It Doesn’t Matter If You’re Broken - Chapter 17

The exhibition, which caught rare flora and fauna from across the sea, was a hot topic even among the nobility of Nordrat.

The fact that this exhibition received the full support of the Emperor also played a role.

Later, it was also scheduled to be open to commoners, but the nobles who loved privileges wanted exclusive access on the first day, or at least within the first week of the opening.

Therefore, they mobilised all kinds of personal connections to get an invitation.

Under such circumstances, Gerhard Schuvan got an invitation to the first day quite easily. It was thanks to the personal connections he had built up over the years and the textile business that was thriving day by day.

However, since there were only two invitations, Gerhard decided to accompany Elise.

Upon hearing the Count’s decision, Fritz became angry and stormed into his father’s office. However, when he came out of the office, he seemed quiet, likely due to what he heard inside.

“We have arrived.”

After getting off the carriage with Gerhard, Elise opened her eyes wide when she saw the building in front of her.

The exhibition hall built on the land of Inghel was reminiscent of a huge greenhouse.

“Be careful not to lose sight of people here and focus on following me.”

“Yes.”

As they entered the exhibition hall, they felt a humid heat enveloping them.

Exotic trees were placed on both sides of the entrance to make it look like a passage.

Large leaves drooped at the ends of bent branches, giving passers-by the illusion of walking in a thick forest.

The palm-sized white flowers, planted at regular intervals, exuded a rich and attractive scent, enchanting people.

“Oh my God, I’m really looking forward to it!”

In the midst of the excited people, Elise passed by the place feeling somewhat stuffy.

Upon leaving the pathway, the surroundings opened up. The round glass ceiling, shaped like an arch, revealed the sky outside.

With early visitors, the exhibition hall was already bustling.

The Count, slightly out of the aisle, took a good look at the people, and a man with a handsome moustache on both sides pretended to know him.

“Haha, you’re here too!”

“How can one miss such a wonderful event?”

Gerhard responded with a light joke and exchanged a few more words with him.

“But who is this lady?”

“She is my daughter. Didn’t you see her at the last banquet?”

“Oh, yes! I remember now. I almost didn’t recognise the Lady who danced with the Duke of Vassenberg!”

When Elise politely greeted him, the man took off the hat and greeted her.

From there, Gerhard diligently mingled with the nobles, with the primary purpose of subtly presenting Elise.

‘I can’t rely solely on Duke Vassenberg. I need to have second and third alternatives in case.’ 

Meanwhile, Elise quietly followed the Count.

Following him without a word and responding to his signals for greetings was nothing difficult, as she had done so at previous social events.

However, the space itself was uncomfortable.

After passing through a space full of flowers and entering the next area, the guide spoke kindly to them.

“From here on, we have a collection of exotic animals from foreign lands. Only the most unique and extraordinary creatures are gathered here.”

Logs were arranged like columns between the trees, with cages hanging from the tops of the logs, connected by chains.

“Squawk! Squawk!”

“Aren’t the cries of these animals peculiar?”

“Indeed!”

The guide continued with the introductions.

Some birds had unique feather colours, others had unusually large beaks, and some had small wings compared to their chubby bodies.

The nobles admired and enjoyed the creatures they saw for the first time. Elise was the only one who felt uncomfortable among them.

‘It just feels like they are screaming.’

The chirping sounds were far from exciting to her ears.

‘My stomach… feels uneasy.’

At first, her chest felt tight, as if a heavy stone had been placed on it, but as time went on, she felt nauseous.

Elise tried to focus her gaze on the floor to avoid looking at the creatures, but even that couldn’t block out the sounds she heard, making it all futile.

Around that time, the pattern on the smooth floor stone had changed. Exclamations erupted from everywhere.

“Grrr…”

Clank, clank!

Following the cry of a beast, Elise involuntarily raised her head at the loud friction of metal clashing.

She saw an animal imprisoned in an iron cage. The beast with brilliant silver fur roared, showing its sharp teeth.

Then it threw itself at the bars again. However, it could not escape because of the tightly clamped chains around its neck.

“Can’t you stay still?”

The caretakers inserted a long rod through the bars and struck the creature.

Despite the pain, the creature continued to growl fiercely, breathing heavily.

Elise couldn’t bear to watch the cruel scene and turned her head away. She could hear people talking nearby.

“It is very vicious. It must not have been easy to capture.”

“Yeah, if it were to escape, it would be a big problem.”

They put their words together as if concerned, but their eyes, on the contrary, were filled with curiosity.

“But what if it dies? It must be quite valuable.”

“Ah, even if that happens, I heard that the skin of such rare creatures sells for a high price.”

“Well, then, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

A wave of nausea surged within Elise. She covered her mouth with both hands, as if her insides were churning even though she hadn’t eaten anything.

Feeling disgusted and overwhelmed, she unconsciously swerved her way, wanting to escape from there. She forgot about Gerhard’s request to always stay close to him.

Suddenly, feeling that something was out of place in her, she lost her balance and staggered instantly.

Tak, it was then that someone grabbed her body as she was about to fall.

“Lady, are you all right?”

Elise let out the breath she had been holding back and opened her eyes, which she had involuntarily closed.

In front of her eyes was a man she had never seen before. He was a young man with dark auburn hair and soft green eyes like freshly sprouted sprouts. The softly curved eyes gave a soft impression.

For a moment, Elise stared at him blankly before hastily regaining her composure.

“I-I’m fine. Please let go.”

“Oh, I apologise.”

The man neatly backed away as soon as Elise stood upright.

His face showed regret for touching the Lady’s body without permission, even though it was unavoidable.

The man introduced himself politely, placing his hand on his chest and bowing his head lightly.

“Let me greet you first, Lady. My name is Raymond Hartmann. Marquis Hartman is my father.”

Raymond said with a gentle smile as if to reassure Elise.

“If you don’t mind, may I know the lady’s name?”

Elise hesitated. She felt flustered. The conversation was confusing, and she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to answer.

When she hesitated and couldn’t do anything about it, Gerhard showed up.

“Elise, is something wrong?”

Only then did she realise she had walked away from the Count without a word, and her face grew paler.

However, Gerhard only asked again with a nonchalant face. She glanced at him, and answered in a low voice.

“…This gentleman here caught me when I was about to fall.”

Gerhard turned his head. Then he raised a voice with a look of surprise as if he had just found out.

“Oh, aren’t you the Little Marquis Hartmann! It’s been a long time.”

At the word ‘Little Marquis’, Raymond’s face darkened for an instant. However, Gerhad didn’t notice because he was so fleeting and quickly returned to his calm face.

“Has the Count been well?”

“Yes, of course.”

Gerhard, with a smile on his face, turned to Elise and said.

“This gentleman helped my daughter when she almost fell. I never thought there would be an encounter like this.”

“The Lady was the Count’s daughter. I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

When Raymond handed a plain apology to Elise, Gerhard smiled and said,

“No. This victory banquet was her first social debut, and since she only attended the first day, it’s natural that the Little Marquis doesn’t know about her.”

Then he winked at Elise. She carefully introduced me.

“Hello, Little Marquis. My name is Elise Schuvan. Thanks for your help.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

Raymond smiled and replied.

Meanwhile, Gerhard’s head was busy calculating the value.

‘Raymond Hartman is a pretty good choice.’

Just a month ago, Raymond was not a target for Gerhard’s consideration. This was because he was the second son, even if he was a direct descendant of Marquis Hartmann.

Moreover, since Raymond’s mother was the remarriage partner of the Marquis, Raymond was a half-brother to the eldest son, the Little Marquis.

However, as the eldest son passed away in a sudden horseback accident a while ago, the position of Raymond, the second son, was completely changed.

Having had nothing but his name and family lineage before, he had become the Marquis’s successor in an instant.

***