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

Roxanna forced an awkward smile onto her face. Her voice came out small and slightly shaky. ”O-Oh, Mr. Fenrir... you’re still here.”

The giant wolf tilted its head at the same time she did, almost like it was copying her. Its golden eyes were sharp, so sharp they felt like they could cut through skin.

By reflex, Calen stood up and pulled Roxanna away from the monster. He lifted his axe to chest level and pointed it at the Fenrir. ”Stay back!”

He acted cautiously because he had no idea whether the Fenrir could truly be trusted or not.

On the other hand, Roxanna had already fully trusted Mr. Fenrir. [Mr. Fenrir saved my Calen earlier, so... doesn’t that mean he’s not bad?]

Calen frowned when he heard her thoughts. He couldn’t understand why she kept calling this terrifying monster ”Mr. Fenrir,” as if it were just some polite beastman neighbor.

[He looks scary, but he hasn’t hurt us,] Roxanna continued thinking. [All he did was growl and howl. What if he’s not trying to scare us? What if he’s just trying to talk to us?]

A small, dangerous thought popped into her head. [Should I try to pet him?]

She stared at the thick black fur. [He looks so fluffy...]

Calen’s eyes widened, and Azul’s eyes widened even more.

Pet him?!

Calen quickly tightened his grip on Roxanna’s hand, stopping her from stepping forward. Meanwhile, Azul struggled even harder against the shadow holding him.

”Calen, maybe... he’s not a bad Fenrir,” Roxanna said carefully. ”What if he just wants to be friends? I mean... he saved you. And he helped us find the way out.”

Calen hissed under his breath. ”And what about Azul?” he asked sharply. ”If this monster isn’t bad, then why did he drag Azul away and tie him up like that?”

Roxanna hesitated. ”But... Azul is tied somewhere safe,” she said quietly.

She had noticed that Azul wasn’t bleeding and he wasn’t injured. He was just trapped.

That was why she had briefly thought that Mr. Fenrir didn’t actually intend to hurt Azul. He might have tied him up for some other reason.

But what reason?

”And are we even sure it was Mr. Fenrir who tied Azul up?” she asked again.

”Mhm! Mhm!”

Azul immediately tried to shout. Even though his mouth was covered, he forced his head to move, trying to nod as much as he could.

Yes. It was the wolf.

”See? That monster was the one who tied him up!” Calen pointed out.

The proof was right there, and yet for some reason, Roxanna still felt that Mr. Fenrir had his own reason.

”Maybe... we can ask him to let Azul go,” she suggested softly.

Calen stared at the huge black wolf in front of them, and then he looked at Roxanna. ”Does that monster look like someone who listens?” he asked.

Roxanna pressed her lips into a thin line, and even though she still felt unsure, she said, ”Maybe...” She added, ”He doesn’t bite... yet.”

In her mind, she added, [Mr. Fenrir has just been standing here the whole time. He hasn’t attacked us.]

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Why was the Fenrir suddenly so calm?

Before this, it had never shown its face in front of Calen. But now it had suddenly appeared before them and didn’t seem to want to leave.

And it wasn’t growling loudly anymore. Yes, it still made low sounds sometimes, but they weren’t as frightening as before.

Was it trying not to scare her?

That sounded a little self-centered, but if she didn’t try to understand, she would never know.

”Mr. Fenrir...”

Roxanna gently pulled her hand out of Calen’s grip. He immediately tried to grab her wrist again, but she stepped back before he could.

”Why did you kidnap Azul and tie him up like that?” she asked.

Roxanna slowly walked toward the Fenrir. Deep down, she was still afraid, but since the large wolf wasn’t doing anything, she forced herself to stay calm.

On the other side, the Fenrir pointed its snout toward Calen, then toward Azul. It snorted several times, as if it was showing that it felt annoyed.

But strangely... the sound was louder when it faced Azul.

Roxanna, who noticed that, immediately asked, ”Is it because you don’t like Azul?”

Behind her, Azul’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. He hadn’t even done anything to that dog, so why was he the one being disliked?!

To everyone’s surprise, the Fenrir snorted again. Then it made a small movement with its head, almost like it was nodding.

’I didn’t even do anything!’ Azul screamed inside his head.

Roxanna was just as confused as he was. ”Why?” she asked softly.

The giant wolf slowly turned its head toward Calen. It even leaned forward, almost touching Calen’s head, but he immediately raised his axe between them.

”Don’t,” he warned.

Roxanna blinked several times, thinking hard to understand what Mr. Fenrir meant. After a while, she finally came to a conclusion.

”You tied Azul up because... Calen hates him?” she asked slowly.

Mr. Fenrir nodded again. At the same time, both Calen and Azul went completely silent. They even looked at each other for a brief second.

”I don’t hate him!” Calen said quickly when he saw Roxanna frowning at him. When she didn’t respond, he spoke again, more urgently. ”I’m telling the truth! I don’t hate him!”

”Grr...” Mr. Fenrir growled and let out a low howl. It even shifted restlessly, as if trying to tell Roxanna that Calen was lying.

”Hey, don’t slander me!” Calen shouted. ”I swear I’ve never hated him!” Then he added in a lower voice, ”Even though sometimes I feel annoyed when I see his face, t-that doesn’t mean I want to see him get hurt or, worse, die!”

That feeling of annoyance had only appeared after Calen found out that Roxanna was carrying Azul’s child. But even so, he tried to understand the situation and didn’t hold any grudge against the fish beastman.

”It’s alright. I believe you,” Roxanna said, trying to calm him down. ”But I think Mr. Fenrir is connected to your unconscious mind.”

Calen clicked his tongue in frustration. ”But I’ve never thought about killing Azul, even in my unconscious mind!”

”You didn’t,” Roxanna said gently. ”Maybe Mr. Fenrir tied Azul up here because... deep down, you just don’t want him wandering freely inside your head. That’s all.”

Before Roxanna stepped into his mind, Aelin had already warned her. Calen might not accept just anyone into his subconscious. Even though he had let Azul enter, it was clear he didn’t want Azul to go too deep.

And because Mr. Fenrir was tied to Calen’s unconscious mind, it reacted in a harsh way. It pushed Azul away from him. Still, it knew Calen had never hated Azul, so instead of hurting him, it only pinned him to the wall.

”Then you need to tell Mr. Fenrir that you don’t want him to trap Azul like that,” Roxanna said to Calen. ”He seems to be a part of you, so he will definitely listen to you.”

Calen looked at the Fenrir with a gaze filled with questions. ”I didn’t even know I had this... whatever this thing is... inside me.”

All his life, the only thing he believed about himself was simple. He was only a dog beastman, and his parents were nomads who moved from one place to another.

Or... maybe that wasn’t the full truth?

Calen frowned. It suddenly felt like there were missing pieces in his memories about his parents. After all, he had lost them when he was only five years old. Maybe that was why some things had become blurry over time.

If he was being honest, he could barely remember their faces anymore, even their voices were starting to fade.

”But now you know,” Roxanna said softly. ”Since he is inside you, doesn’t that mean Mr. Fenrir is an important part of you?”

In other words, there was a high chance that Calen was actually a dormant mystical beast.

Calen Fenrirsson.

Just hearing his name made it hard not to link him to that mystical creature.

”Maybe,” Calen said. He took a deep breath, then lifted his head so he could look at the Fenrir clearly. ”You heard me right. I don’t hate Azul. I might not be too happy about him being in my mind, but... he’s also my precious friend.”

”I don’t hate him,” he repeated. ”That’s why you have to let him go.”

To everyone’s surprise, Mr. Fenrir turned his face away and snorted a few times, like a child who didn’t want to share his toy.

”Y-You!” Calen’s face turned red, half from anger, half from embarrassment. ”It already took a lot for me to say something that embarrassing, and you’re still ignoring me?!”

Mr. Fenrir snorted again. This time, he even let out a small growl that sounded more like an upset puppy than a terrifying beast.

[Did we guess wrong?] Roxanna wondered. [Is Mr. Fenrir not completely tied to Calen’s mind?]

He didn’t look like a simple part of Calen. He looked like he had his own thoughts anda his own will.

Roxanna gently touched Calen’s shoulder from behind. ”How about... you let me talk to him now?” she suggested softly.