I’d been out of my clothes for less than a minute, and I was already freezing. This body was ridiculously weak, and it felt a little hot too. I must have a fever. I could only hurry to get dressed, then hurriedly pull on my pants as well.

Jayard’s clothes were a little too big for me. My hands and feet couldn’t even poke out of the sleeves, and they weren’t very thick, either. Even with them on and the blanket wrapped around me, I was still cold.

There probably aren’t many transmigrators in the world who’ve ended up as badly off as me. Sorry for letting the transmigrator army down, but it’s not like I wanted this. I’ve just had terrible luck.

When Jayard saw me obediently put on the clothes, a faintly relieved smile appeared on his face. He pulled the blanket a little tighter around me, then said, “Wait here for a bit. I’m going outside.”

“Wait!” The moment I heard he was leaving, a sudden, inexplicable panic gripped me. I didn’t want him to go. It felt like I was about to be abandoned—even though when he’d tossed me out after I transmigrated that morning, I hadn’t felt the slightest reluctance to leave him.

“I’m just going to get something to eat. I’ll be right back. Parula’s hungry too, right?” Jayard crouched down, smiling as he reassured me and gently stroked my head.

Honestly, I really hated having my head patted, especially by a boy my own age. But right now, it made me feel safe. And when he mentioned food, I realized my stomach was so empty I was getting dizzy.

“Then come back soon,” I said. It was hard to believe I’d already become dependent on someone I’d known for less than a day.

“Sure. I’ll be right back, so be a good girl and wait for me, Parula.” Jayard turned and slipped outside. I noticed that he wasn’t moving very freely, either. The oversized clothes made his movements awkward and sluggish.

It looked like the clothes I was wearing were the only ones that fit him. If I could wear the dead person’s clothes from earlier, he wouldn’t have to go around like this. After all, I only needed to stay warm, while Jayard had to go outside and move around.

The thought flashed through my mind, then I immediately pushed it aside. I still couldn’t accept it. I’d rather wear nothing at all.

Jayard had said he’d be back soon, but finding food took time. As I waited in the cave, every minute felt like an hour, and I grew more and more helpless and afraid.

Back when I’d accepted death and had nothing left to worry about, I hadn’t been scared at all. Either way, I was going to die, right? I hadn’t expected anyone to come save me, because everyone in this world was a stranger to me.

But now that I’d seen someone willing to help me, now that I had a little hope of surviving, I couldn’t face things so calmly anymore. I was starting to fear being alone. I was afraid of dying.

I was seriously ill and couldn’t move. All I could do was lie here and wait for Jayard to come back. Waiting like this was torture.

As time passed, I began to feel an inexplicable fear, as if some unknown shadow were circling overhead. Or maybe it was like the instinctive warning that hits when a vicious beast passes nearby—a desperate urge to protect myself.

It was already the dead of night. The whole city had fallen silent, and every occasional rustle of wind through the grass made me jump like a startled bird.

Heavy footsteps passed overhead. They were far too heavy to belong to a human. They sounded more like the steps of some giant beast, an elephant or something, and they made a wet, dragging noise, as if it were walking through water.

Suddenly, a loud splash came from the river outside the cave. It didn’t sound like an ordinary fish slapping at the water. It sounded like a huge fish thrashing violently as it struggled in its death throes.

Could a little river like this really hold a fish that big? And why was it struggling? Had another fish attacked it? I couldn’t figure it out, and I couldn’t go outside to check.

At last, the silent night was suddenly shattered by a woman’s scream. It was shrill and desperate, but it cut off halfway through. Only its echo seemed to linger.

What had happened? It sounded like a woman had been attacked—or even… killed. I couldn’t help imagining the worst.

Whatever had happened, that scream couldn’t be a good sign. The woman might already be beyond saving. I could only wrap the blanket tighter around myself, but I still couldn’t stop trembling.

I couldn’t even fight back now. I was in a completely unfamiliar place, and if some thug or deranged killer walked into this cave, I wouldn’t be able to resist in the slightest. I’d be even worse off than that woman. At least she’d managed to scream for help.

Just as my fear was about to fester in the loneliness, a quick, light set of footsteps suddenly approached and raced up to the cave entrance. I looked over, full of hope. Sure enough, it was Jayard’s familiar figure. He was carrying a large cloth sack covered in dust.

“You’re back!” I cried out in delight. I’d never realized I could look forward to someone’s return so much. The moment Jayard appeared, I almost burst into tears from sheer relief.

The fear and chill vanished in an instant, and my trembling body calmed down. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was like seeing the sun. I even felt a little warmer. It was unbelievable.

“Yeah. I brought some food back. You haven’t been waiting too long, have you?” Jayard opened the cloth sack in his hands. It was covered in dust. It seemed he’d put the food inside and then buried it in the ground to hide it.

“No.” I felt like I’d been waiting forever, but that was just fear playing tricks on me. Thinking back and estimating, Jayard had only been gone for about twenty minutes.

When he opened the sack, I saw the food inside: bread, sausages, and flatbread. By the standards of my previous life, they were only passable, but to Parula, this was a feast unlike anything she’d ever had.

Of course, Jayard had stolen all this food. After he brought it back, Mackduff would take it to eat or stash it away. Either way, he’d never let Parula have any.

Jayard was preparing to escape from Mackduff. He’d been putting the food he stole—the kinds that would keep well—into a cloth sack and hiding it. He’d stored quite a lot by now. The big sack was packed full, and it was almost as tall as he was.

Two conflicting thoughts battled in my mind. One side kept finding fault: the bread looked moldy, the sausages seemed to be made from scraps of meat—maybe even meat from a dead animal—and the flatbread was just a plain sheet of bread with nothing else.

But the other side remembered that these were the delicious foods Parula had longed for more than anything. Just eat already!

I was still hesitating when an indescribable hunger surged up from my gut. Before I knew it, I’d grabbed the bread and stuffed it into my mouth.