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

Roxanna sighed inwardly. Honestly, she sometimes felt like a shy bride who had been pushed into marriage with men she barely knew.

Except in her case, she had married five of them.

”When do you think Aelin will finish examining Calen?” Azul asked as he placed the dirty utensils into a clay bucket, then poured water mixed with crushed soapberries into it.

Roxanna shook her head again, snapping out of her thoughts. ”It’s been three hours,” she said with a soft sigh. ”I hope she can quickly—”

CRACK!

Before she could finish her sentence, the bedroom door suddenly flew open with a loud bang, making even the walls tremble.

Roxanna rushed out of the kitchen and saw Aelin gripping the doorframe. She looked utterly exhausted, her skin pale and her breathing uneven.

”Food...” Aelin spoke weakly, barely lifting her head. ”Where is my food?”

Without thinking further, Roxanna hurried toward Aelin. ”Sit down first,” she said gently, guiding her by the arm.

Aelin didn’t argue and followed Roxanna’s guidance. She sat on the floor, right in front of the plates of food that had been served.

”This is all for you,” Roxanna began. ”I still have plenty of food in the kitchen, so you don’t need to worry about us—”

It seemed that Aelin truly didn’t care whether Roxanna and the others still had food for themselves or not. The exhausted doctor immediately grabbed the bowl of bone broth closest to her.

Without hesitation, Aelin lifted the bowl with both hands. Steam brushed against her pale face, but she didn’t pay much attention to it. She drank the broth first, then ate the vegetables from the bowl.

For a moment, Roxanna saw her eyes sparkle. With her mouth still full, Aelin said, ”This is really delicious!”

She didn’t waste any time and quickly ate all the food Roxanna and her husbands had prepared.

”S-Slow down,” Roxanna said worriedly. ”All this food is yours. You don’t need to eat so fast.”

She simply didn’t want the doctor she had worked so hard to bring back from the Golden Mountain to choke on her food.

”I’m fine, I’m fine,” Aelin replied, her mouth half full. ”Roxie, your cooking is incredibly delicious. Don’t you want to stay in my tribe?”

Roxanna knew it was only a casual remark, but she still felt slightly awkward. ”I—”

”She isn’t going anywhere,” Zeir said from the bedroom doorway.

He had been standing there for a while, torn between two worries. Part of him wanted to stay close to Calen, who was still resting inside. Another part of him couldn’t take his eyes off Roxanna, as if afraid she might disappear again after being out of sight for days.

Aelin clicked her tongue, clearly unimpressed. ”Commander, you’re way too stiff.”

She turned to Roxanna with a teasing smile. ”Honestly, your husband is as stiff as a stone statue. I told a joke earlier, and he didn’t laugh. Not even a little.” Then she added playfully, ”Seriously, where did you even find that statue?”

Roxanna let out a small, awkward laugh. ”If he’s a statue, then he’s a very handsome one.” Her smile softened as she looked at Zeir, her eyes full of sincerity. ”I cherish all of my husbands with all my heart. That means I love them just the way they are.”

Aside from that, something else caught Roxanna’s attention. [So Zeir has truly accepted his role as a commander now?] Roxanna asked herself. [I wasn’t there when he first stepped into that position... He must have felt so lonely.]

Zeir, meanwhile, pretended to clear his throat. Even though he could carry out his duties as a new commander without Roxanna, he would have been happier if his wife had been by his side.

Still, he wouldn’t blame her, since Roxanna had only left because Calen needed her. ”Oh, you’re too serious as well.” Aelin finally waved her hand and went back to eating.

Gradually, her face, which had been pale before, regained its color, and she no longer looked as tired as she had earlier.

”You’re looking better now,” she said softly.

Aelin paused mid-bite, then glanced up with a small grin. ”Well, of course. Good food has its own kind of magic.”

After finishing the main course, Aelin reached for the dessert, the roasted sweet potatoes. Roxanna had already split them open, so Aelin could eat them easily.

Steam still curled gently from the soft, golden flesh. Aelin lifted one piece without much thought, but the moment the sweet smell touched her senses, her hand froze.

The smile on her lips faded. For a second, no one noticed. Zeir was adjusting his posture near the doorway, and Roxanna was quietly watching Aelin with a satisfied look, happy that she was eating well.

But not long after, a small, broken breath slipped from Aelin’s lips. Tears suddenly fell down her cheeks, even though she made no sound.

Roxanna’s eyes widened. ”Aelin?”

[Ding! Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! Side Mission Complete: Prepare five nutritious and delicious meals for Doctor Aelin.]

[Reward: Doctor’s Favor — Effect: Aelin becomes more emotionally invested in Calen’s recovery.]

[Reward: +24,000 Spirit Points (SP)]

[Bonus Reward: +20,000 Spirit Points (SP)]

[Total Spirit Points (SP): 179,400]

Roxanna was taken aback, because she had completely forgotten that she would receive a bonus if Aelin cried while eating.

At first, she had assumed those would be tears of happiness. But now that she was watching Aelin’s trembling shoulders and the silent stream of tears slipping down her cheeks, Roxanna realized those were not joyful tears, they were tears of grief.

The system’s cheerful notification still echoed in her mind, completely out of place against the heavy emotion filling the room.

”Aelin, what’s wrong?” Roxanna carefully took the sweet potato from her hand and placed it back on the plate. ”Is something wrong with the food?”

Aelin immediately shook her head. ”No, no, there’s nothing wrong with the food.” She continued with a soft sob. ”It’s just... this dish reminds me of my late mother.”

”Back then... she and my father would go down the mountain just so they could bring me sweet potatoes from the forest at the foot of the mountain.”