# 14
### Chapter Fourteen
As soon as Harold received the telegram from the Anis Guild, he immediately stopped his work and left. Harold was a person who valued an organized life and rarely did anything outside his planned schedule.
Given his terminal illness, a misfortune beyond his control, Harold believed he had to be perfect to protect himself. He hated anything around him that he couldn't control. Especially Diana's mysterious powers, which were the only key to freeing him from his illness. The fact that she was secretly moving without telling him was making him anxious in more ways than one.
If even Evan was worried, how much worse must Harold feel?
Evan had been by Harold's side for a long time, so he was sure that Harold was going to interrogate Diana to the core by now.
“I didn't ask her.”
"What?"
“I didn't ask her.”
“…Are you saying you didn’t ask or you couldn’t ask?”
Ivan, completely stunned, asked again. He even rubbed his ears, thinking maybe he heard wrong.
“Both, I think.”
What nonsense?
While Ivan was left with his mouth open in confusion, Harold leaned back in his chair with a calm expression. The chair's soft material provided firm support for the wide back.
“It's better to let Diana use the Anais Guild without her knowing anything.”
“Ah… I see. That makes sense.”
Ivan nodded as if he understood. This way, they wouldn't raise any suspicions, and it wouldn't be bad to monitor Diana's actions and know how to respond. But still, what did he mean by “I couldn’t” ask?
However, Harold did not seem interested in solving Evan's curiosity. Instead, pick up a report showing where Diana has invested. There were some very valuable investments, but there were also some that didn't make sense.
Harold glanced at the documents and ran his tongue through his mouth as if deep in thought, puffing out his cheeks slightly.
He vividly remembered Diana's terrified face as the traffickers surrounded her, the way her expression softened with relief the moment their eyes met, the tears that pooled in her blue eyes, and the cat-like voice that reassured him that she felt safe when she saw him.
It was all still fresh in his mind, especially the tear-covered face that prevented him from questioning her further.
Diana had once told him that she was running away from beggars trying to steal her stale bread and human traffickers. She shared this with him on her second day on the property. Even without her telling him, it was clear what a noble lady, suddenly thrown into the streets, had gone through.
Everyone knew it, but now it was starting to really bother him.
Frowning, Harold slowly rubbed his lips.
“She went through all that, and yet she had the audacity to go out on her own?”
Harold sneered, finding it ridiculous, but his continued discontent quickly silenced him. He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought, before calling out to Ivan.
“What did you do with the human traffickers we caught?”
“They are currently locked in the underground prison.”
“Feed them to the hungry wolves. Or better yet, hand them over to the people who sold them into slavery.”
“Okay, sir.”
“And—”
Harold's cold, hard voice continued.
“Summon the leader of the Black Hawks.”
The Black Hawks were an unofficial band of knights that only listened to Harold's orders. They usually dealt with matters that could not be done publicly.
“It's time to clean the streets.”
This should prevent Diana from wandering off and putting herself in danger again.
Harold felt his previous annoyance ease, and he let out a lazy smile.
* * *
Recently, Diana has been busy preparing for Mrs. Meyer's party. The most time-consuming part of the preparations? Dance training.
Despite having Diana's memories, knowledge, and experiences, none of that helped her when it came to social dancing. Unfortunately, Diana was a terrible dancer.
"Yes!"
She stumbled and sprained her ankle, falling to the ground. The pain was brief thanks to her abilities, but tears welled up in her eyes nonetheless.
Before she was incarnated into this world, she had no reason to learn ballroom dancing. As a result, she had difficulty learning the basics. She's improved a lot since her first day, but she's still tripping over her feet.
“Ma’am, wouldn’t it be better to take a break?”
"I'm fine."
“But you've fallen three times today already...”
“It's still better than yesterday when I fell five times. The party is the day after tomorrow, so I need more practice.”
“If you keep up like this, you won't even be able to walk on the day of the ball, ma'am.”
The woman teaching her to dance, Ivan's wife, looked at her with pity in her eyes.
Diana scratched her cheek in embarrassment, feeling ashamed. She had healing powers, so a little stress wasn't a big deal.
“Okay, how about we take a short break?”
“Yes, please.”
Diana nodded and checked the time. It was almost time for someone from the dress shop to arrive.
As I expected, word came that they had brought the custom-made dress.
“I'll go check it out for a moment.”
“Ah...so you won't be taking a break after all...”
Diana heard Ivan's wife sighing in the background as she headed to her room. She just had to try the dress on one last time and make sure no further alterations were needed.
She changed from her training clothes into a formal dress, then back into her underwear.
The dress shop staff and the head maid were discussing the finishing touches that needed to be done. From what I heard, the dress should be ready by the end of the day.
“Now all that's left is for me to be ready.”
There's no way to avoid dancing at the party... especially since I'm now the Duchess of Bassin, which means all eyes will be on me. I can't let them find anything to criticize, so I should get back to training, she thought as she opened the door.
Through the crack in the door, I heard some noise.
"Is this coming from downstairs? What's going on?"
In all her time here, she had never heard anyone raise their voice in the palace. Diana, still paying attention to the dress shop staff and the head maid in her room, quickened her steps.
When she reached the main staircase, she exchanged glances with the servant, who was quickly rushing upstairs.
“Young Lord Garcia insists that he will not leave until he meets you, ma’am. He is very strict about that,” said the servant.
“So the one screaming is Vincent, huh?” Diana replied.
“Yes, ma'am...”
Since he is related to the mistress of the house, the servant should be reluctant to send him away alone. Diana gave her orders without delay.
“Bring him to the drawing room now. But next time, send him out immediately.”
Although she didn't want to waste her precious time on this annoying relative, there were other guests at the property today, so causing more of a scene would only be a nuisance.
“As you wish,” the servant replied quickly, seeming satisfied with her decision, and moved quickly. Diana followed closely.
Standing in front of the reception room, she took a deep breath to calm herself and adjusted her expression.
“You finally arrived?”
When she entered, she found Vincent reclining with his legs apart and his elbow leaning on the chair, gesticulating casually at her. It was exactly how she remembered him treating Diana in her memories.
“Vicomte, mind your manners,” Diana said firmly.
“Hey, we're not in an official setting, and your husband's not even here. Why should I bother treating someone like you with respect?”
Harold had gone out on business and was not expected back until the evening. Whether Vincent knew it before he came or discovered it when he arrived, it was clear from his dismissive look that he wasn't taking her seriously without Harold.
“So, how much do you get?” Vincent asked frankly, not even trying to hide the greed shining in his blue eyes.
“Does he need more money to gamble?” Diana thought. According to her memories, Vincent had a notorious gambling habit. Although the Count strongly opposed, Vincent could not stop. He still practices it within the confines of his suit.
“Why should I tell you that?” Diana replied coldly.
"Come on, don't make a big deal out of it. If I ask, just tell me. You're the beloved duchess, so I bet you get a fair amount," he sneered, extending his hand towards her.
“What's the point of having a family if not for things like this? You should repay us for raising you, right? You owe us,” he said confidently.
‘Return the favor for raising me?’ Diana suppressed a bitter laugh. He truly believed that she would deliver the money as soon as he asked for it. It was funny how deserving he was.
But the only reason Diana could think that way now was because she was weird.
The original 'Diana' was an illegitimate child of the Garcia family, always afraid of her biological father and half-brother. She lived in constant fear and resentment of them, always shrinking in their presence.
The original Diana would never have dared to oppose them.
If I had, I would have been punished immediately.