. But I don't recommend Jean to come now."

"Is something bad going to happen?" Finland asked worriedly. "Your attitude is unusual..."

"We'll talk about that tomorrow." Lauriel then turned to Jean, "You look tired. You'd better go back to your hotel and rest, I'll wait here."

Lauriel used his usual commanding tone, and both Jean and Finland had no choice but to follow his words. If Lauriel had decided, Finland could not pressure him to change his mind.