Shards of the Broken Heart

“Sister Yvette, then what should I do? You must have your own experiences beforehand. Please help me out."

Yvette scurried her eyes left and right in awkwardness. For all the long years of life she had spent with her mistress Sylvia, Yvette had never experienced any amorous relationship with any man or man. But seeing the expectant eyes of Alice, she knew she couldn’t avoid answering the question.

So, she thought of the past instances when her miss was sullen with her, and she tried to improve her mood and make her miss forgive her.

After reminiscing about those past events, a small smile appeared on Yvette’s lips. She remembered the wilful young Sylvia and her mischievous antics.

She got a good grasp on the methods of coaxing someone and shared her experiences with Alice.

“Young miss, right now, although the young master is acting indifferent to you, he still holds affection towards you. He is just suppressing them and acting coldly. You just have to stay patient and give him some space.”

“Hm, okay.”

Alice seriously listened to Yvette’s words and engraved them in her mind. Yvette nodded in satisfaction at Alice’s diligence and continued her explanation.

“But you should not become too distant yourself and should make your presence known to him naturally at random instances. You have to construct a delicate balance between being needy and self-sufficient. Make your importance and love known to him and melt his icy exterior.

Eventually, young master would come to his senses, and you two would return to being lovey-dovey once again.”

“Okay, I got it. I will follow your advice and definitely win him back.”

Alice’s eyes burned with confidence, a far cry from her tear-soaked face a few moments back. She was ready to overcome the first major crisis in the love life of her and her brother.

-------------------------

Yvette might have put up a sound barrier inside the carriage, so I couldn’t hear anything they were talking about. It was a good thing that she was taking of Alice, as one needed high morale to win any battle.

Though I didn’t feel much affection towards her, she was a crucial member in the upcoming war and thus needed to have high spirits before the battle.

To keep my distance from her, I continued to drive the carriage on my own towards the capital. But Alice seemed to have something else on her mind as she would sometimes come and sit beside me in silence without saying anything else.

Though I felt a little miffed by her occasional presence beside me, over time, it became bearable. She was not clinging to me or anything, and the silent atmosphere between us was quite tolerable.

And by the end of the week of travel, I was accustomed to her presence near me. Though I still kept a guard around her, I had a somewhat favourable impression of her.

Even if she did not say anything about my abrupt change in behaviour and patiently spent time beside me in silence, she could not contain her emotion from showing on her face. She was happy The first few days when I didn’t send her back inside the carriage and allowed her to sit beside me.

But she started becoming more anxious and worried in the upcoming few days. She looked in my direction many a time as if to say something but forced herself to remain silent. I felt some sort of pity for her.

(Maybe she really is different than Alessa… No! No, she had lived as Alessa once and betrayed me. I shouldn’t become soft in her presence.)

My emotions sometimes fluctuated due to her presence, but I still reminded myself of my gruesome ending due to my feelings and love for Alessa. So, I firmed my emotions to not get swayed by her anymore.

…..

…..

We reached the capital Angor, without any issues within a couple of weeks. When we reached the main gate, we found a large army squadron standing on guard. They were wearing the robes belonging to the royal guards, the army directly under the emperor.

Also, there was a strict checking of the people trying to enter the city. When our turn came, I asked the gatekeeper.

“Brother, why is the gate so fortified today? Are they here to welcome some big dignitaries coming to the capital?”

“Ahh, you do not know… All the major forces of the empire have been sent to attack the rebel army. So, the emperor had arranged his personal army to defend the capital. He is too generous to be able to send his own army for the protection of his citizens. A great ruler indeed.”

(Tch.)

I cursed the gatekeeper in my mind for his own naivety and ignorance. But I could use this characteristic to fish out some more information.

“Yeah, our majesty is great. But where is the rebel army? I haven’t been to my home for a long time. I wish those rebels haven’t stormed my village in the south and left it unharmed.”

“Oh brother, you don’t have to worry. Our armies were sent to the west. There is a—”

“Hey! Zip your mouth, and don’t speak nonsense!”

The gatekeeper was silenced midway by a soldier from the Royal Guard. The soldier glared at both of us for chitchatting.

Though he stopped the gatekeeper from giving me the whole information, I had gotten all the relevant information. If the armies were sent to the west, then it seemed that the plan of ‘mountain beheading to flood the valley’ was a huge success.

Now, we had to wait a few days until the rebel army swept the armies of the Dukes from the western empire and launched their attack on the capital.

After the continuous driving of the carriage for two whole weeks, I had gotten a little tired. And as we didn’t have anything else to do other than wait, we booked hotel rooms for a few days.

Yvette had also set aside her mission of ‘protecting us from the dark’ and was sharing a room with Alice, while I had taken a room for my own.

I spent my time cultivating and studying poisons and arrays. It was good to keep in touch with them frequently and improve my comprehension in these fields. I didn’t leave my room for many days straight. I was happy to be immersed in my own world as I had no more room for my slightly wavering emotions towards Alice.

Every time I spend some time with her, I feel warm and fuzzy, but then suddenly, I feel loathing towards her. Even with the method of keeping my emotions frozen didn’t help properly. The more time she stayed near me, the more bipolar my emotions were towards her. And I was at my wit's end on how to handle it.

So, with the privacy of my own room, I was able to curb these fluctuating emotions. But perhaps my fate had other plans, or was it Alice…

One night, the clouds suddenly burst into a heavy downpour in the middle of the night. There were deafening thunders and lightning, creating chaos in the previous silent night. While gazing outside at the turbulent sky, I suddenly remembered the day when I hid in the bed of my older sister Alice as I was afraid of thunders when I was young.

The past few days, the thought of Alice near me usually sent goosebumps all over my body. But while thinking of my childish behaviour and the protective embrace of my older sister, my lips had tugged upwards a little.

And for the very first time in the past few weeks, I didn’t associate Alice with Alessa, who betrayed me, but as my sister who cherished and protected me since my birth. And I found my emotions trying to push open the lid suppressing them.

(Maybe… maybe I should give her a ch---)

My thoughts were interrupted by the light knocking on the door. I walked up to the door and opened it only to find a night visitor looking at me nervously.

“Can I enter the room?”