AMAZON - BRAZIL

.

Meanwhile, on a wooden boat sailing down calmy through the Amazon River, two handsome young men sat leaning against the boat wall in a relaxed manner. Both looked very conspicuous because their faces were very handsome with golden blonde hair that grew to their shoulders.

Even though they looked like they were of the same age, one person had a very impressive aura, like he was so much older than his friend. This man had a tall and sturdy body with bulging muscles. He looked so manly and tough.

His eyes were quite unique because they each had two colors, namely blue and green. Anyone who saw him would not be able to forget him because he would leave a deep impression. His appearance was very calm and immersive. Children and women would be reminded of angels when they saw him.

Ah, yes, even though he was a pirate who was used to violence, Lauriel did look like a kind angel. This made people who didn't know him well would think that they could do evil around him without receiving punishment.

They were wrong. Lauriel didn't really like humans. Although not as bad as Alaric, his son, who used to hate humankind and wanted to destroy them and rule the world. Lauriel only chose to shut himself down.

Only few people were able to approach him, including his good friends and close family members. Now, he was even able to open his heart to love, fall in love, and live with a woman that became his kindred spirit.

Ahh ... when his mind drifted to Rosalien, subconsciously, a smile appeared on Lauriel's lips again. They had been together for nearly fifteen years, and last month, the two decided to formalize their relationship as husband and wife. This was a very big event because at nearly 600 years of age, Lauriel had never been married.

He almost married Luna, his girlfriend over two hundreds of years. However, before they could get the wedding done, disaster happened. They got separated, and finally, Luna died after giving birth to their sons, who were separated for nearly a hundred years.

Losing Luna gave a very heavy blow for Lauriel. The pain in his heart was so deep .. He thought that he could no longer go through the same sadness if he had to lose his love for the second time.

It had taken Rosalien a very long time to convince Lauriel that the man would never lose her, and that he would never go through that pain again.

And now .. everything had passed. Lauriel was convinced, Rosalien was too. And they would get married soon.

He had not told this to anyone, except Caspar. He did not like it when people knew his personal affairs. Later, when the time came, he would inform them and invite them to the wedding.

Rosalien was currently traveling with Kai and Takeshi for the last time as a single woman. She was very close to her two brothers. Since Mischa got married, he didn't have time for them anymore, and his siblings really understood that.

Lauriel himself decided to go on another adventure to the Amazon, one of his favorite places in the world. Ahh .. when traveling alone, he sometimes missed the days when he was traveling with Aleksis. In the past, that goddaughter of his went wherever he went on adventures since she was a child.

They became very close. In fact, you could say that Aleksis' closeness to Lauriel was deeper than that of her closeness to her biological father, Caspar. Unfortunately, Aleksis married young and now spent more of her time with her husband.

However, whenever he reminisced about their old trips together, Lauriel would think about having a little daughter of his own. Boys were all right, too, he thought. The important thing was, he could care for them and raise them like he used to care for and raise Aleksis.

Maybe later, when he and Rosalien got married, they could talk about having children.

Ah, this thought made Lauriel's face turn slightly red. This change in his facial expression did not go unnoticed by the handsome young man sitting opposite him, leaning against the wall of the boat.

"What are you thinking about, Uncle?" asked Rune attentively. This time, he was allowed to join Lauriel on his adventure because the young scientist was researching various medicinal plants. "There seems to be something interesting."

Lauriel cleared his throat. Aleksis' younger brother was very smart and fun to be around. They had spent two weeks together in the Amazon's interior and Lauriel felt quite close to him.

Finally, he decided to share what was in his heart with the young man. He gave Rune an amused look and asked in return.

"Rune, how old are you now?"

Rune shrugged. "I don't remember. I'm sure I'm approaching half a century."

Ahh .. Rune really didn't care about his age, birthday, and things like that. He smiled when he saw Lauriel shaking his head.

"You are really different from your siblings. If we didn't see you born from your mother's w.o.m.b, maybe we would all think you were actually Aldebar's child who was entrusted to his brother," Lauriel commented with a laugh. "I'm asking your age because you are the only one of Caspar's children who has no partner."

"That's true," said Rune. "I can understand why Aleksis and London have their respective partners, fall in love, getting married and all that, but I've never been attracted to anyone myself."

"Hmmm .. I was too," said Lauriel. "I was like you when I was young. While your father had his adventures with women for hundreds of years, I spent my time traveling around the earth. I was also not attracted to women for quite a long time. Until finally ... I met Luna."

Lauriel's face was filled with nostalgia. Every time he reminisced about Luna, people could see his expression turning soft.

"I think you just need to find the right person for you," added Lauriel.

"There are those who find love in their life quickly, like Aleksis who met Alaric when she was very young, and there are those who are like your father ... It took four hundred years before he met a woman he could fall in love with."

"I know that," said Rune with a smile. "Actually, this is what really interests me. What causes people to fall in love with one person and not another. We know that animals have pheromones. Humans do too. But as far as I know, pheromones alone are not enough to build a lasting relationship."

"Pheromones are not enough, you're right," said Lauriel. "It's only temporary and serves to make humans physically attracted to the opposite s.e.x for s.e.x.u.a.l i.n.t.e.r.c.o.u.r.s.e and procreation, aka producing offspring. There are other things that could make people fall in love. Those are the reasons why people want to be together forever, get married, and then have kids."

Rune gave Lauriel a strange look. It felt weird to hear Lauriel talk about love like this. Was there anything he had to say?

"Uncle... are you in love and want to get married ???" asked Rune bluntly.

Hearing Rune's candid question, Lauriel hiccupped. It looked like the direction of the conversation was very predictable.

The man cleared his throat. "You're right. I've been with Rosalien for fifteen years, and we've decided to get married."

Rune's face seemed to glow with joy at Lauriel's words. He was pleased with the news this aloof man brought. Everyone around Lauriel just wanted to see him happy. He had lived alone for too long and harbored the grief of being left behind by the woman he loved.

Actually, among the alchemists who were accustomed to only falling in love and getting married once, Lauriel's case was unique. Maybe he was the first man to have a serious relationship with two women in his life. This was followed by his son, Nicolae, who was once in a relationship with Aleksis and almost got married to her and was now happy with another woman.

"Congratulations, Uncle. So when is the wedding?" asked Rune happily.

"Maybe later in the spring, in Grosetto," said Lauriel. "My chief of staff had started to prepare everything."

"Does my father already know?" asked Rune again.

"I already told him. I've discussed this with Caspar. But my kids don't know yet," Lauriel replied. "I'm still waiting for the right time to talk to them."