When they returned to the dining room, Aleksis received a message from Terry asking for her whereabouts. Her brother had just finished his presentation in front of the national TV producers and he wanted to meet up with her to discuss what he discovered from Rhionen Industries' party last night.

"Uhm ... I need to call my brother for a minute ..." Aleksis said to Alaric. She then headed to the garden to call Terry.

Alaric appeared at a loss as he was watching her walk away. Her words stunned him. He inwardly became a bit jealous of her who seemed to have a very warm family. The girl even had two fathers and an older brother.

On the other hand, here he was, he had no one.

"Hi, Terry, I'm caught up on something... Would it be alright if we just meet tomorrow night when I take my dog ??to your house?" Aleksis talked to Terry by phone. She wanted to spend time with her prince for as long as possible before she moved to her school dormitory.

Previously Aleksis almost canceled her plan to go to school because her objective in moving to Singapore, finding 'Prince Siegfried', was already achieved. She had now found Alaric.

But Uncle Rory made her commit to a? promise... Ugh...

"Okay. But the information I got about that company is very interesting, you must be curious ..." Terry replied. "At first, I was casually looking for additional information, but now I intend to investigate them further. This can be a very interesting documentary material."

"Oh really? What's so interesting about them?" Aleksis asked, interest budding in her.

"The owner of that company is very mysterious. He never showed himself in public. I also only know his name and can't find information about him in the media. There's no news about him even though his company found a cure for cancer! Can you believe that!" Terry sounded very excited, his tone even turned half a pitc higher, "This is why I started investigating thoroughly. Through my various sources, I discovered that seven years ago there was a rumor that they were responsible for the psychological crisis that caused mass suicide."

"Huh? What do you mean? That time, isn't it many people committing suicide due to the job crisis triggered by the development of AI (Artificial Intelligence)?" In quick succession, Aleksis asked in a whisper. She did not want to attract Alaric's attention by speaking too loudly in a surprised tone.

"That's exactly why. Their AI ??technology's goal seems to be focused on replacing human workers as much as possible. Their technology is also very advanced. I mean ... your father's company is also pursuing AI but it aims to improve human life, not to replace human workers ... Isn't it?" Terry sighed then chuckled a few times. He sounded both distressed and worried, "Rhionen Industries's owner, in my opinion, seems to hate humans. As much as possible, he wants to replace mankind with technology."

Aleksis was stunned and her hand fell limp, causing the call to be interrupted. She was very surprised to hear this information from Terry. She hurriedly called Terry back and apologized, reasoning she accidentally dropped the call due to shock.

"Sorry, I did not mean to end the call. I understand. Tomorrow evening, I will go to your place and bring Little Prince Siegfried over, then we can continue to discuss this matter ..."

"Okay. Where are you right now? Why are you whispering?" Terry asked.

"I'm at my boyfriend's house ..." Aleksis answered quickly. "Hey ... Do you know? I found Prince Siegfried. Your wish when you blew out the birthday candle last night is immediately granted! I owe you one... hahaha ..."

"Wait ... what?" Terry initially thought Aleksis was joking. But not long after, he realized Aleksis had never joked about Prince Siegfried. Terry coughed violently, then exclaimed, "Oh my god ... you just met him and now you call him your boyfriend? He must be really old, right? Isn't it weird to call someone, who can even pose as your uncle, your boyfriend? Who is he?"

"I'll explain tomorrow. Don't you dare tell Mom, Dad and Uncle Rory! Otherwise,? I'll send a poisonous snake to your house!"

Terry snorted but didn't argue. He was very afraid of snakes, especially poisonous ones.

After hanging up, Aleksis was pensive remembering her conversation with Terry.

Rhionen Industries' owner seemed to hate humans? And that he tried to get rid of them through his business in the AI ??field? This has to be a conspiracy theory circulating out there. Terry was too fond of conspiracies and absurd things like this.

A person as nice and gentle as Alaric, couldn't possibly hate humans ...

Why was he so mysterious? Who was he really? Was it true that he hates humans, just as Terry believed ...? If so, why...?

Aleksis immediately thought of Lauriel. This godfather of hers despised mankind and preferred to be alone and live with nature. He only tolerated a few people.

But Lauriel had a good reason for not liking humans, his sentiments could be understood. Due to men who love to fight and go to war, his entire family perished. Lauriel became all alone in the world because greedy humans kept fighting with each other and destroying the world.

However, Lauriel's hate of mankind was not to the extent that he would want to get rid of them all...

Unknowingly Aleksis stepped into the dining room, eyes fixated on the masked man sitting at the dining table, patiently waiting for her to return so they could eat together.

She knew this man was her Prince Siegfried, the one who had helped her several times in the past. His real name was Alaric Rhionen, and he was one of the highest-level killers in Rhionen Assassins and the owner of Rhionen Industries whose business focuses on AI and industrial automation, its goal seemingly to replace humans. But apart from that, Aleksis knew nothing about him.

Did he truly hate humans that much? Why? What was his true identity...?

***