Chapter 261: The Little Birdie Is Unwell (2)

[W-Well maybe I am a bit of a pervert and I like having sex with my husbands, but—]

Roxanna suddenly froze. Her eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth with both hands. Then she looked at Calen and Luan in front of her in panic.

[No, no, no! I’m not thinking about anything dirty!] she screamed in her mind. [Go away! Don’t read my thoughts right now!]

Hearing that, Calen immediately turned his head toward Luan, silently asking what was going on.

Luan leaned closer to him and whispered, "She knows." Then, in a much lower voice so Roxanna couldn’t hear, he added, "But don’t say anything yet."

He had told a small lie to calm her down. If Calen spoke now, Luan knew he would probably blurt everything out.

It wasn’t that the truth was bad, but if Roxanna found out they could hear everything, not just the louder thoughts, she might panic and try to shut her mind completely.

Fortunately, Calen understood his signal and chose to focus on Cyrus instead. "Wife, please hurry!" he said, his voice full of worry. "Maybe Cyrus will calm down if he sees you!"

Roxanna nodded and quickly ran toward their hut. As soon as she arrived, the first thing she saw was a cage.

It was made from bamboo, but it wasn’t small like a birdcage. It was big, big enough to hold a person, or more specifically, it was made to lock Cyrus inside. He sat in the middle of it with his knees pulled up. His eyes were sharp and restless, watching everyone around him like a trapped animal.

"Why are you locking him up?!" Roxanna snapped, turning to Zeir and Azul.

Azul quickly stepped forward. "Wife, please don’t misunderstand! It’s not what it looks like!"

He moved in front of the cage, almost like he was trying to block her view to Cyrus.

"Then explain it!" Roxanna said, her voice firm and angry.

To be honest, it was the first time her husbands had seen her this angry. Because of that, none of them dared to joke or take her words lightly.

Zeir stepped closer and explained, "Cyrus has been trying to run away since yesterday, and it’s been very hard to stop him." He added, "We almost lost him twice last night, so I think locking him up is the best solution for now."

Azul nodded. "I know it looks cruel, but we don’t have any other option. It’s better than letting him wander outside alone and getting caught by the Sky Tribe."

After hearing their explanation, Roxanna slowly calmed down. Her gaze softened, and her tense shoulders finally relaxed.

"He was suffering so much..." Calen said in a low voice. "And we couldn’t calm him down without you."

Azul stepped closer to Roxanna and lowered his head so he could whisper to her, "How about I make the calming medicine for him, while you calm him down directly?"

Roxanna took a deep breath to steady herself, then asked, "Can you read the recipe? I can write it down for you."

Azul nodded, though he looked a little unsure. "I’ve been practicing these past few weeks, so I think I’m better now." Then he added quickly, "But if I don’t understand something, I can ask you, right?"

Roxanna smiled and nodded. "Of course. You can ask me if you have any trouble."

She crouched down and picked up a piece of paper made from tree bark, along with a feather pen dipped in ink made from crushed charcoal mixed with water. It was a bit difficult to write with such primitive tools, but since she had no other choice, she forced herself to get used to it.

After all, it was still better than having nothing at all.

Roxanna steadied her hand and began to write. The charcoal ink dragged against the rough bark, leaving uneven lines, but she focused, carefully forming each word so Azul could read it.

"Blue Tornless Rose... Water Pouch Plant... Transparent Mushroom..." she murmured softly as she wrote, making sure not to miss anything.

She carefully wrote down the steps to mix all the ingredients, following the recipe shown on the system panel.

When she finished, she gently blew on the ink to dry it before handing the paper to Azul.

"Here," she said softly. "Just follow this step by step."

Azul took it with both hands, his expression serious. "I’ll do it as quickly as I can."

Roxanna nodded, then turned toward the cage. "Open the door."

Zeir frowned slightly. "It’s better if we close it for now. I’m still not sure he won’t try to run."

Roxanna shook her head. "It’s alright. Just leave it open after I go in."

Zeir didn’t seem to want to do that, but after exchanging a look with Roxanna, he finally let out a quiet breath and trusted that his wife was capable of calming their madness.

"Alright, then," Zeir said. "I’ll stay near the cage, just in case."

"No," Roxanna rejected him right away. "Leave me alone with him for a while. He probably thinks you’ve done something bad to him."

Calen tried to speak, "But we—"

"I know," Roxanna cut him off gently, giving him a small smile. "I know you were trying to help, Calen. But right now, Cyrus isn’t in his right mind. He won’t understand your intentions. So please... just give us a moment."

After hearing her words, Calen and Zeir finally stepped back, keeping their distance while watching from afar.

Roxanna moved closer to the cage and untied the latch. She stood right in front of the door, her heart beating a little faster.

"Cyrus," she called softly, trying to catch his attention.

He didn’t respond right away and only stared down at his toes.

Roxanna felt a small ache in her chest. He had looked fine when she left him yesterday, but she knew how quickly things could change for someone whose mind was already fragile.

"Cyrus, can I come in?" she asked again, more gently.

When he still didn’t answer, she asked once more, "Have you eaten anything? Or do you need something?"

After a moment that felt like forever, Cyrus finally replied in a low voice, "I want to leave."