Buckingham Palace, London, England
"Mother!" a six year old boy ran to his mother.
They are in Sweden to attend the Queen's birthday party.
"What's the rush, Ren?"
"Mother, is it true that Sam will succeed the throne if you will retire?" he seriously asked.
"Yes, dear. Why?"
"Why?" he asked "Is it because he's the eldest? Then how about me? Can't I succeed the throne?"
His mother looked at his father, then to him.
"You want to succeed the throne, Ren?" His father calmly asked.
"Yes." His eyes were full of determination.
"But it's unlikely because you are the youngest." His father stated.
"Then how? How will I become more suitable to succeed the throne than Sam?"
His mother thought for a moment "If when you grow up, then you will get married to a lady that came from a royal bloodline, then the court will favor you."
His eyes sparkled "Really?!"
His parents smiled at him. He ran back to where his siblings are then grabbed Madeleine arms. He ran back to his parents who are now talking to Madeleine's parents.
"Then mother, father, if Maddie will become my wife, will I succeed the throne?"
The four adults gaped and blinked at him.
"What are you talking about?" Madeleine frowned at him.
"I want you to become my wife, and then I can succeed the throne." he answered bluntly.
"But Ren, are you sure?" His mother asked "You should marry the one you love, not because she can make you inherit the throne."
Madeleine saw Ren pouted beside her, she smiled at the adults before them "It's alright. It's Ren's dream right? Then I will him achieve his dreams. Because that's what a friend should do."
"Maddie…" Her mothered muttered
Her father chuckled "Well, I won't object. At least I can rest assured that my daughter will be in good hands."
"That's true." His mother smiled.
Ren's ears perked up when he heard that all agreed.
He gasped and opened his eyes, he have that dream again. He groaned, he blamed his self for the situation they are in now, because of his reckless behavior they are in this mess, Mai was caught up on his selfishness.
He sighed and rose from his bed, he will make sure to talk to his parents. He's the one who made this mess, he will do his best to clean this up.
Mai woke up feeling sick, her bed was furiously waving.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" She saw Ren jumping on her bed.
"Stop that, you're making me sick!" she scolded and went back to sleep.
"Hey it's already morning!"
"It is?" she groaned, she looked at the time on her nightstand, it's already seven in the morning.
"You stayed all night crying over that petty article?" Ren rose his eyebrows, squinted her eyes.
"I didn't!" She playfully slapped his hands away.
"Oliver already took care of it." He winked at her "You should watch the video, it's so funny."
Mai looked at him curiously, the bedroom door opened and her three personal maids stride in.
The three made a curtsey bow before informing her "It's time for your bath, your highness." They simultaneously said.
"Right, thank you." She glance at the man lying on her bed "Get out, by the way, where's Sam and Belle?"
"They are Sweden, helping the Palace preparing for our –"
The two looked at each other, they both groaned and buried their face to the pillows. They haven't found a way to stop their engagement, yet.
"Why did you have to bring that up?"
"You are the one who asked where they are."
Both of them lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Your Highness?" One of the maids called her attention.
"Oh right! I'm sorry." she kicked Ren out of her bed "Get out."
"Hey!" He grunted.
The three blonde maids giggled when they heard a loud thud.
Naru was on the phone with Mai, she asked him to install a Skype on his phone and laptop so she can call him anytime. It's already ten in the evening.
"Naru, what you did to Masako was embarrassing, although it's quite amusing." she mumbled the last part
"She deserved it Mai."
Mai laughed on the other line "You reminded me of Joe Jonas who broke up with Taylor Swift over the phone in twenty-seven seconds!"
He cocked his head to the side "Who?" he asked curiously.
"Na~ never mind. But Naru, seriously, you made her a laughing stock in the industry."
"So it's my fault?"
"No, of course not! But you should've done it privately."
Naru sighed, of course he thought about it but he knows that she won't learn until she will be taught a lesson in the hard way.
"And I know that she needed to be taught in a hard way for her to understand." Mai said, as if reading his thoughts, "I think you should let Masako see a therapist."
"I'm amazed that you can even think about that, Mai." he teased
"Oh shut up narcissistic!" Mai saw Ren waving at the distance with his car, they planned for a road trip today, the weather is nice, the sun is up "I gotta go now, Naru."
"Go to where? Mai, it's almost eleven in the evening." He scolded.
Mai faked a yawned "I mean, I gotta go to sleep. Sleep, okay? You should sleep now too."
He sighed. "Fine, good night, Mai."
"Good night, Naru."
Somewhere on the busy road of England...
"Was that Oliver on the phone?" He asked. They were having a road trip to North Yorkshire with his new Mercedes Benz with convertible roof.
"Yup. Have you heard what he did to Masako?"
"Yeah, it was posted in YouTube and that was totally awesome, firing an employee in national television! Haha!"
Mai rolled her eyes at him.
"So what are we going to do in York?"
He briefly glanced at her, then to the road "I'm going to look at the Castle Howard and see if I can make it as my official residence in Northern Yorkshire."
"Seriously? That's cool! So, you want me to assess if there's a vengeful spirit or something?"
Ren surprisingly stare at her then smirked, she turned his face back to the front "Keep your eyes on the road, Ren."
He chuckled "Actually, no. But since you brought that up, then yes."
"Well, I'm working under SPR so I have my professional fee." She smirked and crossed her arms.
"But you're on leave right now."
"I'm still carrying SPR's name."
"Can't we compromise about that?"
"Nope~"
"Well, too bad 'cause I was thinking of buying you your favorite snack at your favorite store." He grinned at her.
In the distance, Mai saw the logo of her favorite store, the one who sell the best Fish-and-Chips she ever tasted.
Ren shrugged, "Hold on tight, I will speed up." He changed the gear to four when Mai hands stopped him. Her eyes were sparkling with Fish-and-Chips.
Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, England
She took her sunglasses off to have a clear view on the castle "Whaa~ I suddenly miss home!"
Ren parked his car in front the Atlas Fountain, the fountain that stands in front of the castle.
The castle that took over one hundred years to complete, it has extensive and diverse gardens. There is a large formal garden immediately behind the house. There is also a lake on either side of the house.
"It has quite similarities in your home, The Drottningholm Palace. Come on." He held his hand out for her to take.
The guards wearing the same uniform from the Buckingham Palace greeted them, "Welcome, Your Highnesses."
The two royals smiled and greeted back at them. They opened the front door for them.
"Wow, a ballroom already?" Mai giggled and twirl few times, "It's amazing!"
"I know. Sophie loves to dance, we actually met on a ballroom party." He mumbled with slightly red cheeks.
"Aww~ my best friend is so in love~" Mai chimed while doing a foutté turns.
"You're the one to talk! You are lovesick with that genius brat." He muttered teasingly.
Mai yelp when she lost her balance and she inelegantly dropped on the floor, "Oww! Well thanks Ren, so much for being an English gentleman." she spat when the first thing he did was to laughed at her.
He's catching his breath from laughing and held his hand out "Come on, I wanted to make sure that there's no vengeful spirits in here."
The two continue their tour, after more or less an hour, they were back in the ballroom.
"I didn't felt any presence of a malicious or vengeful spirits here. It's safe!" Mai made a thumb up, she rubbed her tummy as it softly growl "Come on, let's eat."
Mai almost drool at snacks in front of her, "This is why I love England!" They are eating quite loudly in the ballroom when she decided to open a topic that they can 'seriously' talk to.
"Ren, is your dream still the same when you were six years old?"
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow "You mean that dream?" Mai nodded "I don't know anymore." He frowned.
"You wanted to be the next heir to the throne when your parents decided to retire, right? But it's unlikely to become since you are the youngest, Sam is the next in line."
"Deciding the next heir thru birth order than to see who is capable of leading, I even thought that it's unfair before."
"That's why you asked your parents on how to be the more rightful successor to the throne despite being the youngest, which leads to this silly engagement."
"Because the first thing they said was 'if your wife will come from a royal bloodline while your elder brother's wasn't, the court will favor you.' or something along those line." He pouted.
"Marrying me will be your ticket to the throne, that's what you think when you announced that you will marry me while we were kids?"
"Yes." He then ruffled his haired "Argh! I'm such an idiot! I'm the one who caused this mess!" He sighed "I no longer dreamt to succeed the throne, I want to be somewhat free from royal duties, and more importantly, I don't want to use you that way."
Mai blinked at him and faked a sob "Aw~ I'm so touched."
He flicked her forehead, "Stop that, Madeleine Antoinette Irish... Joséphine." He frowned "Why do you always discard your fourth name?" he wondered.
"It's already too long! And besides, you even discard yours and Sam's." she exclaimed, accusingly pointed at him.
"Touché." He smirked.
Gene peeked on his brother's office "Noll, father called. He's on line two" He informed.
He pick up the phone "Yes father?"
"Noll, is your team have any experienced taking a case abroad?" his father directly asked.
The young boss thought for a moment "No, not that I'm aware of. Why?"
Martin took a deep breath "Well, I have a case for you and your team abroad."
"And the location is?"
"Sweden"
He raised his eyebrow from surprise "Sweden?" he repeated. It will be his first time going to that country, and he can't speak Scandinavian.
"Yes. Well, more specifically in Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm"
"Okay. I will accept it"
His father chuckled "I know you would say that. Don't forget Noll, it was the Queen who recommended us to them."
"Yes. I won't disappoint you father."
"Thank you, is Mai there?" he inquired
"No, she's taking a leave of absence."
"Then I will let Madoka join you since your another assistant is absent. And also bring that lady medium who recently made a huge fussed few days ago, what's her name again?"
Naru raised his eyebrow "You mean Hara-san?"
"Yes her, bring her too."
"But father –"
"Not my order Noll, its Her Majesty's 'including that lady that he fired few days ago.' was her exact words."
Naru rubbed his temples, "Fine." he groaned.
"And I think, few days from now the palace will be having a huge occasion so if possible, finish your job before that time."
"What's that occasion would be?"
"It's their princess' engagement to the second prince of England."
"I see."
"Noll, I don't want you to make any trouble in there."
Naru raised his eyebrow "Why would I make trouble?" Martin mumbled something but he didn't get it "What was that, father?"
"Nothing, forget it." Martin chuckled "Well then, take care."
"You too father."
His father hang up the phone, and so he is.
He went out from his office and instructed Gene to call everyone.
"Including Hara-san."
Gene choked from his apple "Why?" he asked curiously.
"Father instructed."
"Fine."
After a few hours, all of them are in the common room, except Masako. They are waiting whatever their young boss' new case is.
"Naru-bou, should we get on the meeting now?"
Naru look at his watch "Hara-san is not yet here."
The irregulars gasped.
"Wait, you called her?" Yasuhara surprisingly asked
"Didn't you fired her? Not to mention, in national television?" Ayako felt bad for the medium, but it was her fault, and now without Mai, she's the only woman in the group.
"Yeah, it was epic!" Yasu throw his hands on the air and laugh. He and Bou-san gave each other a high five.
"I feel sorry for her." John softly stated.
"We are not here to talk about her." Naru spat. "Gene what did she told you when you called her?"
"She said, she's –"
"I'm here."
They all turned to look at door. Masako totally ditched her kimono. The eye bags under her eyes clearly showed that she's been crying for few days.
She glared at Naru, she stride towards him and gave him a head turner slap.
"You humiliated me! All I want from you is your love Oliver! I am prettier than her! I am richer than her! And I can understand you more than her! Why? What's with Mai that you haven't seen in me?"
"This is the reason why I love her, not you. You crossed the line, Hara-san. And if it's not for this case, I wouldn't call you." Naru stated coldly, ignoring the fact that she just slapped him.
"So I want you to sit down and listen, and get over it."
She was scowling and took her seat beside Ayako.
He composed his self before speaking "I want you to know that I accepted a case that was given by the main office."
Bou-san gasped "You mean, the BSPR?"
"Yes. We will going to investigate the Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden" he stated bluntly.
All of them gaped, they were surprised that he accepted a case abroad.
"It's our first overseas case, right?" Yasuhara excitedly asked
"Yes. And we're going to the palace!" Ayako squeaked.
"You only thought about shopping again, old hag" Bou-san got a hard punch from the red haired miko for his remark.
Gene turned to John "You've been in Sweden before, right John?"
He nodded "Yes, and it's such a nice place."
"But Sweden this time, for unknown reason, they got stricter on having foreigners to come in their country." Yasu informed them.
"Why is that? Preparing for some big event or something?" Ayako curiously asked.
"Yes. In few days, an engagement between the royal families of England and Sweden will be held. So father asked me, if possible to finish the job before that time comes." He rose from his seat.
"We won't be wasting time. He already reserved a ticket for us, we will leave first flight tomorrow" He ended the meeting just like that and went back to his office.
Buckingham Palace, London, England
The news about their road trip was already spreading like a wildfire in the international media the next day. Some paparazzi took pictures of them entering the Castle Howard.
"… Are the two royalties planning to use the Castle Howard as their residence after they get married? We will find out after they will be officially engaged on Princess Madeleine's twenty-first birthday few days from now." The news anchor stated with a bright smile.
Mai turned off the TV and throw the remote on her bed. "Ridiculous!" She heaved a sigh and lay on her bed, closing her eyes.
Ren woke up early today and gathered all his courage to talk to his mother in the court room.
"Mother, can I have a moment with you please?"
"Or course, come in." When she saw the worries on his son's eyes she asked "What's wrong, Ren?"
"Maddie and I both wanted this engagement to be cancelled, mom."
"What? Why?"
"Mom, it won't work out for the two of us. Yes, we get along well, people even see us as perfect couple but we only sees each other as best friends, like siblings, that's all. And besides, we both love someone else." He mumbled the last part with a red-face.
"Love? You love someone? But aren't you the one who wanted to marry her when you were a kid?"
He looked away from her mother's gaze "But I'm just six at that time mom."
"Six or not you can't take it back." His mother seriously looked at him "We always told you that if a man made an announcement he should do it."
"We love someone else. I love someone else."
"Did she come from a royal bloodline?" She automatically asked.
"No."
"Then it's a no."
"But Sam's fiancée is not from a royal bloodline either." He retorted
"You're wrong. Elizabeth is the great, great, great, great-grandniece of Queen Elizabeth the first, hence her name."
Ren gaped, he never heard about that.
"But –"
"End of discussion, Ren. Your engagement with Madeleine will commence on her twenty-first birthday. And you will succeed the throne if the two of you will get married."
He gasped "What?"
"Isn't that your dream? We are doing this because of you."
"But Sam's –"
"Lizzy may come from a royal bloodline, but Maddie is a direct descendant. The court will favor you."
"Mom –"
"Ren you should get ready, because a year after the engagement we will start preparing for the wedding."
It seems that his breath was taken away from him when he heard his mother. "I want to talk to father."
"It's no use, he tell you the same thing. And besides, he's not here but he will be there in your engagement."
The young prince sighed and left the room, he have enough hearing about engagement and wedding. If only he didn't recklessly announced that he will marry Mai someday, then they don't have this kind of problem now.
"Ren?" He turned around when he heard someone called him and saw his brother and sister. He smiled at them.
"Hey what's with the long face?" she worriedly asked.
"Nothing."
"Is Mai still here?" Sam asked.
"Yes, in her room. Hey Sam, is it true that Lizzy is the great, great, great, great-grandniece of Queen Elizabeth the first?"
Annabelle faced her elder brother, "She is?"
Sam cocked his head to the side "Who told you?"
"Mother."
"Oh, uhm, yeah, she is." He smiled at his younger siblings. Annabelle raised her eyebrow.
When they open Mai's room, they saw her packing her things.
"Ready to go home?" Sam stated from the doorway, calling her attention.
"Belle! Sam!" She squeaked. She ran to hugged them.
"So Mai, Uncle Gustaf is so happy when he saw the news about your date with Ren." Sam teasingly stated.
"That was not a date!" They both exclaimed.
"Whether it's a date or not, the preparation for your –"
"– Birthday party." Mai cut off, she don't want to hear the phrase 'engagement party'
"Is almost done!" Annabelle chimed, clapping her hands in delight.
"Should I say 'thank you'?" She sarcastically asked.
Annabelle and Sam both grinned.
Akira choked from her drink when she saw the news about Mai and Ren, she grinned and write a comment on the blog. Her phone gone off and she immediately answered it seeing who the caller is.
"Hello?"
"Akira? How's the preparation?"
"Everything's ready."
"Good. Don't let her know about this."
"Got it!"
She rose from her bed and went to the parlor, she saw her mother is watching some drama series.
"Mom, have you seen Sei?" She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek.
"I think I saw him in the bar."
"Thanks!"
She ran to bar, and there he saw him drinking alone.
"Hey loner~" she chimed, which startled him.
He glared at her "What do you want?"
She took an apple from the fruit basket and took a bite "I've been wondering, do you have a flight bound to any country in Europe in the next few days?"
Sei thought for a while "Yes, Netherlands and Norway."
"Great! Now, will you please make your schedule free this coming Friday?"
He raised his eyebrow "Why?"
"For emergency purposes...?"
"I might agree, but there's a catch."
"What is it?"
"You're the one who will attend my series of meetings next month."
"Deal."
"Alright. I'll free my schedule on Friday"
She squeaked "Thank you, Sei! I'll inform you for more details, okay?"
Before he can say anything, she ran back to her room and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"My brother agreed."
She can feel that the person on the other line grinned.
"Perfect."