The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 603: Osiris’s Itchy Feathers

The next morning, the sky was pale and thin. Frost clung to the edges of stone and grass, sparkling faintly as the sun struggled to rise.

Inside the village, smoke began to rise from simple stone stoves.

Isabella yawned and stretched lazily.

The bed beside her was already empty. She could hear faint noises from outside, Zyran laughing loudly about something, Cyrus’s calm voice, and other males’ footsteps.

They were never calm in the morning.

She rubbed her belly in a circle.

The little ones inside seemed to be sleeping soundly.

She slowly got up, washed her face with warm water from a stone basin, and changed into a thicker fur dress that the women had made for her.

When she stepped out, the cold air brushed against her cheeks.

"Goddess, good morning!"

"Good morning, Goddess!"

Several villagers who were passing by greeted her excitedly. Their gazes unconsciously drifted toward her belly.

Isabella waved her hand. "En. Morning."

Just as she was thinking about what to do today, a young male ran up, his face flushed from the cold and excitement.

"Goddess Isabella!" he shouted. "The crops, the things we planted, they... they grew! They are ready to harvest!"

Isabella’s eyes widened.

"So fast?"

She had taught them to clear a new plot of land near the river, had planted the seeds she brought back from the mountain and some she had collected from other places. In her memory, these plants should take at least a season.

It had only been a short time.

"Come, come. Take me to see," she said at once.

As she walked, someone quietly fell into step beside her.

Osiris.

He wore a simple fur cloak over his shoulders. His long hair was loosely tied back, and his enchanting peach blossom eyes curved in a lazy smile as he looked at her.

"Where is our pregnant Goddess going so early?" he asked. "Do not tell me you are going to dig earth yourself. My heart will hurt."

Isabella glanced at him.

"I am going to look at the crops," she said. "Who asked you to come?"

Osiris put a hand on his chest, as if stabbed. "I came to accompany you. Winter is coming. The wind is cold. What if you trip and fall? What if you get hungry on the way and need someone to carry you?"

The nearby young male’s expression grew stunned and full of admiration.

So this is how a phoenix flirts.

Isabella did not bother to explain that he was not allowed to carry her without permission.

"Then follow," she said lazily. "If you are bored, you can go chop wood instead."

Osiris made a face. "Chopping wood is Kian’s work. He looks like the type who likes to chop things."

His tone was full of disdain, but his steps did not slow. He walked half a step behind her, eyes sweeping the ground in front as if he could chase away any stones that dared appear.

They reached the new fields quickly.

In front of them, neat rows of green had already turned into a picture of ripe harvest. Golden grain bent under its own weight.

Bean vines were filled with plump pods. There were strange leafy plants with swollen roots, and even familiar stalks that made Isabella’s eyes shine. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Rice.

Beans.

Tubers.

Things that should have belonged to her old world, now growing on this beastman land.

The villagers who had been guarding the field were practically vibrating with excitement.

"Goddess, look!" one of them shouted. "We followed what you taught us. We weeded, we watered, we used the animal dung like you said. They really grew so fast!"

Another one laughed. "The seeds from the Goddess are even stronger. They look fatter than the ones from the plains."

Isabella walked slowly along the edge of the field.

Her fingertips brushed over the rice heads.

They were full and heavy.

Her heart swelled.

In her old world, this would just be normal harvest. Here, it meant her village would not have to rely only on meat.

So many meals.

So many types of food.

Her eyes curved. "We did well."

We.

She counted herself without thinking.

"Goddess, can we eat them now?" someone asked eagerly.

Isabella cleared her throat.

"Do not pull everything at once," she said. "Harvest part of it, keep some seeds for next planting, and store the rest properly. If you do not know how, ask me later."

The men nodded at once, their faces red with excitement.

Their village, that used to worry about winter every year, was now looking at a future filled with grain.

Isabella’s nose turned a little sore.

She blamed the pregnancy.

Behind her, Osiris watched the scene with his head tilted.

Villagers moved between the rows cautiously, laughing, calling her "Goddess" and "Village Master" as if those titles were the same.

Osiris’s gaze drifted upward.

The sky above the fields was a pale blue. On the far side, thick clouds were gathering above the mountain, hiding something behind a gray curtain.

The wind that swept over his face carried a faint dryness.

His heart gave a light tug.

His fingers twitched.

Flames, normally obedient and playful under his control, seemed to stir under his skin.

It is almost winter.

He thought he would feel only laziness and cold, like other birds.

Instead, his back felt hot.

His wings, the ones that could not fully spread and reveal themselves since that day, seemed to itch beneath his skin, like they wanted to tear free.

He rubbed his neck.

Isabella was squatting beside a plant, carefully checking its leaves. The villagers crowded behind her, asking whether they could cook the roots or the leaves, smiling like children.

Osiris’s eyes landed on her back.

His heart, which had been restless, suddenly sank a little.

Why do I feel so small?

He was a phoenix.

Even if his tribe had been hunted and scattered, even if he could not fully transform now, he was still of a high-rank bloodline.

He should be standing high above others, looking down at the world.

But ever since he followed this woman back to her village, his heartbeat felt strange.

When he looked at her giving orders, when he watched her talk about food and walls and winter, when he saw her rub her round belly and nag at the males, he always had a ridiculous thought.

This place, this messy little village, felt safer than anywhere he had been.