Villainess is being pampered by her beast husbands
Chapter 36 --36

Chapter 36: Chapter-36

Cutie’s gaze lingered on the snake for a long moment, unblinking and sharp. Kaya didn’t notice anything unusual—she was busy stretching her arms and shaking off sleep—but Cutie felt it. A strong, unmistakable scent. The scent of a serpent. And not just from the snake, but from Kaya too.

Normally, that faint scent clung to her because she carried the snake around. But this time... it was stronger. Too strong to ignore. He wasn’t a fool. He knew what it meant.

From the way the snake moved, from the quiet heaviness in the air, Cutie could tell—this creature and the sparrow had most likely regained their original forms. Or at least part of them. And yet, they were still here. Still following Kaya. Still pretending to be small, weak, harmless.

Why?

Why stay with her?

Why hide?

His sharp blue eyes narrowed at the snake, and as if sensing the tension, the snake lazily lifted its head and met his gaze. Blue clashed with gold. Calm, quiet, but fierce. There was no hissing, no growling—just silence and heat. A silent warning passed between them.

"Back off."

Neither moved.

Neither blinked.

Kaya, unaware of the cold war going on behind her, yawned and stretched again, rolling her shoulders.

"Alright," she mumbled to herself, "I need to reach that river today."

She’d been delaying the journey too much—stopping for breaks every few hours because her body just wouldn’t cooperate. Truth be told, she didn’t even know what she was doing. What was she planning to do after reaching the river? Was there even a city here? Any civilization? People?

She had no idea.

But one thing was certain—she needed to find shelter soon. The air was starting to shift, the breeze carried a faint chill, and she could feel it in her bones.

Winter was coming.

And if she didn’t find a proper place to stay before then, surviving would be much harder than walking.

As she took a step forward, still rubbing her arms, she called out without turning, "Let’s go."

Behind her, the silent standoff between gold and blue continued for one more heartbeat... then broke.

The snake slowly lowered its head.

Cutie turned his eyes away and followed after her, but his thoughts stayed sharp.

’This snake is really dangerous’.

Kaya felt something... strange.

From the moment she entered the forest, there was this odd feeling in her chest. She couldn’t tell if it was nostalgia or just her mind playing tricks on her. The trees were getting denser, the path darker, and the air colder. It even felt a little dangerous at times. But still... she didn’t feel scared.

If anything, the place felt oddly familiar.

Like she had been here before—maybe in a dream, maybe in another life. The wind, the rustling leaves, even the smell of the earth... it all gave her a weird sense of comfort.

She couldn’t explain it.

But no matter how eerie the forest became, a part of her didn’t want to leave. It felt like this place was calling to her.

The deeper Kaya walked into the forest, the thicker it became. It felt like no living thing existed here—not even animals. The trees were massive, their branches so wide and tangled they completely blocked out the sunlight. And the mist... it was everywhere. Heavy and damp, clinging to her skin, soaking through her clothes until they stuck to her like a second layer.

She had taken off her blazer and tied it around her waist, but even that felt heavier now. Her shoulders were still sore, but she kept going, one step at a time.

Meanwhile, the man walking ahead—Cutie—moved like this was just a casual stroll. Like he was walking on a beach instead of a swampy, shadowy forest.

Kaya, on the other hand, kept sinking into the mud. More than once, it felt like her soul had dropped into it too. But there was one thing she was sure of—the sound, the feel of the air—it all told her that water was close. A river maybe. And that gave her just enough strength to keep moving.

In just two days of traveling with Cutie through the forest, Kaya had learned so much more than she expected. This world was strange... but oddly fascinating.

Cutie explained that there were many creatures like him—beastmen—who could shift between their animal form and a human form. Some were rabbits, like he could be, others were tigers, foxes, bears... you name it. And when they shifted into their human forms, they weren’t just copies of people—they were faster, sharper, and more skilled in their own ways.

But not everyone in this world had it easy.

Some beastmen, the "dark beasts," couldn’t shift or evolve properly. They were dangerous, wild, and cast out of their tribes. They didn’t care who they hurt—even their own kind. It reminded Kaya of how, in her world, people treated those who were different or disabled—avoiding them, judging them, forgetting they had hearts too.

Cutie also explained something else: only the males could transform. The females stayed in their natural forms and, even though they held a special status, it was mainly because they were needed for reproduction. A single female could have multiple male partners, but a male could only love one female. And once he did, he was hers for life.

That made Kaya pause for a long time. This world had its own rules—so different from hers, and yet... not entirely unfamiliar.

She also learned that some beastmen were born looking different—like a tiger with giant tusks, or a rabbit with big elephant ears. They belonged to their tribes but were seen as "wrong" or "broken." Cutie admitted he had a bit of that too. He didn’t say much about it, only that he was lucky because he was the chief’s brother’s son. That’s why no one dared to throw him out. But he had still left, anyway.

Kaya started to understand that every tribe in this world was like a big family—foxes lived with foxes, sheep with sheep. It felt more like colonies than villages.

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