Loki knitted his brows, his face thunderous. He coldly scolded, "Ophelia, what exactly are you making a fuss about?"
Seeing Loki's anger once again, Ophelia's first instinct was no longer to coax him into a good mood, but rather a profound sense of disgust.
"I'm in no mood to coddle you right now. You need to catch that tiger required for the Clan Leader competition as soon as possible.
"As long as I present the tiger at the selection ceremony, the position of the Snow Wolf Clan's Clan Leader will definitely be mine. Ophelia, only when I succeed will you have a good life, and Amy's status will become even more prestigious."
"If you want a tiger, go hunt it yourself. If you want to be Clan Leader, fight for it yourself. What does it have to do with me?"
In her previous life, just to help Loki secure the position of Clan Leader of the Snow Wolf Clan, she and Tyler had staked out the forest for three days and three nights before finally hunting down a three-year-old adult tiger. Loki used that tiger to establish his prestige within the tribe and successfully became the Clan Leader as he desired. She had thought she could finally hold her head high in front of her parents, proving that the male she chose was not subpar.
Yet, unexpectedly, the very first thing Loki did upon becoming Clan Leader was dispatch a team of males to the Tropical Rainforest to collect Miche's favorite fruits. The Tropical Rainforest was different from the Starfall Forest; it existed independently outside all tribal territories and was extremely dangerous, teeming with venomous insects. That trip alone cost the lives of three males, and the tribe was instantly filled with complaints. Loki panicked, at a complete loss for what to do. Ultimately, it was Ophelia who had to go to the Golden Dragon Clan to borrow fifty heads of prey to stabilize the people's morale.
She had thought Loki would learn his lesson and restrain himself, but he only grew increasingly outrageous in his efforts to please Miche. Meanwhile, Ophelia acted like a nanny, constantly cleaning up his messes. The male mate she had tried every possible means to push to a high position had brought her no honor, only endless trouble. She was utterly sick of it. This time, she would absolutely not let Loki become Clan Leader again. He was nothing but a scumbag who deserved to rot in the ground and stink to high heaven.
Hearing Ophelia's words, the coldness in Loki's eyes deepened. "There's only one month left until the Clan Leader arena matches. You must catch that tiger before then, or you can forget about ever seeing Amy again."
Ever since Amy learned to speak, Loki had taken her to be raised by his mother. Ophelia could count on one hand the number of times she was allowed to see her daughter each year. In the past, whenever an issue arose, he would threaten her with the chance to see Amy. Desperate for her daughter's affection, Ophelia had naturally agreed to everything. But now, if she didn't see that little ingrate Amy, so be it. Whoever wanted to raise the cub could do so; she no longer cared.
"Loki, I'm dissolving our mating bond. This is a notification, not a negotiation!"
"The exclusive mate contract cannot be dissolved as long as one party disagrees. Ophelia, stop throwing these little tantrums.
"I won't come back until you've thought things through. Figure it out yourself."
With that, Loki turned and left.
The emotional rollercoaster left Ophelia physically and mentally exhausted. She slowly sat on the wooden bed, letting her mind go blank.
Seeing her like this, Tyler couldn't help but reach out, his steady voice laced with indulgence and devotion. "Princess, do not be sad. I will hunt the tiger."
The tears she had been fighting so hard to hold back finally spilled over at those words. The usually composed Tyler panicked, using his slightly calloused thumb to wipe away her tears over and over again. The little female's already fair and delicate skin flushed slightly red under the repeated friction.
"Princess, please don't cry. I... I..." The tall, broad-shouldered male bent down in a panic, his heart aching as he gazed into the little female's tear-soaked eyes.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Ophelia leaned into his scorching palm and rubbed her cheek against it. "Tomorrow, go to the Wizard and get me a Blood Crystal Stone."
A Blood Crystal Stone was a magical stone in the Beast World. As long as a male and a female dripped their blood onto the stone and swore an oath to the Beast God, they could dissolve their mate bond.
The muscles in Tyler's arm tensed. "Princess, are you truly going to dissolve your mate bond with Loki?"
Ophelia tilted her head and chuckled softly. "Why would I keep a male like him around? To store for winter?"
"What about the little female cub, Amy?" He knew Ophelia loved the cub dearly.
"Doesn't she like Miche? I'll grant her wish and let them be mother and daughter. It's not like she'll be the only female cub I ever have in this lifetime."
Seeing the serious look in Ophelia's eyes, Tyler didn't try to persuade her further. As it was getting late, he didn't linger. After stepping out, he quietly stood guard just a short distance from the stone house.
Inside the house, Ophelia lay on the bed to rest for a moment before beginning to examine the farm space rewarded by the system. As soon as she entered the farm space, she smelled the fragrance of earthy soil, immediately recognizing from the scent that the soil quality was excellent. Next to the fertile black land ran a clear, babbling brook. The stream bed was lined with cobblestones, looking almost like an artificial creek. Beside the fields stood a small warehouse, which contained simple wooden buckets and farming tools.
With a starting balance of 200 points, Ophelia didn't hesitate to exchange them all for ten bags of rice seeds. Grabbing the farming tools, she rolled up her sleeves and dove right into planting. She worked diligently in the fields until the middle of the night, finally managing to plant all the seeds.
After exiting the space, Ophelia lay in bed and started doing some math. One bag of seeds yielded 20 catties, so ten bags would yield 200 catties. The maturation time was 36 hours. (24 multiplied by 30, divided by 36 equals 20. 20 multiplied by 200 equals 4000.) Calculating it this way, she could harvest 4,000 catties of grain in a single month. That would be 48,000 catties in a year!
She searched through her memories. In the Star Sea Beast World, several tribes had already mastered the methods of growing crops, but the yields were relatively low, and they could only plant once a year. If they encountered a plague of insects or similar disasters, they would essentially reap nothing. It was impossible for the harvested grain to feed an entire tribe.
In the Beast World, a bag of rice cost ten heads of prey or one Red Crystal Stone. A bag was only about one catty—enough to cook steamed rice for a single person about five times, or slightly more if made into rice soup. Therefore, grains like rice, wheat, and millet were considered luxuries in the Beast World. Only families with numerous strong males or young females who had just given birth and were in postpartum confinement could bear to eat them.
Running the numbers in her head, she realized that with the farm space in hand, her dream of striking it rich would soon come true. After all, whether in the modern era or the Beast World, power and wealth were the most important things. And right now, food was hard currency.
Exhausted from working half the night, Ophelia fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
She was awakened by the mouthwatering aroma of roasted meat and rice porridge.
"Princess, wake up. It's time for breakfast."
Ophelia felt like her soul was still floating away, even as a pair of warm, large hands helped her sit up.
"I'm so sleepy, Tyler." Especially after plowing the fields for half the night, her arms and legs were sore, and her back was incredibly stiff.
"Eat breakfast before you go back to sleep. Skipping breakfast is bad for your health," Tyler coaxed gently, his tone soft and soothing.
Ophelia cracked her eyes open to a narrow slit, pouting as she reluctantly agreed. "Alright then."
Seeing her adorable and delicate appearance, Tyler's heart melted. It was as if the Princess had returned to the way she was when she still lived in the Golden Dragon Clan. Back then, the Princess only needed to be happy and beautiful every day, without a single worry in the world. Tyler's lips curled into a faint smile. Deep in his heart, he secretly hoped that what the Princess had said yesterday was true.
"Ophelia, how much further are you going to take this farce?!" At that moment, the door of the stone house was violently kicked open.