I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 204: The Value of Being Small

"Cough!" Roxanna pretended to cough to change the topic. "I heard that Cyrus has taught you how to make a stone axe. Were you able to learn it well?"

The moment Roxanna mentioned that, Skiv’s face immediately darkened. He even looked so annoyed that Roxanna wondered if Cyrus had thrown the axe at his head instead of teaching him how to make one.

"It was fine," he said shortly.

Even though he said that, his constantly twitching mouse ears and the way he puffed his cheeks made Roxanna sure that it was anything but fine.

"Really?" she asked once more. "Were you—"

"No, it’s not fine at all!" Skiv cut her off, finally giving up on hiding it. "Cyrus has been trying to teach me how to make weapons for a long time, but I still can’t get good at it!"

He stomped his feet on the ground several times and even let Lilo jump down from his arms.

"Every time I try to make something, it turns into useless junk!" he complained again. "Even the axe I made earlier didn’t look like an axe at all!"

Roxanna fell silent because she had actually thought that Cyrus was just making excuses when he said he wanted to teach Skiv how to make weapons, but it turned out that this wasn’t even the first time they had done this.

Since she had no memory of this matter, it was a sign that the evil Roxanna also knew nothing about it.

Well, of course they would do this in secret. After all, the evil Roxanna did not allow her husbands to take any roles in the tribe, especially things related to weapons.

"You’re still so young," Roxanna said at last, trying to calm Skiv. "That’s why you still have a long time to improve your skills in the future."

Skiv snorted in frustration. "What’s the point of that? If I can’t make a great weapon by myself right now, how am I supposed to have a future?"

Roxanna frowned deeply, tilting her head to the side. "Why would you say that? Even if you can’t make any weapons at all, you can still stay in this tribe."

"That’s the problem!" Skiv said dramatically. "Cyrus once said that the only person we can rely on in this world is ourselves. That’s why we need to have a way to survive even if something bad happens to this tribe."

Realizing he had said something wrong, Skiv quickly corrected himself. "I-I mean... we never know the future. If others can’t protect me, then I have to protect myself."

He lowered his head deeply, fidgeting with his fingers as he added, "The last time I was alone... I almost died," he murmured. "And I caused you so much trouble."

Ah, so it was still about the time when he almost died.

Roxanna thought that by convincing Skiv to stay in the tribe, he would be fine. But it seemed the fear and guilt were still there, quietly weighing on his heart.

"Oh, Skiv. Not everyone can become strong overnight, and not everyone can make weapons well in a short time," Roxanna said, patting his head softly. "You just have to be patient, and slowly, I’m sure you will become stronger in the future." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Skiv bit the inside of his cheek and whispered, "That’s impossible... How can a mouse beastman ever be as strong as the others?"

Roxanna fell silent and finally understood why Skiv was so determined to learn how to make weapons.

He probably thought that he wouldn’t be useful as a warrior, so he decided to sharpen his skills in making great weapons instead.

"What’s wrong with being a mouse?" Aelin suddenly spoke up, startling Roxanna a little because she had almost forgotten about her presence.

On the other side, Skiv also looked at Aelin in confusion. "How can you even question something so obvious? If you know I’m a mouse beastman, then you should already understand."

Aelin raised her eyebrows. "No, I don’t," she said before Skiv could continue. "Yes, some beasts are naturally stronger than others, but that doesn’t mean the rest can’t fight."

She crossed her arms, her tone firm but calm. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, even a mouse can be useful on the battlefield."

Roxanna chimed in, "Aelin is right. Even my husbands are not the kind of beastmen who are naturally gifted with—"

"Your husbands are different," Aelin cut her off before Roxanna could finish her words. "Their presence is... kind of special."

[Special? Wasn’t it only Calen who had a special background?] Roxanna wondered.

But when she thought about it more carefully, her husbands did have strength that was greater than others of their kind. Even Azul, who was a beta fish, had strength that could rival carnivorous beastkins in the tournament.

"My point is..." Roxanna cleared her throat softly before continuing, "Even if we aren’t born with special gifts, we can still learn. And if we keep trying, we can even catch up to others."

Roxanna lowered herself so she could look at Skiv at eye level. "Skiv, there’s nothing wrong with being weak at the beginning. After all, all of us were once small and weak too."

She paused for a moment, then spoke more gently, "And your worth doesn’t become less just because you can’t do what others can."

Roxanna gave him a warm smile. "No matter what happens in the future, you will always be part of the Vixeria Tribe. And I will do my best to protect you."

Of course, Roxanna would still provide Skiv with the knowledge he needed to survive on his own, but he could take it in slowly, without too much pressure.

"You don’t have to rush," she added gently. "We can learn things one step at a time."

Skiv stayed quiet for a moment, his fingers still fidgeting, but his shoulders were no longer as tense as before.

"Do you really believe... that a mouse beastman like me can become something special one day?" he asked in a small voice.

Roxanna nodded without hesitation. "Yes. I truly believe that."

Roxanna might not have been a weak mouse beastman in her past life, but she could still be considered a weak human with a poor background back then.

As someone who grew up in a poor orphanage, Roxanna had to work twice as hard just to have a decent life. There were days when she studied from morning until late afternoon, then worked part-time at night just to afford her school needs.

The process was hard and painful, but at least she was able to make her life better in the end. Even if... in the end, everything fell apart because she trusted the wrong people.

"Besides, why are you so worried?" Aelin spoke again. "If you can’t fight with a heavy weapon, then don’t."

She shrugged lightly. "You can still take down a strong man in other ways. For example..." A small smile appeared on her lips. "You can secretly slip poison into his food."

Skiv blinked in surprise.

"I can teach you how to make it," Aelin added calmly.

Skiv froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that kind of answer. "Poison?" he repeated, his ears twitching.

Aelin nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Of course. Not every fight has to be face-to-face. If you can’t win with strength, then use something else. I can teach you how to make a strong poison, something that can even kill a large mammoth beastman."

Roxanna couldn’t believe that she was witnessing someone who wanted to teach a kid how to make a deadly poison. But since this wasn’t a modern world, she didn’t make a big deal out of it.

"Really?!" Skiv’s eyes lit up right away, as if a new path had just opened in front of him. "You really want to teach me?"

Aelin gave a small nod. "Yeah, why not? I’ll be staying here for a while anyway, so I can teach you a few things about poison."

Before Skiv could get too excited, Roxanna quickly added, "Just... be careful, okay? I don’t want anyone getting hurt while trying to learn this."

Aelin waved her hand lightly, looking completely relaxed. "Don’t worry. If he gets poisoned, I can just make the antidote." Then she added calmly, "I’m not going to teach a beginner something dangerous without a way to fix it."

To be honest, Roxanna felt a little scared of Aelin.

She finally realized that Aelin was the kind of person who needed to be watched carefully.

After all, a great doctor who could create powerful medicine... could just as easily create deadly poison. And that same knowledge that could save a life, could also end one in a very short time.

"I-I will try my best to learn how to make poison!" Skiv exclaimed excitedly. He even looked like he had already forgotten his frustration about not being able to make weapons.

Well, a kid really is easy to distract.