I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!

”For me, being a commander isn’t just about strength,” Roxanna finally said after thinking for a while. ”A commander also needs the heart to protect others, and the kind of leadership that can bring all his warriors together.”

Luan had grown up close to a leader, and it was clear he admired his brother very much. He did have some qualities of a commander, but compared to Zeir, the difference was huge.

Zeir had everything Roxanna thought a commander should have. He stayed calm in every situation, protected his family with everything he had, and had a natural presence that made people want to follow him.

Honestly, compared to everyone else—even Roxanna herself—Zeir acted like a complete adult.

[How old is he again? Twenty-seven? Well, that makes sense—wait... didn’t I also die at twenty-nine?!] Roxanna wanted to smack her forehead. [I died at twenty-nine, and I still didn’t know how to act like a proper adult?!]

[Shouldn’t I have been the big sister instead?]

And honestly, that had always been Roxanna’s role.

Ever since she lived in the orphanage, she always had to act like a big sister, because there were often children who came there after losing their parents.

They always arrived full of fear, so Roxanna had to help them overcome it and comfort them whenever the caretakers scolded them.

Even after she got married, she was always the one taking the initiative, and that was probably the only reason that relationship even lasted.

So of course now she wondered... why had her behavior changed so much?

These past few days, she hadn’t even tried to handle things on her own. Instead, she relied on her husbands far too much. Was that really a good thing? Or... was she becoming a burden?

It was bad, right? What if they found her annoying?

[Oh, Host, there’s nothing wrong with doing things together,] the system reminded her gently. [Didn’t you once tell your husbands that you would rely on each other?]

Well... that was true.

[But still... what if I can’t live on my own anymore?] Roxanna thought sadly.

Her husbands immediately frowned, confused as to why Roxanna thought she would ever have to live alone.

Calen even wondered for a second if maybe she wanted to find another husband and abandon the old ones.

Just as everyone’s thoughts began drifting in a strange direction, Zeir cleared his throat a few times to ease the mood. ”In that case,” he said calmly, ”why don’t you hold a tournament to decide who will become the new commander?”

Roxanna gently shook her head, trying to shake away the messy thoughts inside her mind. Right now, she had to focus on the urgent problem in front of her.

Even though she truly felt that Zeir would make a great commander, she also had to admit that she barely knew the other people living in the settlement yet.

So she didn’t want to make a rushed decision. Instead, she wanted to give everyone a fair chance at the position.

”But a tournament will only show who’s the strongest, not who’s the wisest...” Roxanna murmured, lowering her head in thought. Then suddenly, her eyes lit up. ”Oh! Then maybe I should hold an exam instead!”

”Exam? What’s that?” Calen narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ”Is that a—”

”It’s not a man’s name,” Roxanna quickly cut him off before he could finish. ”An exam is... well, it’s like a test. People answer questions or complete tasks to prove how much they know.”

Calen blinked slowly.

Roxanna continued patiently, ”So instead of only fighting, the candidates will also need to think. They’ll be asked things like how to protect the tribe, or what to do when demon beasts attack. The one who answers the best, not just the strongest, will become commander.”

Calen frowned again, clearly struggling.

”So...” he said slowly, ”it’s like... a battle. But instead of using your fists, you use your brain?”

Roxanna smiled. ”Exactly.”

Calen gasped. ”That sounds terrifying.”

While Calen thought it sounded like a bad thing, Zeir and Azul nodded in agreement with her explanation.

”That sounds like a good plan,” Azul said calmly. ”But to make an exam for a commander, you’ll need some basic knowledge about demon beasts and other important things too.”

Roxanna fell silent at once.

He was right. To create a proper exam, she needed knowledge, and thanks to the evil Roxanna, who spent most of her time being lazy instead of learning, she now knew almost nothing about this world.

[And this world doesn’t even have books or written records, so where on earth am I supposed to learn all of this?!] Roxanna panicked inside.

Even though she had only officially become the leader for one day... Roxanna already felt like she was failing.

But before she could sink deeper into that fear, the hut door suddenly burst open—no, it looked more like someone had kicked it in.

Roxanna jumped in shock. For a second, she thought demon beasts had stormed into her home. But when she looked up, she realized it was Luan and Cyrus.

”Luan! Cyrus! What happened?!” Roxanna cried out in panic as she rushed toward them, noticing that several parts of their bodies were wounded.

Luan didn’t even try to speak. He threw a large bag full of poisonous plants into Calen’s arms, then collapsed straight onto the floor.

On the other hand, Cyrus, who looked less injured than Luan, immediately explained, ”He was being reckless.”

”What? What do you mean?” Roxanna asked anxiously as she gently turned Luan’s body, only to see a deep claw mark across his chest. Her heart dropped. ”Did you two run into a dangerous demon beast?”

”It was the Demon Fenrir,” Cyrus replied quietly. ”Luan... he went to check on the Demon Fenrir Calen mentioned. And while he was there, he realized it was the same demon beast that killed his brother.”

Calen then stared at Cyrus in disbelief. ”So he actually went down into the ravine from the beginning?” He frowned, then turned his gaze toward Luan. ”Luan, what the hell were you thinking?!”