Villainess is being pampered by her beast husbands-Chapter 281 --.

Unlike the Capybara tribe, where everything was eerily silent and people just stared, the Panda tribe was alive. Really alive. Sure, they were munching bamboo like normal pandas—that was expected—but it wasn’t the eating that caught Kaya’s attention. It was what they were making.

She had seen bamboo crafts before: baskets, mats, little trinkets. But what these pandas were doing... it was something else entirely. Kaya bent down and picked up a tiny doll carved from bamboo, delicate yet perfectly solid, painted with care. Her jaw practically dropped.

"Oh... is this made of bamboo?" she asked, still holding it like it might vanish.

A Panda Beastman with small black ears, a round tail swishing behind him, wearing a simple hide, smiled at her. "Yes. My wife made it," he said casually.

Kaya’s eyes went wide. His wife? She made this? She looked around. Tiny bamboo baskets with intricate weaving, miniature kitchen sets, even tiny pandas carved from bamboo painted with black dye from some local plant—it was incredible. Every piece was flawless, and somehow, alive with character. She had never seen anything like it. Not in movies, not in museums, not even in her wildest imagination.

She held one of the dolls closer, spinning it in her fingers. "How... how is this even possible?" she muttered. It was stunning. Beautiful. Magical. And the craziest part? These weren’t just crafts. They were alive, in a sense. Each piece seemed to carry a story, a soul.

Kaya shook her head, laughing a little at herself. "Of course... of course this would exist somewhere. But why do I always end up in places like this?"

She glanced around, taking in the bustling little village. Pandas eating, making things, moving about their day—peaceful, calm, and yet completely extraordinary. She felt a strange mix of awe, envy, and a little bit of panic. How was she supposed to process all this?

And Veer? He was smirking somewhere behind her, probably enjoying the fact that Kaya looked like she had just walked into another universe.

Kaya took a deep breath. "Alright," she muttered, mostly to herself, "let’s see what other madness this tribe has in store."

But of course, unlike the Capybara tribe—where Veer and Kaya could just chill without arguing or doing much—the Panda tribe was a different story. Veer didn’t know everyone here, and of course, they couldn’t just waltz in and expect free lodging. They had to pay.

And Veer... well, his "payment" was classic him. He said he’d cook. Not just any food, but the most delicious food for as long as they stayed—two, three days, however long. Kaya, of course, rolled her eyes. Right, like anyone would let you crash at their place just for food.

But she was dead wrong.

The pandas? Gluttonous. Absolute food fiends. The moment they heard Veer’s offer, they perked up immediately, their little black ears twitching as if to say, Tell us more. They asked what he could cook, and Kaya had to stifle a laugh at how seriously they were interrogating him like some kind of bamboo food critic.

And then Veer cooked. Fried bamboo shoots. Simple, right? Wrong. They tasted it... and Kaya had never seen pandas move so fast in her life. Their eyes practically lit up, and suddenly the little tribe was nodding and agreeing: "Yes, yes, you can stay. As long as you like. Forever, if you cook like that."

Kaya stared at Veer in disbelief. This guy... this idiot... actually charmed a whole tribe with food?

Veer just smirked at her, obviously proud, and Kaya had to bite back a laugh. Somehow, she’d ended up in yet another ridiculous adventure—and it was only just begun.

.

.

.

Kaya sat on a rough wooden log, peeling a stubborn bamboo shoot, and finally couldn’t hold back. She glanced at Veer, who was multitasking like a pro—stirring the boiling pot with one hand, adjusting the fire with the other—and asked with a sarcastic smile,

"Can you tell me why the hell I’m peeling this bamboo shoot?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Veer didn’t miss a beat. He looked at her and grinned, "Well, I’m not the only one staying here. You too. So... naturally, you’ve got to do your part."

Kaya slammed the bamboo shoot down in mock frustration. "Part? Part?! Who the hell said I would cook?! Are you insane? Look at my hand!"

Veer’s eyes flicked to her hands, now red and raw from peeling. "Who even peels bamboo shoots like that? By hand? No knife? You want me to see you bleed for bamboo?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. Then, leaning slightly closer, he added in his teasing, almost sinister tone, "Sweetheart... I was gonna suggest you use your tongue. After all, it’s so sharp..."

Kaya blinked. "Excuse me?"

Veer just laughed, unbothered. "But fine, since we’re here, your hand works. Or the knife you’ve got. Either way, I win."

Kaya gritted her teeth and started peeling the bamboo shoots with her hands, muttering under her breath. The problem wasn’t that she didn’t have a knife—of course she did—but using it on the bamboo shoots would dull its edge, and she couldn’t risk it. She’d seen it in movies and dramas: sharpen the knife on a stone, and voilà, perfect. She tried it. The result? A knife even duller than before.

Sighing, she decided not to touch it with the blade. If the knife broke—or even lost the tiny bit of sharpness it still had—it would create even bigger problems for her. Besides, the bamboo shoots were already boiled, so peeling them by hand wasn’t exactly a life-or-death task. She just wished Veer wasn’t standing there smirking, pretending this was some kind of "teamwork exercise."

Veer stole a glance at Kaya from the corner of his eyes. That familiar half-smile was there, but beneath it, a flicker of pain lingered in his gaze. He hated seeing his darling work, hated it with all his heart, yet he knew he had to let her.

He had noticed the way Kaya had been following him, watching him closely, catching the smallest flickers of his expression. Her mind was sharp—too sharp—and he knew it wouldn’t take her long to figure out what he was hiding. He couldn’t risk revealing everything just yet.