It Doesn’t Matter If You’re Broken - Chapter 20

Huge thanks to Kat for the kofi! (1/8)

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He was a stereotypical figure. A person who has probably never gone against the will of his parents and has never strayed from the road laid in front of him.

 

[“As Your Highness knows, for a lady who has just made her debut in high society, every day is precious time.”]

 

[“I’m merely suggesting that taking away such opportunities would be too cruel.”]

 

Still, he showed commendable courage to stand before the Princess and support the woman beside him.

 

“It wasn’t worth it.”

 

Cardale acknowledged that the woman stood out, whether in a positive or negative way.

 

So she aroused curiosity in him, but that was it. He quickly lost interest and let it go.

 

However, seeing her going around, trying to meet a decent man for her purpose, was amusing.

 

In a way, it was normal. There must be a desire for a rise in status.

 

Moreover, if she wanted to hide her humble origin, it was even more necessary.

 

Suddenly, looking at the two of them alternately, the Princess’ words about those two echoed as if they were digging into his head.

 

[“Then, I hope the two of you will have a good time.”]

 

Nonsense.

 

Unless Raymond Hartmann was an idiot, there was no way he would choose a woman who would be of no use to the family.

 

Contrary to their noble appearance, in the world, there were people with nasty, wicked intentions all over the world, and hypocrites often wore pleasant faces.

 

Noble men who saw poorly regarded women as temporary playthings in marriage were common.

 

Cardale very naturally sold the Little Marquis as one of those clans.

 

Yet, he still felt uneasy. He couldn’t understand why he felt guilty despite making that classification.

 

‘There’s nothing I like about her.’

 

For some reason, his judgment was even more distorted.

 

The Duke’s ferocious gaze returned to the reindeer.

 

He strode over and grabbed the reindeer by the neck. The knuckles of his fingers, which he gripped so viciously, turned white. He pulled the reindeer’s neck out of the wall at once.

 

If it was really alive, blood would have poured out like a fountain, but a dead animal could not show such a miracle.

 

“Your Grace?”

 

Michael, who entered the office just in time, stood still, surprised by his master’s actions.

 

Cardale said, holding the stuffed reindeer head in Michael’s arms as if tossing it.

 

“Burn it.”

 

* * *

 

The next day, a letter arrived at Count Schuvan’s residence.

 

It was sent from the Little Marquis of Hartman. The sender was Raymond, and the recipient was, of course, Elise.

 

However, when Vanessa received a bundle of letters from a servant who checked the mailbox every day, she went straight to Gerhard.

 

The Count casually opened the letter addressed to Elise and checked the contents.

 

“Looks like a pretty good harvest.”

 

He handed the letter to Vanessa.

 

As she read Raymond’s letter, Vanessa’s eyebrows rose unexpectedly and fell back.

 

“Do you intend to connect Raymond Hartmann and the young lady?”

 

“What do you think?”

 

After thinking for a moment, Vanessa replied.

 

“I considered it a great sub-optimal option.”

 

“So do I.”

 

Gerhard nodded.

 

“Even the Duke saw the Little Marquis and Elise together. I made sure they crossed paths intentionally.”

 

It meant to stir up competition. However, Vanessa wondered if such a shallow tactic had an effect on the Duke.

 

“Has there been any reaction from the Duke?”

 

“None. But there’s no need to read too much into it. Cardale Vassenberg is not someone who easily reveals his true emotions.”

 

Gerhard’s lips were pulled tight.

 

“Besides, we have a good alternative – the Little Marquis, although he is not a Duke.”

 

It would be perfect if Raymond were Duke, but if not, there are other cards to play.

 

Holding such good cards in both hands was a rare occurrence, even in his thriving business.

 

“Give this letter to Elise and have her write a reply.”

 

“Yes, Count.”

 

Gerhard leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands with a relaxed expression. The cunning and greedy eyes shone meaningfully.

 

“Seeing someone else try to snatch the prey they’ve been eyeing, I can’t wait to see how the Duke will react.”

 

* * *

 

A letter and dozens of blank sheets of paper were placed in front of Elise, sitting at her desk.

 

“What is this?”

 

“I heard that you agreed to exchange correspondence with the Little Marquis Hartmann. Isn’t it?”

 

“That… that’s right.”

 

Elise reached out for the letter from the already unsealed envelope.

 

The neat and detailed handwriting caught her eye first.

 

[Lady Elise,

 

Thank you very much for allowing me to write to you. In fact, you don’t know how nervous I was because I was afraid he would reject my request. So I would like to say that I was very pleased with Lady’s answer. As I’m writing this letter, I still feel the same.

 

However, upon reflection, I worried that my boldness might come across as impolite. I couldn’t sleep, fearing that you might misunderstand me as a frivolous man who throws himself at anyone.

 

Of course, it’s not your fault, Lady. I simply reflected on my own actions, as they may have been enough to lead to misunderstandings.

 

You may not believe it, but I swear to you that Lady was the first person I ever asked for.

 

And, of course, I’ve never exchanged letters with any other lady.

 

I hope that my sincerity will be conveyed.

 

Raymond Hartmann]

 

Elise raised her head. Then, as if Vanessa had been waiting, she held out a piece of paper with something written on it.

 

“The young lady seems to be still having a hard time writing a letter, so I wrote the contents in advance to ease the difficulty.”

 

Elise looked at her in bewilderment as she read Vanessa’s letter, written in her characteristic old-fashioned handwriting.

 

“The person the Lady is writing to is not her business partner or friend. It’s a letter you send to a man with whom your relationship might progress.”

 

“But this is too blatant…”

 

“Letters between a man and a woman are originally written like this.”

 

When Vanessa bluntly affirmed, Elise couldn’t add another word.

 

In the first place, Elise had no standard for judging what was right for her. The rules of the aristocratic society were so many and detailed that there was no end to learning and mastering them.

 

“Did you practice your penmanship a lot?”

 

“I’m doing a little bit every day.”

 

“Try copying it.”

 

Elise started copying the content Vanessa had given her onto a new piece of paper.

 

However, before she even finished one sentence, Vanessa pointed out.

 

“The letters are not uniform. Didn’t I tell you you should always write the same size?”

 

In fact, Elise’s handwriting was almost perfect, akin to a skilled professional. Thanks to countless practices and efforts, her handwriting was neat and beautiful.

 

Had others seen it, they would have praised her for its elegance and softness.

 

But Elise, swayed by Vanessa’s criticism, still believed her handwriting was like that of a child practising.

 

“Write it again.”

 

The old paper was removed, and a new one was placed again.

 

Elise picked up the quill again and carefully wrote down the words. However, the return this time was a sharp criticism.

 

“Is this what you call handwriting?”

 

Elise was startled as Vanessa looked down at her with young eyes of contempt.

 

“I-I’m sorry.”

 

“At this rate, you’ll waste precious paper and still not write a proper letter.”

 

Vanessa snarled in an overbearing tone and snatched the paper.

 

Elise bit her lip to hold back the urge to burst into tears.

 

‘Why can’t I do any better?’

 

She hated herself for being pathetic and stupid, just like Vanessa said. No matter how hard she tried, her skills didn’t improve, so she always felt miserable and frustrated.

 

“You’ve been taught for a year, and by now, you should be able to do it properly. Perhaps it would be better to tell the Count to give up the young Lady instead.”

 

“T-That’s not true!”

 

Elise, startled, exclaimed.

 

When her own use was gone, her mother’s treatment would cease immediately. She had to stop it from happening no matter what.

 

She frantically shook her head, as if in desperation.

 

“I will work harder. I’ll practice more so I don’t make mistakes… Please don’t say anything to the Count, no, to my father.”

 

As soon as she used the wrong title, she noticed the fierce glint in Vanessa’s eyes and quickly corrected herself.

 

“If you give me the paper I ruined earlier, I’ll practice on it first before writing the letter. That way, we won’t waste paper, right?”

 

With her arms crossed, Vanessa looked down at Elise, who earnestly looked up at her.

 

“Well then, let’s do that.”

 

Elise let the several sheets of paper she had ruined fall onto the desk with a thud.

 

Vanessa spoke as if she had a heavy heart.

 

“As promised, you must have a satisfactory letter completed by the time I come to this room tomorrow morning.”

 

* * *

 

Elise stayed up all night, writing and rewriting the letter without even getting a wink of sleep.

 

The next day, when Vanessa came to visit, she carefully examined dozens of identical letters written by Elise and picked one from among them.

 

“This one is somewhat passable. Let’s go with this.”

 

Elise let out a sigh of relief. She was very nervous because she was afraid that she would be reprimanded for not writing anything properly, so she felt lucky just to have passed.

 

“Thank you.”

 

It was when Elise, who was relieved, managed to hold a smile on her lips.

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