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

Chapter 217: A Leader’s Kindness Is Her Greatest Risk (2)

Roxanna thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "You’re right... I think I should do that."

She closed her eyes and let out a soft hiss at herself. "I’m sorry." She lightly tapped her forehead. "Ah, Luan... I’m really sorry. I should have talked about this with all of you first instead of making such a sudden decision."

She began to pace around the room, feeling guilty because she had made a sudden decision and now had to fix it.

"This is why I shouldn’t be a leader," Roxanna said, lightly hitting her forehead again. "I feel so stupid when it comes to leading people... or maybe I just don’t have any talent for it."

"Right?" Roxanna suddenly turned to Luan. "Zeir helped me calm down, but I still can’t think clearly when I’m faced with situations that put me under pressure. Luan, can I step down from—"

"Alright, alright, stop." Luan quickly walked over and caught her arm, stopping her from pacing again. "You’re fine, and you’re not stupid. You’re just under a lot of pressure... and you’ve been unwell since this morning."

He let out a small breath. "Roxanna, you’re just tired. And when people are tired, they make decisions they normally wouldn’t, but what you said to them earlier wasn’t completely wrong. You’re just... very kind."

There were times when Luan wondered how Roxanna could still have such a kind heart and the desire to help others, even after so many people had hurt her.

At first, he thought her kindness came from the bad teachings of her caretakers. But after living with her for weeks and going to the Golden Mountain with her, Luan realized that his wife was just kind by nature.

For some reason, it felt like she didn’t have even a single evil bone in her body.

Well... not entirely. She did have her moments, like when she made the leader of the Golden Tribe feel guilty for refusing to help Calen, even though her mother, Michaela, had helped them for years.

But even that, compared to what the beastkins had done for centuries, it was nothing.

"There’s nothing wrong with being kind," Luan said, gently holding her face and looking into her eyes. "But in this world, you also need to be careful. In the beast world, the strong survive. And sometimes, the more you care about others, the easier it is for you to get hurt and I don’t want that to happen to you."

Roxanna bit her lower lip, letting his words sink in. "I know... but it’s really hard to be selfish, especially toward people who have never done anything wrong to me."

"I’m not asking you to become selfish overnight," Luan said with a sigh. "There’s no way someone can change that quickly. Even I can’t erase my bad nature until now."

He softened his voice, and his expression became gentler. "Listen to me, sweetheart," he said. "What I want is simple. Before you try to do something kind for others—especially if it puts you at risk—talk to your husbands first."

His thumb brushed lightly against her cheek. "I don’t care which one of us you talk to. Just... please, talk to us and let us do the selfish part if you can’t do that."

Roxanna froze for a moment, her eyes softening as she looked at him. "You’re really unfair," she murmured.

Luan frowned. "How is that unfair?"

"Because you’re making it hard for me to say no," Roxanna replied, her voice gentle. "If you say it like that... how can I not listen?"

Luan chuckled. "Then don’t say no."

Roxanna let out a small, helpless laugh. She leaned slightly into his touch, her shoulders finally relaxing. "Alright," she said after a moment. "I’ll talk to you first next time."

"Not just me," Luan corrected.

Roxanna smiled faintly. "Not just you. All of you."

Luan watched her face for a second, as if making sure she truly meant it. Then, slowly, he let out a breath. "Good."

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. The tension that had been weighing on the room earlier had quietly faded away.

Roxanna lowered her gaze, her fingers gently clutching the edge of his clothes. "Thank you," she said softly.

Luan raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For staying with me," she answered without hesitation. "Even when I’m... like this."

Luan stared at her, caught off guard. Then he sighed and lightly flicked her forehead. "You’re overthinking again," he muttered. "I’m not going anywhere."

After a moment, Roxanna spoke again, "Then... what should I say to them? I already told them that I want to release their oath."

"But you didn’t say when you would do it," Luan corrected her. "Don’t worry, let me handle that."

Roxanna blinked, then looked at him with a bit of doubt. "You?"

Luan raised an eyebrow. "Do you not trust me?"

"It’s not that," Roxanna said quickly. "I just... don’t know what you’re planning to say."

Luan let out a small sigh. "I’ll make it clear that you’re serious about releasing the oath, but it won’t happen immediately."

He crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. "We’ll tell them it will be done step by step. That way, they won’t panic, and you’ll still have time to see how things go."

Roxanna listened quietly, slowly nodding.

"And..." Luan added, glancing at her, "it will also give them time to think. If they truly want to stay here, they’ll stay. If not, then at least they’re leaving by choice."

Roxanna lowered her gaze. "That sounds fair," she said softly.

Luan hummed. "Of course it is."

After a short pause, he nudged her lightly. "Now come on. If we stay here any longer, they’ll start thinking something is wrong."

Roxanna chuckled, then nodded. "Alright."

As they walked out of the hut together, Roxanna felt a little lighter than before.

"Leader, what’s wrong?!" one of them asked, since it seemed Roxanna had spent too much time inside the hut. "Do you want to take back your words?"