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

Roxanna’s eyes widened. ”These?”

She had completely mistaken them for random dents in the ground.

Carla traced the outline of one print with her finger. ”See how round it is? And these four toe marks?” She pointed one by one. ”A tiger’s claws usually stay hidden while it walks, so you won’t see claw marks unless it’s running or attacking.”

Roxanna immediately knelt beside her and carefully memorized the shape. ”So if I see claw marks...”

”It means the tiger was moving fast,” Kaela finished.

Neria pointed toward a nearby bush. ”Now look over there.”

Roxanna followed her finger. Several branches had been snapped, and some leaves had fresh bite marks.

”A tiger did that?” Roxanna asked.

”No.” Neria smiled. ”The deer did.”

”The tiger chased it through here,” Carla explained. ”When prey animals panic, they leave signs behind. Broken branches, disturbed bushes, scattered fur... If you can read the prey’s movements, you can often find the predator too.”

Roxanna nodded eagerly. ”I never thought about following the prey instead of the hunter.”

”Exactly.” Carla stood up and continued walking. ”The forest is always talking. Most people simply don’t know how to listen.”

As they walked farther, Carla suddenly raised her hand, making everyone stopped. ”Listen.”

Roxanna tilted her fox ears, trying to catch every sound around her. She heard birds chirping in the distance, leaves rustling gently in the breeze, and the buzzing of insects.

”I don’t hear anything unusual,” Roxanna admitted.

”That’s the unusual part,” Carla whispered.

Roxanna blinked. ”Huh?”

”When a tiger is nearby, the smaller animals become quiet.”

As if to prove her point, a squirrel that had been chattering moments ago suddenly darted up a tree and disappeared.

The birds stopped singing, even the insects seemed quieter.

A chill ran down Roxanna’s spine. ”I... I think I understand now.”

Carla smiled with approval. ”Good. Never rely only on your eyes. Your ears and your nose are just as important.”

The women lowered their voices as they continued forward, moving much more carefully than before.

Every footprint.

Every broken branch.

Every sudden silence.

Little by little, Roxanna was beginning to understand that hunting wasn’t simply about shooting an arrow. But it was also about learning how to read the entire forest.

”A tiger should appear soon,” Carla said in a low voice.

The women were now hiding in the branches of a large tree, watching a helpless deer drinking from a small pool below. At first, it seemed completely unaware of its surroundings. But when the forest suddenly fell silent, the deer finally lifted its head.

Its ears twitched and its body stiffened.

Not long after, a huge tiger burst out of the bushes.

ROAR!

The deer spun around and tried to run, but it was too late.

The tiger slammed into its side with terrifying force, knocking it to the ground. The deer cried out desperately as the tiger pinned it beneath its massive paws.

Within moments, the tiger sank its fangs into the deer’s neck.

The struggling slowly stopped and the tiger began tearing into its fresh kill.

On the other side, Carla quietly nudged Roxanna’s shoulder. ”This is your chance.”

Roxanna nodded. She slowly reached behind her back and pulled out an arrow.

She had already completed the mission of shooting birds with an ordinary bow before, so shooting a tiger with a magical bow was as easy as turning over the palm of her hand.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Roxanna fired two arrows in quick succession. The first arrow struck the tiger’s front leg, making it roar in pain and leap away from the deer.

It immediately tried to escape with a limp, but before it could get far, the second arrow pierced straight through its head.

Carla and the other women fell silent.

As experienced hunters, they always aimed for a prey’s vital spot from the very beginning. There was no reason to waste arrows when one clean shot could end the hunt.

But Roxanna had done something completely different.

She had intentionally shot the tiger’s leg first, forcing it to run before finishing it with a second arrow.

It almost looked as if she had wanted the tiger to move and that was exactly what Roxanna had planned.

If she wanted to improve her skills, then shooting a moving target was far better practice than hitting one that stood still.

”I got the tiger!” Roxanna exclaimed happily, clapping her hands several times to celebrate her small victory. She turned to Carla with bright, excited eyes. ”Carla, what do you think? Did I do a good job?”

Carla finally nodded, snapping herself out of her surprise. ”Y-You did,” she said with a smile. ”You did a great job.”

Neria jumped down from the tree, walked over to the fallen tiger, and crouched beside it. After examining the body for a moment, she looked back at Roxanna.

”You made a clean shot,” Neria said, tilting her head to the side.

Roxanna’s eyes immediately lit up. ”Really?”

”Really.” Neria stood up and brushed the dirt from her hands. Her lynx ears twitched as she looked at Roxanna with a wide smile. ”With aim like yours, you would’ve saved us so much time. We should’ve invited you to hunt with us from the very beginning!”

Kaela glanced at the two arrows still buried in the tiger’s body and folded her arms. ”And your second shot was incredibly fast. Most hunters would’ve waited for the tiger to stop moving before taking another shot.”

Roxanna smiled shyly and scratched her cheek. ”I was just worried it would get away.”

Carla laughed and gave her shoulder a friendly pat. ”Then let’s hunt a few more tigers!” she said with a grin. ”That way, your husband can cook enough tiger meat for all of us too!”

The other women immediately cheered. ”That’s a great idea!”

”I haven’t had tiger meat in a while.”

”Come on! Let’s see how many we can catch before sunset!”

Their excitement was contagious and Roxanna couldn’t help but laugh along with them as they picked up the fallen tiger and continued deeper into the forest together.