Lately, Finland had been feeling increasingly lonely. For several months, their house was so quiet as Rune had decided to move out to live with his uncle, Aldebar. It would be easier for him to carry out the most recent project that they were working on together by staying with Aldebar.

Meanwhile, London had moved to Berlin, spending most of his time there, focusing on the family business. Ever since London met Lyana at his sister's wedding in Grosetto, he began to hang out more with her.

Lyana was a contemporary art artist and she had a fun personality. Both of them immediately got along. Their opinions matched very well as when it came to various photography and fine arts, they shared the same interests.

The budding artist had a small design studio in Berlin. Whenever London was not busy, he would often visit her and they would have a drink together, chatting about stuff. London and Lyanna had become good friends and had a platonic relationship as there was no romantic feelings between them.

London, which had only had Rune and his sister Aleksis as his friends, growing up, began to enjoy life outside the golden cage created for them by his parents. He frequently hung around the young people in Germany, going along with Lyana, who was quite popular there.

"I am just a normal artist. No one in my community knows who I really am. Next week, I want to invite you to meet more people at the party that Stephan Zimmerman will be throwing. He is an influential art collector. Arguably, he is also one of the most eligible bachelors in Germany. But ...."

Lyana narrowed her eyes to look at London from head to toe. "You can't claim to be the owner of Schneider Group. You have to use an alias and disguise your appearance a little bit. I don't want you to be surrounded by some gold-diggers who only want your wealth. Who knows what they would do to pursue you. Gold-diggers can be quite scary."

London shuddered at the thought. He was immediately reminded of something from a few months ago when he came to Virconnect's fourth-anniversary party. His brother-in-law, whose drink was spiked with aphrodisiac, fell into a trap and almost had s.e.x with a gold-digger.

Since then, London had been cautious and did not want to get caught in the same scheme. That was why he felt comfortable making friends with Lyana as she already knew about his real identity and never seemed to try anything inappropriate unto him.

"Okay, I understand," he nodded. "I can use my middle name and my mother's last name. I'll have an alter ego. In the business, I will be London Schneider, but outside of that, I can be an ordinary person hanging around regular people."

"Now, that's a great idea. That way, you can filter out people who only want something from you and those who sincerely want to be your friend." Lyana smiled in satisfaction. "Well, then... we have to prepare a story for you. If someone asked who you are, we could just say... oh, you're an electrician or something ... ahahahaha."

London frowned and thought for a moment. "Hmm ... I can be a poor photographer struggling to sell my work to the media. I can buy a cheap camera, or I can be a sheep farmer. When I was little, my brother and I raised a herd of sheep in New Zealand ... hahaha."

"Hmm ... pretending to be a photographer makes more sense than being a farmer. Then what name will you use?"

"My middle name is Killian, and my mother's last name is Makela."

"Woahh ... you have a nice name there. I like Killian Makela." Lyana nodded. "Now, now, look at your appearance ... Even though you're doing great avoiding the media, I'm sure one or two people have seen your pictures on the internet. Maybe you can wear ugly glasses and outdated outfits...?"

London rolled his eyes. "The glasses are fine, but where should I get outdated outfits?"

Lyana burst into laughter. She lightly tapped his head in exasperation. "I know you are a rich kid, and you have been living in a golden cage all your life, but I never thought you were this pathetic. Don't you know such stuff? We could go to a thrift store downtown. I am sure I can help you find an ugly outfit there. Don't worry. Next week on your next visit to my studio again, I would have prepared some outdated clothes for you. Most photographers and artists are usually poor. You should look more convincing."

London nodded happily. It seemed that this friend of his always had brilliant ideas. He couldn't wait to meet many new people at the party and start using his alter ego as Killian Makela.

Indeed, it would be very nice to meet many people and make friends with them without having to worry whether they would only like him for his wealth.

***

"What are you doing, Sir?" Jan Van Der Ven asked in puzzlement as he watched London check himself in the mirror while adjusting his glasses to look right on his face. Since early this year, Jan had started working for London as his assistant, but this was the only time he saw his boss acting strangely.

His eyes had also caught an old camera on top of his boss' desk. Gosh ... What in the world was he planning this time?

"Hmm ... do you know Stephan Zimmerman?" asked London, squinting his eyes. He just realized that he looked good wearing glasses. All this time, he never knew because, as an Alchemist, he would never have problems with his eyesight and require the use of glasses.

"Hmm ... I've heard of him," Jan said, shrugging. "He's a rich spoiled brat who loves partying and has a bad reputation."

"Bad? As far as I am concerned, he is an art collector. Lyanna will take me to a party hosted by Stephan so that I could mingle with the young crowd of Berlin."

"Hmm ... I went to school with his brother. They are a typical arrogant rich family who tends to look down on others," Jan replied in a disgusted tone.

London was stunned by his assistant's words. "Really? Has his brother ever mistreated you?"

Jan chuckled. "No. I was fine. My family is just as rich as they are; his brother can't possibly target me. But I don't like the way he treated the teachers and those scholarship students. He has been very arrogant."

"I see ...." London nodded. Obviously, Jan wouldn't be bullied by any rich kids at school as the Van Der Vens were quite a well-respected family in Germany. Before his father, Kurt, died, he was the leader of the Schneider Group, getting the role passed down from his grandfather, Stanis.

Since Jan was young, he had been prepared to be a confidant of the Schneider family like his ancestors, so he was provided only with the best education.

Everyone in Germany knew of this fact, that Jan Van Der Ven would someday play a pivotal role in the Schneider family's business like his father and grandfather. People even knew his face better than London Schneider's as his young boss had always been very private.