I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 162: Cooking Delicious Meals (1)
Azul raised his hand and wagged his finger a few times. "No, no, no. Two people are more than enough to wash the meat. You can cut the meat and then hand it to us."
Cyrus could only grumble quietly to himself. His attempt to boss Azul around had failed badly. He had been sitting there, cutting meat all by himself, while Azul and Roxanna happily washed the pieces near the river.
Their feet dipped into the cool water. Every now and then, they playfully swayed their legs, sending little splashes at each other.
Azul even managed to steal a few kisses from Roxanna. Meanwhile, the only thing Cyrus could kiss was a chunk of bloody meat.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to suffer the sight for long. Roxanna soon decided it was time to head back and cook.
"Cyrus did such a great job cutting the meat!" Roxanna said warmly as she placed the cleaned pieces into the sack.
Cyrus pressed his lips together, trying to hide how embarrassed he felt. Being praised for something so small made his ears burn. "It’s nothing."
[Is Cyrus jealous because Azul kept kissing me earlier?] Roxanna wondered. [I’ll kiss Cyrus later after I finish cooking.]
Cyrus’s eyes softened at once. He even shot Azul a quick glance, the corner of his lips lifting slightly in silent triumph.
"Alright, let’s go back home," Roxanna said with a bright smile.
She had offered to help carry the meat or the sack filled with tubers, but none of her husbands allowed her to carry anything heavy.
"You’re pregnant," they insisted. "We don’t want you carrying heavy things."
Honestly, Roxanna still thought it didn’t make much sense. Out of everyone, her body healed the fastest. She had even climbed the Golden Mountain and walked back down without suffering a miscarriage.
With that fact alone, wasn’t it enough to prove that her pregnancy wasn’t that weak?
But well, whatever. If her husbands insisted on carrying all the heavy things, then Roxanna wouldn’t force them to let her participate in that.
When they reached the hut, Roxanna immediately noticed Zeir standing outside the bedroom’s door.
He said to his wife, "Doctor Aelin is still trying to examine Calen’s body." He then added hesitantly, "She hopes that when she finishes examining Calen, she can eat something delicious right away."
Roxanna let out a heavy sigh because once again, she couldn’t get rid of her worry for Calen. But for now, the only thing she could do was provide a delicious meal for Aelin.
"I get it," Roxanna replied.
Zeir’s gaze shifted between Roxanna and the sacks the others were holding. "Do you need my help?"
Roxanna shook her head without hesitation. "Cyrus and Azul are enough. You can continue watching over Calen in the room, together with Luan."
Besides, too many people in the kitchen would only make Roxanna feel overwhelmed, and she was afraid she might fail to cook something delicious.
"If you’re sure," Zeir said softly. "But if you need anything, I—"
"I’ll call you," Roxanna interrupted with a small smile. "Don’t worry."
The moment Zeir turned around to return to the bedroom, the system’s voice echoed inside her head.
[Side Mission Activated: Prepare five nutritious and delicious meals for Doctor Aelin.]
[Goal: Win Doctor Aelin’s heart with your cooking.]
[Reward: Doctor’s Favor — Effect: Aelin becomes more emotionally invested in Calen’s recovery.]
[Additional: Bonus 20,000 SP if Aelin cries after eating your cooking.]
Roxanna froze in place when she received that side mission. She had planned to prepare a few meals for Aelin, but five?!
[Five meals?!] Roxanna shouted in her mind. [How am I supposed to cook that many meals with so little time?!]
Roxanna’s thoughts began to spiral. Aelin could step out of the bedroom at any moment. Maybe in an hour, or maybe even sooner. After all, an hour in a primitive kitchen was nothing.
[This is impossible...]
To make things worse, she still didn’t know what kind of dishes she should make.
Ignoring her husbands beside her, Roxanna asked the system to open the cookbook on the panel.
Her hands hovered over the table of contents because she didn’t know which meals could be prepared quickly with simple ingredients.
[Something fast...]
[Something simple...]
[Something nutritious...]
But her mind refused to cooperate. Every option suddenly felt too complicated, too slow, and too risky.
[Host, the system can assist you with that.] The system chimed in. [It is a free service, but you must do something to entertain the system.]
Roxanna’s eyes narrowed at once. Her earlier panic was instantly replaced by suspicion.
[Entertain?] she repeated silently. That never sounded good. [What do you want?] Roxanna asked flatly.
For a brief second, the system said nothing, and somehow... That silence felt even more dangerous.
[Nothing difficult, Host.]
[What is it?] she asked again.
The system responded without hesitation. [Please say something nice about the system.]
Roxanna stared blankly ahead. [That’s it?]
For something that often asked for Spirit Points or did things that annoyed her, why was the system suddenly asking for something so simple?
She had even briefly thought that the system wanted her to mate with her husbands every day.
[Correct.] The system added. [The system prefers the term "motivational exchange."]
As strange as the system was being, Roxanna was still glad that it wasn’t asking for anything dangerous or embarrassing.
Finally, she spoke in her mind. [The system is very helpful.]
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the system spoke again. [Please be more sincere, Host.]
Roxanna’s eyes twitched, but instead of arguing, she tried to make her words sound more sincere. [You are extremely helpful, dear system,] Roxanna said, her mental voice filled with forced sweetness. [Truly a shining light in my stressful life.]
The system remained silent for a moment, and whether it was just her imagination or not, Roxanna thought she heard a faint buzzing sound in her head.
[Compliment accepted.]
Another window popped up instantly.
[Free Cooking Assistance Activated.]
[Recommended Quick Dishes Loaded...]
