Chapter 348: Alice’s Broken Pieces (GT Bonus - )

Rose and Aria led Mark through the palace corridors until they stopped in front of a closed door.

Alice’s room.

Before opening it, both women carefully explained to him what he was about to find, and with every word, Mark’s heart sank a little further.

After his disappearance, Alice had by far taken it the hardest.

They told him she had completely broken down, sinking into a nervous crisis she hadn’t been able to climb out of.

And the reason was as simple as it was painful... guilt.

Alice held herself responsible for what happened.

After all, she was the one by his side that day, the one who was supposed to protect him, and yet Mark had vanished right in front of her without her being able to do a thing about it.

That thought had been eating away at her from the inside, day after day, until it broke her mentally.

Everyone had tried again and again to convince her it hadn’t been her fault.

But Alice wouldn’t listen.

She’d shut herself in her room, cut off from the world, refusing to see anyone.

And every time they tried to go in and talk to her, to pull her out of that pit, she’d react with overwhelming violence, attacking anyone who got close.

In the end, not knowing what else to do, they’d decided to give her space, hoping that time alone would help her heal.

But it hadn’t.

Isolation had only dragged her further down into her misery.

Mark listened to all of it in silence, jaw clenched. When Rose finished speaking, he didn’t need to think twice.

"I’m going in," he said firmly.

Rose and Aria exchanged a worried look, but said nothing to stop him. After a brief silent exchange, both of them stepped aside.

Mark opened the door and crossed the threshold.

The darkness inside was the first thing he noticed. The curtains were drawn, and the air had grown heavy after months of the room being kept practically sealed shut.

Everything was a mess.

There were overturned pieces of furniture, broken objects, and debris of every kind scattered across the floor, traces of the countless fits of rage that had taken place there.

And in the middle of all that chaos, there was a figure curled up in a corner.

It was Alice.

Mark could barely recognize her.

That strong, proud, radiant woman who had always stood before him was now nothing more than a shadow of what she used to be.

Her appearance was nothing short of heartbreaking.

Alice was gaunt, her hair a tangled mess, her eyes vacant.

She sat in a corner, hugging her knees, rocking slightly, muttering incomprehensible things.

"Alice..." Mark said, walking toward her.

She reacted instantly.

She jerked her head up, and her eyes met Mark’s. They were wide open, but showed no trace of recognition.

Only rage.

And fear.

"No..." Alice muttered, trembling, starting to hit her own head. "Not again... You’re not real... You’re not real... Get out of my head... stop torturing me... just like always... I won’t fall for it again!"

"Alice, it’s me. I’m—"

"SHUT UP!"

And with a roar full of pain and fury, she lunged at him.

Her fist shot toward Mark’s face with brutal force, the same force that had so many times proven capable of reducing any obstacle to rubble.

A blow that, months ago, Mark wouldn’t even have had a chance of stopping.

But he wasn’t the same man anymore.

With barely any effort, Mark caught Alice’s fist in midair, as if that devastating punch had been nothing more than a small child’s swat.

Alice froze.

She stared at her hand, trapped in his, and pulled once, then again, but it was useless. She couldn’t move it.

Then, after so many months of hallucinations, something inside her mind seemed to click into place.

This was real.

"...Master?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Is... is it really you? This isn’t a dream? This isn’t another one of my...?"

"It’s me, Alice," Mark answered gently, releasing her fist to take her hand in both of his. "I’m real. I’m back."

And that was what finally broke the last wall.

Alice’s face crumpled completely, and the tears began pouring out, laying bare the pain and guilt that had been consuming her all this time.

"I’m sorry..." she sobbed, clinging to him, collapsing against his chest. "I’m so sorry, Master... it was my fault... it was all my fault... I was right there, I was supposed to protect you, it was my duty, and I couldn’t do anything... Nothing!"

She trembled in his arms, her crying choking off her words.

"I’m a fucking failure... I don’t deserve... I don’t deserve to be by your side... I couldn’t protect you when it mattered most..."

Mark wrapped her in a firm embrace, holding her as she fell apart.

"Alice, listen to me," he said, his voice calm but firm. "None of this was your fault."

He stroked her tangled hair.

"So stop punishing yourself. You’re not a failure. You’re one of the strongest people I know."

Alice cried for a long while, clinging to him, letting out everything she’d been holding in for months.

And Mark stayed there with her, not letting go, until little by little the trembling in her body began to ease and her breathing calmed.

For the first time in seven months, Alice felt like she could breathe again.

A while later, once Alice had finally passed out, exhausted from crying, Mark carefully settled her into bed, tucked her in, and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Rose and Aria were waiting outside, anxious.

"How is she?" Aria asked quietly.

"Better," Mark answered. "But she’ll still need time to recover."

Both of them let out an obvious sigh of relief. After months of watching her waste away, this was the first good news in a long time.

Mark then looked up toward one of the hallway windows.

Dawn was starting to break, the first rays of sunlight spreading across the horizon, tinting the clouds in soft colors.

"Listen," Mark said, turning to face them. "I want you to wake everyone else up and gather them in the throne room."

Both of them nodded, but Aria seemed to remember something and hesitated before answering.

"Of course, Master. Though there’s a small issue... Ely, Yuki, and Bayle aren’t in the palace right now."

Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Where are they?"

"They left a couple days ago to escort Queen Luna and her attendant Sarah back to the palace," Rose explained. "Luna wants to spend the last month of her pregnancy here and give birth alongside the others."

She smiled faintly.

"If nothing’s gone wrong, they should be arriving in a few hours."

Mark couldn’t help but feel a spark of joy at the news.

"I see," he said. "In that case, we’ll wait until they get here. No point doing this twice."

Mark fell silent for a few seconds, until an idea crossed his mind.

"Although, since we’re waiting anyway... why don’t we set up a little surprise for everyone else?"

Rose and Aria exchanged a brief glance before nodding.

"Count on us, Master."