Chapter 89: 89 Broken Heart.

After parting ways with him, Silvia wove through the bustling marketplace until the noise faded into the distance.

The street around the residential area exuded a calm atmosphere, where many wooden houses stood in lines, each representing one’s own living style.

It gave Silvia a moment of stillness as if the world had slowed down, soothed her mind to catch on to what was on her mind after the separation yesterday.

Silvia was oblivious to the meaning behind Iris’s gaze at that time, but as her mind wandered, and caught a slight resolve in her pupils. She gulped her saliva to wash away the weight that stuck in her mouth.

In front of the familiar wooden house where she celebrated Nina’s birthday, the girl ascended the stairs and sniffed the earthy scent that flew through the air.

“Tea?”.

The mild and refreshing taste of the tea Iris brewed that day still lingered in her mind.

Her arms, now clad in white gloves up to the elbow, shivered in the winter air that seeped through the crimson crack on her skin.

Silvia rubbed her palm and knocked the door thrice, “Excuse me, Iris?”.

“Silvia?”. Iris replied, her voice was quite almost slipped from Silvia’s freezing ears.

“Yes, I have come as we promised yesterday”.

A moment later, the door clicked and opened to reveal a green-haired woman wearing a casual green outfit, draped in an adorably cute white apron with frills.

“Morning, Iris”. Silvia rubbed her elbows while blowing white mist on her lips.

“Morning, Silvia. Come in—it’s freezing outside”.

The woman welcomed the guest with a melted expression that made the flowers in the neighbor’s garden wilt.

“Thank you”.

Silvia stepped her foot inside, and a warm, earthy scent embraced her in a tight hug. She looked around the brown house, then sat on the dining chair.

“Would you like tea, Silvia?”.

Iris brought Silvia as she turned to her side and nodded.

“Please”.

A silver kettle with steam spew from its mouth sent a pleasing aroma that loosened the tension in her facial muscles.

Not only that, the woman returned to the kitchen and brought a full plate of warm, golden-brown cookies, arranged in neat style.

“Woah? Did you make this?”.

Silvia glanced at Iris, each movement the lady made, it stirred something in her heart. ’Did Jin prefer a girl who can cook?’.

“Yeah, this morning”. Iris took off the white apron from her body and stared at Silvia, “Help yourself”.

“Thank you”.

Even though Silvia had breakfast in the morning, her hands betrayed her thoughts as the scent of melted butter and crisp texture that settled on her fingers made her mouth drool.

Silvia popped a piece into her mouth, which made her face melt in joy, savoring the sweet taste that filled her mouth.

“This was delicious”.

She took another one and ate half of it, pouring glitter dust on her skirt.

“I’m glad if you like it”.

Iris raised the steaming tea in her cup to take a sip, enjoying the tea time with someone other than her sister.

A gentle light filtered through the window bathed the two girls who were absorbed in their own world, waiting for the right moment to bring the real intention they gathered.

Silvia sipped the tea to warm up her freezing throat, holding on to the awkward stillness that came from Iris, who suddenly got quiet.

She traced the cup where her lips had touched earlier, then lifted her gaze to meet the green-haired woman’s hardened expression.

“Iris?”. Silvia clenched the cup, watching the woman playing with the ring on her finger.

’Something feels off’. Thinking it back, Silvia began to piece together a dot that still lingered on her mind from yesterday’s invitation.

The things that Iris wanted to convey started to burden her consciousness, like a heavy boulder pressed on her back. ’What is she trying to say?’.

“Silvia, I need you to calm down and listen to what I have to say”.

Silvia gulped her saliva and nodded, watching Iris bite her lips with fingers still touching the ring.

It stayed for a couple of seconds before Iris pulled it out, and her appearance distorted into a younger self with straight blond hair that was woven from a golden silk.

“Wha? What!?”.

The resounding crack of metal being crumpled rang through the room as the cup in Silvia’s hand turned into a piece of junk.

Her azure eyes blinked, but unable to process what had actually happened before her eyes.

“I-Iris? Your appearance!?”. Silvia stared right through the racial trait of pointy ears, longer than normal humans, “Elves?”.

“Technically, I’m a High Elves and a part of Royalty”.

Iris straightened her posture. Hands rested on her thigh and gaze at the stiffened girl with an ephemeral grace that exudes majestic.

“R-Royal? Wha? Ah, Pardon my rudeness”. Silvia jumped from her seat, pushing away the chair that dropped with a clattering sound.

Iris chuckled behind her raised fist and addressed the flustered girl, “Don’t worry about it, I’m no longer a part of it, so you don’t have to stand in ceremony with me”.

Silvia lifted her face and saw the familiar half liden smile Iris always showed to her, “Understoo- Alright”.

She fixed her tone for receiving a death glare from the Elven girl.

The Duke girl fixed the chair and returned to her seat. Her azure eyes widened to see that the cup on her table was bent unnaturally.

“Do you want me to fetch a new one?”. Iris said as she stood from her seat, which made Silvia wave her hands in a blur.

“No, no, I can take care of it myself. May I?”.

Iris nodded in response with a smile plastered on her ethereal beauty. Silvia smiled wryly and walked toward the kitchen.

She opened the top shelf and fetched the new cup and muttered in her heart, ’I will buy her a new one later’.

As a member of the duchy household, Silvia was trained in the etiquette of making tea. She took hold of the still steaming kettle and poured the contents with a trained gesture.

After returning to the sea with a dull thud, Silvia stared vacantly toward the stretched skies that were captured within the small frame of the windows, then nodded.

“Good, I’m fine”.

“Pfft, phuhaha, Silvia, you are too serious”. Iris clutched her tightened stomach with tears that accumulated on the corner of her eyes, trembling.

Silvia widened her eyes, unsure of what she should do in this situation, and decided to let things calm down first before continuing the conversation.

She inhaled deeply while reaching out to her pounded chest, knowing that the person she adores as a friend and older sister turns out to hold a tremendous secret that made her heart leap to her throat.

Not only was Iris an Elves, the race that usually stayed within their territory in the Northeast. They were a recluse race and refused any contact with the outside world.

And, the girl before her was an Elves with a high social standing: a Royalty.

Silvia lifted her gaze and stared intently at Iris’s new appearance. A beauty that could topple a kingdom. Iris’s sharp green eyes saw even the truth pierce her soul.

’Beautiful?’. The thought emerged from her mind as Silvia began to consider her next approach toward the girl.

However, the personality Iris showed and subtle expression that etched deep in her mind, reminded Silvia that the Elven girl before her was Iris.

’No, what the hell I’m thinking’. Silvia shook her head sideways, throwing away the rude thoughts that gnawed at her mind, ’She was Iris, a girl who was cheerful and a bit rough and someone I considered a friend’.

“Silvia, would you listen to my story?”. Iris’s voice was soft, yet it carried a thousand weight that pulled the mood down.

“Gladly”.

The Elven girl named Irisdina Everleaf began to tell a story that goes way back to the first time she left her homeland with her deceased big sister.

A story that Silvia thought was a white world full of joy. But, it starts with twisted dark, as the first Chapter of the story had to be spilled with blood.

From then on, the story continued of the struggling, rough, and violent girl who took care of a small life who bloomed beautifully like her big sister.

Silvia covered her opened mouth, eyes brimming with tears as she heard the story of Iris. She looked down, thinking that her past was filled with nothing but mystery, but that was just the tip of the iceberg of what Iris had experienced.

“Iris, you”. Silvia wiped her eyes that couldn’t stop flowing.

“Yeah, although Nina was not my biological daughter, I am happy to have met her in this life and not regret anything that I had to sacrifice and…”.

A loud thud reverberated across the room. It came from the entrance door, making the two girls’ eyes narrowed.

Iris and Silvia exchanged a silent nod and, with light feet, approached the door.

Silvia placed her hand around the handle, gently twisted it before pulling the door straight, revealing a little girl who stood stiffened.

“Nina?”. Iris’s voice cracked as she saw the girl turn and run away from the place.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep