"What do you want?" Rose returned the tablet to the owner and asked her with a flat expression. She no longer smiled sweetly like before.
Gosh... luckily she invited those reporters to talk, so she wouldn't have to face such a big shock if they decided to publish the picture without her knowledge.
Now that they actually showed it to her, Rose had a feeling that they wanted something from her in exchange for the picture being destroyed.
"We need an exclusive," said the journalist with a smile. "I hope Your Grace can grant us an exclusive interview after the wedding?"
"I have nothing else to add after the wedding," Rose replied. "I don't know what can I offer once my brother gets married."
"Well.. we cannot touch the royal family, but I think the public would like to get up close and personal with you since you grow up with our future king." The journalist kept her tablet in the bag, to avoid other journalists taking a peek into it.
Rune and Rose knew, the reporter just wanted to get more materials for their article. This picture was used to blackmail Rose into agreeing to an interview.
They didn't feel enough with the intimate press conference that Rose was holding now.
'Ungrateful jerk,' Rune complained inwardly. He raised his hand and asked the journalist something.
"I'm sorry, what media are you from?"
"I am a journalist for Bacilia Gazette," said the journalist cheerfully.
"Ah, okay. Thank you," Rune nodded. He took out his phone and texted something.
"Please leave your card with my lawyer," said Rose finally. "We will get in touch."
She hated being blackmailed into talking but she couldn't let the picture see the light of day. For now, she decided to buy time. Once she knew what to do, she would handle this issue.
"Ah.. thank you so much, Your Grace," the reporter smiled broadly and gave her business card to the Fournier's family attorney.
***
Meanwhile, in Berlin, Caspar Schneider furrowed his brows and tapped his slender fingers on his phone screen. His wife, who noticed his unusual expression, touched his arm and asked him what was going on.
"Hmm... I just got a text message from Rune. It's quite weird and makes me think our son is kidnapped or something, and the kidnapper is sending me this SMS from his phone," Caspar replied.
"What? Kidnapped? Are you serious?" Finland was obviously distraught when she heard him. "What happened?"
"No, no.. I'm joking." Caspar laughed and quickly added, "Rune sent me a text message, asking me to send word to Jan to buy a magazine in Medion. It's called Bacilia Gazette. He said he didn't want to ask Jan directly since Jan wouldn't take him seriously, and think he is joking with this request."
"Hahaha.. that makes sense. Why would he ask you to buy a company? It doesn't sound like him," Finland replied. "The kid is up to something."
"Yeah.. I agree. This might have something to do with the girl he is seeing," Caspar responded. "What's her name again? Do you remember? Aleksis told us her name the other day."
"Rose?"
"Ah.. yeah, that's her." Caspar nodded with a bright face. He remembered searching for a little bit of information about Rose after he found out about Rune's mission to get a wife by going to Medion.
Caspar liked what he found out about Rose so far, and so did his wife.
"Doesn't he know that Jan is invited to the royal wedding? He can just tell Jan directly when they meet in Bacilia," Finland shook her head. "Give me your phone. Let me talk to him."
Caspar gave Finland his phone. The woman took it and read the text sent by her youngest son. A sweet smile slowly curved up on her face. She turned to look at her husband.
"He is your son after all," she said with a chuckle. "I remember you buying this company or that company decades ago to teach some people lessons."
"I did, didn't I?" Caspar laughed when he heard his wife's words.
Ahhh.. that's right. He did do such a thing when he was trying to woo his wife.
This would be really interesting to see.
[Sure. We can buy the magazine. Just tell Jan about it yourself. He is actually in Bacilia now. He will be attending the royal wedding tomorrow. You can call him and arrange a meeting.]
Finland sent the SMS reply to her son.
That's right. When Caspar told Jan the other day about wanting to take some break so he could focus on spending time with his wife, to celebrate their pregnancy, Jan told them about a special invitation from the Medion and Moravian royal families.
It looked like, they were using this opportunity to invite many prominent families in the world and big business owners, so they would be interested in investing their money or open businesses in Medion.
The Schneider Group was one of the conglomerate groups that were sought after by the royal family to open their business in the country. They had so many lines of business, especially in tourism.
Medion was determined to improve its tourism industry and made it an international destination for upper-class Europeans. By inviting the representatives from the Schneider Group, the royal family hoped they could open discussion for such cooperation in the future.
Now, Caspar regretted asking Jan to come and represent his family. It would have been fun if he showed up and surprise his son... hehehe.
Oh well...
Rune's eyes went round when he opened his phone and read the reply from his mother.
'What?? The royal family invited representatives from the Schenider family?' His brows twitched.
Was that why Sarah Marshall intentionally fed the journalist with 'false information' that Rose Fournier was dating a man from the Schneider family?
Because she knew the family would actually come to attend the royal wedding?
Ha. She might be laughing out loud after the article was published, thinking Rose and Rune would be humiliated when the 'real' Schneider family came.
Gosh.. Jokes on you, Sarah, Rune said inwardly.
This new development amused him so much, that he started grinning uncontrollably.