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

[It would be so tiring if I had to face five jealous men like that.]

Her husbands glanced at one another, as if speaking through silent looks. They often argued a little out of jealousy, but only with each other, and it was never serious.

Acting crazy just because Roxanna had to discuss something important with another man? If anyone tried to bother her like that, they would probably beat him up without hesitation.

No, they would never get angry just because she spoke with Commander Marlow about serious matters.

Sadly, they couldn’t answer her worries directly, because Roxanna was only thinking about them inside her head.

But they had another way to show how sincere they were.

”If you want to talk about something private, you can use the functional hut,” Zeir said. ”I’ll tell the others not to disturb you. And—”

He then picked Luan up from Roxanna’s lap, making the black cat want to claw his eyes out right then and there. ”I’ll take him to the well instead.”

Luan hissed and kept nibbling at Zeir’s hand, but Zeir could still easily hold him down.

”Really?” Roxanna looked at Zeir in surprise, then turned to the others. ”Are you sure it’s alright if I go with Commander Marlow alone? It’s not that I don’t want you there, but... all of you will be joining the competition for the commander title, right?”

”It’s alright,” Cyrus said. ”You don’t have to explain yourself. We understand.”

Normally, her ex-husband would only say that to trap her, and if she actually did it, he’d get angry and blame her.

But... all of them looked sincere. They didn’t look like they were testing her at all.

”A-Alright then...” Roxanna said softly. ”I’ll be back in about an hour.”

”Here,” Cyrus added, handing her a small bag filled with grapes and apples. ”Take these with you in case you get hungry. And if you want more meat later, just tell me.”

She fell silent for a moment and kept staring at the small bag of fruit in her hand. Her husbands were really sweet to her, and only then did she realize that they truly meant it when they said they would let her go with Commander Marlow.

[I’m glad none of them are the kind of psychopaths who act overly obsessed and creepy,] Roxanna thought. [But still... maybe a little jealousy is nice sometimes.]

It was hard for her to explain, since she didn’t completely understand her own feelings either. But for some reason, she did want them to feel a bit jealous, not too much, just enough to make her feel just enough to make her feel a little treasured.

Roxanna immediately shook her head lightly. [What is wrong with me? My ex-husband really must have messed up my mind!]

”But don’t be gone too long!” Calen suddenly said. ”I’ll feel lonely if you don’t come back soon!”

Roxanna and the others all turned to look at him. Before anyone could respond, Calen repeated himself, as if he really needed her to know, ”I mean it. I’ll be lonely if you don’t come back soon.”

Roxanna’s smile softened. ”Then I’ll try to return as soon as I can,” she said gently. ”So Calen won’t feel lonely.”

Her voice was so sweet that Calen couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. He just lowered his gaze a little and murmured, ”...Alright.”

After that, she finally went to the functional hut with Commander Marlow. They talked about many things, such as the colors of crystal beasts, the different traits each color represented, and how those traits might affect a commander’s leadership.

Roxanna listened carefully, asking questions whenever she didn’t understand something, while Marlow did his best to explain everything in simple words.

”And when something urgent happens, like demon beasts suddenly breaking into the settlement, there are several things a commander must do,” Commander Marlow explained.

”First, they must stay calm,” he continued. ”Because once the commander panics, the soldiers will panic too, And when soldiers panic, they won’t be able to protect anyone.”

Roxanna nodded slowly. That made sense.

”Second, they must quickly understand the situation,” Marlow went on. ”Where did the demon beasts come from? How many are there? Who is in danger? A commander has to think about all that in just a few seconds.”

Roxanna listened to him carefully. Since she didn’t have any paper or pen to take notes, she could only memorize everything.

But maybe later she could also ask the system about what they discussed today.

Honestly, it wasn’t hard for her to remember Marlow’s words, because everything he said made sense logically.

”But since the thing you want to focus on is learning about their character,” Marlow continued, ”then you can ask some emotional questions during the interview.”

Roxanna nodded slowly. ”Honestly, I was thinking we should let them compete in a fighting tournament first, and then we can ask them questions afterward. What do you think?”

After all, strength was still very important, so Roxanna couldn’t treat it as something unimportant.

”That sounds good,” Commander Marlow said. ”I’ll tell the beastmen to prepare for tomorrow. How many people can be chosen as commander candidates?”

Normally, the last man standing would become commander right away. But because Roxanna wanted to add other factors, they now needed several candidates instead.

She thought for a moment. ”Let’s say... three or four? We can add more if any of them seem to have great potential. After all, you can also judge what kind of person someone is from their fighting style, right?”

Commander Marlow nodded. ”That’s true. I can share my thoughts with you while the tournament is happening.”

After a while, they finally wrapped up the discussion. They had already been talking for more than an hour.

As Commander Marlow stood from his chair, Roxanna spoke again. ”I have a request.”

”Yes? What is it?” he asked.

”For tomorrow’s tournament,” Roxanna said firmly, ”I want the beastwomen to be allowed to take part as well.”