The Villainess Redeems Herself, The Beast Husbands are in a Daily Love Battle-Chapter 174: Cannot Betray

So for these many years, without any other female to care for him, he survived solely on doses of medicinal soup to this point.

Claire Joyce, eyes red with anger, threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, gripping Alza’s arm tightly.

"It was me! I was the one who went up the mountain to gather herbs every day! I was the one who fed you soup at night! I was the one who kept you company through the cold nights!"

She could no longer remain silent.

"Why is it that in your eyes, you can only see her? She has been gone for so long! If not for me, you would have long rotted in the mud."

Yet all of this seemed insignificant to him compared to a single touch from Selene Kane years ago.

She could not continue, covering her face as she sobbed and trembled.

But this time, no one came to hold her.

Alza would rather hide alone to lick his wounds than accept her attempts to calm him.

He stepped back to avoid her touch, his expression a mix of complexity and pain.

It’s not that he wasn’t grateful, but rather... he was afraid.

Afraid that if he accepted her kindness, it would completely deny the memories that had kept him alive in the past.

He was just a C-level.

And she, even the lowest B-level, could provide him with ample spiritual comfort.

Theoretically, Claire Joyce’s spiritual power was enough to stabilize his state, even freeing him from dependence on others.

As long as she was willing to release and he was willing to accept, their relationship could see a turnaround.

But he just didn’t want it.

"No need... what Miss Kane gave me, it’s already enough."

When he said this, his tone was calm.

What Selene Kane offered him was not just spiritual comfort, but also the belief to live on.

Even though she had left for many years.

That feeling still firmly occupied the deepest part of his heart.

The room was dark as ink, with only their eyes shining.

There was no moonlight outside, no light inside, so quiet they could hear each other’s breathing.

At that moment, Claire Joyce suddenly felt that there was more than just a few steps between her and Alza.

Back then, Claire Joyce always thought, once Selene left, he would eventually turn back to look at her.

She had fantasized about countless possibilities.

These fantasies sustained her through night after lonely night.

But now, she only felt a heaviness in her chest.

Resentful of his persistent delusion, resentful of his cold indifference.

Even more resentful of the long-gone Selene Kane. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She once thought Alza would hate Selene Kane.

Why was he so unambitious?

The moment she left, he didn’t even have the courage to chase after her.

The wind at the door ruffled his black hair.

But he just stood there quietly, gazing at the winding path afar.

No roaring, no resentment.

Watching his demeanor, Claire Joyce felt so suffocated she could hardly breathe.

Men are such fools.

Once caught up in emotions, does it even empty the brain?

If she had known earlier...

She should have just tied him up.

Taking advantage of the night, tie him up securely, stuff him into a sack, and take him, jostling all the way, back to her hometown.

Anyway, now he is all alone, without ties or connections, no one would chase after if she took him away.

But she didn’t act.

Because she knew, even if she took him by force, his heart was already not there anymore.

Alza sensed the change in her emotions.

She was just excited as if about to pounce, her eyes burning with unwillingness.

But in an instant, that flame extinguished.

Replaced by a look full of disdain.

That kind of gaze hurt more than insults.

"Claire, my heart has long belonged to Miss Kane."

"You know, once a male is calmed by a female, he belongs with her for a lifetime."

He gently lifted his hand, touching his chest.

"Otherwise... it’s not clean."

In their tribe, this is a rule engraved in their bones.

If a male has intimate contact with someone other than his destined female, it is considered as being "polluted," his soul no longer pure, and after death, he cannot return to the embrace of the ancestor spirits.

"I want to be clean, to wait for her return."

Thinking of the faint fragrance on Selene Kane.

Thinking of her soft fingertips gently brushing across his wrist, that slight itch.

Alza’s face gradually reddened, the tips of his ears showing a faint pink.

He was certain.

She would not leave him behind.

She was not that kind of person.

These days, though lonely, he never wavered.

He refused all friendly advances from other females.

Even if the fruits they brought were sweet and delicious, he returned them untouched.

He washed his body daily, changing into the cleanest clothes, sitting in front of the house, looking at that small road.

He couldn’t allow himself to be tainted by any blemish.

Otherwise... he would not be worthy of her.

He would not be worthy of that shining white, gentle like moonlight Miss Kane.

Claire Joyce no longer wanted to speak.

She didn’t want to shed tears in front of him.

So she silently stepped back.

Her body slowly shrank into a ball, bones twisting and reforming beneath the skin, fur emerging from her skin.

In the blink of an eye, she had transformed into a gray-furred fox.

Small in size, ears upright, her fluffy tail curled by her side.

She sat quietly, curled in the shadow of the corner.

Waiting for Selene Kane’s judgment.

She didn’t know what wrong she had committed.

Perhaps the mistake was being born with this fur, this fate.

She surveyed this room, every furnishing bright enough to hurt her eyes.

A crystal chandelier hung overhead, refracting multicolored light.

The jade vase on the table was intricately carved with dragon patterns, faint mist rising from the neck, said to be soaked in hundred-year spiritual medicine.

In the corner, an incense burner wafted a spiral of agarwood smoke upward.

The entire room was suffused with an indescribable richness.

Any random vase could feed a family back in her hometown for a year with good meals.

Yet here, even the rag used to wipe the table was made of silk.

She extended her fluffy paw, staring at her own fur, feeling bouts of blockage in her heart.

Why couldn’t it be pure white?

Even if her whole body was yellow, that would be fine!

Most fox transformations were snowy white or golden yellow, symbolizing auspiciousness and spirituality.

But as for her?

Her paws were white, but her body was black.

Half clean, half impure.

So ugly it made her want to cry.

She looked down at herself, the black, ashen fur dull and wetly clinging to her body.

Others transformed with fair and tender skin, their faces like congealed fat, lips like dots of vermilion.

Even if they had darker skin, that was for males, symbolizing strength and masculinity.

But as for her?

A downright little black charcoal, no amount of washing could make it white.

She tried taking medicinal baths, pouring a whole tub of Snow Lotus, Jade Ginseng, and Pearl Powder, soaking until her skin pruned, yet she didn’t turn a bit whiter.

Compared to Selene Kane’s bright white skin, she was not even as good as the dirt clods in the corner.

Selene Kane stood there, both icy and dazzling.

Claire Joyce licked her paws, her actions mechanical and weak.

Clearly Selene Kane’s true form was a black snake, glossy black and shiny.

Yet in the tribe, no one dared call her ugly.

Because in her transformed state, she was as white as a freshly steamed glutinous rice dumpling, tender as if water could be squeezed from it, beautiful enough to inspire jealousy.

Even more infuriating was that her whiteness wasn’t a sickly pale, but a healthy white with a flush of blood beneath.

Making her appear like a lost bear cub.

Alza wanted to reach out and hold her.

He knew she felt wronged.

His hand had just reached out, fingertips almost brushing against her fluffy tail.

But at that moment, he abruptly halted.

Then, he silently withdrew his hand, letting it hang by his side, clenching it into a fist.

Now he was the Beast Husband to Miss Kane, he belonged to her.

Everything about him, from heartbeat to breathing, belonged to Selene Kane.

Without her command, touching another female meant courting death.

Not only was it against tribe rules, but his own heart wouldn’t allow it.

He couldn’t betray her.