"Grandmother, what's wrong?"
Talulah suddenly noticed the Old Grandmother had fallen silent, staring at her with a worried expression. Her eyes widened as she frantically checked herself for anything amiss.
"Nothing, dear. I was just fretting about who would ever want to marry you."
"I... I'm not old enough to get married yet!"
Talulah's face flushed crimson instantly. She hadn't expected the old woman to blurt out such a thing so abruptly.
"Anka from the neighboring village got married around fifteen. You're well past that age."
"That's way too young! Besides, if anyone should get married first, it should be Jeanne, not me! Why are you so worried about me?"
Talulah grew increasingly embarrassed. Glancing at Jeanne, who was sipping soup beside her, she could see the girl's large eyes and expression clearly conveying, Grandma's just stirring up trouble—keep going! Desperate to change the subject, Talulah quickly retorted, "It's not like she lacks suitors. If she hadn't said she wasn't considering marriage right now, people would have come knocking long ago."
"Hmph, even in this I've lost!"
Talulah lowered her head and glumly sipped her soup. Though she wasn't currently interested in marriage herself, the thought of Jeanne eventually marrying and leaving her still stung a little.
As for herself? She hadn't even considered it. She was Infected. Who would want to marry an Infected woman? Her life had been predetermined the moment she got infected.
"Grandmother, I've brought back all the mended clothes!"
A gentle voice called from outside the door. A gray-haired Elafia entered, her face radiant with a warm smile that seemed to purify the soul.
"Oh, Alina, you're here! Didn't I tell you I'd come to pick up the clothes later?" Jeanne greeted her, accepting the clothes and ladling a bowl of hot soup for Alina.
This was Alina, the quiet and delicate girl Grandmother often spoke of. She was a member of the village whose family had passed away, and the two elders had often helped her family in the past.
Jeanne and Alina quickly became friends after Jeanne arrived. Due to her frail health, Alina often helped with mending, washing, and other household chores.
"I had nothing else to do anyway, so I thought I'd deliver them myself," Alina replied.
"Alina, you're finally here! Grandmother and Jeanne have been scolding me mercilessly! You have to put in a good word for me!" Talulah perked up instantly at Alina's arrival, launching into a tirade about her recent hardships.
"You still have the nerve to complain? If only you could be as steady as Alina! She loves reading, is skilled at handicrafts, and out of the three of you, you're the only one who can't even sew a button!"
"Grandmother, Talulah works hard too! She never slacks off when she's working... Eh, is that meat soup?"
"Exactly! I've worked plenty myself!" Talulah puffed out her chest proudly, as if she had finally found her backbone.
"You just spoil her too much. Who knows what will become of her in the future? Oh well, you two chat. I'm going back inside to rest."
Grandmother chuckled and shook her head, picking up her clothes and returning to her room. If not for wanting to see Talulah return, she would have gone to bed long ago.
Sometimes, she couldn't help but sigh at her own aging. Unlike these young ones, she no longer had the energy she used to. Twenty years ago, she wouldn't have even known what fatigue felt like.
But now, if she didn't get proper rest one day, she couldn't even think about working the next. If not for Jeanne and the others helping out, she and her old man might not have survived this harsh winter.
"Sometimes, a person just has to accept their age..."
With these words, the old woman drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Outside, the three continued chatting. Talulah was still learning how to mend clothes from Alina, frustrated by her inability to master the skill.
On the other side of the room, Jeanne was weaving a piece of red cloth. Talulah couldn't understand why Jeanne insisted on weaving it herself.
In over a year, she had never seen Jeanne wear such a red garment. Her weaving progressed slowly, barely making any progress in a day.
Yet they had long grown accustomed to this arrangement, and Talulah cherished the cloth, finding its warmth comforting.
Still, she would occasionally hear a faint, mournful wail. When she turned to look, there was nothing there. Probably just a hallucination, she thought, or the howling wind outside.
"Oh, Alina," Jeanne said, her voice gentle. "How's your family preparing? They say the blizzard in a few days will be worse than ever. Be careful!"
Jeanne's concern was understandable. Alina's family wasn't as well-equipped as theirs. She didn't need to elaborate; Talulah, a Draco with Dragon Blood, was strong and capable of handling physical labor.
"Ah, it should be enough," Alina replied after a moment's thought. "I haven't used much lately, so what's left should last us through the winter."
"Alright then," Jeanne said. "I'll check tomorrow if you need anything else. It'll be too late if you run out when the blizzard hits."
Jeanne remained uneasy. She had helped them stockpile supplies earlier, which should have been enough to get them through the winter under normal circumstances. But this winter had turned out to be exceptionally harsh, and she couldn't shake her concern.
Suddenly, she sensed something and immediately dropped her work. A Revelation told her that a team from the Infected Search Team would arrive tomorrow to conduct another thorough sweep.
Even Jeanne, known for her gentle nature, couldn't help but feel annoyed. This was already the fifth search this winter—were they trying to strip them bare, like shearing a sheep to the bone?
"What's wrong? Are those Black Bugs coming again?" Talulah and the others immediately suspected this upon seeing Jeanne's expression.
This wasn't the first time Jeanne had sensed the Inspection Team's imminent arrival, always citing her "gut feeling" as the reason.
Though the explanation seemed absurd, Talulah had come to trust it. And each subsequent prediction proving eerily accurate had only deepened their faith in Jeanne's words.
After Jeanne nodded, they hurriedly began hiding the family's valuables, following her guidance. Miraculously, every hiding place Jeanne guided them to remained undiscovered.
This near-prophetic ability was Jeanne's Revelation—a power that guided her actions. Yet this almost intuitive insight was so extraordinary that ordinary people would never believe it could be real.
Still, they left some supplies in the cellar. If there were truly nothing to be found, the Inspection Team would surely grow suspicious. Better to leave a few things to lull their suspicions.
However, Jeanne's Revelation continued to fill her with a sense of impending danger. Could something terrible be about to happen? Were those approaching truly the Inspection Team...?