Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra

There was a pause.

Not silence—just the breathless kind of stillness that followed something unexpected. Like dust suspended midair, waiting to fall.

Then came the next voice—older, female, Arcanis-born by the lilt in her vowels. Dressed in ivory silks and jeweled cuffs, her eyes flicked toward Valeria with a blend of curiosity and lightly veiled concern.

"You went alone?" she repeated, voice more incredulous than accusatory. "To Andelheim?"

Valeria nodded once. "Yes."

"But surely you brought at least a guard—an escort?" another noblewoman asked, frowning, her expression tightening in quiet disbelief. "Even for someone of your standing, traveling that far alone... that’s hardly safe."

"It’s the outer-east," someone murmured. "Marquis Vendor governs, yes—but the borders aren’t without risk. Especially for a noblewoman."

A ripple moved through the group. Several heads nodded, especially among the young noblewomen. Whispers of concern, subtle but pointed, floated like perfume through the circle.

They weren’t questioning her ability—not directly.

But they were pointing to the rules they themselves were forced to live by. The expectations. The limitations. The unspoken bindings around their wrists in the form of titles, etiquette, lineage.

Valeria’s eyes moved between them. Their worry wasn’t false. But it was distant.

They had never had to go alone.