Chapter 42
“It’s not something that takes a lot of time. I just want to start my own business.”
When I briefly explained my electric fan development business, the Grand Duke’s eyes unexpectedly sparkled with interest.
“Let me join in. Then I’ll allow my diver to have a side job.”
“You, Your Grace, doing business?”
“When we reach the Empire of Astria, I’ll introduce you to a prominent merchant guild there. How about that?”
Although Victor was a guild master himself, his main area of activity was the Kingdom of Tian.
It was true that to expand into the Empire, I’d need connections with merchant guilds operating there — it was a tempting offer.
“I can also provide capital. As soon as we reach my duchy, I’ll issue a promissory note for the cost of manufacturing the fans.”
The market in the Astria Empire was far greater than that of Tian. If things went well, profits there could be more than ten times what I’d earn in Tian.
But one thing bothered me.
“Getting involved in financial matters beyond salary and employment tends to complicate things.”
“Just think of me as an investor. If you can’t trust me, you can appoint a representative to handle it.”
“Hmm, all right. Let’s discuss the details and sign the papers when we get to the duchy, okay?”
After all, it would take some time before the fan was ready for commercial release. It wouldn’t hurt to secure an investor in advance.
Once I got the Grand Duke’s firm promise, the next morning came.
Arines came to see me, accompanied by a large group of knights as her escort.
Gari, delighted to see Arines after such a long time, flapped his wings excitedly.
“Oooh, the pretty princess lady! It’s been a while! How have you been?”
“Gari! You’ve been well? My goodness, you’ve grown taller again!”
“I’m a growing dragon — of course I’m getting taller!”
I took the chattering pair, Gari and Arines, and headed for the King Guild. Today, I was meeting Victor Collins, the head of the Collins Trading Guild.
“Gianna!”
Victor waved at me with a tired smile. The dark circles under his eyes reached his cheekbones.
“Good heavens, what happened to you? How overworked have you been…?”
“If it’s your request, it always comes first.”
Even in that state, he grinned brightly — which only made me feel guiltier.
“I did everything you asked. The sales channels are all secured, and I’ve already arranged the factories.”
“As expected of our talented guild master!”
I gave Victor a big thumbs-up.
At my request, he had found factories that could handle fan production and set up distribution across the kingdom so the product could be sold everywhere as soon as production started.
Even the marketing was ready to go.
“Oh, before we get into details, let’s do introductions. This here is the Kingdom of Tian’s most unstoppable force — Princess Arines. Word’s probably spread already, but the princess and I have decided to be friends.”
“I’m Arines Tian.”
“And this is Victor Collins, head of the Collins Trading Guild — a rising power who practically dominates the Kingdom’s economy. He’s also my childhood friend.”
“Victor Collins. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
The two exchanged polite, slightly stiff smiles — the scene was amusing to watch.
“All right, let’s get down to business; we don’t have much time.”
We sat around a table and immediately began discussing the details — how to split profits, how to source the mana and magicians needed for production, and so on.
In the end, my contribution of the idea and the design plans was recognized enough that I secured quite a large share of the profits.
A kind of “fan royalty,” you might say.
“Then, I look forward to working with you, Princess Arines.”
“And I as well, Mr. Collins.”
Watching them shake hands made me breathe a sigh of relief.
Was I finally going to become rich?
“The Tower Master rarely leaves the Magic Tower, so I’ll be the one to contact him and relay messages to you, Mr. Collins.”
“Understood, Your Highness. I’ll await your call.”
Arines said that the Tower Master was coming to the palace that evening, and promptly returned to the royal castle.
Victor watched her leave, surrounded by her knights, and muttered to himself:
“You called her the ‘most unstoppable person in the kingdom,’ but she’s so polite and considerate… Were the rumors wrong?”
“Uh? What rumors?”
“They say she’s arrogant and reckless, but she was incredibly well-mannered. And I’d also heard she was like a ray of sunshine — but she seemed kind of… shadowed? Almost like a completely different person.”
Victor’s observation was so sharp that I involuntarily gasped.
“R-really? I didn’t notice. Haha.”
“By the way, how did you even become friends with her? You two had no reason to meet.”
“Well… it just kind of happened, I guess…?”
Sorry, Victor.
It’s not like I can tell you we were best friends even before I got reincarnated here.
I hurriedly changed the subject.
“How did you manage to find the factories so quickly?”
“It was your request — of course I couldn’t slack off. I cut my sleep and ran around nonstop to find the best ones.”
“Is it okay that I’m getting such a big share of the profits? All I did was draw up the initial design.”
“I have plenty of money. Do you even know how successful the Collins Guild is? Honestly, I could give you all of my share and still be fine.”
“That’s not right, though.”
“For you, it’s fine.”
His deep gaze met mine, softening slightly.
Every time he looked at me like that, I felt a pang of guilt. It was too obvious that he liked me.
But I couldn’t return Victor’s feelings. Strictly speaking, Victor’s affection was for Gianna, his childhood friend — not for me, Seo Hayoon, who now occupied Gianna’s body.
“Gianna, what’s with that look?”
“What look?”
“You look like you’re about to apologize for something. You don’t need to.”
“No, I really do feel sorry. Your old friend suddenly reappears after years, drags the busy guild master into all sorts of favors, and barely repays you.”
“That’s it — from now on, you’re banned from saying you’re sorry.”
Victor reached out and playfully pulled my cheek.
“When something like this happens, you’re supposed to say ‘thank you,’ you silly girl.”
“Ow—hey, let go.”
“Say it: ‘thank you.’”
“Thang yew—thanks, but can you please let go first?”
“You were such a tiny thing back then. When did you grow up this much?”
“You were tinier! You couldn’t even dig up clams properly, remember?”
“Hmm? I don’t recall.”
Victor chuckled, teased me a bit more, then let go of my cheek and pulled something from his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“What else? A present.”
“A present? Out of nowhere?”
He smiled wistfully.
“You said you’d be returning to the Empire soon.”
“Yeah. The Bellertine has finally been repaired. I can’t stay a hired hand under the Grand Duke forever — I need to go back to the Empire and finish the contract.”
“After the contract ends, will you come back to the Kingdom of Tian?”
His question left me momentarily speechless. To be honest, I had no desire to come back.
“……Maybe I’ll visit now and then if I feel nostalgic. But I want to settle down in the Astria Empire.”
“Because you hate the islands?”
“Yeah. No matter how big or beautiful, the Kingdom of Tian is still an island nation. I want to live on the mainland.”
“It’s not because… you hate me, right?”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I hate you?”
“Then that’s good enough.”
He nodded in relief, then opened a small box and took something out.
“A farewell gift. But ‘farewell’ sounds too sad, so let’s call it a ‘looking-forward-to-meeting-again gift.’”
In his hand was a simple but elegant bracelet.
He gently took my left wrist and fastened it around me.
“This is really expensive. I had to sell half my guild to buy it.”
“What? Are you insane?”
He burst out laughing.
“You still fall for that? You’re as gullible as ever.”
“Ugh, you scared me!”
I punched his arm lightly and examined the bracelet on my wrist.
It was a lovely piece made of thin, colorful leather cords.
Victor raised his own arm — he wore an identical bracelet.
“It’s supposed to bring good luck. Whenever you look at it, will you wish me luck?”
“Of course! We’re friends, aren’t we? That’s the least I can do.”
At the word friends, Victor’s smile seemed to falter just a little, tinged with melancholy.
Then, suddenly, the door burst open.
“My diver! The ship’s preparations are complete — we can set sail at any moment…!”
The Grand Duke strode in energetically — and froze when he saw Victor.
His eyes immediately swept over my wrist, then Victor’s, one after another.
“……What are the two of you doing?”
