“…I was trying to go to Elgrad.”

“What? Elgrad?”

The old woman asked as if she had heard something absurd. Ines quietly nodded, understanding why the old woman reacted that way.

Elgrad was a country quite far from Tezever.

While Vernar and Brillant were the two countries closest to Tezever, she didn’t want to go to either of them as they were both problematic. That’s why Ines had chosen Elgrad.

But because it was so far away, the journey wasn’t easy. Not only did it require a lot of money, but more importantly, her physical condition wouldn’t allow her to make it there.

It was a country that required about three months of sea travel by ship to reach. Yet she had collapsed before even reaching the port. Getting on a ship was out of the question. And clearly, the old woman thought the same as she added.

“Elgrad? At this rate, you’ll die on the road before you even reach the port.”

The port wasn’t too far from the village where she was now. It was about four days by carriage. But as the old woman said, she had ended up collapsing before even reaching the port.

‘I guess going straight there is impossible after all.’

It was around when she had just left the capital. That’s when she started feeling her strength rapidly declining. Even traveling in a public carriage mixed with other people was exhausting for someone who had been used to riding alone in luxury carriages.

The constant tension from worrying about encountering bandits had also contributed to her collapse.

“Still, you were lucky, young lady. The people in this village are kind. If you had collapsed somewhere else, who knows what might have happened to you.”

Ines agreed with those words. Who knows what might have happened to a young woman who collapsed alone.

Moreover, she was carrying a considerable amount of money. It was lucky enough that she hadn’t encountered any bandits along the way.

Watching Ines silently bow her head, the old woman shook her head.

“If you’re determined to go to Elgrad, why don’t you stay in the village for a while and recover?”

“Here?”

“Yes. You need to recover before embarking on such a long journey. Otherwise, you won’t last and your health will be ruined. Your body is already quite damaged.”

In truth, even if she was told to leave right now, she didn’t have the confidence to travel far. She didn’t have the strength left for even a four-day journey, let alone a long sea voyage. That’s how close to her limit her body was.

Realizing she had no choice, Ines answered.

“I think that would be best. Is there perhaps an inn where I could stay for a while?”

She thought there must be at least one or two inns since it wasn’t too far from the port.

“There is one down below, but it’s probably full for now. A merchant group heading to the port has been resting there for the past two days.”

“Ah…”

What to do now. Seeing her troubled expression at this unexpected obstacle, the old woman suggested.

“Stay at my house instead. I have a spare room anyway. It used to be my granddaughter’s room.”

“Your granddaughter?”

At the old woman’s words, Ines carefully looked around the room. The walls were filled with books, and dried herb specimens were placed throughout the room. It was clearly an herbalist’s room.

“Your granddaughter must have liked herbs too.”

“Yes. She took after her mother. She would have been about your age if she were alive.”

If she were alive – that meant the granddaughter was no longer in this world. Realizing she had made a slip of the tongue, Ines covered her mouth with her hand.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

The old woman responded with a hearty laugh.

“What’s there to be sorry about? Don’t worry about it. It’s been quite a while since she passed away.”

There was a hint of bitterness in the old woman’s voice. Ines felt uncomfortable as well. She worried whether it was right for her to use a room that still held traces of the deceased granddaughter.

“I think it would be an imposition for me to stay in this room. I’ll rest just for today and look for a vacant room in the village tomorrow. If I search well, there must be at least one empty room somewhere.”

“I told you not to worry about it. The room has been empty without an owner for a long time. It would be better to have it filled with human warmth.”

“Still…”

“Don’t worry. If you feel uncomfortable, you can pay me something in return.”

At the mention of payment, Ines nodded as if it was only natural.

“Of course I should. Then for payment…”

She was about to rummage through her bag to give the old woman a few gold coins for lodging. Just then, an unfamiliar voice called from outside.

“Granny! Where are you, Granny!”

The old woman got up at the call.

“Another visitor, it seems.”

The old woman shook her head and went outside. Ines carefully followed behind her. Outside stood a man with an injured arm dripping with blood.

“What happened to you?”

“He cut his arm by accident with a farming tool while working in the field. I told him to be careful…”

The middle-aged woman beside the man answered. She appeared to be his wife.

At the woman’s words, the old woman cleaned the man’s arm with a clean towel and examined the wound.

“Fortunately, it’s not a serious wound. Just a slight tear in the skin. Let’s see…”

The old woman looked around and then spoke to Ines.

“Hey, young lady, help me for a moment.”

Ines’s body jumped at suddenly being called upon by the old woman.

“See that purple bottle in the cabinet? Bring that here. There should be bandages in the drawer below. Bring those too.”

“Ah, yes…!”

Finding herself following the old woman’s orders before she knew it, Ines quickly moved.

Once all the materials were gathered, the old woman began applying herbs liberally to the man’s arm. The man occasionally let out groans, but each time they were met with the old woman’s scolding not to be such a baby.

After some time had passed.

As Ines quietly watched the old woman treat the wound, someone approached her. It was the injured man’s wife.

“Thank you for helping, miss. By the way, aren’t you the young lady who collapsed in the village yesterday? Are you feeling better?”

It seemed that being such a small village, news of her existence had spread throughout the neighborhood. Feeling embarrassed that her collapse had become such gossip, Ines avoided eye contact.

“Yes. Thanks to the grandmother’s treatment.”

Come to think of it, her body that had felt as heavy as a thousand pounds until she collapsed now felt much lighter. She had struggled even to walk before, but just now she had moved around without any problem.

“That’s good. While Greta has a rough personality, her skills are undeniable. She’s as good as any doctor.”

“…I see.”

“Young lady! Come here for a moment!”

Ines, who had been chatting with the woman, approached the old woman again at her call. This time she was asked to hold the man’s arm.

After helping the old woman for quite a while.

“There. All done.”

The old woman dusted off her hands and straightened her back, apparently finished with the treatment. She wiped her hands with a handkerchief and gave the man instructions.

“Keep the wound away from water for now. It might get infected otherwise. Take the medicine I gave you three times a day for about four days, and when it runs out, come back. I need to check on the wound.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

“That’s enough, now get going. You’re making a fuss.”

Just as the two people were leaving at the grandmother’s dismissal.

When the house became quiet, Ines, who had ended up helping, let out a sigh.

“Thank you for helping. It’s been hard doing everything alone since my granddaughter left. Despite your appearance, you move quite efficiently – seems you’re not bad at working.”

“Is… that so?”

Not displeased by the unexpected praise, Ines smiled awkwardly.

Having never done much work before, Ines felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Ines looked at her hands, recalling what had just happened.

‘Strange.’

Until now, treating others had only been a painful and terrible experience for her. But today, for the first time, she felt a sense of achievement. It was an emotion she had never felt before.

The old woman, who had been watching Ines thoughtfully, spoke up.

“Instead of paying me, why don’t you stay here and help me with my work?”

“What? Me? I’m not sure if I’d be of any help…”

“Just do like you did today, nothing special. With a bit of teaching, I think you could be quite useful.”

Running small errands like today was something even a child could do, so it should be fine. After some consideration, Ines nodded.

“I’ll do my best to help.”

“Haha, no need to be so formal. By the way, we haven’t even introduced ourselves properly. I’m Greta. What’s your name?”

“My name is I…”

Ines, who was about to say her real name, closed her mouth. Then, hesitating, she quickly made up another name.

“…It’s Lena.”