The Alchemists

"Ah, that's right," Rose nodded in agreement. She turned to JM and Terry and smiled sweetly. "Would you like to join us for lunch?"

Actually, Rune preferred to have lunch alone with Rose, so that he could spend time with her, without the third or fourth wheels.

However, what could he do now? JM and Terry were already here. Of course, Rose would become suspicious if Rune desperately tried to kick them out. Besides, it was clear that JM and Terry were heading to this restaurant for lunch.

It's better if they just ate lunch together then.

"Ah, if you don't mind, we'll be happy to join you," Terry said happily. He did not care that Rune obviously preferred to eat lunch alone with his girl.

Terry just thought it was a good opportunity to get some juicy gossip about the Schneider family's youngest child.

The four of them then walked over to Rose and Rune's table earlier and sat down. Fortunately, their table was actually a table with four chairs, so they could all sit together.

The appetizer that Rose and Rune ordered had arrived. They had no choice but to enjoy the soup while they were still warm.

"What are you doing in Bacilia?" Rune asked Terry while enjoying his soup. "Sorry, I have to eat the soup now."

"Ahh .. it's okay. Go ahead," Terry said casually. "Well, I'm making a short feature film for my assignment. It's about royal romance. It's set in a fictional monarchy in modern times."

"Ohh ... is that why you chose Bacilia?" asked Rune. He looked around and realized that Terry's choice of Bacilia was the on point.

In this city, there were so many historical buildings scattered on every corner. It was very beautiful and would be perfect to shoot a movie about the royals.

"That's right," Terry said seriously. "Apart from the various historical buildings, I also chose this city because of the grand wedding which will be held next week."

"Grand wedding...? What do you mean?" Rune asked in surprise.

"In modern times like today, there are very few monarchies and ruling dynasties. We rarely get to see a grand wedding between two royal families. The wedding of the Crown Prince of Medion and the princess from Moravia is a very important and rare event. I can't miss it."

"I don't understand," said Rune. "Since when have you been interested in other people's weddings?"

Rune immediately felt uncomfortable on Rose's behalf.

"Hahaha .. I don't care about whoever is actually married to who," Terry explained. "But I need to take some footage from the events. From what I've heard, there will be a parade, and the crowd will take to the street, etc. I plan to take a lot of stock videos for my upcoming movie."

"Oh ... I see." Only then did Rune understand. He glanced at Rose and was relieved that the girl didn't seem to be affected when Leon's wedding was discussed.

"That's right. I figured it will be better if I come here and take stock videos of important events that I can use in my movies instead of having to pay for the hundreds of extras... hahahaha."

Terry then added, "With only my cameras and two assistants, I could get the various scenes that I need with thousands or even tens of thousands of extras for free. I'll blur their faces so that no one will demand payment."

Rune nodded in understanding when he heard Terry's explanation. Ahh .. now it all made sense.

"Oh, are you a filmmaker?" Rose asked Terry after she heard him explain the purpose of his visit.

Rose thought Rune had a very interesting network. She had met Nicolae and Marie in New York. Then, she also found out that Rune's older sister was married to a wealthy man who may have connections to the mafia.

And now, Rune even knew JM and her adopted brother who was a filmmaker? This man was really interesting, indeed!

"Oh, that's right. I am an aspiring moviemaker," Terry replied proudly. "I'm studying in a film school now. I hope someday I can be a famous director."

Terry was impressed when he heard Rose was a painter. He had assumed she was a model or something of that sort.

So, not only was she so beautiful, but she also had artistic talent. How awesome!

"Do you have samples of your paintings?" Terry asked in interest.

"Oh, I do... but they are in my phone. I'll show them to you later after we have lunch," Rose replied. 

It was rude to use gadgets during meals, so Rose had put her phone back in her pocket. She would ask for photos with JM after lunch.

"Ah, sure," Terry nodded. "I'd love to see them."

"So, is JM here really your sister?" Rose was very interested in getting to know Rune more since he seemed to know so many people. "And how did you know Rune?"

Terry glanced at Rune and asked him with his eyes, what should he reply to Rose.

Terry didn't know what kind of story Rune Schneider had given to the girl. He didn't want to cause Rose to feel suspicious if he said the wrong thing.

And JM was the future wife of Rune's nephew, Altair.

Quite complicated actually.

"Ahem... Terry is my friend." Finally, Rune chose the safest most ambiguous word to describe Terry to Rose. "We are very close and he is like family."

"Ahh.. I see," Rose looked impressed. She liked the people that Rune had introduced to her so far. They were all interesting. Now, she was actually looking forward to meeting his family.

"Are you from around here?" Terry asked Rose in return. "Or, are you from France?"

He noticed her slight French accent when she spoke English and remembered that French was one of the official languages of Medion.

"Oh, I'm actually from around here. This is the first time that I asked Rune to come and visit my country," Rose explained. "How long do you plan to be here? I can take you to sightsee and help you find good footage for your movie."

"Oh.. you would? That would be amazing!" Terry was obviously excited. He liked to go around Bacilia with a local to get the best experience. "Uhm... only if you are not busy."

Rose laughed heartily and shook her head. "No, I'm not busy. Actually, I badly need to do something to get a distraction."

As a woman, she could immediately sense a hint of bitterness in Rose's voice even though the girl was laughing earlier. She turned to Rose and smiled sweetly, showing sympathy.

"Oh.. well, a distraction from this and that," Rose chuckled. She glanced at Rune and cleared her throat. "Ahem, I was just joking. I actually want to show Rune around while he is in my hometown. I think you can join us once or twice. What do you think, Honey?"

She directed her question to Rune. The man's face flushed red when he heard her call him 'honey'. Rune beamed in happiness and nodded to confirm her words.

"Yes, Honey. They can join us ONCE or TWICE. I don't mind." He emphasized the words 'once or twice', to give hints to Terry that he would appreciate it if his older brother refused Rose's kind offer. 

Terry laughed inwardly. He knew what Rune wanted and of course, he was not that evil to annoy his brother while he was trying to spend quality time with the woman he loved.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Miss Fournier. I will take you up on that offer after we know our filming schedule. I will let Rune know," he said. "I would love to at least have dinner with both of you and talk about the history of this kingdom. You know... for research."

"Definitely," Rose agreed. 

The waiter came with their next dishes and the four of them continued their lunch while talking. Rose still didn't tell JM and Terry who she was. So, Terry assumed she was just a regular girl from Medion that Rune was pursuing.

They talked about how Rune and Rose met. Again, the couple gave a story similar to what they told Duchess Fournier.