The grandmother's house is not far away, it took about ten minutes to walk to, is an ordinary village house built of stone and wood. The roof was made of thatch, and a cow was tied to the door. One side of the house, there are crooked fences tied into a simple farm, which grows many vegetables and plants. The only ones I could recognize from a cursory glance were cabbages and sweet potatoes.

"Come, come in. My grandson and granddaughter have gone to work on the farm after breakfast, so there is no one in the house." The grandmother pushed open the small door of the fence and led me into the house.

The furnishings of the house are very simple, only a set of table and chairs can be called furniture, and an old oil lamp is placed on the table.

The thick wooden pillars have been eroded by the years and look somewhat dilapidated and decayed. The mottled stone walls are partially cracked, with a few bunches of red currants hanging on them. In a corner lay a long wooden box with simple supports for hanging clothes, and beside those there are nothing else.

There are three other small rooms in the house, except for the living room, and the doors are all closed at the moment.

"Come on, child, sit down. Wait for grandma to make you something to eat first." Grandma led me to sit at the table, pushed open the door of one room and went in, bringing out some black bread and some dried meat.

"There is nothing good to entertain in the house. These venison were hunted back by the hunter in the village some days ago, my grandson cut a lot from him and has been salting it, eat it quickly."

"...... Thank you."

The grandmother looked at me with a somewhat softer gaze. I was indeed a little hungry, so I didn't bother, grabbed a piece of black bread and took a big bite.

The bread tasted very unpleasant, sour and a bit bitter, and it felt like chewing wood chips in my mouth.

The meat of the venison is not bad, probably because I ate the fruit in the forest for so many days, I really miss the taste of salt.

The grandmother saw that I was eating well and smiled with narrowed eyes.

"You can eat slowly. Really, this girl has been hungry for days ...... Ah, yes, I'll go and squeeze some milk for you."

After that the grandmother walked out trembling holding her waist, and in a short while carried a glass of milk on the table. Venison is a little too salty, I just eat thirsty, raised my head to drink the full cup of warm milk into the stomach, wipe the mouth continued to eat, soon the food has been wiped out.

There was no feeling of fullness when I touched my belly.

The grandmother took two more slices of bread and a plate of venison from the kitchen, but I soon finished them again.

...... Still want to eat.

I barred my little mouth and looked blearily at the grandmother's surprised look, full of innocence.

"Poor girl, you haven't eaten anything for a few days. ...... I'll go and squeeze another glass of milk for you, and after drinking it grandma will take you to wash your body first." The grandmother stroked my hair, "What a heart-wrenching girl."

............

There is a small flowing river on the west side of the village. The grandmother told me that the women of the village bathed and did their laundry in the lower reaches of the river, while the men were upstream, separated from the upper and lower reaches by a river of waterfalls.

Hmmm ...... It seems this is not a ladies first world and the men are not gentlemen at all.

When I got back to the house after the bath, the grandmother took out a dress made of rough linen for me to put on.

"This is a dress I just made for that granddaughter of mine, she hasn't worn it yet, it's clean, put it on."

I was stunned at the sound of it and immediately shook my head in refusal.

What are you kidding, making me wear a dress?

"Put it on, I'll go wash that cloak of yours for you later, it's too dirty."

The grandmother didn't even give me a chance to refuse, reaching out and tugging my cloak down, her dry, thin body was incredibly strong, and I immediately grabbed the collar to resist.

"No ......"

"Do as you're told."

After pushing and shoving for a while, I didn't dare to make a strong effort for fear of hurting her, but finally I couldn't argue with her and was forced to put on the dress.

The grandmother looked at me with a clean, new face and nodded her head in satisfaction.

"You, girl, how did you get so beautiful? Grandma, I have never seen such a beautiful person like you in my sixty years of life, much more beautiful than even the lord lord's daughter."

The grandmother plucked a fruit of currant from the stone wall, blew it and stuffed it into my mouth. The taste of currant was tart and sweet, much better than the unknown fruit in the forest.

"Now can you tell Grandma what your name is?"

"...... Sylvega."

This was the name that was given without even thinking in my head. I remembered the initial whisper that rang in my ears from whatever had the appearance of Xiao Xi in my dream, and that was probably the name that this body had.

"Can Grandma call you Sylve?"

I nodded.

"Oh Sylve, where are the adults in your family?"

I didn't really know how to answer this question, so I shook my head slowly.

"...... Is that so." Grandma had a look of pity in her eyes and didn't ask anything more, she already had her understanding.

Black hair and black eyes are rare ...... The girl in front of her would never come from a normal commoner family. A daughter born in a commoner family has too much hard work and hardship in her life to raise such a look and skin. Her granddaughter is only eighteen years old, just past the age of bar mitzvah, but her skin is already a bit rough and waxy from the wind and sun all day long.

This girl only wore a tattered cloak when she came, but the cloak was not an ordinary product at first glance, and I am afraid that this quality could not be afforded even by the small nobles she had seen.

It is afraid that which remarkable great nobleman, whose family experienced some change she could not imagine, was left with this poor girl who escaped. However, she was not going to get to the bottom of this kind of thing. The girl was already having such a hard time, so why expose people's scars, which did not matter to the old man.

"Is there any place you want to go?"

I shook my head again.

"Well, how about staying with grandma for now?"

Hearing the grandmother's words, I cocked my head and thought about it.

Grandma seems to be very nice, and anyway, I don't know where to go now, and I don't have any money on me. Why don't we settle here for the time being and wait to figure out the general situation of this world before making the next step?

"...... Good."

The grandmother's face looked pleased, and her face was wrinkled with ugly folds.

"Grandma my name is Clare, Clare French. You can just call me Grandma Clare."

I nodded in understanding.

"Clare ...... Grandma, need ...... me...... do something ...... ?."

Grandma Clare lost a little laugh when she heard me stumble over the words, "Silly girl, you are still young, grandma have nothing need you to do. Grandma just likes you. Grandma, although there is nothing good to eat and wear here, but it won't make you hungry, you just settle down’’

.The words that came out were simple and sincere.

After three years in the business world, I am used to the world of deceitfulness, and I know that if I want to get something, I have to give it first, and I have taken it as a credo in my life. From the time I met Grandma Clare to now, I was at a loss for the sheer kindness she showed me and wanted to do something for Grandma.

"I...can...clean up."

Then I looked around to see if there was a rag or broom or something.

"Silly girl......"

Grandmother Clare pulled me back into her arms, her eyes full of pity, "Poor kid, you must be terrified, you can't even speak ...... I don't know what kind of crime I've suffered ......"

There was some choking at the end of the speech, and the eyes were slightly red.

Such a sentimental old lady.

To be honest, I'm not really comfortable with this look.

As a 26 year old man, it's been too long since I've been hugged like this, and my face was a little shy.

Feeling her thin, choking body, I didn't break away and just let her keep holding me.

No, it's not as bad as you think.

I wanted to tell her that, but I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.

............

Dusk was approaching.

The twilight that is about to be drowned by the hills is like a candle flame that is about to be extinguished, performing its last duty for the day.

For this small village, it does not have the bright lights of a modern city, so the night is very dangerous and everyone rushes back home before the sun sets.

"Grandma we're back!"

The quietness was broken by an abrupt voice, and the dilapidated wooden door was opened with a creak. I was wiping the table when I heard the sound and looked around curiously. A young man and woman, one behind the other, came in from outside, covered in mud.

"I'm starving! Is there anything to eat ...... Hey, who are you?"

The young girl with brown hair who entered the door first saw me at a glance and showed a surprised look.

"What's wrong, do we have a guest?"

The younger looking boy who was following the girl asked while knocking the mud stuck on his shoes.

"You guys ...... hello."

I was a little embarrassed to say hello to them.

"You're back!" Grandma Clare came out of the kitchen with her apron tied, "Tired, aren't you? Take a break, dinner will be ready soon ...... Barry! You've got mud all over the place! Go out and clean it up before you come back!"

"Grandma, why don't you talk about Aria, she has more mud on her feet than I do!"

The boy shouted with some discontent.

"Both of you get clean before you come in! Clean up the house later!"

"It's okay ...... I'll ...... I'll clean it up." I hurriedly threw down the rag in my hand and ran into the kitchen to get the broom.

"Grandma, who is she?" The girl named Aria asked with some curiosity.

"Sylve ...... Come, come, don't rush to get the broom first, let me introduce you."

"This is my granddaughter, Aria." Grandma Clare said pointing to the girl, then to the boy, "This naughty fellow is my grandson, his name is Barry."

"You two, this little cutie is Sylvega, you can just call her Sylve, she'll be your little sister from now on."

"Eh???"

"Little sister?"

The two sister and brother were instantly curious.

"That's it, well, get the mud clean and go inside and sit down, I'll explain it to you later. Don't clean up either, Sylve, go sit down there, the meal will be ready soon."

"Okay."

Soon the simple and plain meal was on the table, and the dim room was immediately lit up when Grandma Clare lit the oil lamp on the table. It was only then that the two siblings got a good look at my face, and they had very different reactions.

"Ah! So cute!!!" Aria stared at me as if she had seen some rare animal, and the light reflected in her eyes gave me goosebumps.

Barry's face was a little flushed in the bright light, just like a shy little boy.