It Doesn’t Matter If You’re Broken - Chapter 6

‘That woman.’

 

He wasn’t good at remembering people’s faces.

 

He didn’t have to. The nobles of Nordrat wanted to introduce themselves to Cardale Vassenberg.

 

So, this familiar face also meant that she was a necessary person for some reason.

 

But her identity never came to mind.

 

Cardale was upset by this first experience.

 

The lights were too bright and she blinked her eyes.

 

Blue.

 

He remembered, at last, the woman he had met the other day, with clear, innocent eyes.

 

Her slender little body, her round shoulders, her long neck and even her pure white nape.

 

And when Gerhard Schuvan appeared by his side, his intuition became reality.

 

Indeed, she was his illegitimate child.

 

“I guess I don’t know.”

 

Cardale muttered in a tone he couldn’t tell whether it was exclamation or sarcasm.

 

The only thing that changed was the shell around the woman. But like a caterpillar going through a chrysalis to a butterfly, she looked like a completely different person.

 

The hem of her white dress fluttered with each step of her dainty little foot.

 

Do not leave his side. Like someone who had been ordered, she followed the Count from behind.

 

Then, she gave a big smile to everyone she met.

 

Without knowing what eyes the men watching looked at her and commented on her.

 

‘No, maybe she knows.’

 

The pure white dress worn by the woman was quite elegant. Her clothes, which covered her whole body except for a few places, exposed the purpose of attending this event.

 

If you express it nobly, you’ll say it’s to find a good husband, and if you’re being rude, you’ll find a man who’ll pay a high price.

 

Cardale licked his lips.

 

“Your Excellency, would you like to go?”

 

“No.”

 

A cruel interest spread in the eyes fixed on the woman as if they were fixed.

 

“I will stay a little longer.”

 

He was tempted. Unbearably.

 

His deep crimson gaze tenaciously followed her small movements as if he were following his prey.

 

Then, perhaps feeling her gaze, the woman suddenly raised her head.

 

Up and down, their eyes met.

 

A look of bewilderment flashed across the woman’s face.

 

Ah…

 

Her small, red lips parted behind her, letting out her faint, inaudible breath.

 

Cardale looked down at her without blinking an eye.

 

The woman blinked her eyes. Her eyes, like a blue lake, closed and open again and again, and then, in disbelief, they grew bigger.

 

‘Did you remember?’

 

Cardale was sure she recognized him. He was somehow satisfied.

 

But before he could question his bizarre satisfaction, the woman turned her head away.

 

‘Avoiding?’

 

Cardale twitched his eyebrows.

 

When the woman finally turned her body, the eyes that had gone dull for a moment, quickly sharpened their edge.

 

He didn’t even know who he was able to come here because of.

 

The corners of Cardale’s mouth twisted fiercely.

 

The glass in his hand was placed on the table with a loud sound.

 

Feeling anxious, Michael cautiously called him.

 

“Your Grace.”

 

“Don’t follow me, stand by.”

 

Cardale gave a brief command and straightened his body.

 

When he straightened his loose upper body, the uniform top made to fit his body swelled tightly.

 

His well-balanced body, forged through years of training and war, even exuded a sense of intimidation.

 

Cardale stood upright and stepped down the stairs covered with red carpet. The lights of the banquet hall sat down on the silver epaulettes that adorned the shoulders of the uniform and shimmered.

 

“I see the Duke.”

 

The nobles who saw him each bowed and greeted him, but the arrogant Duke did not even look at them.

 

Following the direction he was walking, people split into both sides and a path opened by itself.

 

It was an open secret among the nobility of Nordrat that the demanding and sensitive Duke Cardale Vassenberg was extremely averse to contact with others.

 

So the man walked out of the crowded banquet hall alone. His eyes were focused on only one place.

 

Count Schuvan, who discovered Cardale, was delighted. As if he had no intention of hiding the happy expression that appeared on his face, he quickly approached the Duke and bowed his head.

 

The thoughts of the fox-like person were clearly read, and Cardale laughed inwardly.

 

“Congratulations on your victory, Your Excellency.”

 

The woman, who had not been aware of the situation until then, flinched at her father’s voice and belatedly turned around.

 

A soft, thin fabric fluttered in sync with her movements.

 

The hem of the wide-spreading dress recoiled around her stretched thighs and then straightened back into the natural shape.

 

Cardale’s sluggish eyes scrutinized from the bottom up. Soon after, he faced the woman again.

 

Surprised face again. It was like before. The difference was that they were now close enough to be only a few steps apart.

 

Thanks to this, Cadale could see the woman’s hand shaking slightly. The fingers reflected through the lace gloves were white and thin enough to be visible.

 

“Elise, come here quickly.”

 

Elise. The name rolling on the tip of her tongue was overly soft and sweet, like bread with cream. To the extent that he wanted to squeeze it.

 

Her hesitant walking gesture was extremely cautious. This time she couldn’t avoid his gaze like a deer caught in a net. Cardale was not happy with that fact.

 

“Your Excellency, this is my daughter, Elise.”

 

The Count, who had introduced the woman, urged his daughter this time.

 

“Say your greetings to His Excellency, Duke Cardale of Vassenberg.”

 

The round, gentle eyes widened.

 

‘Did you not even know my identity?’ 

 

If anything, the acting was worthy of praise.

 

‘So what are you going to do now?’

 

The woman’s chest swelled slightly as if taking a deep breath. Her hesitation was only momentary, but Cardale was overcome with a strong urge to force open those dainty lips and hear her voice.

 

Fortunately, before his short patience ran out, Elise opened her mouth.

 

“It is an honour to meet you, Your Excellency. This is Elise Schuvan.”

 

A faint voice pierced his ears.

 

Yes, it seemed to be the kind of voice he had imagined.

 

A soft and clear sound that makes you want to crush it.

 

Cardale’s lips curled in satisfaction.

 

* * *

 

Elise, on the other hand, was completely out of her mind.

 

‘I thought maybe I could see you here, but…’

 

She clearly remembered the face of the young aristocrat who had shown her little kindness and mercy.

 

The shadow that covered her like a parasol, the texture of the earthen floor that he had unwittingly grasped, even the faint smell of his body.

 

She wanted to meet him again if she could meet you someday. She even wondered what he would look like now.

 

Could he have changed like herself? Or was he the same as a year ago?

 

However, when Elise happened to make eye contact with the man on the second floor, she was taken aback. It was because she had never dreamed that he was looking down on her.

 

Feeling ashamed for not knowing the reason, Elise avoided his gaze as a reflex reaction.

 

Her face flushed as she realized her foolish behaviour. She turned away to hide her flushed cheeks, but unlike before, she could hardly concentrate on the Count’s words.

 

The crimson-coloured eyes, which looked directly at her through his slightly lowered eyes, kept coming to mind. As if she had branded it in her head.

 

But when did he come down? The man was standing.

 

In front of her, as if to show off.

 

‘I didn’t mean to ignore you, but did you misunderstand?’

 

The man had such a cold face that she didn’t even dare to speak. Even so, his eyes staring at her were intense enough to sting, and she couldn’t figure out why.

 

“Greetings. His Excellency, Duke Cardale of Vassenberg.”

 

For an instant, Elise’s eyes became distant, like someone who had seen the sun with her bare eyes.

 

She guessed he was noble, but he was much more than she expected. He was a person as high as the sun.

 

She didn’t even know in what spirit she was greeting him. She just uttered her learned words like a parrot, bending her legs together as she had practised hundreds or thousands of times.

 

However, when she raised her head again, the corner of the Duke’s mouth was slightly raised, and Elise swept her heart.

 

It was because the man did not seem to take issue with her earlier rudeness.

 

He slowly turned his head to the Count and opened his mouth.

 

“Your daughter seems to have never been seen before.”

 

It was lower and deeper than the voice in her memory. Elise pressed her hand against her chest without realizing it.

 

“She was sick because her body was weak, so she couldn’t socialize during that time.”

 

Elise held her breath while carefully examining the man’s expression.

 

‘I hope you don’t know who I am.’

 

She wished he hadn’t recognized her.

 

The fact that until just a few years ago she was a commoner girl rolling around the slums. The pitiful past of begging for mercy. She struggled to contain the shabby true face that would be revealed if only one layer of wrapping around her was removed.

 

She wished he never knew.

 

“Of course, she is very healthy now.”

 

The Count added coldly, and the Duke nodded his head wordlessly.

 

‘Fortunately, I don’t think he noticed.’

 

Just as Elise was feeling a little relieved, the song just changed. It was a dance song with a soft melody.

 

It was also famous as the debutante dance performed by a young lady when attending a banquet for the first time.

***