I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 77: Silent Scars of the Commander

The moment Roxanna heard Commander Marlow’s words, she couldn’t stop herself from blurting out, "What do you mean by that? Are you dying?!"

The evil Roxanna had never bothered to learn anything about her warriors, so there was nothing in her memories she could rely on.

And judging from everyone’s shocked faces, it seemed nobody else knew either, except Zeir.

Zeir still looked calm, but that very calmness showed that he had known about the commander’s condition from the beginning.

Meanwhile, Commander Marlow let out a tired sigh. Anyone could see that he was very reluctant to talk about his condition.

"I’m suffering from... the Feral Phase," he finally said. "I’ve had it for about eight months now, and I believe that sooner or later, it will get worse if I keep serving as commander."

Roxanna had only ever heard about that condition through the evil Roxanna’s memories, but she still didn’t truly understand what it meant.

"Is it deadly?" she asked softly. Her voice trembled a little, as if she was afraid of hurting him with the question.

But Commander Marlow didn’t seem offended at all, probably because he assumed the current Roxanna didn’t know much about the outside world.

"This condition doesn’t kill you directly," he explained. "But it can be dangerous to others. Sometimes, I lose control and turn completely feral, like a true wild beast. When that happens, I’m not aware of anything... and afterward, I remember nothing."

However, the people around him would not forget. They would witness everything he did during those feral moments, and it wasn’t unusual for him to accidentally hurt others.

So far, he had never killed anyone during his feral phase, but if it went on like this, it wasn’t impossible.

"How about we discuss this further another time?" Zeir finally said. He looked at Marlow seriously, though there was also a hint of deep concern in his eyes. "For now, I think you should step back from your duties for a while. Please rest, Commander."

Marlow immediately tried to protest. "But—"

"For everyone’s safety," Zeir cut in gently. "You’re not only resting for yourself, but for the people around you. So please, don’t argue with me about this."

Surprisingly, Commander Marlow nodded right away and didn’t argue with Zeir anymore. "Alright. I’ll rest for a week. But I hope... I’ll have a replacement before then."

After that, the discussion in the functional hut shifted to what had happened to Roxanna in the cave, especially the part where Loba had locked her inside.

Roxanna wasn’t the type of person who could lie easily, so it was difficult for her to come up with a believable story for everyone. Thankfully, Zeir kept supporting her and filling in the details, so she didn’t have to worry about anyone accusing her of lying.

To be honest, she wasn’t even sure she would remember everything she said tonight. But hopefully... Zeir would.

As the night grew later and Roxanna finished sharing all the information they needed to know, she and her husbands finally left the functional hut with much lighter hearts.

At least now, nobody would suspect her of being the dangerous mimic anymore.

Though in return, she had made so many people cry tonight. Even as she walked away, she could still hear the faint sound of soft sobbing coming from the huts around her.

Since the night was getting late, Azul asked Roxanna to return to their hut. But just before she stepped inside, she suddenly remembered something very important. "Why haven’t Luan and Cyrus come back yet?!"

Roxanna quickly turned to Zeir. "Are you sure we don’t need to go after them into the cursed forest? Calen could probably track their scent easily."

"Even if Calen can follow their scent, it would still be very hard for us to see in the dark," Zeir explained calmly. "And there are many dangerous demon beasts out there that can see far better than we can at night."

Calen did have night vision, but it still wasn’t as sharp as Luan’s. Because of that, none of them wanted to take the risk of following into the cursed forest blindly.

Roxanna actually knew that already. Yet she still couldn’t stop herself from worrying, and in her panic, she couldn’t think straight. She even mentally called herself stupid for asking something so obvious.

That was when Azul suddenly spoke, clearly trying to distract her from her spiraling thoughts. "Do you know about the Feral Phase?" he asked.

While Roxanna was still looking at Azul, Zeir took the chance to gently lead her inside the hut, where it was much warmer than outside.

Earlier, Azul and Calen had already laid out the floor mattresses and neatly folded the mammoth fur blankets, ready for them to sleep.

"Not really," Roxanna said honestly. "Can you tell me more about it?"

Azul nodded, and they sat together on the mattress. Surprisingly, even though the system had once said the mattress had a cooling function, it still felt warm and cozy now that the air was cold.

"The Feral Phase usually happens to beastkins who can’t keep their sanity stable," Azul said with a small sigh. "Most of the time, it affects beastkins who have gone through something very painful, a tragedy so heavy that their heart just can’t handle it."

Roxanna blinked slowly. "Did something bad happen to Commander Marlow?"

Commander Marlow had always looked so strong and dependable, so it was hard to imagine him suffering silently inside.

"His wife died eight months ago," Calen said softly, looking at Roxanna with sadness in his eyes. "She took her own life."

For a moment, Roxanna forgot how to breathe. Now that Calen mentioned it, the memories of that event finally surfaced in her mind.

Eight months ago, his wife had gone into the cursed forest and ended her life there by letting demon beasts killed her. None of her husbands had ever expected she would do such a thing, because she had always seemed cheerful all the time.

But it seemed her decision was linked to the cruel words she once heard from a few beastwomen of other tribes, who said that an infertile beastwoman was useless and did not deserve to live.