Chapter 1604: Tea Time Estra was very very overbearing, but one could not help but pity her a bit. The most update n0vels are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩 In the end, they did let her be. This was her choice and it seemed like no matter what happened from this point on, she’d be fine with it. Of course, while some wanted to ask her what her next step was (mostly out of curiosity), they were not close enough to ask those questions. After a few words, Estra was then escorted outside, though as she took more and more steps away, the more the reality of it all was pounded into her. If they knew of her reputation, would anyone want anything to do with her? Did she really do that? Was she too rash? She had to admit it felt…liberating, but, indeed, what now? “Done?” a voice pulled her back to the present. Estra blinked, looking at the side. “Veronica.” “Done with the meeting? How was it?” Her eyes glistened. “You waited for me?” “???” “No, I was just hanging around looking for handsome men.” “Come now, let’s go,” the pink-haired girl said, grabbing her arm to lead her somewhere. “See the territory with me, and then you’d know what your next step could be.” Estra walked onto the plaza, looking out at the bustling street that greeted her. As they walked towards one of the nearby cafes though, she was surprised to see another familiar face having tea there. Still with a group of unfamiliar girls. “Cassandra?” she uttered. They were not close, but she had seen her often enough. Not to mention, her circle mocked her a lot for being a town noble. Then…when she was supposedly killed before her wedding, many people around her shook their heads. They talked about the tragedy with varying opinions, but they were discussing it like a gossip topic and nothing else. So…she was here? This whole time? She looked refreshed, though, much more beautiful than Estra remembered. She was wearing simple clothing, but it felt comfortable. Somehow, Estra knew the other girl was striving here. Her circle often laughed at her to her face or behind her back, but look at their situation now. It felt… complicated. Cassandra was also with two other girls she had never seen, and she was bracing herself for a reverse-mockery. It confused her when nothing of the sort came. Veronica looked at them alternatively and smiled, pulling Estra to one of the chairs there. “You probably know Cassandra by now,” she said. “And these two girls are Ria and Aditi,” she said, introducing the two.1 Ria was a writer who started out writing BL fanfiction. She had moved on to original works now that the subjects of the fanfiction had, regretfully, limited the use of their names (the approval was only valid for a year, so she had to move on to the next thing before it ended). She attended Olga and Hilda’s business of aborigine etiquette just to get a feel of the culture since she wanted to write more about it in her stories. She met Cassandra, who helped out part-time, there. Aditi was her friend and was somehow dragged to attend with her, so here they were. Aditi was also a writer, anyway, though she specialized in a totally different genre. “I had heard you came here,” Cassandra told Estra as she sat down. “I can’t say I’m not surprised, but welcome.” The other two girls nodded. “Welcome to Alterra!” “I hope you enjoy your time here.” Estra blinked, unused to an unsolicited but sincere welcome, especially from female peers. “…thank you.” Veronica smiled at her. “I saw them here while waiting for you, and I thought that we could all brainstorm what you could do next.” “You can also talk to us about what happened to you, and why you are here despite not really knowing anyone from this place,” Cassandra said. “Of course, you can skip it if you do not want to talk about it.” Cassandra felt it was important to know the girl’s motivation first—to know just how much she was willing to go to do here. If the redhead was just here for fun, then she probably wouldn’t be able to help much. Estra blinked and pondered, actually telling them everything in the end. With a nosy friend like Liaroa, Estra was used to oversharing. She just didn’t know how much of that would end up being used against her at the time. Estra, in fact, was still unclear about Liaroa’s exact hand on her current reputation. It was ironic how she could investigate so much about Otto back then, but she didn’t really care enough to know more about her own reputation and how bad it had gotten. As a Trion, few people would dare point it out. Not to mention, there were people around her who consciously masked her eyes and ears. What Mathilda revealed to her earlier was one of the first glimpses Estra had of how she was seen by the world, and she had an inkling feeling someone close to her was behind it. “Oh my goodness! That’s so admirable! Damn them and good riddance!” Estra was once again pulled back from her dark thoughts. This time, tanned hands grabbed her pale ones, and she lifted her head to look at Aditi. “You did great.” Estra bit her lips, unsure of what to say next. Fortunately, the topic soon shifted; otherwise, Estra would be confused as to how to handle these interactions. “So what do you want to do now?” Cassandra asked. Estra lived in high society and was trained to be a noble wife. Where to place her, where she could find a living. Now that she was cut off from her source of living—whether it was her maternal family or the family she was supposed to marry into—she couldn’t be expecting money to come to her without doing anything, right? Estra looked at them. “I will explore.” Cassandra had a feeling about this. She crossed her arms. “Did you manage to save up enough?” Normally, women would have some money in their wallets, but definitely not enough to live for the rest of their lives. Among aborigine women before heading to Alterra, only Olga probably had that type of money. The rest of them were raised to be dependent on men or on their families. Estra stared at her and checked her status. The redhead gulped, covering her mouth. “I only have a hundred gold with me,” she said, turning increasingly pale. Would she survive a long time with that? Coincidentally, she was given some money to buy some fabric for her wedding. With everything that happened, she just forgot it was there. “Eh… you’ll be fine for a few months unless you decide to splurge too much,” Cassandra said, heaving a sigh. At least she wouldn’t be a parasite. And that was already better than she thought. After a pause, Cassandra nodded and looked at Estra. “I’d say you can explore the Town a bit more before deciding on your next step, especially since you can afford to,” she said. “We both know you deserve to relax a bit, to see the world in a new perspective,” she said. “All without the burden of your family name.” Estra’s journey to self-love starts xD Back to Althea’s POV next