It Doesn’t Matter If You’re Broken - Chapter 2

It was a sheer typical story.

 

An innocent maid, who fell in love with her young master, mistook his low desire for love and gave her heart and body generously, but… Eventually, he was abandoned and kicked out of her life.

 

A story that was common enough to kick your feet, but will not receive cheap sympathy from people, let alone consolation.

 

‘A stupid commoner woman who doesn’t know her place.’

 

A mockery that a woman did not know her place faced an end worthy of her situation, and contempt that followed like a tag.

 

The world was harrowing even to the daughter the maid gave birth to at the risk of her life.

 

A filthy creature.

 

Being born illegitimate in the Nordrat Empire meant giving up much of her life, and Elise’s misfortune began there.

 

But she couldn’t blame her mother. She couldn’t do that.

 

Knowing what sacrifices the mother endured to protect her child.

 

“Cough, cough…!”

 

“Mother!”

 

The dark red blood from Marisa’s mouth soaked the faded old quilt. Elise halted what she was doing and rushed to embrace her mother.

 

The dry hands, clutching the covering cloth, trembled. Every time the sick body coughed, it trembled as if it were convulsing.

 

At this rate, her mother was likely to break into pieces, so Elise gave strength to her arms.

 

The cough stopped after a long time.

 

“…Elizabeth.”

 

There was a sound from her mother’s throat. She felt like it was bleeding, the smell of iron. Elise’s eyes were burning.

 

“I must be by your side until you become an adult…”

 

“You’ll live longer.”

 

But both of them knew it had to be a miracle.

 

Her mother’s body deteriorated helplessly because she could not afford proper treatment or medicine. As the days went by, she could see that her mother’s energy was diminishing.

 

Elise looked down at her mother, who was thinner than yesterday.

 

She was her only family. The mere imagination of losing her mother filled her with tears and she choked up.

 

She was a sick and weak mother, but to Elise, she was the whole world.

 

Elise poured water into a teething cup and brought it to Marisa’s cracked lips. Elise, who laid her mother back, who had moistened her throat, whispered.

 

“Take a nap. I’ll be by your side.”

 

Marisa nodded and closed her eyes.

 

Elise sat by the bedside and held her mother’s dry hands still.

 

The traces of the past years remained intact on the hand with bones sticking out under the skin due to lack of flesh.

 

Elise got emotional, something was welling inside of her.

 

That’s why words that had never been uttered came out of nowhere.

 

“Don’t you hate him?”

 

Her mother’s agitation was conveyed by flinching and shaking her fingers.

 

Elise was inwardly surprised that she had done so. But she didn’t pick it up.

 

Somehow she didn’t want to do that this time.

 

So, she waited silently.

 

Until a small voice came back as if for Elise to only hear.

 

“Even if he seemed like a tough and cold person… The night I had you was very sweet.”

 

The eyes gleamed with nostalgia like never before. It was next that small dew formed around the wrinkled eyes.

 

“It’s just that he… There was just a lot he couldn’t throw away.”

 

Elise bit her lips several times.

 

“…Do you still love him?”

 

Elise could guess the answer from just the sad smile on Marisa’s face.

 

Her heart ached.

 

The words recovered from the bottom of the emotion lingered at the tip of her tongue for a while, but couldn’t come out and were eventually swallowed.

 

Elise’s head was bowed. The sadness of not being able to push in crept under the blue eyes.

 

“The night I had you was very sweet.”

 

‘But mother.’

 

‘You had to give your life in exchange for that short kindness.’

 

* * *

 

The Hidden Shadow of the Brilliant Islands Inhel.

 

Elise opened her eyes in a small room in a corner of the slum, also called a trash can. It was before the light began.

 

She tied her long hair together and hid it in a cape with a hat.

 

It was already dirty because of the cheap coal used to heat the room, so she didn’t have to do the hard work of putting gum on her face.

 

“I’ll be back.”

 

Elise checked on her mother inside and left the house.

 

The dawn of the slum was still. She quickly passed through the huts and dirty, stinking alleys.

 

As she continued her steps, the scenery of the street changed little by little.

 

Houses with well-maintained roofs, walls and windows. A spacious and pleasant street. A big flower pot in a place that can be seen from time to time.

 

When she reached the high street, Elise suddenly stopped walking.

 

She reflected her in a pool of water on the floor. She trembled and shook her head at the sight of her shabby appearance.

 

‘This is no time for this.’

 

Even time to realize her miserable situation was a luxury to her.

 

She had to walk to the destination because she had no money.

 

Elise went near the carriage waiting for the guests in a row. The coachman asked curtly when he found her cringing.

 

“What?”

 

“Do you happen to know which way to go to Count Schuvan’s residence?”

 

The coachman’s eyes scanned Elise. Her shabby clothes, worn to the point of wear for how long she wore them, smelled acrid.

 

He frowned at her dirty appearance. Then he pointed to one of the roads with a chin gesture of annoyance.

 

Elise bowed and hurried to tease her feet.

 

* * *

 

The sun was already going over the ridge when Elise finally arrived at the Count of Schuvan.

 

“This is…”

 

Overwhelmed by the imposing mansion, Elise took a dry breath.

 

The iron bars of the main gate, which rose high toward the sky, flashed like a spear aimed at her.

 

A place where she thought she should never have come, and never would.

 

Her heart thumped with fear. The brutal violence she experienced as a child remained like an imprint and still dominated Elise.

 

A terrible fear weighed on her.

 

She knew so well how cruel aristocrats can be to beings like her.

 

However, she had no other choice because she was in a dead end.

 

Elise thought of her dying mother and tried to suppress her fear.

 

Then she walked for hours, heavily pulling off her swollen feet and walking toward the guard.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Well, I was wondering if I could see the Count.”

 

“What?”

 

When asked a difficult question, the guard kicked his tongue and scanned Elise up and down.

 

“Did you come to beg or something? Do you think someone like you is someone who can see him recklessly?”

 

Elise shook her head in a hurry.

 

“It’s not like that. I have a pressing request…”

 

At that time, a faint sound of horse hooves was heard from the inside of the main gate.

 

The guards quickly straightened up and shouted at her.

 

“What are you doing? Come on, don’t get too far!”

 

Elise took a step back, shaking her shoulders with a sudden shout. The nervous body became stiff when it faced the threat of the guard.

 

Before she knew it, the front door opened wide. A carriage was coming at full speed from the other side.

 

The guards finally ran out of patience at the sight of Elise, who was unable to do anything while being frozen on the spot.

 

“Can’t you hear me say go away? Where did you come from?”

 

Eventually, a guard shouted and pushed Elise’s body violently.

 

As a result, it was a bad choice. Coincidentally, the place where Elise collapsed was because the carriage was passing by.

 

The coachman, who was running from the opposite side, was surprised to find Elise belatedly. It was good luck to catch horse reins in a hurry and barely stop the carriage.

 

“Heehee~”

 

The excited horses wrenched their huge bodies and wept.

 

Elise, who had fallen dazedly in the mixed noise, suddenly came to her senses and jumped to her feet.

 

The purpose of making her come to this point came to mind. That now was a great opportunity to meet the Count.

 

The body bounced off before thinking with its head. Elise galloped into a large, colourful front carriage. It was courage that she would never have again.

 

“Please help me, Count!”

 

The knock on the door was urgent and desperate. But no sound was heard from the inside.

 

“My mother is in critical condition! I couldn’t even use the medicine properly. She might be able to live if she gets proper treatment from a doctor. Please, please!”

 

“You d*mn girl!”

 

The guards approached and forcibly removed Elise from the carriage. She struggled not to fall off, holding the door handle, but could not cope with several sturdy men.

 

“Oh, no!”

 

It was when a cry of despair burst through her lips.

 

“Stop.”

 

An unexpectedly low, soft voice penetrated her ears.

 

“Back off.”

 

The guards, who had been rough around her, hesitated for a moment and stepped back.

 

Plop, Elise sank to the floor as her legs became weak. Perhaps because of the scuffle a while ago, her stomach felt nauseous as she couldn’t eat anything, so she grabbed her chest, and a black shadow hung over her head.

 

She slowly raised her head and looked at the person who created the shade.

 

The face of the man standing with his back against the sun was shaded and could not be seen well.

 

‘Who is he…?’

 

The moment Elise inadvertently frowned at his face, the eyes of the two met.

***