Leez went home in a bit of a daze, her cheeks flushed red from both alcohol and some unknown sensations
Her home was a ’single bedroom’ studio apartment in one of the midrise buildings, along with the other two who also had their own. They didn’t own it yet, but the Golds managed to pull a few strings to reserve it for them.
Once they obtained enough contribution points, then the Golds said they’d give the required gold for them as a reward for their good service.
The trio felt bad to receive such kindness, but the Golds insisted on doing so.
Apparently, even when the Lord of Bleuelle had confiscated ’all’ their wealth, the Golds still managed to maintain a huge amount to live lavishly in Alterra. They did not know how, nor did they ask, but they just appreciated the gesture and promised to pay them back more for their good hearts.
Leez took off her attire, revealing the inner clothing that constricted her breasts. She heaved a sigh as she felt free and stretched her arms. Ah, she could finally breathe to the top of her lungs.
She was used to this ever since she was young so she hadn’t really questioned much. However, when she saw those female guards, a longing thought started festering in her head.
Did she really have to keep doing it like this?
However, what stopped her was the fact that she had lied to everyone pretty much her entire life. Would she lose her friends?
...would the captain hate her?
She shook her head of the thoughts and entered the bathroom to have a quick bath, hoping to wash away whatever melancholy she was feeling.
She dropped onto her soft bed afterwards, closing her eyes, and remembering what happened today. They were just dancing, but... although it felt so awkward, she didn’t want to leave his side.
"How weird..." she mumbled, touching the middle of her chest. She also felt a bit stuffy. Did the compression garment squeeze on her too much?
She didn’t know, she didn’t have anyone to teach her these things.
Leez’s father died in a war. He was a guard, a relatively higher-ranked one, though her mother was someone from that industry, thrown there by circumstance. They were actually childhood friends, though things changed when she was sold by her family to the brothel, but her father was too poor and weak to do anything about it.
After years of working hard, her father bought her mother off.
Her father was a famous anomaly among men, but she felt proud of him even when she was only four or five years old when he passed. But, even if her time with him was short, she remembered being in a happy family.
When her father died, her mother had no choice but to return to that field—or at least at the back-of-the-house, in the kitchens and the laundry duties.
Women with her history were rarely accepted in other jobs. No job outside such industries would take her in.
Afraid Leez would suffer the same fate, she taught her to live like a boy, which she had been hiding tediously for so long that it became her truth.
Years passed like this until she found out she was actually an elementalist being monitored by the Lord’s side, and she was then drafted along with a couple of others from various parts of the territory. She was only 10 years old at the time.
According to the policies, they could not meet their family members during the first six years and they were obligated to train for much of the day, day in and day out. However, there was a possibility of going home earlier if they finished all the tasks with excellent grades, so she was determined to do just that.
Hiding her gender had become harder then. The guards were in the same room, and took baths at the same time. To protect her secret, she always took baths much, much earlier than others. To keep up with the men’s advantages, she worked twice as hard.
She worked even when all her appendages felt like they would fall off, and she studied until her nose bled. She did everything so she had the right to be with her precious mother again, and then proudly say she could give her a good life like dad did.
She trained hard and desperately, she received the go signal to go visit relatives a few months before other people from her batch.
What did she suffer so much for?
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