William couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Stop lying. I know you have a son and that you lived in a small mountain village.”

“You are insane. I am telling you the truth!”

She was using all of her remaining strength to say those things. It was hard for her to endure the pain of William bear hugging her, and that was with just one arm.

“Will you talk to me so we can get this story straight? Or will you try to kill me again?”

Geneva had felt William’s strength, so she knew it wasn’t a good idea to go against him. She considered trying to run away, but it was too risky.

So, she decided to agree with him. William let go of her. His whole body had cuts caused by her dagger, and he was bleeding a lot.

“Are you sure you won’t die? You look like shit,” Geneva said.

William frowned. “Why are you worried? Weren’t you trying to kill me a few days ago?”

“I was only trying to kill you because you were searching for me. You know, it’s not every day that an outsider just shows up looking for me.”

Geneva got scared and decided to act against William. But she never thought he would actually survive that first poisoned arrow back at the tavern.

She thought about asking him how, but after seeing him enduring that many dagger stabs, she knew he was just different, a monster.

“Makes sense,” William said with a thoughtful expression, “but something strange is going on here. Would you hear what I have to say?”

Geneva nodded.

William explained things to her. There was a woman with the same name who lived in a small village at the top of a mountain and had a son, a husband, and a family.

But suddenly, she vanished, leaving everyone behind. That happened years ago, and no one knew the reason.

Geneva listened to all of that, and she was also curious about it. “This is really weird.”

“Why?”

“I don’t usually say my full name to people. The only ones who know are my close friends or someone with the authority to access the guild’s documents. How and why would someone use my name?”

“Tell me, is this your real appearance? I know you can use illusion magic to change it.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Remember that I said this Geneva left a son and a husband behind? The son is with me. We are searching for her. Maybe we can go there to meet him? He knows how his mother looks.”

“No problem.”

William was actually surprised at how Geneva was willing to do those things. Deep down, he was starting to think that she had something else in mind. Maybe she wanted to run away.

They both sat around the campfire. Geneva noticed how strange William looked.

“You don’t have to worry. If you found me and know my name, then you read the guild’s files. So, you know, I’ve done some good things, and I am not a killer. I was just trying to protect myself.”

William had his mind in something else.

“How old are you, anyway? You look like you are twenty, yet you are at least 40.”

Geneva gave him a flirting look. “Why, you ask? Is that because I’m good-looking? You know, I don’t like men with only one arm. You know, it makes things harder.”

William chuckled. “Oh, shut up. But tell me, why did you recently hire two of your old teammates? Or is that a mistake, too?”

“No, I did hire them. We are searching for someone. A friend who worked with us in the guild.”

“Worked with you? But I saw the files, and there were only three of you doing the missions,” William said.

To find Geneva, William read all the guild files that mentioned her name. So he knew that the team consisted of a guy named Collin, a woman named Seraphina, and then Geneva. There was no one else.

“We actually had someone else with us. Her name isn’t in the files.”

“How? Isn’t that illegal?”

The guild had a process to follow. It was the only way to make sure things were working correctly. So, William was surprised to see that someone else was on the team, someone who was not listed in the files.

“Well, remember, these missions were 20 to 25 years ago, so things were different back then. We registered as a trio, and then our other friend joined us in the mission. The people hiring us didn’t mind having extra help if they were paying the same amount of money to us.”

It made sense. The rich people hiring them would actually be pleased to have one more person to complete what they wanted, all for the same price. William was starting to understand how things were.

“But why didn’t your friend join you in the guild? I know you can register as a team of four.”

“We can, yes, but she didn’t get into the guild. The reason, I don’t know.”

“So you are looking for a woman that worked with you in the guild back then? Could it be the woman I am looking for? She knew you, so she could have used your name!” William said.

The idea occurred to him when he heard Geneva mention that the fourth member of her team was a woman. It was just a theory at that point.

Geneva went along with it. “Yes, I can see that happening. We never went along well. She was jealous of me. Maybe that’s why she used my name?”

William was also curious as to why Geneva hired two people from her old team to look for that woman.

“She stole something from my safe a few years ago, and then she vanished. No one knows where she is.”

The story was odd. Rebo’s mother had fled, just like Geneva’s old teammate. There was no denying that things were starting to make sense in some way.

Anyway, they both slept inside the same tent. William didn’t mind having a gorgeous woman like Geneva next to him, but he didn’t trust her completely. He stayed focused the whole night, ready to move if she tried something funny.

On the following morning, they packed up and left the mountain, going straight to the capital.

When William saw that Geneva was still there with him in the morning, he was relieved. She was not trying to run away or kill him.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the capital. They went straight to the tavern where Rebo was staying.

“So this kid you are helping was with you in the same room when I tried to kill you? Poor little man… Sorry about that,” Geneva said.

She imagined the kid seeing someone get shot and almost die in front of him.

“Don’t worry, he’s tough. But please, no more trying to kill me, alright?”

“I’ll try.”

Both laughed.

When Rebo saw William with a woman, he was excited. For a moment, he thought it could be his mother. Perhaps William had finally found her?

But when he saw her face, he sighed. It was not his mother.

“Master, who is she?” Rebo asked.

With that question, William was confident that Geneva was not the Geneva Rebo knew.

“It’s Geneva Karl.”

Rebo froze. “Wait, what?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep