It Doesn’t Matter If You’re Broken - Chapter 4

A woman with dark blue hair in a tight bun was looking at her with bright yellow eyes.

 

Elise barely opened her mouth.

 

“…Vanessa.”

 

“You remember. I thought you wouldn’t know because you ran away shortly after I joined Count Schuvan’s staff.”

 

Her voice was calm, but the tone was harsh. Feeling afraid, Elise faltered back.

 

“How on earth do you know this place…?”

 

Then, ridicule passed over Vanessa’s sharp eyes.

 

“Didn’t you come to the mansion to see the Count today?”

 

Elise’s face turned white.

 

“Could you be following me?”

 

“Well, let’s call it a confirmation.”

 

Vanessa smiled. However, only the corners of her mouth curled gently, her eyes were not smiling at all.

 

“Get into the carriage. The Count asked me to bring the young lady.”

 

Elise held her trembling hands tightly. The fact that she had been called by the Count made her afraid just to imagine what would happen to her if she met him now.

 

“Uh, what about mother…?”

 

“I heard that Lady Marisa is in critical condition, but seeing that it is taking so much time, it seems that she is more tolerable than I thought,” said Vanessa, looking down in pity.

 

“Oh, no, that-”

 

“Then get on. I don’t have much time.”

 

Elise said nothing more and had to climb into the carriage.

 

Just as Vanessa sat across from her, Elena heard the door firmly lock from outside.

 

Her heart thumped. Only darkness could be seen through the curtained windows.

 

A pitch black and bitter darkness.

 

Memories of that night began to creep up again. Her body began to tremble in fear.

 

Elise desperately remembered her mother. Even her hand, which she desperately clasped, fearing that they would miss each other.

 

She felt her fears, which had hardly calmed down, subside little by little. Elise caught her breath and swallowed her fear.

 

‘It would have been for the better. Because the only person who can save my mother is Count Schuvan.’

 

She tried to rationalize it. Warnings that it might be a trap rang like mad in her head, but she had no other options.

 

If this was her only chance to save her mother, Elise was willing to plunge into hellfire.

 

* * *

 

What used to take several hours on foot was just a carriage ride.

 

The front door of the Count’s house, which she had not been able to step on the threshold before, was wide open.

 

Meanwhile, the faces of the guards changed, but because of her nervousness, Elise didn’t notice them at all.

 

The carriage soon arrived at the gate of the mansion.

 

“Get off. The Count is waiting for you.”

 

Elise pressed her lips together and followed Vanessa. She was stunned by the majesty of the mansion, which was incomparable to the huts in the slums.

 

She lowered her head, thinking that she shouldn’t even dare to look at it, and this time her embarrassed face was reflected on the well-polished floor.

 

There was nowhere to put her eyes. It was a place that didn’t fit her in the slightest. It seemed that even stepping on her would stain it.

 

“Hurry up.”

 

Only after hearing Vanessa’s urging did Elise come to her senses and start walking.

 

She struggled to shake off the anxiety and fear of being sucked into the monster’s mouth.

 

* * *

 

The stinky smell of cigars filled the room. Elise put up with her cough, and greeted the Count.

 

Gerhard Schuvan’s dry gaze scanned Elise sharply as if foretelling her usefulness.

 

“It’s been a while, Elise.”

 

“…”

 

“Has it been eight years since you and Marisa escaped?”

 

Elise swallowed. The memory of her mother and her running through the darkness to avoid being caught was still vivid.

 

“The person who ran away saying she didn’t like this place shamelessly came back on her own.”

 

Because she didn’t like it? It wasn’t such a shallow reason. Marisa and Elise’s escape was for the sake of survival.

 

“Well, shall I hear why you came to see me?”

 

There was no way Gerhard didn’t know why Vanessa was here, with the girl. Even so, the reason why he dared to ask was to thoroughly condemn and submit his mistress and his daughter who had dared to deceive him and run away.

 

“…My mother is ill. A lot.”

 

“So?”

 

Elise hesitantly continued.

 

“I’ve heard that a good doctor dealing with noble families can cure my mother’s illness. So I’m going to ask the Count-“

 

“Why should I do you such a favour? Even more so, to the woman who betrayed me and ran away without knowing grace.”

 

Elise bit her lip hard. It reminded her of the fact that the Count was a man without blood or tears.

 

The fact that she inherited half the blood of such a person was terrifying for Elise. Even so, she became afraid that the Count would eventually abandon her mother.

 

Once the only hold-on string was cut, it would be Marisa’s end.

 

‘No.’

 

In an instant, she had a hallucination as if her feet were being cut off. She didn’t have time to think what to say, but Elise hurriedly opened her mouth.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Elise began begging desperately. Crying mixed with her voice.

 

“My mother was forced to run away. Even though she hated this place, she didn’t mean to betray the Count. All because of me… to save me…”

 

Elise raised her head. Her eyes were blurred and she couldn’t see anything. So, she didn’t see Gerhard’s lips curl up.

 

“It’s my fault. So hold me accountable, and please save my mother.”

 

Tears dripped down her dry cheeks. Vanessa, who was watching the scene, spoke to Gerhard.

 

“Count, since the lady seems to have reflected a lot, how about giving her a chance?”

 

The target has already been caught on the board. All was according to plan.

 

Gerhard’s eyes shone cruelly. He opened his mouth slowly.

 

“If I save Marisa, what can you do for me?”

 

Elise’s spirit flashed. She instinctively realized that this was her last chance.

 

Elise wiped her tears and looked at Gerhard, she replied.

 

“Anything I can do.”

 

“Good.”

 

Gerhard, who licked his lips, announced as if he had been waiting.

 

“From now on, your name will be Elise Schuvan.”

 

It was an order, not a proposal, a solicitation, or a conciliation. Elise’s blue eyes trembled like waves.

 

‘Why all of a sudden…?’

 

The Count had not even acknowledged Elise as his own daughter in the past. Even when she lived at the Count’s house as a child, he had never felt any affection for her. But what was it now?

 

Elise was poorly educated, but she knew how difficult it was for an illegitimate child to be given a noble family name.

 

She just couldn’t figure out how things were going at the moment.

 

She clutched at the hem of her skirt in vague fear as Vanessa approached and whispered softly.

 

“Do not worry. The young lady just needs to do her duty as a lady of the Schuvan family.”

 

Then she grinned.

 

“Thanks to you, Lady Marisa will be provided with high-quality food, bedding, and a maid to attend to her. A competent doctor will examine her illness.”

 

It was the moment when Elise’s last hesitation, which she couldn’t bear to let go of, ended.

 

Elise tried to shake off the feeling that she was somehow stepping into a mire and bowed to thank her.

 

“Thank you for the opportunity.”

 

Vanessa tugged on the hanger and called for the maid.

 

“Take her and wash her clean.”

 

* * *

 

From the next day, rigorous training began. Before her full-blown class, Vanessa warned Elise.

 

“At nineteen, you are already an adult. The debutant of noble children is never past twenty at the latest. In other words, there is only about a year left. You’ll only be able to imitate aristocrats only after hard work.”

 

Elise also wanted to do well. So, she couldn’t eat or sleep properly and struggled to keep up with the class.

 

However, it was not easy for her as she was never properly educated.

 

Her writing was at a level that she had only learned from begging, and the manners and dances she first learned could not quickly become accustomed to her body.

 

“Your skills really suck.”

 

On the day Vanessa evaluated her with disdain, Gerhard, who heard the report, directly punished his illegitimate daughter, for her complacency and indolence.

 

Even after that, severe punishment often continued.

 

Until one day, Marisa, who was recuperating in the annexe, barely managed to bring her body together and knelt down in front of the Count.

 

She couldn’t bear to touch Elise’s calf, which was swollen and bleeding, and she shed tears. Then she put her hands together and prayed to Gerhard.

 

“Oh, Marisa.”

 

The Count showed his teeth and laughed. He lifted the chin of the earnestly pleading woman.

 

There was still something about the old mistress, still beautiful in her age, that stirred something inside him. Gerhard whispered with his lustful eyes shining.

 

“What would you do if there were still things you could do for your daughter?”

 

Then Marisa’s blue eyes, just like Elise’s, waved aimlessly.

 

But even for a moment, she painted a painless smile on her face that had just been crying.

 

Pretty enough to satisfy the Count.

***