I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 169: The Dark Path (1)

"I brought her from the Golden Mountain."

Within seconds, Calen widened his eyes. He was flabbergasted by her words because, as far as he knew, the Golden Mountain was not a mountain that could be easily climbed.

"Y-You mean... you brought the doctor from the deer tribe at the top of the mountain?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Roxanna nodded calmly. "Yes. I went there with Luan and Cyrus."

[Even now, it still feels unreal,] Roxanna thought. [Who would have imagined I’d one day do something as crazy as climbing a deadly mountain?]

Roxanna sighed inwardly. [Really... one moment we were almost dead. The next... we were having a three-way.]

They what?!

Azul and Calen both stared with their eyes so wide it looked as if their eyeballs might pop out of their sockets.

They were not surprised if Luan had such a strange desire, but Cyrus?

Cyrus was usually composed, almost as stiff as Zeir. True, he was warmer and more cheerful than Zeir, but still... he never seemed like someone with wild thoughts.

But then again, what did they really know? Cyrus was quite private when it came to personal matters, so they rarely heard him talk about himself.

Who would have guessed that the friendly bird had such bold desires hidden beneath that gentle smile? Though, at least he wasn’t as daring as Zeir, the man who enjoyed tying up his own wife in bed.

Yes, they knew the details of her mating session with Zeir because she couldn’t stop thinking about it at the time. And every time Roxanna praised Zeir’s double manhood, an unexplainable anger rose in their hearts.

Because of that, they eventually realized that even though Zeir was a quiet person, he could be wild when it came to mating.

"That mountain is extremely dangerous," Calen said, his voice softening with worry. For a second, he forgot the fact that she had a three-way with Luan and Cyrus. "Were you hurt while climbing it?"

"And... our child?" His gaze dropped to her stomach, where a small baby bump had begun to show, still soft and barely noticeable. "Is the baby alright?"

Roxanna gently placed a hand over her belly and smiled. "Our baby is fine," she said reassuringly. "And I’m fine too."

She would tell Calen everything she experienced on the Golden Mountain someday, but not now. For now, the only thing they needed to do was focus on finding a way out.

On the other side, Azul narrowed his eyes at Calen because he had casually claimed Azul and Roxanna’s child as his own as well. However, since it was just a harmless remark, the fish beastman said nothing.

Tring.

Roxanna straightened when she heard the bell echo around them. There was no guidance like a red thread before her, but it seemed that as long as she could follow the direction of the bell, she would be able to find the way out.

"It’s coming from the west." Azul pointed toward the path on their left. Like the others, it was surrounded by high walls, but for some reason, they couldn’t see what lay at the end of it because it was covered in darkness.

"No, that’s... that’s a dangerous path," Calen said, his voice slightly trembling. His pupils darted rapidly, like someone on the verge of panic. "A monster... there’s a monster there."

"What monster?" Azul asked.

He quickly moved to Roxanna’s side, helping her gently to her feet. Without letting go of her, he reached for Calen’s hand and pulled him up as well.

But Calen didn’t react the way he normally would. Instead of standing tall, he shrank back like someone completely overwhelmed by fear.

He stumbled backward until his back hit the cold wall of the maze. Then he pressed himself into the corner, as if trying to disappear. His shoulders curled inward and his breathing turned uneven.

It was as though he wanted to hide from something only he could see.

"I... I don’t know," Calen muttered. His voice trembled. "It never shows itself, but every time I walk through the darkness, I feel like something large is moving around me."

Roxanna’s expression softened. She stepped closer, her eyes filled with concern. "Did it hurt you?" she asked gently.

[He looks terrified,] Roxanna thought. [Whatever is in there must have left him deeply shaken. Oh, my poor, poor Calen.]

Calen stiffened slightly at the pity in her gaze. He had endured so much pain in his life, and being pitied was the one thing he hated most.

Even so, a strange warmth wrapped around his heart when Roxanna gave him extra attention, like being wrapped in a blanket after standing too long in the cold.

"No, it just... moves around me," Calen said. "But that’s what makes it worse."

Azul frowned and stepped forward, positioning himself between them and the western path.

"I don’t sense anything," Azul said.

His eyes stayed fixed on the darkness ahead. Even though he could sense a cold breeze coming from that direction, he couldn’t detect any living presence within it.

Azul bent down, picking up a small pebble. Without hesitation, he threw it into the darkness. He sharpened his hearing, yet he still couldn’t hear the pebble hitting anything.

Moments later, Azul turned back to Calen and Roxanna. "Are you sure you felt something there?" he asked. "You’ve been trapped in this maze for days. Is it possible you were hallucinating?"

"Hallucinating, my ass!" Calen shouted, irritation flashing across his face. Azul’s words sounded like he was dismissing his fear. "Sometimes I can hear it growling!"

Before Azul could say something that might anger Calen further, Roxanna spoke first. "Aelin told us that something dangerous is trapped here too," she said. "Let’s not underestimate that."

Azul let out a soft sigh. "It’s not that I want to underestimate it, but... I truly can’t sense anything there."

He paused briefly, then looked at them with a serious expression. "If something is really there, but I can’t sense it..." he said slowly, "...then we may already be in danger."