I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 85: A Place Where I Finally Belong (2)
"Leader, welcome to our tribe!"
The children were the first to run forward, laughing as they tossed flower petals into the air. Even Skiv slowly stepped toward her, holding a colorful flower crown carefully in both hands.
"Leader... please forgive me for how I treated you before," Skiv said softly. "If I had known the truth, I never would have acted that way."
Roxanna, who had literally just woken up minutes ago, was still standing there like someone whose mind hadn’t fully loaded yet. It took her a little while to understand everything that was happening, and then, at last, a bright smile bloomed on her face.
"You don’t need to apologize like that," she said gently, reaching out to pat his head. "Really, it’s alright. You were just scared, and you didn’t know I was a different person. I’m not angry at you at all."
Skiv stared up at her in disbelief, his eyes shining. "R-Really? You’ve forgiven me?"
Roxanna nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I’ve already forgiven you, so you don’t need to apologize anymore." Then she glanced at the flower crown in his hands. "So... what is this for?"
Before Skiv could answer, Grandma Mia, who was standing nearby, stepped forward with a warm smile.
"That flower crown is a symbol of your leadership," she explained. "We always hold a ceremony like this when a new leader takes the former leader’s place."
Roxanna blinked several times. So this was a ceremony?! An actual leader ceremony?!
They had actually prepared a ceremony for her, almost like a surprise birthday party!
[If this is a leader ceremony... then this must be formal, right?!] Roxanna panicked internally. [But I literally just woke up! My hair is a mess and I look terrible! This is so embarrassing!]
Sure, there were no cameras here. But still, being stared at by so many people while looking half-asleep and messy was mortifying.
"Maybe we should let her tidy her hair first," Zeir finally said, clearing his throat gently as he stepped closer to her. "That way, the flower crown will look even prettier on her."
Grandma Mia nodded in agreement, smiling kindly. "Yes, that sounds best. Take your time, dear."
Zeir then nodded to Roxanna, signaling for her to go back inside the hut. He followed behind her calmly and, the moment he closed the door, she immediately began to panic.
"Zeir, Zeir, what is this?!" she whispered urgently, tugging anxiously at the hem of his clothes. "This ceremony is important, right? Sacred, even, right? You should have told me first!"
Then another thought suddenly hit her. "Oh no... how long have you all been waiting outside?!"
From the way things looked, they must have been waiting since morning, waiting patiently until she finally woke up.
Just thinking about it made Roxanna’s cheeks burn. A wave of embarrassment washed over her, especially after she had confidently thought earlier that sleeping twelve hours wasn’t a big deal.
"Since morning? You’ve been waiting since morning, haven’t you?" Roxanna asked nervously, nibbling on the tip of her nail.
[They must have been annoyed at having to wait so long... That’s probably why they dragged Luan right out of bed.]
At least, that was the most reasonable explanation she could think of.
"Roxanna, Roxanna."
Zeir gently placed his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from pacing back and forth like a nervous kitten.
"Calm down," he said softly. "You didn’t do anything wrong. So there’s no reason to panic."
Roxanna just stared at Zeir in silence, as if demanding an answer with her eyes.
Zeir took a slow breath, then began explaining everything. "Yes, this ceremony really is important, and normally it’s done in a very serious way. But since you’ve only just come here, we also wanted it to feel like a warm welcome party for you."
He paused for a moment, then looked away slightly as his voice softened. "And... we didn’t want to scare you with the real sacred ceremony. Honestly, the original version of it is something that’s better left behind."
Roxanna opened her mouth, ready to ask what he meant, but then the memory suddenly flickered to life inside her mind from the evil Roxanna’s past.
She froze and slowly closed her lips again.
So that was what the real ceremony used to be like.
In the past, when a new leader was chosen, the tribe would capture outsiders—usually slaves—and force them to fight each other to the death, like gladiators.
What about the winner? Will they be released? No, not even close.
Just when the last surviving fighter began to feel relief, believing they would finally gain freedom, the warriors would strike from behind and behead them.
The winner’s blood would then be collected in a wooden bowl, and the new leader was required to drink it.
It was meant to symbolize that the leader now carried the strength, hatred, and life of the fallen warrior, binding their rule with blood and death.
She felt her stomach twist just imagining it. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Did the people in this settlement even like that ceremony?
The answer was no.
That ceremony—or rather, that ritual—had originally been passed down from the ancestors of the fox beastkins. But now that the tribe was filled with beastkins from many different species, most of them only found it strange and unsettling.
"Yeah, yeah, that kind of ceremony really should be stopped." Roxanna finally let out the breath she’d been holding all this time. "I would never bring back something that horrifying."
Zeir gave a small nod, looking relieved by her answer. "That’s why," he continued gently, "we decided to change the ceremony into something peaceful and warm instead. Something that welcomes you, not frightens you."
His words somehow warmed her heart, which had briefly gone cold after seeing those horrible memories.
She honestly never expected the entire tribe to suddenly hold a welcome ceremony, and only one day after she revealed her false identity, too.
"Why are all of you being so kind to me like this?" Roxanna looked at Zeir with slightly clouded eyes. "We haven’t even known each other for more than a month."
