Villainess is being pampered by her beast husbands-Chapter 424 --

It was true. The door itself was unreliable, barely functional—but she had tied it with a thin rope. Not strong, but enough. Anyone trying to enter would’ve had to undo it. She did it for privacy. For safety.

Yet here he was.

Standing inside that night.

Cutie lowered his head.

"The door was open," he said quietly. "I don’t know what happened. That day... everything’s a little blurry for me."

His voice slowed as he spoke, each word softer than the last.

"The last thing I remember is you waking up. And then... I woke up on your bed. After that—"

His voice faded.

His ears turned even redder.

Kaya watched him for a long moment.

Then she said simply, "Okay."

Nothing more.

But the question stayed.

BAM!

SLAM!

BANG! BANG!

The sudden noise shattered the calm.

Kaya flinched, her head snapping toward the sound. It wasn’t knocking—no, it was far more frantic than that. Like someone desperately beating against wood, over and over again, without rhythm or restraint.

Her gaze went to the door first.

It was open.

"...Then what the hell—"

Realization struck her like a slap.

"Damn it."

Kaya pushed herself up too quickly. Pain shot through her body, drawing a sharp groan from her throat, but she ignored it. Her eyes locked onto the wooden box sitting in the corner of the room.

Slowly, she turned to look at Veer.

Then Cutie.

Her voice was flat. Dangerous.

"It can’t be," she said, "that you two didn’t take him out."

Veer froze.

Cutie glanced at him.

Then—very deliberately—both of them looked away.

That was all the answer Kaya needed.

She pressed a hand to her forehead. "You idiots..."

A full week.

An entire week had passed.

And they had forgotten.

Another violent BANG echoed from the box, the wood shuddering under the impact.

Kaya stared at it, disbelief mixing with reluctant relief.

"...From the sound of it," she muttered, "he’s still alive."

Barely—but alive.

As Kaya rushed to the box and threw open the wooden lid—

Damn it.

The stench hit her like a physical blow. Urine. Excrement. Rotting air trapped for far too long. Kaya gagged instantly, clapping a hand over her mouth as her stomach lurched.

She almost threw up.

"—What the hell—"

Her eyes burned as she forced herself to look inside.

He was still in his human form.

That alone made her freeze.

"Is he insane...?" she muttered hoarsely.

It didn’t make sense. If he had shifted into his beast form even once, the ropes would’ve snapped easily. He would’ve been free. Yet there he was—human, bound, unmoving except for the violent rise and fall of his chest.

Only then did realization crawl up her spine.

When she had shoved him into the box, she hadn’t thought about it. There was nowhere else. No space. No way to relieve himself.

Of course it ended like this.

He was drenched. Completely soaked—not just with sweat, but filth. His clothes clung to him, dark and matted, as if someone had thrown him straight into waste. The smell explained everything.

Kaya stared down at him, nose still covered, disbelief written all over her face.

"What the heck...?"

But then—

Wait a minute.

Kaya’s thoughts screeched to a halt.

A whole week?

No. That didn’t add up. A person could survive without food for days, yes—but without water? And trapped like this? Even for a beastman, surviving an entire week without water was impossible.

So someone had taken care of him.

Her jaw tightened.

Kaya straightened as much as her still-aching body allowed and turned slowly toward Veer and Cutie.

"So," she said flatly, "someone fed him. Someone gave him water. But no one thought to take him out of the box."

Her eyes narrowed. "Can I ask who this kind, thoughtful mastermind is?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling a headache bloom.

Veer and Cutie exchanged a glance.

Then, in perfect unison, they shook their heads.

Not them.

Kaya exhaled sharply. "Oh. Right."

She looked around the cave.

"There used to be one more gentleman here," she said slowly. "Where is he?"

Almost on cue—

A brown blur swooped in from outside.

The sparrow.

Or rather, a puffball with wings, flying in with a chicken leg clamped in his beak. The leg was absurdly large—bigger than his mouth—but that didn’t stop him. He landed on the stone table, dropped... something unpleasant on the surface, and immediately took four or five loud bites, utterly unbothered.

Kaya went still.

If her body weren’t weak, if her head weren’t spinning, she was absolutely certain she would have beaten that bird into paste right then and there.

Slowly, she turned her head.

Her smile appeared.

Too calm. Too bright.

"Mr. Ismar."

The sparrow froze mid-chew.

He trembled slightly and looked up—straight into Kaya’s smiling face.

"So," Kaya asked pleasantly, "was it you who gave him food?"

The sparrow swallowed hard, feathers ruffling. With a small flash, he transformed into his human form and nodded.

Kaya tilted her head. "And water?"

Another nod.

"Oh." Kaya clapped her hands lightly. Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Wow," she said. "What a kind gentleman."

The sparrow hesitated. Something about her tone felt... wrong. But she was praising him, right?

So he nodded again. "Y-Yeah."

Her smile sharpened.

"So," Kaya continued softly, "you gave him food. You gave him water. But you didn’t take him out."

She leaned forward slightly.

"You didn’t even give him a place to relieve himself." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Her voice dropped. "You damn bastard."

The sparrow paused.

Then he looked at her with a completely deadpan expression.

"Well," he said calmly, "you told us to throw him into the box. And you said you’d take him out when he speaks."

He gestured lazily toward the box. "He didn’t speak."

"So I didn’t take him out."

Silence.

Kaya stared at him.

Then she slowly raised her hand, pointing toward Liam inside the box.

"You gagged his mouth!" she shouted.

The realization hit her like a hammer.

And suddenly—

Everything made terrifying sense.