[Ding! Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! Side Mission Complete: Train Your Husband!]

[Reward: a full pack of premium cooking spices!]

[Reward: +27,000 Spirit Points (SP)]

[Remaining Spirit Points (SP): 269,550]

The system notification appeared right after Azul finished cooking.

The dishes Roxanna had taught him were simple—grilled meat, vegetable soup, and barbecue—but they were more than enough to fill her stomach.

"Slow down... slow down," Azul said gently when he saw how fast she was eating, like she was almost swallowing the food without chewing. "If it’s not enough, I can cook more for you."

"What do you mean? This is already more than enough!" Roxanna said quickly.

Her face turned a little red when she realized she had been eating so fast that most of the food in front of her was already almost gone.

[Why am I acting so greedy?! Azul barely even ate!] Roxanna scolded herself in her mind. [I shouldn’t be eating this much!]

She looked at him hesitantly. "Azul... I’m sorry. I should have thought about you too before eating so much."

Instead of feeling annoyed, Azul responded with a soft chuckle. He gently patted Roxanna’s head and said, "Why are you feeling guilty? The reason I learned how to cook was for you. If you finish all the food, then I’ll be very happy, because it means my cooking is so delicious that you can’t stop eating it."

Roxanna nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes! Your cooking is really delicious!" She picked up another barbecue skewer, but just as she was about to eat it, she paused and looked at him. "But since it’s so good... I want you to eat it too!"

Roxanna then brought the barbecue skewer closer to Azul’s mouth and said, "Open your mouth!"

Honestly, Azul wasn’t that hungry, and watching her eat happily was already enough for him. But seeing how sweet and serious she looked, he decided to go along with her.

He opened his mouth and bit into the meat and vegetables on the skewer. On the other side, Roxanna smiled brightly and asked, "It tastes good, right?!"

Azul nodded without hesitation. "Yes, it’s really good." Then he added, a little proudly, "Maybe because I’m the one who made it."

He sounded a bit cocky, but Roxanna didn’t think badly of him at all. Instead, she nodded immediately. "Yes! Yes! You’re really amazing, Azul! I’m so proud of you!"

To be honest, Roxanna wasn’t exaggerating when she said that. In her eyes, Azul really was that amazing. In such a short time, his cooking had changed from disastrous to heavenly.

Well, part of it was also because of her passive skill, but honestly, if Azul didn’t have at least a bit of talent, then all her teaching would have been useless. One thing she realized while teaching him was that he needed to be taught thoroughly and patiently, maybe it was because... he had a bit of a fish-like memory.

"Your cooking is really good. Should we save some so the others can try it too?" Roxanna asked.

Azul waved his hand without thinking much. "Why? If they’re hungry, they can cook for themselves or just eat whatever they catch from the forest."

At first, Roxanna thought he was joking, but after waiting for a while, he didn’t laugh or smile at all, so she realized he was being serious.

[But it tastes really good...] she thought. [He’ll definitely get praise from them too.]

Azul froze for a moment when he heard her thoughts.

He didn’t really care about what the others would eat, but after thinking about it, wouldn’t it be interesting if they saw how good his cooking was?

Moreover, Roxanna would definitely keep praising him in her mind, so the others might think she loved him more than them.

It sounded like a bad plan—something only a troublemaker would do—but what was life without a little mischief?

"No, wait. Now that I think about it again, maybe it would be better if I cook for them as well. They must have worked very hard outside, so a little reward would feel refreshing."

Azul added, "But... would you help me cook again, Miss Roxanna? It seems like there are a few things I’ve forgotten."

Roxanna raised one of her eyebrows. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if Azul was still having trouble cooking. After all, the system wouldn’t have given her a reward if he hadn’t become a good cook.

But whatever. Whether Azul was lying or being serious, she didn’t see anything wrong with helping her husband cook more food.

"Of course!" she nodded right away.

After finishing the food from before, they went back to cooking together. Even though Azul said he forgot a few things, once they started, he didn’t look like he needed her help at all.

To be honest, Roxanna barely did anything. She just followed him around like a little duckling, watching him from behind. Sometimes, Azul would hand her some food to taste, and she happily accepted it.

[Wait, why am I eating even more?!] she shouted in her mind when she realized the grilled meat kept disappearing. [Am I really okay? There must be something wrong with me?!]

While she was panicking, Azul casually asked, "What’s wrong? Are you still hungry?"

"No way!" Roxanna held her stomach. "I’ve eaten so much since I woke up. There’s no way I’m still hungry!"

Azul replied gently, "But you’re pregnant, so you’re not just feeding yourself, but also our baby."

"But still..." Roxanna lowered her head slightly, feeling embarrassed. "Eating too much isn’t good either. I might get a stomachache."

[Besides, what if I become as big as a balloon and my husbands don’t like me anymore?] Roxanna thought anxiously. [Back then, I often heard about husbands leaving their pregnant wives because they thought their bodies looked different.]

Azul frowned when he heard her thoughts. If a husband left his pregnant wife, then the only one to blame was the husband, wasn’t it?

He was the reason his wife became pregnant in the first place, so why would he leave her just because her body changed a little?

Honestly, what did it matter if her body changed slightly or even drastically? Roxanna was his wife, and that would never change because of something so trivial.

"Alright, if you’re really that worried, how about we ask Aelin to check your body and our baby?" Azul suggested. He set everything in his hands aside so he could gently rub Roxanna’s stomach. "But honestly, I think our baby is just hungry and is making its mother struggle a little."

"O-our baby is not troubling me at all!" Roxanna puffed her cheeks. "You’re not allowed to say that in front of our child! They might feel sad!"

After all, as an orphan, Roxanna had heard those kinds of words so many times from her caretakers, even though she had never asked for anything and always tried her best to be a good child.

"I’m sorry," he said, lowering his voice, which somehow sounded soothing to Roxanna. "I won’t say things like that in front of our child anymore."

Within seconds, Roxanna’s mood changed. She smiled as bright as the sun and nodded quickly. "Yes, yes." She added, "Our child will always be our pride and joy, so we must protect them no matter the cost!"

Azul’s eyes widened when he heard her words. No—actually, it wasn’t Roxanna herself that caught him off guard, but the words. They sounded so familiar, like they might be a part of his lost memories.

"Azul, what’s wrong?" Roxanna’s smile slowly faded when she saw that her husband looked a bit pale. "Are you sick? Or did I say something wrong?"

Azul didn’t answer right away. His gaze lowered slightly, his brows furrowing as if he was trying to catch something that kept slipping away.

"I don’t know," he said softly.

Roxanna stepped closer to him, her expression filled with worry. "What do you mean you don’t know?"

He raised a hand to his temple, pressing it lightly. "Your words just now... they felt familiar, like I’ve heard them before."

Roxanna froze in place. "Before?" she asked. "From me?"

Azul shook his head right away. "No, no, I don’t think it was from you."

He suddenly crouched down, one hand holding his head as a dull pain started to spread. "I... I’m not sure what’s happening," he muttered.

For a moment, everything felt unclear. But then, small pieces of memories began to surface in his mind. They didn’t feel like his, and yet, they felt so familiar.

The voices in his memories felt so soothing and familiar, and the warmth he felt from them seemed incredibly real.

Azul’s breathing slowed as he tried to hold onto it. "I..." he hesitated. "I think..." He lifted his head slightly, still frowning. "I think it was from my parents."

Roxanna’s eyes softened. "Your parents?" she repeated gently.

Azul nodded, though his expression was still tense. "I can’t see their faces clearly," he admitted. "But... I remember the feeling."

He pressed a hand to his chest. "It was warm and safe."