But wasn't Alaric Rhionen dead?

And ... even if he was alive, shouldn't he, as a normal human being, be very old by now?

Questions after questions raged in his mind. Lauriel was really eager for the answers.

"Uncle Rory ... I can't marry Nic ... My husband is still alive," replied Aleksis. "I'm sorry."

"Aleksis ...?" Lauriel approached her, trying to reach Aleksis but Alaric brushed his hand away harshly.

"I am telling you, if you take another step, I will not hesitate." Wearing an ice-cold expression on his face, Alaric pulled out his gun.

Aleksis was surprised by the fact that Alaric pulled out a gun in front of his own father. She reflexively brushed off her husband's hand and rebuked him, "Alaric, you can't do that to your father!"

Aleksis' words stunned Lauriel.

"Fa ... father?" He frowned trying to make sure he had not misheard. "What did you say just now?"

Alaric lowered his gun and sighed. He then rubbed Aleksis' hair lovingly and whispered to her ear, "Let's get out of here."

The girl nodded. She felt that this was not the right place to talk properly. Alaric easily lifted her up and walked away from his father who was still standing by the lake.

Yes. Lauriel was still rooted in his spot even though he could see the two people going further and further away.

In an instant, a beautiful face that he had forgotten for a long time crossed his mind. Luna's image which he had buried for a long time in the deepest part of his heart now resurfaced in his memory.

The man who was with Aleksis had a pair of purple eyes ... and he also possessed a face that had smooth and delicate lines similar to that of a woman. All of these reminded him of Luna, his deceased girlfriend.

Did ... did Luna give birth to another child?

"Wait...!!" Lauriel ran after them.

Lauriel's hand fell on Alaric's shoulder when he caught up to both of them. His touch was gentle, there was no hint of hostility, so Alaric finally stopped and looked at him.

"Is ... is ... Luna ...?" Lauriel could not finish his sentence. He was too emotional and no words could convey what was in his heart. He was very shaken. He could see himself in the young man before him. Even without DNA testing, he knew this young man was his biological child, his flesh and blood.

Alaric was stunned after seeing Lauriel's eyes were filled with tears. His face was showing deep sorrow.

"Luna is my mother," the younger of the two men answered shortly.

The two looked at each other. In such close proximity, Alaric could see how sad his father's blue-green eyes were. His heart began to feel moved. He didn't expect Lauriel to be this sad upon meeting him.

"Do you know who your father is?" Lauriel asked in an urgent voice. He suspected this young man was his child, but he had to hear it directly from Alaric's mouth.

"My father is Lauriel Medici," Alaric answered in a firm tone. "But I know you don't want me, so I've never looked for you."

Lauriel was surprised by Alaric's words.

"How can you say that?" Lauriel felt his chest tighten seeing the hate in Alaric's eyes. He felt surprised but happy because he actually had a second child. However, at the same time, his heart was breaking from remembering what happened 10 years ago ...

He finally understood why Alaric thought that he didn't want him.

It must be because of that incident from ten years ago ... If he was really Alaric Rhionen ... then, it meant that ten years ago, Lauriel had 'killed' his own son.

"Ten years ago ..." Alaric's words stopped midway. He did not continue since he could already see that Lauriel knew what he wanted to say.

"I ... I did not know ..." Lauriel whispered in shock. His voice that had just trailed off was tinged with hopelessness. His steps staggered as his knees softened as his entire body lost strength. Aleksis, who saw Lauriel looking so shocked, quickly escaped from Alaric's arms and went to her godfather's side.

Seeing Aleksis about to hold Lauriel's unsteady body, Alaric quickly went over to embrace Lauriel so that he would not fall.

The woman had never seen Lauriel so vulnerable and depressed. This incident might have been a great shock to him. She could only stare in place as Alaric held Lauriel's body. The two men looked like they were hugging.

Lauriel didn't hold back and put his arms around Alaric's back so he could hug him tightly. He was not ashamed even though Alaric was trying to get away. Lauriel stubbornly kept him in his embrace.

"Please forgive me ... Please forgive your father, my son..." Lauriel cried out repeatedly. He no longer needed an explanation. Stories could wait. "I didn't know ... I didn't recognize you. I'm very sorry ..."

After a while, Alaric stopped breaking free and allowed Lauriel to hug him tighter. His mind became frantic though. He had no idea why Lauriel behaved this way. He was ready to kill anyone who would prevent him from bringing Aleksis away, including his own father.

But his father suddenly hugged him and cried. A big and tough-looking man with a reputation for disliking humans was now crying on his shoulders without feeling ashamed ...

After a few minutes, Lauriel finally calmed down and relaxed his arms. He then looked at Alaric carefully.

"Are you Alaric Rhionen?" he asked softly. Alaric nodded. Lauriel took a deep breath and questioned again, "Then are you aware that I was responsible for your death ten years ago?"

Alaric nodded. His face was no longer full of anger. "I have gotten over that. Now I know you did it because of Aleksis. I would have done the same for my child."

Lauriel frowned and shook his head, "When did you discover that I am your father? Why didn't you look for me?"

"Ten years ago, you didn't look for me even though, by then, you must have already learned that I am your son," answered the younger man in a flat voice. "Aunt Portia told me everything. You didn't want my mother's pregnancy, so she returned to Germany and was caught in the middle of a war. She died after giving birth to me. I, then, lived alone for decades. I didn't know anything and had to endure loneliness on my own... until I met Aleksis."

"I wanted you ... I really love Luna. At that time I did not know she was pregnant. She only told me by letter but by then, it was too late. She had already left. When I arrived, everything was already gone.. and destroyed, so I thought she died in a city attack in Germany." Lauriel shook his head and pressed on his aching chest, recalling the horrific event from more than a hundred years ago. "I was not aware that she managed to escape to Romania and gave birth there ... Had I known, I would have searched for you all to the ends of the earth."

Alaric began to falter at Lauriel's explanation. Maybe there really was a misunderstanding between Lauriel and Portia... that led to him hearing the wrong story. The man in front of him seemed completely devastated when he talked about Luna.

"Ten years ago you learned that I was your son ... but you still didn't look for me," Alaric finally said. "I told everything to that girl ... The girl you ordered to disguise as Aleksis to trap me."

Lauriel frowned, trying to digest Alaric's words. What did that mean ...?

Did Marion know ...??

"Marion said nothing to me ..." Lauriel replied in confusion. "Ever since that mission, she didn't want to see me. If she knew, she should have told me ..."

Aleksis finally understood what happened.

Marion must have discovered that Alaric was Lauriel's son. The incident traumatized her because she felt responsible for the death of her friend's child.

That must be why Marion went into seclusion for ten years.

The incident terrified her too much ...

"Uncle Rory is telling the truth ..." Aleksis took her husband's hand and held it, trying to calm him down, "Marion never said anything. She has been hiding for ten years. We didn't know .. None of us knew."

Seeing Lauriel's grieving face, and feeling Aleksis's soft grip on his hand, Alaric's heart stirred.

Maybe Lauriel really didn't know ...

Alaric closed his eyes. After a long while, he opened them and finally nodded. "Okay."