Chapter 29
“Your Grace, what should we do? I feel like even the air he breathes is too much of a waste. After putting the mages through all that, what could be so hard for him that he drinks in the middle of the day?”
“Calm down. You’re too worked up. From what I’ve heard, Karun is a scoundrel, yes, but he’s not the main culprit behind this mess.”
“Yes, yes, exactly, Your Grace! I was just stuck in the middle as a go-between, that’s all!”
Karun brightened at Duke Ruppelen’s words and quickly agreed, but the Duke shot him a cold glare.
“Shut your mouth. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent. It just means you’re nothing more than a small fry.”
Wilting under the Duke’s pressure, Karun shrank his shoulders noticeably.
Watching the situation unfold, Victor spoke to me gently.
“Let’s call it a day. I’ll keep a close eye on Karun, and when the time comes we can interrogate him again.”
“…Alright.”
Struggling to steady my ragged breath, I turned to Karun one last time.
“You said you’ve lost contact with Pen-Sing Factory, didn’t you?”
“I’m telling you, yes! I’m unemployed now.”
“If you ever reestablish contact, you’ll report to me immediately. And if you lure in even one more pitiful mage, your head won’t stay on your shoulders. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am…”
I shot Karun one last glare, then turned on my heel and strode out of that house without hesitation.
Gianna this furious… I’ve never seen her like this.
Duke Ruppelen stifled a dry laugh as he watched Gianna storm out of Karun’s house, still fuming.
Even when she’d shouted at him never to call her a diver, she hadn’t been this ferocious.
No—back then she’d seemed almost… cute.
This raw, unpredictable anger was unfamiliar, and yet in a way, fascinating.
But unlike the Duke, Victor seemed entirely used to Gianna’s outbursts.
“Calm down, Gianna. Take a deep breath… there, that’s better.”
His hand rubbing her back looked so natural, and that grated heavily on the Duke’s nerves.
They were childhood friends for ten years, weren’t they?
Victor probably knew all about her—her temperament, her childhood, everything the Duke himself didn’t.
Regret hit him suddenly.
I shouldn’t have hired Karun as the chef on the Bellettin.
If not for Karun, Gianna and Victor would never have run into each other at the King Guild.
Whenever something came up, Gianna would have turned to him, not Victor.
I’m the employer. I’m the one paying her. She’s my diver.
So why on earth should he have to bristle every time Victor hovered near her?
No, this won’t do. Gianna is my diver, and as her employer, I have the duty to see that she meets someone good.
Of course, there was no such clause in their contract. And Victor, by any measure, was a decent man.
Competent, kind, and hopelessly devoted to Gianna.
The perfect husband material.
But Duke Ruppelen ignored all of that.
The two of them need to be separated.
He couldn’t forbid two grown adults from seeing each other. That left only one option.
To hasten their departure for the Astrian Empire.
The Bellettin had been badly damaged fighting in the Dragon Sea, making sailing nearly impossible. If they wanted to leave sooner, they’d have to rush the repairs.
No, wait. Leaving sooner means arriving sooner too, doesn’t it?
The faster they reached the Empire, the sooner his contract with Gianna would end.
So what then, delay departure? And sit here watching that fool dote on her longer?
Unthinkable.
But if we depart early, the contract ends sooner…
While the Duke wrestled with his dilemma, Gianna, still chewing her lip in anger, muttered:
“Good. The sooner we root out filth like him, the better.”
“Gianna, let our mercenary corps or the King Guild handle this. You don’t need to suffer through it.”
“No, Karun came to me. That makes this my business. Besides, don’t you think that company is awfully suspicious?”
Though Gianna looked doubtful, Victor shook his head.
“Not really. Karun is a scumbag, yes, but from a merchant’s perspective, Pen-Sing Factory is a respectable company.”
“For once, I agree with Victor,” said the Duke, surprising everyone.
“Pen-Sing sponsors the mage academies regularly, and their finances are transparent. They hardly look like the kind of company to be mixed up with trash like him.”
“Then does that mean someone’s been skimming profits between Karun and Pen-Sing?”
“That’s possible. The best way to know for sure would be to ask President Jang directly, but…”
The Duke trailed off, uncertain, and Victor jumped in quickly:
“President Jang isn’t in Tian right now, correct?”
“Right, I heard he’s in the Empire. Something about expanding their branch there?”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s head for the Empire at once!”
Gianna exclaimed, her spirits high.
But the Duke looked at her with an apologetic shake of the head.
“…Sorry, Gianna. We can’t go back yet.”
“What? Why not?”
“Repairs on the Bellettin will take some time. Probably about a month.”
Though outwardly conversing with Gianna, inwardly the Duke had reached his conclusion.
He would not delay departure. But neither would he allow Gianna and Victor to keep running into each other like this.
“A whole month…? That long?”
Gianna lowered her head, looking dejected.
“I swear, really, truly—this isn’t a ploy to extend our contract.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
She answered curtly, and Victor smiled with relief, siding with the Duke.
“I agree with him, Gianna. Rushing a long voyage on a half-repaired ship is far too dangerous.”
“Hah. For once, you make sense,” the Duke said, clapping Victor’s shoulder.
For a moment, they looked like comrades.
But the Duke’s true thoughts were different.
You fool. Your days of seeing Gianna’s face are numbered.
If Victor insisted on hovering around to “guard” Gianna, then the solution was simple.
Keep him so busy he wouldn’t have time to see her at all.
The Duke smiled warmly at Victor, hiding the sneer curling in his heart.
“I’m heading out! I’ll be back before dinner to make seafood. How about clam dishes tonight?”
“Out again?”
“Oh my, what’s with the motherly scolding? Did we sign a contract forbidding me to go outside? No? Then I’ll be off!”
Gianna rattled off the words so fast the Duke couldn’t even respond, then dashed out of the inn.
Lately, she was always on the move. Ever since she’d become a Hero, people had been seeking her out in droves.
It was a wonder she still found time every day to bring back seafood for cooking.
Glancing out the window, the Duke already saw her small figure running off into the distance.
Today she said she was going to the royal palace, didn’t she?
When had she even befriended the princess?
He’d thought, since she grew up on Jjok Island, she might be shy. But no—
Gianna’s natural charm let her forge ties all across the kingdom.
As a result, the Duke only saw her once a day—at dinner.
Good thing I bound her by contract. Otherwise, I might never see her at all.
Instead of keeping her away from Victor, things were so hectic he might not even notice if the two of them set up house together.
If only she would stay in one place, cooking for him alone…
But that dream was already gone.
My Hero is too capable for her own good.
Turning from the window with some reluctance, he picked up the report Elliot had submitted.
