I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 183: The Soul That Followed Her Across Worlds (2)

Calen didn’t remember anything about his past life, especially the time when he had lived in Roxanna’s world, as if those memories were not his own.

However, Mr. Fenrir had shared a few pieces of those memories with him. Because of that, Calen could now see a rough picture of what his life had been like back then—when he was still a dog.

Mr. Fenrir had once been trained to become a military dog, the kind of dog taught to attack anyone who posed a threat.

But for some reason, no matter how hard the trainers tried to teach him, Mr. Fenrir always refused to bite the people standing in front of him.

The other trainers also tried to train him, but none of them succeeded. In the end, Mr. Fenrir became known as the "sunshine dog" at the military dog training academy.

He wasn’t aggressive like the other dogs. Instead of attacking people, he would wag his tail and look at them with friendly eyes.

A year later, he was officially declared a failure. After that, he was sent to a shelter so someone could adopt him.

Everyone believed that maybe this would be better for him. If a kind person from outside the military adopted him, perhaps Mr. Fenrir could finally live a peaceful and happy life.

But no one expected that a man with such a bright smile could turn out to be a living nightmare.

"No, you—or Mr. Fenrir—are not failures," Roxanna said gently. She slid her hands down and held his. "My Calen is not a failure at all. What happened in the past wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t Mr. Fenrir’s fault either. It was my ex-husband’s fault."

"But I was there," Calen said quietly. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes soft but filled with pain. "I should have helped you, but what could I do? I just stayed quiet while that bastard was hitting you over and over again.

Ever since those memories entered his mind, Calen couldn’t stop thinking about it. To him, Mr. Fenrir and himself felt like the same person. When he remembered those moments, he could almost see himself as that helpless dog, watching someone he cared about suffer while being unable to protect her.

"You were locked in a cage," Roxanna replied softly. She gently rubbed his hands as if trying to comfort him. "That’s why you couldn’t do anything. And if you had tried to stop him, he would have tortured you even more. I didn’t want that to happen to you."

Sometimes, even when the dog only barked, Leon would ask Lisa to spray soda all over him. The sticky liquid would cling to his fur, and Mr. Fenrir would later get sick from licking it off.

Just remembering it made Roxanna’s chest ache. Before she realized it, she had already thrown herself into Calen’s arms.

"Shouldn’t I be the one apologizing to you?" she whispered. "I couldn’t save you either."

If Mr. Fenrir hadn’t been beaten to death back then, maybe he wouldn’t have been reborn in the Beast World. Maybe he wouldn’t have had to suffer again under the hands of the evil Roxanna.

Why did Calen have to go through so much pain in his life? Did the universe really hate him that much that it wouldn’t even let him taste happiness?

The universe knew he was a loyal creature. He refused to bite anyone, not because he couldn’t, but because his heart was simply too gentle and kind. But for some reason, that still wasn’t enough for the universe to give him a better life.

[Sometimes, you must endure a lot of pain before you can receive the greatest gift, Host,] the system suddenly said.

Roxanna’s eyes trembled slightly. She looked at Mr. Fenrir standing behind Calen and thought, [What’s the point of receiving the greatest gift if our hearts have already been hurt too many times?]

After all, a broken heart can never truly be repaired. In the end, the cracks will always remain, even if she tries to glue the pieces back together.

The system spoke again. [Then how can you truly cherish something if you have never experienced the pain of losing it?]

Roxanna gritted her teeth inwardly [Nonsense,] she thought coldly. [You don’t have to lose something to know how precious it is.]

Roxanna tightened her arms around Calen, holding him as if she was afraid he might disappear if she let go.

[If pain is the price for happiness, then the universe is far too cruel.]

For a moment, the system said nothing. The silence around them felt heavy, almost suffocating. Roxanna buried her face against Calen’s shoulder, her fingers gripping the back of his clothes.

"Maybe that’s for the best," Calen said.

Roxanna’s eyes widened. She clearly hadn’t expected those words to come from him. "What?"

"Our past was filled with misery," Calen continued softly. "But... if we hadn’t died, wouldn’t we have never met here?"

If things had been different, Calen would have remained a dog forever, a mere pet who would never be able to think or understand the world the way a human could.

"I don’t want you to suffer, and I was angry because I couldn’t save you." Calen gently cupped her face in his hands. His voice dropped to a quiet whisper. "But when I was dying... I remember praying to the universe."

His eyes softened as he spoke. "I said, ’If I can’t protect her in this life... then please let me protect her in another life.’"

He didn’t remember the rest of his past life. But that prayer, he remembered it clearly, as if those words had been carved deep into the very bottom of his heart.

"And suddenly you’re here, with me." Calen smiled softly. "Finally, I can protect you."

Roxanna stared at him in silence.

Her heart trembled, and the tears she had tried so hard to hold back slowly gathered in her eyes again.

All this time, she had thought that fate had been cruel to him. That the universe had taken everything away from him again and again.

But now, it turned out that even in his final moments, when he had been beaten and left to die, Calen had still been thinking about her and the universe answered his pray.