# 11
### Chapter Eleven
In *Fallen Noblewoman Captures Duke*, there was a scene where Amanda visited Anais' guild. Thanks to that, I knew how fast and quality their services were, as long as you paid well.
‘Why bother looking for a new guild when I can go to the specialized guild mentioned in the novel?’ I thought as I put the teacup down.
The guild master, who was wearing a crow mask that only revealed his mouth, asked me:
“Duchess, are you here to obtain information about high society?”
For newlyweds, their first appearance in society is no less important than Miss's first appearance. However, because of Diana's bad reputation, none of the influential women in social circles sent me invitations. Social status alone was not enough to convince them.
As a result, I was racking my brains with the server about where to begin my social activities.
‘If I had a good standing, hosting my own event might be an option, but…’
That's not why I was here, so I decided to put this matter aside for now.
“I understand that this guild handles all kinds of missions. I want you to take this money and buy an agent to handle investments and related tasks on my behalf,” I said.
“…Can’t you handle investments through your family?” The guild leader asked.
“I came here because I want to do this secretly, without the family knowing.”
“Wow. But of all places, why would you come to us...?”
"What?"
"Uhm! Nothing! But there are a lot of other guilds out there. Are you sure you want to trust Anise?"
“Yes. That's why I came, isn't it?”
...Why did he look at me with pity? As I narrowed my eyes at his strange reaction, I saw him smile before he stood up.
“You've come to the right place. Anis's guild specializes in this type of work!” He said, collecting the empty teacup with a show of movement. His gray hair stirred with his sharp movements.
“I'll make a new pot of tea, and we can continue the discussion afterward,” he said, quickly apologizing and leaving the room with my cup.
* * *
The rest of the conversation with the guild master went smoothly. Satisfied, I pulled my hood over my face and left the Anis Guild Building.
'I'm rich now,' I thought confidently.
There is no way my investments will fail, not when I follow what happened in the novel.
'Later, I should also use this place to prepare for my escape abroad.'
As long as I continue to pay well, the guild will not hesitate to handle even illegal tasks.
If I deposited money under a false name in a foreign bank, I could live comfortably on interest alone. Fortunately, the country I was planning to move to had a banking system as good as the empire's.
'Once I heal Harold, I can start a new life there.'
The more money, the better. I can leave the dirty work of the guild and live in peace.
Humming a cheerful tune, I walked with quick steps. I had parked the car a little further away to avoid anyone noticing where I was.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew from the front.
Ah, my eyes! I closed them tightly and rubbed them with the back of my hand as tears pooled.
Somehow, at that moment, my hood slipped off, and my hair was flying wildly.
When the wind died down, so did the stinging in my eyes, and I hurried to straighten my hair and put my headdress back on. But at that moment, I froze when I saw a group of familiar faces approaching from the front.
They were members of a human trafficking ring that tried to sell me into slavery.
"Hey! You...!"
Without thinking, I turned and ran.
"Hey! Grab her!"
“Stop right there!”
“As if I would! Would you stop if you were me!?”
“Okay, stop anyway!”
They weren't going to give up easily after losing me before. Gritting my teeth, I ran toward the only place I knew I would find help: the Anais Guild.
I thought I had left street life behind me once and for all. I never expected to run into them again, especially not in this area, which was not their usual base.
'It's not like I'm being haunted by Diana's fate as a villain or something!'
This was just a constant stroke of bad luck. Or maybe it was just a cursed day.
I turned to look behind me and threw my hood at them.
“Ah! This little…!”
The wind carried the robe to their faces, temporarily disrupting their vision. I took advantage of the opportunity to run faster.
But before I could advance further, my foot got stuck on a stone.
no! This cannot happen!
I tried to steady myself, but my body was already leaning forward. With a sound of pain, I hit the ground.
“Ah…”
Although the pain quickly subsided thanks to my healing powers, the traffickers had already surrounded me, grinning like predators that had just caught a valuable fish.
“Phew, we finally caught you. You were running around like a mouse, making us work so hard,” one of them said.
"Come on, don't be angry, boss. With a face and body like this, we'll be rich once we sell it," said another.
I sighed inwardly. I was very close to reaching the Anais Guild. I clenched my jaw, assessing my surroundings. Having lost me so many times before, they were not giving me any chance to escape this time.
"Now, don't resist, pretty girl. I don't want to ruin such a valuable prize, okay?"
“You better not touch me,” I said, raising my left hand.
On my ring finger was a wedding band engraved with the Payson family crest.
“Didn’t you hear that the Duke of Bassin got married recently?”
Our wedding had been widely reported in the newspapers, since Harold was the only young duke in the empire. They did not publish my photo, but they wrote that the Duchess had pink hair and blue eyes.
I am no longer the helpless, abandoned street girl I used to be. I had support now.
I resisted the urge to cry and straightened my shoulders confidently.
“If you walk away now, I'll ignore this.”
“Huh, so this pretty girl who caused us so much trouble claims to be the Duchess?”
"Yes!"
“Bwahahaha!”
They all burst out laughing.
"The Duchess! Ha-ha! She says she's the Duchess! So, does that make me the Duke? Oh, my stomach! Ha-ha-ha!"
"Hey, Boss! Should I start calling you 'Your Highness' from now on?"
“Do it! Ha-ha-ha… Ah, it’s been a while since I laughed this hard.”
They started making fun of me, clearly not taking me seriously.
“Pretty girl, what if you had pink hair and blue eyes like a duchess? Real duchesses were raised in palaces and pampered all their lives before they married. But you? You grew up eating and sleeping on the streets.”
"this-!"
"You seem to have found quite a man, though. Your clothes look expensive, and that ring… haha! Sure, that ring is good enough for a duchess! Or did some man trick you into thinking he was a duke? Hahaha! You're so naive, growing up on the streets like that! You're sure to run into men like us."
I silently hoped that someone would leave the guild, hearing all this noise, but no one did.
Satisfied with their sarcasm, one of the traffickers grabbed my wrist with his hand.
“Today is our lucky day. A face like this is rare on the streets, and we were dying to catch you.”
For me, it was the worst day of my luck.
“You should at least check if I am really the Duchess. If you don’t, you will regret it.”
“Regret? Yes, of course.”
He smiled, showing his yellow teeth, and pulled me towards him.
I struggled, but my body was pulled helplessly into his grip.
“Let me go!”
“You think I'll leave you just because you told me?”
I vividly recalled the scene in the novel where Diana was ‘captured by human traffickers, sold as a slave in another country, and ultimately took her own life’, which sent shivers of terror through my body. My fingers trembled with fear. That scene had terrified me during the first ten days after I took on this body.
Then, a scream came from behind me. One of the gang members fell to the ground, clutching his leg in pain.
"Hey! What happened, kid?!"
I reflexively turned my head at the sound, and my eyes widened in surprise.
“Harold…?”
Dressed in an elegant black suit, Harold approached with a cold expression.
He took off his jacket and gently placed it on my shoulders.
Around us, armored knights formed a protective circle. Their shields bear the Baisen family crest:
Shield decorated with an eagle, crossed by a sword. The same logo was engraved on my wedding ring.
The traffickers' eyes flicked between the knights, Harold, and me, their previously confident expressions slowly turning pale as they began to realize the situation.
“Wait…is she really the Duchess?”
“It is.”
Harold placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“If you understand, I suggest you take your hands off my wife.”
With a terrifying sound, the sword slid from its sheath, its tip pointed at the man who was still holding my wrist.
“Before I cut it off.”