"What?" Roxanna stared at him in disbelief. She instinctively moved closer, unable to ignore the word alone. The thought of him facing everything by himself made her chest ache. "What happened?"
Zeir lowered his head for a moment before finally looking back at her. "My kind has been hunted since the beginning of time," he said in a low voice. "People wanted every part of our bodies because they believed they could benefit from them."
He paused before continuing. "No matter how strong a group is, it’s impossible to survive forever when the entire world keeps hunting you. That’s why... my mother hid me deep inside a cave beneath the river, where no one would ever find me."
When Zeir was still just an egg, he wasn’t wrapped in the warmth of his mother’s embrace. Instead, he was surrounded by freezing cold water.
And when he finally hatched, the first thing he had to do was struggle to swim to the surface just to take his first breath.
The icy water burned his lungs, but he kept swimming alone until he finally reached the surface.
Even after that, life didn’t get any easier.
He was only a baby and didn’t know how to hunt, so during his first few weeks, he survived by drinking river water and eating worms from the ground, only after he grew a little bigger was he finally able to catch fish on his own.
After hearing his story, Roxanna couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with sadness. It felt like something heavy was pressing against her chest, and she couldn’t make it go away.
"How... how did you survive all by yourself?" Roxanna asked in a trembling voice. Before she even realized it, tears were already streaming down her face.
"I just did my best to learn," Zeir replied calmly. "And once I made a mistake, I made sure not to make it again. After a few years, I was able to take care of myself without any problem."
[Every baby needs their parents to teach them how to survive, but he had to figure everything out on his own!] Roxanna cried inwardly. [How could the world be so cruel to him?!]
"Then I guess we’re not so different," Zeir said. He gently reached out and patted her head. "Your parents abandoned you too. They left you in that place for children. What was it called again? An orphanage?"
"Yes, it’s called an orphanage, but that’s completely different!" Roxanna protested, her voice rising. "There were caretakers who looked after me, and I wasn’t alone. There were so many other children there too. But you..."
Her voice caught in her throat. "You were truly all alone."
She couldn’t even imagine Azura being left alone and forced to survive by herself like that.
"My kind has always lived alone," Zeir said. "To be honest, even if my parents had stayed with me, they probably would have made me become independent after a few months."
Roxanna frowned. "Living with your parents for a few months and being abandoned completely are two very different things. But..." She looked at him suspiciously. "Why did you say your kind has gone extinct?"
She tilted her head suspiciously as she looked at him. "I don’t believe lizard beastkin could be wiped out entirely."
[Luan even joked once that he had met one of Zeir’s siblings because he saw a lizard beastman in the forest.]
[Or... is he a different kind of lizard? Every animal has different species, right?]
"I’m... actually not a lizard," Zeir admitted quietly. He lowered his head once again, unable to look Roxanna in the eyes. "I’ve just... been disguising myself all this time."
Roxanna blinked several times. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had been about to shout in surprise, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
[If he wants to make sure he won’t be hunted, then pretending to be another species really is the best choice.]
She gave a small nod to herself before looking back at him. "Then... what are you?"
Zeir stayed silent. He simply looked at her without showing the slightest sign that he was about to answer.
"Is it a secret?" Roxanna asked softly. She leaned closer to him and whispered again, "Will you be in trouble if the people around us find out?"
After a brief silence, Zeir finally nodded. He leaned closer until his lips were near her ear and whispered, "We can probably trust the people here. But we both know how easily rumors spread. Until we deal with the Devourers, let’s keep it between us."
[Congratulations, Host! Side Mission Complete: Crack the Mysterious Husband!]
[Reward:
- 30,000 SP
- 1x Heart Mending Elixir — Effect: Slowly heals emotional trauma and removes the fear caused by painful memories. Note: Can only be used on Zeir.]
[Reward: +35,000 Spirit Points (SP)]
[Remaining Spirit Points (SP): 468,950]
Roxanna’s eyes widened the moment she heard the mission completion notification. Once again, her attention was drawn to the Heart Mending Elixir.
[He doesn’t show much emotion, but... if the system gave me this, then it means he’s still struggling with his trauma, right?] Roxanna wondered.
Then she suddenly remembered something and quickly leaned back, pressing her lips together. [No, no, no, Zeir. I didn’t get any reward! I am not going to sneak the elixir into your drink when you’re not looking! Oh, come on... who even said that?!]
Zeir chuckled softly, but before he could say anything, Caspian swam toward them and shouted, "Your Highness! Your Highness! The little princess needs you!"
Without another word or a second thought, Roxanna immediately climbed down from the boulder and swam as fast as she could toward Azura, who was being treated by Maristella.
The moment she got closer, she saw Azura crying loudly. Her tiny face had turned bright red.
"What happened?!" Roxanna cried in panic. She quickly scooped Azura into her arms after the little girl had been lying on the flat stone.