I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 73: A Boy Who Wanted to Leave

However, when night finally came, Roxanna wasn’t thinking about how to stop her husbands from arguing anymore. Instead, all she could worry about was Cyrus and Luan, who still hadn’t returned even though it was already very late.

This world didn’t have clocks, but at least she could check the digital clock on the system panel.

They had left the settlement at 3 PM, and now it was already 1 AM, yet they still weren’t back.

"Are you sure we don’t need to go after them?" Roxanna asked Zeir anxiously.

She and Zeir were sitting together on a stone near the settlement gate. Roxanna simply couldn’t sit still inside the hut—she kept pacing nonstop—so Zeir thought it would be better to wait outside with her.

Since Calen and Azul were just as dramatic as she was, putting the three of them in one room would only end in chaos.

So now, the two of them waited in front of the gate. The wooden guard post was still half-destroyed from the demon bears’ attack, but at least part of it still remained.

"They’ll be fine," Zeir said calmly. "They’re probably just having trouble finding the poison plants, or maybe they stopped to take shelter somewhere because of the rain."

Roxanna couldn’t help stomping her foot nervously against the ground. "But Cyrus can’t see well in the dark, right?"

Cyrus was a red sparrow, and birds like that didn’t have night vision as good as owls or nighthawks. That was why Roxanna was worried he might lose his way, or worse, accidentally get eaten by a tall demon beast.

"Cyrus actually has very good night vision," Zeir replied. "Maybe even as good as Luan’s."

Roxanna went silent.

She was sure she had once read that red sparrows didn’t see well in the dark, or... maybe things were different because Cyrus wasn’t a real bird, he was a beastman.

Yeah. That had to be it.

"But what if they run into danger and can’t come back?" Roxanna asked again, sounding even more panicked this time.

Zeir, meanwhile, stayed completely calm. "They will come home," he said in the same steady tone.

He hadn’t changed his expression or voice since earlier, and somehow, that only made Roxanna a little annoyed. She stood up and turned toward him. "How can you be this calm?" she asked. "Aren’t you even a little worried?"

"Why should I be?" Zeir looked straight into her eyes. Unlike her other husbands, he was the only one who never touched her suddenly. Even now, he didn’t try to pull her closer.

The only thing he did was lock his gaze on her.

"I know they’ll come back," he said plainly. "So there’s no reason to worry. I trust them."

Roxanna opened her mouth, then closed it again because she didn’t know what to say. In the end, she simply stared at Zeir quietly, observing him from head to toe.

His long white hair stood out against the darkness of the night, and the light in his eyes felt strangely reassuring, like the glow of the moon.

His calm demeanor honestly reminded Roxanna of her neighbor’s pet lizard, the one that was always laid out in the sun every morning. She would usually see it before going to work. The lizard would simply lift its head a little, then stay completely still, as if time had stopped.

Her neighbor once told her that the lizard could sit like that for hours without making a single sound.

Zeir wasn’t that different. He still talked, of course—though back then most of it was only complaints about the evil Roxanna—but right now he had been staring at her for almost three whole minutes without moving his head at all.

Roxanna was pretty sure that if he wanted to, Zeir could stay silent like that for a full hour.

She was about to speak again when her gaze accidentally met the round, judging eyes of a fat cat waddling toward her from inside the settlement.

"Lilo?" She squinted for a moment to be sure. But really, there was only one truly chonky cat in this entire settlement, so identifying him wasn’t that hard. "Where’s Skiv?"

Roxanna bent down and tried to lift Lilo, only to nearly fall forward in shock at how heavy he was. She might have toppled over completely if Zeir hadn’t caught her arm in time.

"What the hell have you been eating?!" Roxanna stared at the plump cat now in her arms, though she needed Zeir’s support just to hold him. "You seriously need to cut down on your meals!"

The cat immediately hissed at her, as if telling Roxanna to shut the hell up.

"Lilo! Lilo!" The boy’s voice called out for his cat, and he froze in shock when he saw Lilo already in Roxanna’s arms.

Honestly, this was the first time Roxanna had seen Skiv again since the attack incident. Thanks to her blood, he had been able to heal quickly, but even so, she still asked a few beastwomen to take care of him for a few days.

"L–Leader!" Skiv stepped back, then forward again, clearly unsure whether he should run or stay. "Why are you here?"

Roxanna narrowed her eyes. "I should be the one asking that. Why are you out this late at night? And... what is that, Skiv?"

She stared at the animal-skin bag he was trying to hide behind his back. He looked like he wanted to hide it even more, but instead, he accidentally dropped it.

The bag hit the ground with a soft thud, and a few items spilled out; some folded clothes and pieces of meat wrapped neatly in large leaves.

Roxanna blinked several times, then looked at the boy in confusion. "Skiv... why are you carrying these?" she asked. "Are you trying to run away from the settlement?"

He bit his lip and lowered his head, clearly unwilling to meet her eyes.

Roxanna spoke again. "Did I do something wrong to you?" she asked softly. "Skiv, your blood is tied to mine, so if you try to leave—"

"I know! I know!" Skiv finally lifted his head. Instead of looking angry or upset, he looked like he was about to cry. "But I have to go!"

Roxanna stared at him in even greater confusion. Panic slowly began to rise inside her mind. [Did I do something that made him hate me until now?] 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

[I know it must be hard to forgive the evil Roxanna’s mistakes, but I thought I had already atoned for them by giving him my blood to save his life.]

Not long after, the system suddenly chimed in.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Side Mission Activated: Don’t Let Skiv Leave]

[Objective: Learn Skiv’s true reason for leaving and help him feel safe enough to stay.]

[Reward: +1 Magical Bow — Effect: Your arrow will always hit the target, even if you have no talent in archery.]

No talent in archery? Well, that was a bit harsh, but unfortunately, it was true. Roxanna had never once managed to get a perfect score back when she used to practice at the shooting range.

[The reward sounds really useful, but still... how am I supposed to make him feel safe when he probably hates me so much?] She thought sadly.

"Go? Where do you want to go?" Zeir finally asked. His tone was calm as always, though his gaze sharpened slightly as it settled on Skiv. "Leaving alone in the middle of the night is a foolish idea."

More than that, Skiv had even chosen to walk through the front gate—which was guarded by warriors—to leave the settlement. Or maybe not? Maybe he hadn’t planned to leave through here at all, and only came because he wanted to find Lilo.

Roxanna lowered her gaze to the cat in her arms. Lilo stared back at her with an almost offended look, but it felt like he was actually trying to keep Skiv from leaving.

This chonky cat probably knew it would be a lot harder to find food outside the settlement.

"I–I can go anywhere," Skiv said nervously.

Zeir finally stood up as well and walked toward him. "If you’re planning to run away from this settlement, then forget it. You’re still bound by an oath to our leader, after all."

I honestly don’t like that fact, Roxanna thought, but it seems that bond is the only thing keeping Skiv here.

"Who cares about that?" Skiv suddenly said. "It’s not like I’m useful in this world anyway."

"What did you just say?" Roxanna lowered her voice. It sounded so cold that both Skiv—and even Zeir—were startled.

"Skiv, are you trying to kill yourself or something? After I gave you my blood to save you?"

Skiv’s eyes widened, and his shoulders trembled. "N-No! That’s not what I mean!" he said quickly, shaking his head. "I just... I just don’t belong here."

Roxanna took a slow breath, trying to calm the storm inside her chest. "Then explain it to me," she said softly, but firmly. "Why do you think that?"