Chapter 262: The Little Birdie Is Unwell (3)

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

Roxanna fell silent for a moment. Her pink eyes met his amber ones. He looked so fragile, filled with wounds from the past. Unlike Calen, who became more violent when facing his trauma, Cyrus grew quiet and distant, almost lifeless, as if all the energy in his body had been drained away.

"I’m sorry," Roxanna said softly. "But I can’t let you go, Cyrus. Didn’t I tell you yesterday? I said I wouldn’t let you leave."

Cyrus slowly turned his face away, avoiding her eyes. "Really?" he muttered. "I don’t remember."

[He doesn’t remember?] Roxanna thought. [I don’t think Cyrus would forget something I just said yesterday.]

Even Azul, who had a terrible memory, had never forgotten her words.

[His mind might be in chaos right now, Host, because he’s remembering all the painful parts of his past in such a short time,] the system said.

[More than that, his recent encounter with his past abuser was very violent.]

Roxanna sighed. [Yeah... anyone who meets their past abuser wouldn’t be able to think clearly.]

If Roxanna ever met Leon or Lisa in this world, she might choose to jump off the cliff rather than look at their face again.

"Then what do you remember?" Roxanna asked.

Since Cyrus didn’t react violently, she decided to walk closer and carefully sit right beside him. She pulled her legs up to her knees, quietly looking at him from the side.

"Arrow..." he murmured. "Someone shot an arrow at me."

Roxanna carefully reached for him, placing her hand on his back as she asked, "How do you feel?"

"Pain," he said in a low voice. "My chest hurts, and so does my back."

In the end, she asked the same question as yesterday, but this time, she had to be more careful because his mind was more scrambled than before.

Roxanna stopped rubbing his back and asked, "Does it still hurt?"

Cyrus nodded in response. He stayed silent for a few moments before finally opening his mouth again. "Why am I locked up? Did I do something wrong?"

Roxanna softened her gaze and shook her head several times. "No," she said gently. "You didn’t do anything wrong, Cyrus. The others locked you here because they want to protect you. They don’t want you to leave because it’s more dangerous outside than it is here."

"What’s the difference?" Cyrus asked. "I would rather die outside than die inside a cage. I’m tired of being a decoration. I don’t want to be a bird trapped in a cage again."

"I don’t want you to cut my wings again. No... I don’t want that. Please, don’t do that anymore." He kept repeating those words over and over again in panic.

His whole body was shaking badly, and Roxanna could clearly see how terrified he was. Right now, he probably didn’t even remember that the person holding him was his own wife.

"No one is going to cut off your wings," Roxanna said softly.

In the end, she finally gathered her courage and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly as if she was afraid he would disappear the moment she let go.

At first, he struggled and tried to free himself from her embrace, but the moment her passive skill activated, Cyrus slowly began to calm down. Her hug really was effective at soothing her husband’s madness.

"Cyrus," Roxanna whispered gently, still refusing to loosen her arms around him. "Where do you think you are right now?"

Cyrus slowly lowered his head against Roxanna’s chest. The sound of her heartbeat somehow felt warm and calming, almost like a lullaby pulling him away from his fear.

After a long moment of silence, he finally answered in a weak voice. "Home..."

Roxanna let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, you’re home." Her hands slowly moved upward, gently stroking the back of Cyrus’ head. "You’re home, so you don’t need to worry about anyone trying to hurt you, at least not anymore."

A few moments later, Roxanna noticed Cyrus’ breathing becoming heavier and slower. The tense strength in his body gradually disappeared as he weakly slumped against her embrace.

As Roxanna held Cyrus even tighter, her eyes slowly turned toward Zeir and Calen, who were standing far away but still watching them closely from a distance.

Now, they finally understood the truth.

The Sky Tribe hadn’t only treated Cyrus like a decoration or locked him inside a cage, but they had also broken his wings again and again just to make sure he could never escape.

Calen’s expression darkened immediately. He looked like he wanted to burn the entire forest to the ground.

Meanwhile, Zeir still looked calm on the outside, just like always. But even from this far away, Roxanna could tell that he was just as furious as Calen.

After all, Cyrus had always been someone who cared deeply about the others, especially back when they were still suffering under the evil Roxanna’s abuse.

That was why none of them could stay calm after learning that there were people who wanted to drag Cyrus back into that living hell again.

Even Roxanna, who always tried to see the good in everyone’s heart, felt a burning rage rising inside her chest.

For the first time in a long while, she truly wanted to destroy someone.

The thought of the Sky Tribe hurting Cyrus over and over again, locking him inside a cage, treating him like nothing more than a beautiful bird to display, it made her hands tremble with anger.

[I want to burn them alive,] she thought in anger.

Her fingers slowly brushed through his hair.

"No one will hurt you again," she whispered gently. This time, her voice carried not only comfort, but also a promise.

Far away from her, Calen suddenly spoke in a cold voice, "If they come here, I’ll kill every single one of them."

For once, nobody told him to calm down.