Chapter 193 - Punishment for Katia (2) (1/2)

Everyone got ready to attend Ned and Portia's party in Scotland. Only Lauriel was busy in the kitchen making the potion Caspar had asked for. At noon, before they departed, Caspar asked everyone to gather in the living room. Katia was seated in a chair in the middle of the room.

”Lauriel, can I have your antidote...” Caspar stood in the middle of the room and extended his hand towards Lauriel. The long-haired man pulled out a small bottle from his pocket and handed it to Caspar.

Caspar took it and signaled Katia to open her mouth. The girl complied, because she remembered that Caspar had promised to help her. After taking the potion in the bottle, Katia sat in a chair. Her whole body felt very hot.

”Ahh... my body hurts...” she groaned while holding her chest. Her chaotic face looked very painful.

Caspar looked at Lauriel in confusion and Lauriel just shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner.

”That is indeed the right antidote. I deliberately did not make the easy antidote. People who drink my poison are not entitled to getting the lighter antidote. They must suffer a little...”

”Ahh... you're so mean, Lauriel!!” screamed Katia. She was very angry to hear that even now Lauriel still wanted to torture her.

A moment later she was quiet.

She just heard Lauriel's voice...

With surprise she opened her eyes and looked around. She saw people gathering around her with hateful eyes staring at her.

Her hearing had recovered!

She could also see again...

”I... I can see again...” she whispered in a hoarse voice. ”I can already hear...”

She looked at Caspar and Lauriel alternately.

”Katia... what you did to Aleksis was unforgivable...” Caspar said in a flat voice. ”I understand that I too hurt you and I apologized for my actions. I made you leave your family and friends and brought you into the Alchemist community, without giving you a new family. I regret my actions, but hurting an innocent child just to get back at me is a truly heinous act. I cannot forgive you what you did to my daughter, therefore I sentence you to death.”

Caspar took out a small bottle from his shirt pocket and handed it to Katia.

”W... what's this?” Katia asked, stammer.

”This is Death... I was the one who gave you immortality, and now I will take it from you. After you take this potion, you become an ordinary human again. You will age and die like a normal human being. You are no longer a part of our society.” Caspar gave Katia a stern stare and forced her to take the bottle. ”You have experienced it yourself, what Lauriel can do to you. If you do not want to drink death, I will hand you over to him and he will be happy to punish you again with yesterday's poison.”

Instantly Katia's face shuddered in terror. With a heavy heart she took the bottle of Death from Caspar's hand. Tears were streaming down her face.

”You... you're so mean... You have the heart to tell me...” she cried as she covered her face with both hands after she finished the content in the bottle.

”Lauriel, can I ask for a memory potion?” Caspar turned to Lauriel, who immediately handed another small bottle into his hand.

”This is it.”

”Thank you...” Caspar pulled Katia's hand and placed the second bottle in her hand. ”Katia... because now you are a regular human, you must not store the knowledge about the Alchemist community. From now on you must forget everything about us. You must also forget about the grudges between us. From now on, there is no longer any relationship between us.”

Katia looked at Caspar with a pair of very sad eyes. She loved this man ever since they met 58 years ago ... She had patiently waited for Caspar for 50 years as his fiancée and tolerated all his games and the many women he dated...

But finally, the man fell in love with Finland and left her alone and miserable.

Katia was able to accept that she had to take Death... because after all, for her, to live forever was meaningless without the man she loved beside her...

But being forced to forget Caspar and all the memories they had together for decades... was a punishment which was more severe than Death itself...

Katia burst into tears.