Chapter 367: It’s Good to Be Home
"Calen, be gentle," Roxanna reminded him. "Luan has been through a lot."
Calen gave Luan an annoyed look but said nothing. In the end, he simply handed him a fresh set of clothes.
Once the two finally stopped making a fuss, Roxanna went back to eating her roasted meat and after she finished, Zeir told her that he would help her clean up.
He was incredibly gentle with her. He even prepared some warm water to wash her body and hair, which had become a little sticky after days of sweating.
"It would be better if you cleaned yourself in the river instead, but it’s too far from here," Zeir said gently. "We can do that later after you’ve had a good sleep."
Roxanna simply nodded and a small smile appeared on her face when Zeir began massaging her scalp while washing her hair with soapberry.
The warm water and his gentle touch felt so nice that Roxanna slowly relaxed. After everything she had gone through these past few days, finally being clean again felt wonderful.
"Zeir," Roxanna suddenly called.
"Yes?"
"It’s nice to be back here," she said softly.
Roxanna knew that living in the Vixeria Settlement wasn’t always easy. There were dangers everywhere, and every day came with its own problems, but somewhere along the way, this place had grown on her.
Without even realizing it, she had already started thinking of it as her home and it truly felt good to be home again, surrounded by her husbands---well... almost all of them.
"I hope we can all be together again soon." Roxanna let out a soft sigh. "I’m sorry for being so difficult since we came back. After helping Luan through his heat, I realized that I haven’t given the others much attention for a long time either."
Zeir didn’t answer right away. He carefully poured warm water over her hair, washing away the soapberry before finally speaking. "You’re not being difficult. You’re just sad, and that’s normal."
His hands remained gentle as he continued rinsing her hair. "Besides, you always try your best to be fair to all of us. That’s why we understand when one of us needs a little more attention and you give it to him."
After all, it would be impossible for Roxanna to divide her attention equally among everyone. There was only one of her, while she had five husbands.
Whether they liked it or not, sometimes they simply had to accept that one of them needed extra attentions from her.
"Here you go," Zeir said after rinsing her hair one more time until all the remaining foam from the soapberry was gone. "Let’s dry you off, and then you can rest comfortably after this."
This time, Roxanna didn’t protest. She simply sat there while Zeir gently dried her hair with a clean cloth. Maybe she didn’t know what else to say, or maybe she was simply too tired after everything that had happened.
Either way, she didn’t even complain when Zeir carried her back to the communal space. And the moment her body touched the soft folded bed, her eyes immediately became heavy.
Before she knew it, Roxanna had already fallen into a deep sleep.
===
By the time Roxanna opened her eyes again, the sun was already setting. For a few seconds, she simply stared at the orange light coming through the hut, then she suddenly widened her eyes.
Had she slept through the entire day?
After thinking about it for a moment, Roxanna realized it was even worse than that. She had slept for almost two full days!
She immediately felt panic, but then she quickly forced herself to calm down because it wasn’t like she had anything important planned in the first place.
Besides, the settlement wasn’t going to suddenly explode just because its leader disappeared for a few days.
At least... she hoped not.
Roxanna slowly looked around and noticed that the communal space was unusually quiet. She couldn’t even see anyone nearby.
She tilted her head, wondering where everyone had gone. But then she heard something clattering in the kitchen, a sign that someone was still inside the hut.
"Cyrus?"
Roxanna stood up, then slowly walked toward the kitchen while holding her head, feeling slightly dizzy from standing up too quickly.
Just as she had guessed, the person in the kitchen was indeed Cyrus. He was organizing the spices and raw ingredients—meat, vegetables, and fruits—into the shelves.
"You’re awake?" Cyrus asked before turning toward her.
The moment he saw Roxanna standing near him, a warm smile appeared on his face. He held out one hand toward her, silently asking her to come closer.
"Are you hungry?" he asked in a soft voice.
Roxanna immediately walked over and took his hand. Instead of answering right away, she leaned against his arm and buried her face there.
"My stomach feels so empty," she hummed.
Cyrus chuckled when he heard her say that. He gently stroked the top of her head, making her fox ears twitch a little.
"Of course your stomach feels empty," Cyrus said. "How about I make you something warm and filling? Like meat soup?"
Still leaning against Cyrus’s arm, Roxanna thought for a moment. [That does sound good... but I wonder if there’s something else we can make. I’m kind of getting bored...]
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Roxanna quickly pulled her face away from him. "Wait, wait! I didn’t mean I’m bored with your cooking, but I—"
"I know," Cyrus cut her off. Instead of looking offended, he simply smiled at her.
"I know you didn’t mean it that way. Besides, I think I really do cook the same things most of the time." He paused for a moment. "How about we try making something different today?"
Roxanna let out a sigh of relief when she realized that Cyrus wasn’t angry with her. After that, she said in a low voice, "Maybe... we can make something new based on the cookbook I have."
She bit her lower lip before speaking even more softly. "How about... we look for some of the dishes I used to eat before?"