Rose's heart ached when she saw Leon smile so widely at the sight of his bride. He walked toward Princess Anne and kissed her hand. They both turned around for the cameras and smiled at the journalists and the people who were flocking the gate.

Leon seemed to whisper something to Princess Anne and her face looked beaming. Maybe he was whispering 'I love you'? Rose was wondering.

Gosh, Rose, stop it! She scolded herself. Leon was in the past. She couldn't possibly let herself stuck in the past now that the man had chosen to move on from her.

It was over.

Besides.. she had Rune now. The man was so good to her. Right now, Rose only needed to heal her broken heart and make it whole again, before she could accept a new love.

But deep inside she knew, if she would ever love again... it would probably be him.

Rune was the most pleasant and easy-going person she had ever met. Being around him always made her feel relaxed and happy.

If she didn't know personally that he came from a super-wealthy family, Rose might never suspect the man had a lot of money. He was so humble and down to earth.

Her mind went to the man. Rune was already inside the church and soon she could see him.

"Let's go in," her mother whispered.

The king and queen had walked gracefully toward the church's magnificent entrance and so they had to follow behind them. King and Queen of Moravia walked together with Leon and Anne behind them, followed by Duke and Duchess Fournier with Rose.

King Henry Camille and his wife went to the front row seat on the left pew, while Anne's parents went to the front row seat on the right pew, which was assigned for the bride's family.

Duke and Duchess Fournier sat next to the monarchs, while Rose immediately snuck into the second row where Rune, JM, and Terry were sitting. Since they were part of the "groom's family and friends" they were given such prestigious seats.

Terry was super happy because he could witness the royal wedding from the best position. He was grateful that Rune was involved with a girl from such a level, so they could get the benefit.

When the bride and groom walked together, holding hands, down the aisle, the music played and the atmosphere in the church became very solemn.

This was it.

The wedding ceremony finally began.

Everything felt blurry for Rose. She didn't remember much of it as her mind was wandering and it felt like he brain wanted to block the memory from being recorded.

All through the beautiful ceremony, and when the bride and groom uttered their wedding vows, Rune held her hand and squeezed it softly, as if letting her know that she was not alone.

He also couldn't care less about the important ceremony, unlike Terry who took a lot of notes for his movie. Rune just wanted the event to end as soon as possible.

Two hours later, on top of the golden carriage, the new husband and wife, the future monarchs of Medion and Moravia were seen waving at the thousands of people crowding the streets on the way to the royal palace.

The people cheered and threw flower petals at the couple to show their love and support. Leon was very popular among the public because they considered him the people's prince.

The court publicist did a great job of elevating his image for being a commoner for almost his whole life, just like most of them. That's why the people felt a connection with the future king.

His activities and hard work to bring in many new businesses and opened more opportunities for Medion made him even more popular and liked. This wedding was the culmination of all his achievements.

Once he officially married the princess from Moravia, the people could see the realization of the plan to merge the two countries.? Medion would no longer be such a small country.

This alone was enough to make everyone in the country feel so excited.

"Let's go home," Duchess Fournier said to Rose after the carriage left.

Their cars had arrived to bring them back to the mansion. They would rest for a few hours before going to the royal palace to attend the royal reception.

All the government officials, ambassadors, representatives from neighboring countries, and family and friends of both extended families would attend the extravagant event.

"Are you okay?" Rune asked Rose when he opened the door for her.

Rose shrugged and smiled. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Because you are a human with feelings?" Rune asked back. He said those words with a playful tone and Rose only smiled when she heard him.

She sat in the back seat and once he entered to sit beside her, she held his hand and patted it with her other hand. Then, she said, "Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it."

"It's my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, Rose," Rune smiled broadly.

"Just one more day, and then we can go home," Rose said. She was referring to their loft apartment in New York.

Her words made Rune feel very happy. It meant that, to Rose, her home was no longer Bacilia, but... New York.... with him?

"We are close to my family home, by the way. I can take you to Germany to get a change of scenery," he said. "What do you think? I promise it will be nice."

Before Rose could answer, Terry and JM entered the car and sat across from them. The conversation between Rose and Rune paused.? They didn't want the guests to hear what they were talking about.

"It's such a beautiful wedding..." Terry gushed. "The couple look so perfect for each other. They seem so in love!"

Gosh..! Rose was trying to block everything that was happening in that church from her mind, but here, Terry and his big mouth was excitedly discussing it.

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>>>>>

From the author:

Hahaha.. I can imagine Rune's frustration. Terry and his big mouth... tsk.

By the way, this book is getting slower in publishing because I am super busy with work the past two weeks. I'm very sorry, it seems my plan to end this volume in April, is not gonna work.

So, therefore, I will change the price of Privilege again starting May 1 and make it only 1 coin for all 7 chapters. I will also give a 99% discount to unlock the privilege chapters.

That means, you almost won't need to spend coins on this book while I publish the remaining chapters to end it. Probably, around 20 more chapters max.

Also, since many people seem to want the book to continue after Rune and Rose's story ends, I will keep the book open (and not mark it completed) since I might add a new volume in the FUTURE, after I have more free time. The next volume will be about Aldebar.

I hope, by that time, I would have been popular enough to draw a new audience to read this book, so they could enjoy the stories about The Schneider - Medici - Linden families, together with you.

That's actually the main reason why I joined Spirity Award (WSA) 2021, to get the attention for THIS book.

For the competition, I am writing a story called "The Cursed King". It will be a direct sequel to "The Cursed Prince" to draw readers in, but the story is actually very much like "The Alchemists".

In fact, it's inspired by Lauriel Medici. Now, let's hope the new book will become popular and new readers would want to read the story that inspires it. "The Alchemists".

Btw, have you added the book to your library?

This is the second chapter to give you a glimpse of how the story will be like. I hope you'd like it.

PS: this long note is written AFTER I published this chapter, so you don't pay extra coins for it.

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CHAPTER 2 - WHATEVER

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Gosh.. he missed her so very badly.

How long had it been?

A little bit over 1500 years. He just needed to wait another 55 years, until the year 2100 came.

If you had waited for over 15 centuries.. surely five decades didn't feel that long, did it?

But why did he feel his c.h.e.s.t so heavy every time he thought about that fifty-five long years? He was like a long-distance runner who had exhausted all his energy on the first 100 miles and now was struggling to reach the finish line.

He wished he could end his life right now.

Oh.. if only she went to the afterlife, it was easier to find her there. Unfortunately, she went to the future. And now, all he could do was wait until the day he could see her again. He missed hugging her, kissing her, and loving her.

Gosh.. he missed her scent and her smile, and the way she shyly talked with her low voice.

His mind wandered to the moment she first came to his palace. She curtseyed and greeted him with her melodious voice, that he only appreciated after she was gone.

"Your Majesty..."

He growled in disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e when she called him 'Your Majesty.'

He said, "Call me by my name."

She looked surprised by his order, but she was a princess after all. She could immediately control her expression and did as he said. "Loriel."

He growled again. "That is NOT my name."

Now, she was in a panic and Loriel almost felt sorry for her. This woman was betrothed to him since they were not even born. That's right. It was part of the silly vows made by their mothers who were best friends for life

They were so close that they regretted the fact that they were not sisters. So, to secure the familial relationship, they promised if they had one son and one daughter, the two would be betrothed to be married.

She was born six years after him and both were made aware of the engagement as soon as possible. From the looks of it, she accepted the agreement between their mothers with an open heart.

However, Loriel's heart belonged to someone else. He hated this woman for trying to claim her right to be his wife.

"I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty..." She was almost crying, but she kept her head high and looked at him with a sincere expression. "I didn't know your other name."

Seeing her eyes gleaming with tears but she kept trying to look tough, Loriel's heart softened. He was not an evil man, after all.

He waved his hand impatiently and told her to just call him whatever she liked.

"Forget it. You can just call me whatever. Not that it matters," he said.

She lowered her head. Seemed to be deep in thoughts. This gesture made Loriel feel interested. Now, he was wondering what was going on in that beautiful head.

Yeah.. he would be an idiot if he didn't know she was beautiful. She had this soft creamy hair, falling down her shoulders like a waterfall. Her petite face was blessed with two perfect diamond-like eyes and flawless brows. Her nose was small and tall.

She looked like a perfectly drawn painting of a goddess. Her red lips moistened as she subconsciously licked them when she was nervous. And when she was thinking, her face looked so serious in an adorable way.

"What are? you thinking?" Loriel asked her impatiently. He just had to know what she was thinking.

She was startled when she heard him. She looked up to him with batted eyes.

Her reaction made Lauriel question his own voice. Did he talk too loudly that she was startled? Or was she that scared of him? She reminded him of a little mouse who was cornered and scared to death.

Was he that scary to her?

"Wh-what I was thinking?" she asked him back.

"Don't you have ears?" Loriel knew this question was unnecessary and rude, but he disliked her for being scared of him. Oh.. how different she was from her, the woman he loved with all his heart.

She was fearless, witty, cunning, and was just... amazing. While this woman before him was the typical damsel in distress who was weak and must definitely need saving from dragons or something.

He had enough chasing away dragons and monsters. Now, he just wanted to live a peaceful life.

"I do have ears, Your Majesty—Lo.. Loriel." She licked her lips again as she was getting more and more nervous.

Dammit. He didn't love her and he hated their betrothal, but he was a normal man after all. She had that ridiculous womanly charm in her, and the way she unintentionally licked her lips when she was nervous slowly drove him crazy.

Crazy with l.u.s.t.

"So?" By now, Loriel had accepted the fact that she would probably call him 'Loriel' for the rest of their lives.

"You told me to call you 'Whatever'..." she finally replied with a shy expression. "I don't think it's a good name."

Her answer left Loriel speechless.