The Alchemists

Rose bit her lip and looked conflicted. She wanted to ask so many questions, but after she had found out that this man was actually rich.... like much, much wealthier than her family, she felt a bit intimidated.

Now, she realized she was no longer the rich girl and he was the poor guy, and that she was giving him face whenever they went out together and she paid for their lunch or providing him with her resources.

It was actually the opposite. It was Rune who had been giving HER face by pretending to be poor and let her take charge.

"Yes?" Rune stared at Rose and repeated his words. "If you have any more questions. I will answer them."

"Uhm... okay," Rose finally let out a sigh and sat next to Rune. "I really want to know why you are doing all these."

Rune knew what she meant, but he still asked her to clarify her questions. "Doing these... as in what?"

"Pretending to be poor and follow me around and put up with everything thrown at you," Rose said. She was now feeling guilty for giving all these troubles to him. 

Gosh... what was his sister thinking about her now? She was so sweet earlier. Did Aleksis know Rune was disguising himself as a poor man to stay with Rose?

"I told you that I pretended to be poor to avoid meeting gold-diggers," Rune explained. "You did the same."

"Yes, but you could have stopped pretending when you found out that I am not a poor artist. I already told you who I am when we met my friends for dinner." Rose continued, "Now, I feel really bad for using you."

"Why do you have to feel bad? It's my decision to do it. And I don't mind, honestly. Without my family's wealth, I'm really just a poor scientist that you always know. There is nothing different about me," Rune replied. "I don't suddenly become smarter or dumber... or my personality changed or something. I don't have to take an acting class to be who I am around you... haha. So, it's really not hard."

"Hmm.. that's true, but..." Rose found it difficult to explain to Rune what made her feel bad about the whole thing. 

She was actually embarrassed. She was feeling second-hand embarrassment for her friends and her parents who all thought Rune was from a humble background and treated him as such.

It's not like they treated him badly. But, like George for example, he offered Rune Schenider a job at his family business. And Duchess Fournier almost accused Rune of dating Rose for her money.

Rose could already imagine how embarrassed they all would feel if they found out the truth... that the man whom they thought was a poor freelancer was actually the youngest son of one of the wealthiest families in the world. He had more money than they all combined.

Goshh....! She just wanted to bury her head in the sand.

Not that he didn't try to create a machine to read minds though. 

With Aldebar, sometimes Rune talked about how amazing it would be if they could invent the machine that all men would definitely pay a lot of money for:  the machine that could read the women's mind.

They knew this would be the ultimate invention of the millennium. Now, Rune would love to have such a machine to know what was inside Rose's beautiful head.

"But...?" Rune crossed his arms on his c.h.e.s.t and smiled playfully to lighten the atmosphere. "There is no but. I like doing it and I am having fun."

"You are?" Rose looked at the man with a worried expression as if she was worried that she would be offending him. Her change of behavior bothered Rune.

He really didn't want Rose to change and suddenly treat him with respect. He wanted her to keep being herself. 

"Rose, listen to me." Rune decided to take Rose's hands and held them with his. "Please don't change. I like you for who you are. You are confident, feisty, and smart. I don't want you to tiptoe around me just because you heard that my family is wealthy. I am still Rune, your fake boyfriend for a year. We're not going to cancel our agreement just because of this small issue, right?"

Rose stared at her hands on Rune's grip. Then, she looked up and saw the man's face, smiling broadly. Somehow her heart palpitated.

The man was really the same man she saw this morning before he revealed his secret. This man was the same man she shared a loft apartment with for six weeks in New York before they went to Medion.

He didn't change one bit, because like he said, deep down, he was exactly the same person.

He could change his appearance and wore expensive branded limited edition stuff on his body, but his personality and his quirkiness remained the same.

So, why would Rose change her attitude around him and make things awkward between them?

Rune was right when he asked Rose to stay the same too because... Rose was still Rose, and Rune was still Rune.

Their wealth didn't turn them into someone else that now they became strangers.

"Oh, Rune..." Rose finally smiled, with tears slowly dripping to her cheeks. "You always know the right thing to do and the right words to say."

"Hey, hey.. why are you crying?" Rune batted his eyes in confusion. "I don't mean to make you cry."

"No.. this is not sad tears, I promise," Rose quickly withdrew her right hand and wiped her tears. She chuckled. "This is happy tears. I am feeling moved because I finally feel like I have someone who is always on my side, no matter what. It's been a tough couple of years and I am so tired."

Rose was tired of pretending that she was okay and she had held it in for years, always showing to the world that she was okay.

"Oh... in that case, I am happy to hear that," Rune said. He was relieved that all this revelation didn't have a bad impact on his relationship with Rose.

He believed Rose's maturity contributed to this. If Rose was childish and entitled, she would throw tantrums, accusing Rune of playing her by doing all these.

However, it was actually the opposite, Rose could see his sincerity and his good intention behind everything that he did. Rose didn't even feel entitled to know Rune's real identity.

If Rose would probe deeper, Rune would have to tell her the truth that the reason he kept pretending to be poor even after Rose revealed her identity was that one night Rose got drunk and cried despondently, saying she would only marry a poor man, to make Leon see that wealth and power didn't matter to her.

She said the poorer, the better.

Rune didn't want them to go there since it would make Rose feel embarrassed.

"So... are we good now?" Rune asked Rose after the girl finished drying her tears. "Do you have more questions for me?"

"You actually haven't answered my question of why are you doing this? What's in it for you?" Rose asked the all-important question.

What's in it for Rune? Why did he go through all these for her? What's his real motive?

Was he really interested in Rose romantically, like what he hinted at in the past, or was he just enjoying the adventure? Someone like him must be surrounded by so many beautiful girls, right?

So... why Rose?

"I am doing this because I want to be near you. I have explained to you before, Rose. I really like you. I have never felt any attraction to other girls, the way I am feeling for you." Rune answered truthfully. He believed this was the best time to come clean about his feelings for her. "I believe, it was a love at first sight on my part."

"Oh..." Slowly Rose felt her heart beating faster. She didn't know why.

Hearing Rune admitted that he was really attracted to her boosted Rose's confidence that was shattered to pieces when Leon chose Princess Anne over her.

This man, who confessed that he had never felt attracted to other girls, but fell in love at first sight with Rose while she was disguised as a poor artist, was no ordinary man.

He was Rune Schneider from Schneider Group!