Chapter 178 - A family of her own (1/2)

Finland almost couldn't believe her own eyes when the elevator door opened at the 40th floor and she saw the familiar door to Caspar's penthouse. She really missed this place.

Caspar opened the door and took Finland inside. His hand was still faithfully holding the girl's hand.

”Do you want to go straight to sleep or would you like to take a shower first?” Caspar asked. ”There's a kimono in the closet.”

Finland realized that she must look very disheveled and worn out after crying and kneeling for hours in the lobby. She hurriedly shook her head, ”I want to take a shower first...”

”OK.” Caspar entered a room, took a towel and a kimono, and gave it to her. ”Do you need help?”

”N... no, thank you...” Finland suddenly looked uncomfortable. Of course, she could take a shower on her own. She didn't need any help, not even from Caspar.

They hadn't seen each other for almost three years and, somehow, she felt a little awkward if they had to behave like husband and wife right now. After all, it was Caspar who asked to separate from her.

Caspar seemed to read her mind. He then smiled and raised his hand to invite Finland towards the bathroom, ”Take your time. I need to take care of something in my study.”

As soon as Finland closed the bathroom door, Caspar took his phone and contacted Jadeith. His face now looked dark and the air around him seemed to cool down by a few degrees. His anger was clearly visible on his face.

”Jadeith, I need you in my study now.”

”Okay, Uncle.”

Caspar waited for Jadeith while working on something on his laptop. His face was tense and full of concentration. Five minutes later, Jadeith softly knocked on the door and entered the study.

”What's wrong, Uncle?” he asked softly. He had never seen his uncle's face this scary before.

”I want to kill Alexei and Katia.”

”Uncle... you barely made it out of Famke's murder alive... Please think carefully...” said Jadeith anxiously, ”What did they do now?”

”They tried to kill my daughter, and I won't forgive them. I don't care if I have to commit the unforgivable mistake again...” Caspar hardened his jaw as he answered Jadeith. He saw Jadeith's confused face and so he was finally forced to explain what had happened. ”Finland's daughter... isn't Lauriel's, but mine. Katia and Alexei poisoned her a few days ago... We must find them immediately and force them to give us the antidote.”

”Oh...” Jadeith covered his mouth in surprise, but his expression immediately calmed down and he nodded quickly, ”I understand. I will return with the latest report tomorrow morning.”

”Hmm.”

Jadeith excused himself and disappeared. A few minutes later Finland entered with her body wrapped in a kimono. Her face seemed to have calmed down even though her pair of brown eyes still looked sad. Her beautiful hair hung over her shoulders.

The vulnerability that hung around her really touched Caspar's heart. His furious face immediately softened. He smiled and raised his both hands to signal Finland to come closer to him.

”Come here...” he said.

Finland slowly came closer, and once she was within his reach, Caspar immediately embraced the girl onto his lap.

”Let me hold you for a moment...” he whispered softly. ”I missed you so much...”

Finland relaxed and stayed on Caspar's lap. Her hand rubbed the man's cheeks lovingly. She really missed this face. She really missed Caspar's smile, and his heart-melting dimples...

”Hmmm... that's enough. You'd better go to sleep now,” Caspar said a few minutes later. He seemed very reluctant to let go of Finland from his lap, but he realized that it was very late and they had to rest. ”You can sleep in the master bedroom. I will sleep in the guest room.”

Finland looked at him for a while, and after gathering her courage, she finally spoke in a soft voice, ”Uhm... don't you want to accompany me?”

The girl's face flushed red and she looked very adorable, making Caspar's heart flutter. He then smiled, showcasing his dimples. He nodded, stood up, and took Finland's hand and led her to the master bedroom.

Finland climbed into bed followed by Caspar who covered her with the duvet then turned off the lights and hugged her from behind.

For the first time in several years, Finland finally had a peaceful sleep.

***

Caspar couldn't sleep at all that night. He was busy thinking about everything that had happened the past few hours. He tried his best to suppress his emotions as he didn't want to disturb Finland who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He did not want to toss and turn in bed and wake the girl, so he could only lie still and think.

He suspected that Lauriel would take action by mobilizing his old team, which had been disbanded decades ago when he went to seclusion. They were a team of immortal adventurers who were highly experienced in various dangerous operations for hundreds of years. Some of them joined Lauriel when he was still venturing the oceans as Black Bart. He called his team ”The Wolf Pack” and their presence would be very helpful if Caspar and Lauriel were to take Alexei down.

As for Caspar, if he needed to mobilize tens of thousands of mercenaries to attack the Meier family, all he had to do was to order Jadeith to contact the Academi*. However, he preferred to use it only as the last resort.

He would rather approach Alexei quietly and capture him. Sending so many troops to England would attract too much attention and could lead to war. It would have been a different story if Alexei were in the Middle East. It would be very easy to send troops there and kill him without raising suspicion because the region was always embroiled in conflict.

***

When Finland woke up the next morning, Caspar was no longer in bed. Apparently he blacked-out the window curtains to block the incoming sunlight so as not to wake her up. She turned on the lights to see her surroundings.

On the bedside table there was a set of neatly folded new clothes and a glass of water. Finland realized that Caspar had brought her clothes so she could take a shower and get ready without having to go to Jean's suite to change clothes. Feeling touched, she hugged her clothes and rushed to the bathroom to get ready.