Alouettes first encounter w（1 / 6）

In the summer of 1783, the city of Rouen, Kingdom of France, nine-year-old Edith led her aunt''s hand, curious eyes taking in a shabby low-rise building before them.

Edith was an orphan. At the age of seven, both her parents running a small farm in the countryside died of cholera within a week.

Aunt Adele, the widow of a cavalry lieutenant in Rouen, became the guardian of this child. She supported Edith and her own son and daughter with a small pension.

This small and agile girl, with a smattering of freckles beneath her big eyes and chestnut hair always tied into two thick braids swaying behind, was naturally optimistic and adaptable. Losing her original home did not make her sad for long.

What the little girl found unbearable was loneliness. Her cousins were much older and grew up in the city, ignorant of the various tricks played by rural children. Neither had she same-aged companions nearby to play together with.

As an indulged only child from an affluent rural family, her childhood had already instilled in her a pampered disposition. This did not develop into a princess temper; rather, she was too free-spirited, close to nature and wilderness.

The a-dults were busy with farm work and hardly restricted their daughter. Little Edith robbed bird''s nests, waded in streams, and rolled around in the mud. Her mother doted on this child, never willing to scold her.

For a child like her, the life of a petty bourgeoisie family in Rouen was stifling. Fortunately, her aunt didn''t much control the girl''s wild behavior. S□□ muttered a few words, asking her to follow the demure example of her 14-year-old cousin, Margot. It was said that a lady of wealth passing by several years ago had once praised Margot''s refined elegance and ladylike demeanor.

Aunt Adele, a short, plump middle-aged woman, didn''t particularly care for any of her kids, always complaining that Edith worsened her nervous condition. But in