Chapter 11
“Oh, do you know me?”
“Know you? Of course, Gianna! How long has it been?”
Victor’s face suddenly lit up with a broad smile.
“Almost ten years, isn’t it? Well, it makes sense you wouldn’t recognize me right away. I didn’t recognize you at first either. It’s me, Victor Collins. Don’t you remember me?”
“Victor Collins…? You mean you’re really that Victor?”
The original Gianna’s memories quickly flashed through her mind.
Goodness, they say even mountains change in ten years!
The Victor standing before her now was so different from the Victor she remembered.
It was no wonder she hadn’t recognized him immediately.
He’s Gianna’s childhood friend from back home!
And not just any friend.
They had lived next door, seeing each other every single day as they grew up together—practically siblings, they’d been so close.
“It really has been forever, Gianna. Honestly, I thought I’d never see you again. You always used to say you’d never leave the island.”
“Haha, I did say that.”
I gave Victor an awkward smile.
“But as I got older, I changed my mind.”
“That was a good decision. So, now that you’ve come out into the world, isn’t the mainland much better than the island?”
The memory of their last meeting returned—ten years ago, when both Gianna and Victor had been no more than ten-year-old children.
Back then, Victor was a small boy with curly hair, chubby cheeks, and shorter than Gianna.
One day, carrying a bunch of wildflowers that didn’t really suit him, he suddenly thrust them toward Gianna and, in a trembling voice, proposed.
“G-Gianna! W-will you m-marry me when we grow up?”
But Gianna immediately rejected him.
“No! You’re weaker than me and you can’t even dig clams.”
At her rejection, tears quickly welled up in Victor’s big eyes.
Coincidentally, that day was the first in a long time that a large ship was leaving the islet for the mainland.
Unable to bear the pain of heartbreak, little Victor left behind just a letter at home, boarded the ship, and ran away. That was the last day Gianna ever saw him.
‘I’ll make lots of money and succeed. I’ll grow stronger and dig more clams too.’
The boy who left the island never returned.
“I now run a pretty large trading company between the Empire of Astria and the Kingdom of Tian. I also manage a mercenary band. If you ever need help, Gianna, you’ll always be welcome.”
The Victor who had grown and reappeared before her was no longer the little boy Gianna remembered.
His voice was deep, his laughter bold, and his face carried an easy, warm smile.
He’s a man now. A real man. And this amazing guy was my childhood friend?
He was so much more masculine than the Victor in her memories that her heart unexpectedly skipped a beat.
Gianna briefly explained what had happened to her.
“…Karun found out I was a mage and tried to hire me. I refused since I don’t plan to settle in the Kingdom of Tian…”
At the mention of magic, Victor looked a little surprised but nodded seriously, listening attentively.
“…So I was just about to hire some mercenaries for protection. But you said you run a mercenary company too?”
“Yes, that’s right. Not only does Mr. Victor manage a mercenary band, but his own skills are outstanding as well,” the guild staff chimed in with a smile.
“Since you two happen to be childhood friends, how about letting Mr. Victor personally take this request? What do you think, client?”
Of course, I agreed without hesitation. It wasn’t a stranger—it was Victor, Gianna’s old friend.
“That sounds great to me.”
“In that case, Mr. Victor, please accept this payment.”
The staff handed Victor the gold coins I had given.
But Victor shook his head and pressed the coins back into my hand.
“I won’t take money to guard you. Can’t I at least do this much for a childhood friend? Besides, you’re…”
Victor paused, staring at my face as if words caught in his throat.
I could see a trace of old memories flicker through his eyes.
“…you’re my first love.”
He added with a smile,
“And my last love too.”
“Don’t say such embarrassing things out loud!”
Startled, I pounded Victor’s chest with my fists.
Even if my personality was exactly the same as the original Gianna’s, I wasn’t thick-skinned enough to hear something like that and not react!
Of course, Victor only laughed as if my punches didn’t hurt at all.
“Why not? If I’ve never liked anyone else since, then you really are my last love.”
“Ugh, stop it!”
Only after I hit him a couple more times did Victor stop teasing me.
We left the guild and strolled through the streets, catching up on each other’s lives.
“Victor, have you settled down in the Kingdom of Tian?”
“Yeah, somehow most of my trading business ended up based here.”
“Perfect. Then show me around the kingdom. It’s boring wandering around alone.”
“As my employer commands, so shall I obey.”
Victor grinned and led me around here and there.
After a long tour of the city, we sat side by side on the beach, watching the waves lap at the shore.
“Don’t you regret running away from home like that?”
“Of course I regretted it a lot.”
Victor pointed out toward the sea with his finger.
“Out there is our islet, our home. Whenever things got hard, I looked out over that sea and cried, thinking, why did I leave?”
“If it was that painful, why didn’t you go back?”
“I left swearing I’d succeed—how could I go back like that? A man has his pride.”
“Come on, these days pride isn’t just a man’s thing anymore.”
“If I’d known times had changed that much, I would’ve gone back ages ago.”
We both laughed as we gazed at the ocean.
Victor’s laughter in the breeze felt more refreshing than the drink in my hand.
“The hardest part, though, Gianna…”
“Yeah? What was it?”
“…was how much I missed you.”
His voice was suddenly so earnest that I couldn’t help but turn my head to look at him.
Victor’s dark eyes were fixed intently on me.
Wow, look at him—flirting like a pro.
The three foolish brothers returned to report to the Grand Duke after completing their mission.
“Your Grace, we carried out your orders successfully.”
“The King’s Guild was very welcoming.”
“They’ll be in touch soon.”
“Good. Well done. You may leave.”
“Yes, sir.”
The three bowed and turned to leave, but one of them, Kan, suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, by the way, we happened to run into Lady Gianna there.”
“Gianna?”
The Grand Duke frowned slightly. The brothers, excited, began talking over each other.
“Yes. Our paths kept crossing by chance.”
“Seems like she’s got a secret lover in the Kingdom of Tian.”
“She was with some man, and the atmosphere between them was no joke.”
“Tell me in detail.”
“Pardon?”
The three brothers finally sensed something was wrong.
The Grand Duke’s expression had hardened into one cold enough to kill.
“Tell me everything you saw. Don’t even think of hiding anything.”
“O-of course, Your Grace!”
Shaken by the murderous tone in Duke Lupellen’s voice, the three brothers confessed everything.
“We saw Lady Gianna accompanied by a man!”
“They spent the whole day together.”
“The whole day?”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
“Where did they go?”
“They toured the famous sights of the Kingdom of Tian.”
“Anyone could see it was a date course.”
“It seemed the man was leading Lady Gianna around.”
“So Gianna followed him wherever he took her?”
“Yes. From the atmosphere, they looked closer than just acquaintances…”
“We thought, naturally, he must be her lover…”
The Grand Duke’s aura grew colder and colder, making the brothers shiver.
They realized they’d probably said the wrong thing.
“There’s no way he’s her lover. I know Gianna well. She’s a woman who was born on that islet and never once stepped off it.”
“Y-yes, of course! You’re absolutely right, Your Grace!”
“Where are the two of them now?”
“They were at the beach, talking together.”
“We discreetly left a couple of men nearby, just in case.”
“There shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Fine. You may go.”
“Yes, sir!”
The three fools fled the room before the Grand Duke could say anything else.
But even after they left, Duke Lupellen couldn’t sit still and paced the room restlessly.
“She has a man she knows that well?”
Something twisted painfully in his chest.
