The Alchemists

Rune only rolled his eyes when he saw Terry's excitement. He could tell that it was exactly what Terry wanted and his concern earlier was fake.

However, Rose was too nice and just thought it would be the right thing to do to invite Rune's family to the wedding. Besides, she thought it would be good for her to be surrounded by friends during the sad event.

"I will send the formal invitation tomorrow morning. I need to ask my father for his approval, but I am sure he doesn't mind," Rose added.

"Ahh.. that will be amazing! Thank you!" Terry glanced at Rune and secretly winked at his brother.

"Okay, we need to go home now. It's late," Rune said. He turned to Rose and asked, "Do we have anywhere to go tomorrow?"

"We can go relax at the beach," Rose replied. "We have nice beaches around here. What do you think?"

"That will be lovely," Rune said excitedly. "I haven't gone to a decent beach in a while."

He immediately gave Terry a side-eye when he noticed Terry had that longing expression on his face, wanting to be inivited.

Gosh, no way! Terry was supposed to focus on his work, wasn't he? It was time for Rune to have quality time with Rose.

Luckily Terry got the hint and he didn't try at the slightest to be included. He wished them well when they took their leave.

On their way back to the Fournier mansion, Rose complimented Rune on his close relationship with his family. She didn't have any siblings and was a bit jealous that the man was surrounded by loving brothers and sister.

"I would love to meet your other family," Rose said after they arrived back in her home. 

"They would love to meet you too," Rune said. "Once your obligation in Medion ends, we can travel and meet my parents and brother. We have a nice castle in Stuttgart."

Rose's steps halted. She remembered this man was very wealthy. It shouldn't be a surprise that his family owned a castle or two... or ten.

However, she felt that she would need to get used to this from now on. It was not easy.

"Sounds wonderful," she said. 

They bid good night to each other and went to their respective rooms. It was a long day, but Rose felt it was well spent.

***

In the morning, during breakfast, Duke and Duchess Fournier tried to talk to Rose and Rune about the article from the day before.

They were still concerned that their daughter would be embarrassed publicly if they didn't refute the article immediately and the Schneider family caught wind of this situation.

Even the smallest mistake or stain would be blown up out of proportion. This made them worried about the daughter's mental health.

"So, I plan to invite the owner of Medion Times for a drink and make him change the article," Duke Fournier said after he put down his coffee cup on the table. "We cannot let the misunderstanding become bigger and cause a problem in the future."

Rose and Rune exchanged glances. The man shook his head gently, asking Rose not to divulge his secret to her parents. Not yet. He was not ready if they found out about who he was. Besides, where was the fun in that?

Rose cleared her throat and shook her head. "There is no need to do that, father. Don't give them any attention. If we showed them that we don't care about the article, they will stop."

Duke Fournier looked confused. "But they have published misinformation... and what if that family found out? It will be so embarrassing."

This time, it was Rune who replied the duke. "It's okay, Sir. Let me handle the Schneider family. My brother-in-law knows them really well and if anything happened, he would help me talk to them."

Rose looked at Rune with an amused expression. Now that she knew the truth, she could find the situation funny.

Rune was not lying, but he also still didn't reveal his identity. By saying that his brother-in-law was close with the Schneiders, he must mean Elios Linden, who was married to the only Schneider daughter.

Clever, she said to herself. She now saw Rune in a different light. This man was truly m.a.t.u.r.e and easy to be around. He really could carry himself well, wherever he went and with whomever he met.

Rose must know Rune very well since he was her boyfriend. So, the duke would just trust his daughter. The man finally sighed and nodded. "Very well. I will not pursue this matter further. I will trust you both with handling this issue."

"Thank you, Sir, and I'm sorry for the trouble it has caused your family. I never knew my family name could bring problems for people I care about," Rune said with an apologetic tone.

"Hmm.. it's okay. I'm sorry on behalf of my daughter. Because she has some petty people who dislike her, you got into this mess with her," Duke Fournier replied.

"I have absolutely no problem with it," Rune said. "I'll weather everything for Rose. I hope Sir and Madam know it."

Rose hiccuped when she heard Rune's words. Seriously. This man was too good, she thought. Rune could take advantage of the situation they were in and used it to win Rose's parents' hearts.

She was truly amused by him.

The duke was visibly pleased. That's how he would like to see his daughter being treated, with so much care and appreciation, unlike... certain someone.

Duke Fournier patted Rune on the shoulder and didn't say anything else.

***

"This beach is really nice," Rune commented. "I especially love the fine sand on my feet. The scenery is beautiful."

"We have many beaches in Bacilia," Rose replied. "We can do beach-hopping today if you want."

"I'd love that!" Rune was so excited to hear her offer. He would love doing anything here in Bacilia, as long as it was with Rose.

"Very well... we can stay here for one hour, after that I will take you to the second beach," Rose said with a smile.

"Yes, yes... Let's do it!"

***

Rosa wasn't exaggerating when she said the beaches in Bacilia were pretty. In some of them, the water was often had clear turquoise color. They looked oh so beautiful.

This reminded Rune of some beaches in Bermuda or Asia that he visited with his family. 

"What's your favorite beach in the world?" Rose asked Rune when they were sitting together by the beach on two sun chairs and enjoying c.o.c.ktails.

Rune had seen many places that most people would only dream of visiting. Especially since his family owned many resorts all over the world, they always had nice places to go to.

Yet, he could easily claim that his favorite beach in the world was none other than the one located in the small island near Singapore that his father gifted to his mother. 

That's where they spent a lot of their time together as a family.

"There is this place that my family owns," Rune replied. "The private beach is really nice, but what makes it special is because my family spends a lot of family time together since I was really young. So, I always associate the place with happiness."

This reminded Rose of her favorite hill, the one owned by her grandfather. Ahh.. she understood what he meant.

"That must be really nice," she commented. "I really like the fact that your family seems really close-knit and warm."

"They are," Rune smiled widely. "We usually gather for Christmas and New Year holiday. You are invited if you would like to come."

Christmas was less than two months away and Rune didn't know if Rose would come, but he thought he got nothing to lose if he invited her right away. Many things can happen in two months, right?

"Oh..." Rose was silent when she heard he casually invited her to meet his whole family.