The Alchemists

Ahh .. Rose was such a good girl. She knew how to appreciate people who had shown her kindness.

Now, Rune hoped Rose wouldn't change her mind about marrying a poor and simple man who lived with her. For Rose's sake, Rune didn't mind constantly living as a poor guy... hehehe.

"Thank you," Rose said after she finished the hangover soup Rune fed her. Her head, which had been feeling dizzy from the hangover, was slowly starting to feel light. She stared at Rune for a long time, while the man was clearing up the bowl.

"Hey.. why are you looking at me like that...?" Rune asked in amazement. He blinked several times and smiled in surprise. "Is there something on my face?"

Rose shook her head. She smiled faintly and then kissed Rune on the cheek. "Thank you."

After she said that, the girl got up from the sofabed and took the bowl from Rune's hand. "I'll do the dishes."

"Uhm.. okay."

Rune just let Rose take the bowl and wash the dishes. He understood that the girl was embarrassed because she was drunk last night and didn't look her best in front of him. So, now, she wanted to pretend that nothing happened.

His guess was correct. Rose immediately searched her room and found that the mattress was not there. Apparently, Rune brought it out to dry on the balcony to get fresh air and sunshine. She also saw that her sheets, duvet, and clothes were all in the washing machine.

The girl took a deep breath. She turned to the living room and saw Rune tidying the sofa bed back into a sofa.

Even though Rune had an older sister who married a wealthy man, he did not take advantage of his brother-in-law's wealth. He didn't ask for a job or money or anything from his sister or brother-in-law.

Only once did he use his sister's connection, and that was for Rose's sake. He did it to book a table at The Lily to take Rose for a special dinner because he saw Rose was sad. He also spent a lot of money buying expensive champagne ... all for Rose.

This really touched the girl's heart. She felt very special. She could see how much Rune liked her and was willing to do anything for her. What's more, Rune also never pressured her into anything.

Even now, Rune still had not asked about who Rose really was and why she made Rune her fake boyfriend.

Rune was very relaxed and confident. He always made Rose feel good about herself and didn't have to worry about anything.

Ahh ... if only Rose didn't already have Leon in her heart, maybe she could easily fall in love with Rune. This is a good man that was quite a rare species.

'Rose, Rose, what are you thinking? You know very well that you can't be with Leon? Leon chose status and wealth over you,' the girl chided herself. 'Rune is so good to you...'

She turned her attention back to Rune, who was cleaning the living room. The man looked so happy that he was whistling while doing the job.

Rose was contemplating to herself. Maybe she should just learn to return this man's love so that she could completely forget about Leon? Could she really do that?

She closed her eyes and tried to get rid of Leon's image from her mind. The girl then took out the laundry from the dryer and folded them carefully. Because she attended boarding school in the past, Rose became more independent.

Even though at home, she was a princess who was always served by over a dozen servants, she was not a spoiled brat. Now that she lived alone in New York, Rose could take care of herself.

After lunch and a shower, Rose finally felt better. To show her appreciation to Rune for taking care of her last night, Rose offered to treat the man to lunch at the brasserie near their apartment.

"Ahh .. thank you for treating me to lunch," said Rune with a happy expression. "I was just thinking of buying cheap bread and make a sandwich for lunch.. and dinner, for the rest of the week. I'm very poor this month."

He emphasized the words 'very poor'.

"Ehh .. what did you say? I don't mind buying you a meal. I really want to do it as a token of gratitude for your help last night. But I didn't know you are THAT poor ..." Rose frowned in surprise. "Didn't you say last night you just won the lottery or something ... so you wastefully bought really expensive champagne, when I just wanted a Moet Chandon."

Ahh .. that was right. Actually, last night Rune wanted to slowly reveal his identity to Rose.

By bringing the girl to eat at the restaurant in the hotel owned by his family, then ordering expensive food and expensive champagne .. he had planned to tell Rose this morning that he was actually the youngest son of THAT Schneider family, the owner of the St. Laurent hotel chains, where The Lily was located. He didn't just have the same family name as the Schneiders, but he WAS really one of them.

Rose would understand that merely buying $ 6,000 worth of champagne wasn't a big deal for Rune.

However, suddenly last night, he changed his mind. When he learned that Rose preferred poor men to be husband materials, the man immediately decided to keep pretending to be poor. And he would even lower his caste to be poorer than before.

"Well .. I also didn't expect that my friend lost all my money yesterday in the stock market. I just found out this morning," said Rune with a sad expression. He was actually surprised by his ability to lie. All the words came out so easily from his mouth.

"Wait ... what did you say? Did you lend your money to your friend, and then he lost it all in the stock market? How is that possible?" Rose massaged her forehead. "Why don't you chase your friend and ask him to return your money?"

Rune shook his head innocently. "Well, he has nothing. So, even if I want to squeeze him dry, I won't get my money back. I trusted his business instinct because he made me money before, and that's how I could buy your dinner in The Lily. I didn't know what happened to him that he lost it all yesterday..."

Rose stared at Rune for a long moment, as if trying to think of an appropriate response. Finally, she sighed and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Uff... probably that's his way of scheming you. He made you think he is capable of business by pretending to give you a good result. Once you trust him and give him all your money, he would take it and 'lose' it."

"Oh.. do you think so?" Rune used his best dumb expression to respond to Rose's words. Ah.. he didn't know he was such a good actor!

"Never mind. It's better to lose money now when you are still young and single than later when you are older and have dependants like a wife and children. They will suffer more if you go broke and lost all your money."

Rune was very happy to hear Rose's words. Ahh .. this girl was not judgemental, and she didn't think he was stupid but instead, she showed sympathy for his situation. Rune's love for the girl grew even more.

"I think I should find a wife who is good at such matters so that I will not be deceived by people again ..." said Rune in a sad tone. "Someone smart like you will be perfect."

Her words stunned Rose. The girl then hiccupped and pulled Rune's hand out of the apartment.

"Hmph ... let's eat. I'm so hungry," said Rose, changing the subject.