Shards of the Broken Heart

I watched the continuation of the tragedy as another victim put on the mantle of the protagonist.

Alessa did everything in her power to bring down the culprits behind the death of her late husband Lucius and his family. She had snooped around in her family to get the information of major culprits- House of Dennis, the clergy under Archbishop Levant, the emperor who gave up on the House of Vance.

She also included her maiden family in the list not because they sided with Archbishop Levant but because they hid the fact of Lucius’s family being executed and lied that only his rank would be demoted as a punishment.

Even after his death, they acted nonchalant, and instead of completely segregating from under the Archbishop’s control, they rode on his coattail to success. They even planned to send her to Lord Dennis’s house to gain his favour.

All her targets were high-profile members and strictly guarded. Thus, she couldn’t infiltrate their residences and assassinate them.

Therefore, she chose a drastic path. She sold her own empire.

One night, Alessa left her maiden house with the excuse of touring throughout the empire. The family understood her actions as a way of grieving over her dead husband and let her go unsupervised.

But she took that chance and fled out of the empire to a strong neighbouring enemy kingdom.

She used her expertise in management and the military to win the favour of the king. She sold out the insider information of her empire to catch his attention. Within a couple of years, she rose in ranks and formed an espionage team directly under the king.

After getting a sufficient amount of manpower and backing, she returned back to the empire.

She taught the members of the team the basic know-how in the empire and gave in-depth knowledge of the important organisations related to the culprits. She slowly and patiently incorporated the members of the espionage team into these various offices within a few months.

The spies took their place and, through their meticulous temperament, raised their ranks.

After her return, the maiden family of Alessa had stopped pestering her for remarriage within a few months. She had undertaken many challenging tasks to increase the wealth and prestige of her maiden family and successfully completed them to gain a high standing in the family.

And using the connections of the family, she made the spies reach the core authority of each organisation.

Alessa had grown relatively older by then. There were many white fringes of hair on her head. On a silent night, she sat on her rocking chair and looked at the bright full moon.

Her eyes were melancholic and wistful as she took out a small pouch. She caressed the bag, feeling the texture of sand contained in it.

“Just a little longer. The climax is neigh, and I will paint the whole stage red in your remembrance.”

…..

…..

After a few months, the espionage team started the final act of the play.

Over the many years, the various core organisations of the empire were hollowed out by them.

The military was provided with inferior weapons. The taxes were raised high, and there was general unrest among the citizens, with public riots a common occurrence throughout the empire.

The sanitation and medical facilities were disrupted due to the low quantity of goods. There was widespread eruption of diseases and plagues in the empire.

Information related to the various powerful families was leaked to their enemies, leading to clashes within them. The dirty secrets of the Inquisition were also laid out to the public.

Archbishop Levant had murdered the previous Pope and took over his place for quite some time. This information was also leaked to the public, leading to the creation of various factions in the ‘Palace of Valour’. The infighting within them led to the weakening of their strength.

Overall, each and every corner of the empire was broiled in chaos.

The neighbouring kingdoms, led by the kingdom Alessa sold information to, took the chance to carve out a piece each from the empire.

With the invaders being a common enemy, the various infightings stopped, and they joined hands with each other to defend against a common foe. But the espionage team members took a chance and attempted assassination of the top brass of each organisation.

Many were successful, but some failed. However, the attempts were successful as distrust started to grow among the members. The spies were traced down to Alessa’s maiden family, making them entangled in the crossfire, too.

By that time, Alessa had already retired from her position in the family and left the house for a life in the woods, so she remained unscathed to witness the result of her own masterpiece.

The invaders conquered the empire and split it among themselves. The king who supported Alessa fulfilled her wishes of exterminating all the ones she found as the culprits for the plotting against Lucius and his family.

Finally, she had enacted the vengeance on his behalf, and it was time to meet her maker.

She took out the pouch, the only witness to her twisted path of redemption and a vial of poison.

“My love, it is over now. I wish not that you could forgive me but at least to have another life where I could meet you once again and love you selflessly, giving my all to you and never betray you.”

She drank the poison and exited the stage with a sad smile.

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

I woke up from sleep as warm sunlight filtered through the window and fell on my face. I felt refreshed and felt a heavy burden lift from my heart.

Whether the events in my dream actually took place or if they were just the creation of my imagination, I finally got closure. I could eventually leave all my past grudges and hatred behind and move on.

I turned towards the beauty sleeping in my arms and remembered the words of Alessa before she died in my dream.

‘I wish not that you could forgive me but at least to have another life where I could meet you once again and love you selflessly, giving my all to you and never betray you.’

Looking at Alice and recalling the events of the last night, I believed that these words had turned true.

The love I had for Alice surged inside me as I couldn’t help but kiss her cherry lips. In between the kiss, her tongue snaked inside my mouth and started wrestling with mine. I, too, reciprocated and deepened the kiss.

After a few moments, I separated from her as my sister fluttered open.

“Good morning, my dear sister.”

“Good morning, little brother. What agenda do you have today as you are acting quite affectionately early in the morning, hmm?”

“Nothing much, but I just missed waking up next to you. It has been a very long time.”

Alice swiftly grasped the meaning behind the words.

“Seems like you have completely come to terms with your past life memory.”

“Yeah, I have forgiven her and moved on.”

“Even though she was me in one of my past lives, I still feel a little jealous of how much she was able to affect you even in my presence. Even now, you are talking about her. Hmph”

Alice grumbled and pouted cutely.

“It does not matter. Now, it is you who is by my side, and I am happy with it. And if she could know about us, then I believe she would also be happy.”

“Haha, you silly.”

She giggled and snuggled into my chest. Her warmth emboldened my determination to accept my past and move on, and spend my life protecting her innocent smile.

Someone knocked on our door while we were lounging around in the bed in each other’s embrace.

“Young master and young miss, your mother has entered the capital along with the others. You should freshen up for the day. Meanwhile, I will arrange for their accommodations.”

Sister Yvette left after delivering the news. We left the comfy bed and went to the washroom to wash ourselves up.

Mother’s arrival only meant one thing – ‘An exciting show is going to take place in the capital’.