The Alchemists

Terry and JM bid their farewell and went out of the restaurant in high spirits. As soon as they turned to another road and Terry was sure Rose didn't see him, the man took out his phone and did a quick search on Rose Fournier's identity.

"Whoaaa....!!!" His shriek startled JM.

The girl pressed her lips and turned to him, looking astonished. "What is it? You sound so excited."

"Well.. the girl we just met is very interesting," Terry commented. He showed his phone to JM. "Look, she is actually the crown prince's half-sister."

"What?" JM was confused. "You mean.. the man who will get married this weekend?"

"Yes. That one," Terry replied. He furrowed his brows and tapped his slender finger on his phone. "So, Rune is dating a noble girl. She will be part of the royal family when her brother ascends the throne. Whoa... so, why on earth is Rune pretending to be a poor man?"

Before they came to Bacilia, JM already read some news about the royal wedding. So, she knew who Prince Leonard and Princess Anne were. They knew that Prince Leonard was appointed as the crown prince after his father acknowledged him two years ago.

King Henry Camille didn't have any heir even after decades of marriage and the only closest relative that could possibly take the position as his heir was his cousin's illegitimate son.

Once Leon was acknowledged publicly by Duke Fournier, he was taken in by the king and the royal family announced that they had chosen him to be the king's successor. Thus, he immediately started the two years of rigorous training to get him used to the role.

His story garnered a lot of sympathy from the public. Being an illegitimate son of a duke for the first two decades of his life and the fact that he lived as a commoner before the shocking reveal, made him relatable to the Medion people in this modern era.

Leon was also a charming and very likable man. Many young girls adored him, and older women saw him as their own public son. They all wanted him to lead the modern times Medion and brought this country to prosper even more.

He was said to have such an important role in bringing in new businesses from the States to Medion. Oh, he had so much planned for this kingdom, and people couldn't wait to see how he would lead the kingdom as a young king.

Even though they were not directly bordered by each other, but they could just operate as the same country with the same law, regulations, and acted as one in trade cooperations, politics, and many others.

This type of political marriage had been done in the past countless times. Some people predicted that once the royal couple ascended the throne of Medion and Moravia, they would choose to live in Medion since it was slightly bigger and wealthier.

Moravia would be controlled from Medion, and they would have a regent to rule in Almstad as their representative.

"Uff.. do you think it will be embarrassing to ask Rose for access to the royal wedding?" Terry asked JM. He knew he could be shameless at times, but now he didn't want to be too presumptuous. If Rune was serious about that girl, Terry didn't want to ruin his brother's chance with Rose.

"Uhm.. I don't know," JM shrugged. "Maybe you can try? It will be awesome if we can get that access. You will get so many nice footages from inside the royal palace."

Terry pursed his lips. "I will invite them to dinner with us tomorrow and bring up the subject. I hope it's okay."

"Okay," JM said. She cast her gaze around her and then pulled her brother's hand. "Let's go that way. I see a really nice castle to our left."

"Okay."

***

Ahh.. usually, it was him and his family members who gave people the shock when they knew he was from THE Schneider family.

However, today, he could get the satisfaction of watching JM and especially Terry get the shock. Haha.. their expression was priceless.

"Why are you staring at me? Got something on my face?" Rose asked him. 

Rune just shook his head with a smile.

"No? So, why are you staring? Don't you know that staring is rude?" Rose hit his c.h.e.s.t playfully. "Come on, let's continue. I want to show you the beautiful Old Town. This is my favorite part of the capital."

"Okay," Rune replied joyfully. He took Rose by the hand and together they walked out of the restaurant. The waiter at the entrance bowed her head slightly when Rose passed by.

She gave the waiter a sweet smile. "Thank you for today. The food was great and we had a pleasant time."

"It's our p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, Your Grace," the waiter responded with a broad smile.

The fake couple walked hand in hand along the cobbled street in the Old Town and admired all the beautiful historical buildings around them. Rose continued her explanation of the history of each building. She seemed to know everything like the back of her hand.

Rune smiled to himself when he heard her words. Ahh.. Rose would love talking to his father since Caspar had so much knowledge about the world from centuries ago. The man stored so many historical facts during his almost 5 centuries on earth. He always had interesting stories to tell.

Caspar had met important people in the world since the 16th century and witnessed so many important events throughout his life.

Ah, Rune couldn't wait to bring Rose to meet Caspar Schneider and impressed her with his family's footsteps in history.

When they were admiring a small building from the 17th century that was turned into an antique shop, suddenly they heard a commotion from behind them.

Rune and Rose quickly turned around and saw a crowd was surrounding a few people and there were some men wearing all black was trying to disperse the crowd.

"What do you think happened?" Rose asked Rune. The man was taller than her, so she assumed he had a better vision of what was going on.

Rune shook his head. "I'm not sure. There are like three girls and several men in black protecting them... and a huge crowd."

"Three girls?" Rose shook her head. "Probably some noble ladies."

"Wait... one is looking in this direction," Rune furrowed his brows. "She is waving at us."

Rune was surprised when he felt Rose gripped his arm so hard. He turned to the girl to see what was going on with her. Rune was shocked to find Rose's face turned pale.

He then turned to the three girls, thinking they must be the reason for Rose's change of expression. Suddenly, he thought that one of the girls looked vaguely familiar.

He must have seen her somewhere. But where?

They now walked toward Rose, followed by the crowd and their protection squad. Now, it was obvious that half of the crowd were actually reporters since some of them brought cameras and recorders, and the half was regular people.

"Lady Fournier, you're back," said one of the girls with a plain face and short bob blond hair. She wore fancy clothes and had the look of a wealthy girl, so Rune immediately assumed that she must be from the Medion upper-class.

"Sarah," Rose replied coldly. "Yes, I am."

She turned to the girl next to Sarah. This was the girl whom Rune thought familiar. She looked quite pretty and meek. Her stature was small and she looked so young.

Her black hair was tied in a ponytail, looking fresh and casual, but her outfit was an elegant short dress and tennis shoes for walking. Her doe eyes were green and she had small red lips.

"Are you... Lady Rose Fournier?" she asked Rose with a genuine smile. Rose gripped Rune's arm harder when she heard that girl speak.

He saw her pictures in many internet news last month when her engagement to Prince Leon was announced officially by both royal families.

She was Princess Anne of Moravia.

She looked younger than in pictures, Rune thought. Anne just turned 20. So she was two years younger than Rose, but she seemed like a meek girl. So, when compared side by side, Rose would look more m.a.t.u.r.e.