The Alchemists

For a moment, Rune was stunned. His body seemed to be frozen and his brain couldn't function for a while. His eyes batted when he finally realized that Rose had kissed him on the cheek.

"You're so cute," said Rose when she saw Rune's expression. The man looked dumbfounded that the girl had kissed him just now. Rose rubbed the man's cheek and smiled sweetly.

Rune picked up his scattered mind and smiled silly.

Ahh .. the power of love is too OP! Just one kiss on the cheek from Rose could make him so happy.

"Can you drive?" asked Rose, moving Rune from his reverie. She pressed a button and the garage door opened automatically, showing several choices of luxury cars.

Rune nodded and grinned. "I can."

Rose took a key from the shelf on the wall and threw it to Rune expertly. "Let's get on the white Bentley."

Rune caught the key from Rose and pressed the button. A convertible white Bentley flashed its headlights for one second, followed by a beep sound.

He walked over to the car and opened the door for Rose. After the girl entered and buckled up her seatbelt, Rune sat in the driver's seat and got ready to drive.

Rose opened a GPS service on a large screen located on the dashboard of the car and set their destination as the Bacilia Church in the Old Town.

"Next to the church, there is a parking lot. We can park there and then explore the Old Town on foot," Rose explained.

"Okay." Rune drove the luxury vehicle out of the garage, past the main house, the large garden in front of the house, and along the 2 km road leading to the front gate.

As soon as they reached the end of the driveway, the gate to the Fournier family's mansion opened automatically and the Bentley car rolled onto the main road.

The Old Town was located in the center of Bacilia, not too far from the Fournier family residence. In less than ten minutes of a leisurely drive, they arrived in the area.

"That's the church. We go this way," said Rose, pointing at a majestic church at the end of the road. Rune nodded and immediately drove the Bentley into the parking lot beside the church.

When he and Rose got out of the car, Rune was amazed as he saw how grand and beautiful was church to their right.

At first glance, people would think that it was the snow queen's ice palace from fairy tales. This immense and majestic church had six lean and tall towers. In each tower, there was a balcony with windows and statues of angels made of white marbles.

"This is such a beautiful building," said Rune. "May I have a quick look inside?"

Rose smiled bitterly and shrugged. "Sure. You can see it now or later. Anyway, we'll be here again next week because the wedding ceremony will be held in this church."

"Oh ..." Rune immediately canceled his intention.

He understood that this church would be the venue to formalize the wedding between Prince Leon and Princess Anne. Ahh ... Rune would be a heartless man if he insisted to look inside the church today.

He decided that, actually, the church was not that beautiful. Other buildings in front of them looked more interesting.

"Let's take a walk through the Old Town as you said," said the man with a smile, changing the subject. Rose sighed with relief.

She knew that Rune was very considerate about her feelings and had deliberately given up his d.e.s.i.r.e to look around the magnificent, beautiful church building for Rose's sake.

The girl then pulled Rune's hand and clasped their fingers while walking, holding hands out of the church area. Rune smiled when he saw his hand being held tightly by Rose.

As they exited the church parking lot, Rune saw an area filled with so many old buildings all over. No cars were allowed to pass because the area was closed to vehicles, not even bicycles.

That's why Rose had asked him to park next to the church. This old town area in Bacilia reminded Rune of several historical cities in France such as Colmar and Strasburg.

To their left was a castle-like building with several stone towers and a thick wooden gate that looked like a fortress' gate.

"It's a hotel," explained Rose. "The castle building belongs to the Millicent family and has been renovated into a very luxurious hotel building, called The Millicent Hotel. They still retain the luxurious rooms of the royalties and noblemen of the past, but the rooms are now equipped with modern conveniences."

Rune nodded at Rose's explanation. The girl then pointed to their right. It was a restaurant that looked like a restaurant from a medieval movie. 

The servants wore traditional uniforms like the servants from medieval time. It looked really unique.

"Many movie studios come here to shoot historical or fantasy movies," said Rose again. "This is the charm of the Old Town in Bacilia. We often see A-List Hollywood actors hanging around in one of the cafes or restaurants here after filming. "

"Oh, is that so? "Rune became even more impressed. He chuckled in awe as he looked around,

Bacilia's Old Town was simply beautiful. They saw tourists walking around to admire the beauty of the various historical buildings around them.

On the front, there were some chairs and tables decorated with beautiful yellow flowers in a vase with umbrellas, colored with blue and white stripes.

The atmosphere around the Old Town was really pleasant, and the view was great. So many people chose to eat on the terrace even though the temperature outside was rather cold.

"Good day, Sir and Miss. How many people?" A waiter dressed in a s.e.xy medieval waiter came and greeted them by the door.

"Two people," said Rose.

"Okay. Would you like to sit outside or inside? "Asked the waiter once again.

Rose and Rune exchanged glances. Since this was Rune's first time visiting Medion, Rose decided to choose the table on the terrace so they could see the beautiful scenery around them. Plus, they already wore coats that were enough to keep them warm.

"We'd love to get a table outside, please, "said Rose.

Rune smiled to hear her words. Ahh .. he felt very happy. It looked like Rose really knew what he wanted by now.

"Okay. Please come with me," said the waiter, gesturing the two of them to follow her.

For lunch this time, Rune chose mushroom soup, Caesar salad, and steak, and prosecco. Rose chose corn soup, Caprese salad, spaghetti, and mojito. While waiting for their orders to arrive, the two enjoyed the pastry served by the waiter while chatting.

"This place reminds me of the City of Strasbourg," said Rune. "Both have a lot of old buildings that are well preserved."

"Ah, I've been there," said Rose. "It's great."

They then discussed the various beautiful buildings around the restaurant. Rose explained a lot about the history of each building and the interesting stories behind them.

"Here are your drinks, Sir and Miss," said the waiter who arrived with a tray filled with their drinks. He put the mojito and prosecco in front of Rune and Rose respectively and went back inside.

"Thank you," said Rune. He raised his glass and clinked it against Rose's. "Cheers for a nice holiday in Medion."

Rose just smiled and nodded, saying nothing. Nevertheless, she clinked her glass back against Rune's glass. The two of them enjoyed their respective drinks while people-watching.

"Hey ... just a moment. Did you see that couple?" asked Rose suddenly as she took Rune's arm. She tilted her chin toward the Millicent Hotel across the street.

"Which couple?" asked Rune. He narrowed his eyes and observed the direction Rose was referring to. 

Rune batted his eyes as he recognized JM as the girl who had just walked out of the gates of the Hotel Milicent.

Gosh ... what's that girl doing here?

And .. why was Terry with her? Wasn't he in Los Angeles now?