Loki knitted his brows, his face dark as ink.
"Ophelia," he barked coldly, "what on earth are you kicking up a fuss about now?"
Seeing Loki's angry expression again, Ophelia’s instinctive reaction was not a desire to appease him, but a feeling of revulsion.
"I’m in no mood to coddle you right now. You go and hunt that tiger I need for the chieftain selection as soon as possible."
"As long as I present a tiger at the selection ceremony, the position of chieftain of the Snow Wolf Tribe will surely be mine. Ophelia, you’ll only be well off if I am doing well, and Amy’s status will become even more noble."
"If you want a tiger, go hunt one yourself. If you want to be chieftain, go fight for it yourself. What does that have to do with me?"
In her previous life, in order to help Loki secure the chieftaincy of the Snow Wolf Tribe, she and Taylor had guarded the forest for three days and three nights just to hunt down a three-year-old adult tiger.
Loki had used that tiger to establish his prestige in the tribe and had successfully become the chieftain as he wished.
She had thought that she could finally hold her head high in front of her parents, proving that the male she had chosen was not inferior.
But to her surprise, the first thing Loki did after becoming chieftain was to dispatch a team of males to the Tropical Rainforest to collect the fruits that Michelle liked to eat.
The Tropical Rainforest was different from the Starfall Forest; it stood apart from all the tribes, filled with venomous insects and extreme danger.
Three males died on that trip alone, and suddenly the tribe was filled with complaints. Loki panicked, not knowing what to do. In the end, it was she who had to go to the Golden Dragon Clan to borrow fifty head of game just to stabilize the "hearts of the people."
She had thought that Loki would learn his lesson and exercise some restraint, but he only went to further extremes to keep Michelle happy, while she, like a drudge, cleaned up his messes.
She was truly sick of this male partner she had tried so hard to push to a high position; not only had he brought her no honor, but he had also caused all sorts of trouble.
This time, she would absolutely not let Loki become chieftain again. He was a scumbag who should rot in the dirt, festering and stinking.
Hearing Ophelia’s words, the chill in Loki’s eyes deepened. "The tournament for the chieftainship is in one month. You must bring the tiger before then, or don't even think about seeing Amy ever again."
Ever since Amy learned to speak, Loki had taken her to be raised by his mother; the number of times Ophelia could see her in a year could be counted on one hand.
In the past, whenever something came up, he would use access to Amy as a threat. Loving her daughter deeply, she had naturally agreed to everything.
But now, as for Amy, that little ingrate—if she didn't see her, she didn't see her. Whoever wanted to raise her could go ahead; she didn't care anymore.
"Loki, I am dissolving our Sole Mate Contract. This is a notification, not a request for your opinion!"
"The Sole Mate Contract cannot be dissolved unless both parties agree. Ophelia, stop acting like a spoiled child."
"I won't be coming back until you've thought it through. Suit yourself."
With that, Loki turned and left.
The rollercoaster of emotions left Ophelia physically and mentally exhausted. She sat slowly on the wooden bed, letting her mind go blank.
Seeing her like this, Taylor couldn't help but reach out, his voice steady, laced with indulgence and longing. "Princess, do not be sad. I will go hunt the tiger."
The tears she had been holding back finally spilled over at those words.
The usually composed Taylor panicked, using his calloused thumb to wipe away her tears over and over again.
The little female’s skin, naturally fair and delicate, began to flush slightly from the repeated rubbing.
"Princess, please don't cry. I, I..." The tall, well-built male bent down at a loss, his heart aching as he looked at the little female’s wet eyes.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Ophelia pressed her cheek against the male’s burning palm and rubbed against it.
"Tomorrow, please go to the witch and get a Blood Crystal Stone for me." The Blood Crystal Stone was a magical stone in the Beast World; by dripping the blood of the male and the little female onto it and swearing an oath to the Beast God, one could dissolve a partner contract.
The muscles in Taylor’s arm tightened. "Princess, do you really want to dissolve the partner contract with Loki?"
Ophelia tilted her head and chuckled lightly. "Should I keep a male like him just to survive the winter?"
"What about the little cub, Amy?" He knew how much Ophelia doted on that cub.
"Doesn't she like Michelle? I’ll grant her wish and let them be mother and daughter. I won't only have one little cub in this lifetime, anyway."
Seeing the seriousness in Ophelia's eyes, Taylor stopped trying to persuade her. It was late, so he didn't stay any longer; after heading out, he kept watch silently not far from the stone house.
Inside the room, Ophelia lay on the bed to rest for a while, then began to study the Farm Space rewarded by the system.
The moment she entered the Farm Space, she smelled the fragrance of soil, and just by the scent, she could tell the quality of the earth was excellent.
Beside the fertile black soil flowed a clear little stream, the water murmuring over a bed of pebbles, looking just like an artificial brook.
Next to the field stood a small warehouse, inside of which were placed simple, unadorned buckets and farming tools.
With an initial 200 points, Ophelia didn't hesitate to exchange them for ten bags of rice seeds, then picked up the tools and began to sow with great vigor.
She worked diligently in the field until the middle of the night, finally managing to plant all the seeds.
After exiting the space, Ophelia lay on the bed and started doing the math.
One bag of seeds yielded 20 jin, ten bags yielded 200 jin, and the maturity period was 36 hours.
Calculating this, she could harvest 4,000 jin of grain a month, totaling 48,000 jin a year.
She recalled in her mind that several tribes in the Xinghai Beast World had mastered the method of planting crops, but the yield was relatively low, and they could only plant once a year.
If they encountered a pest plague or something similar, they would basically have no harvest at all; it was impossible for the harvested grain to feed the entire tribe.
In the Beast World, a bag of rice cost ten head of game or one Red Crystal. A bag was about one jin, which was only enough for one person to have about five meals of steamed rice, or a bit more if made into porridge.
Thus, rice, wheat, and millet were considered luxuries in the Beast World; only families with strong males and plenty of resources, or little females recovering from childbirth, could afford to eat them.
Calculating this way, with the Farm Space in her hands, her wish to become wealthy would soon come true.
After all, whether in the modern world or the Beast World, power and wealth were the most important things.
And at the moment, grain was the hard currency.
Exhausted after the long night, Ophelia drifted into a deep sleep.
The next day, she was awakened by the smell of meat and rice porridge.
"Princess, wake up and eat breakfast."
Ophelia felt as if her soul were still drifting, but she was already being supported by a pair of warm, large hands.
"I'm so sleepy, Taylor." Especially after working the fields for half the night, her arms and legs were sore, and her back felt stiff.
"Eat breakfast before you sleep. It’s not good for your body to skip it." Taylor’s tone was gentle and coaxing.
Ophelia squinted her eyes, revealing a sliver of light, and pouted helplessly. "Alright then."
Seeing her cute and delicate appearance, Taylor’s heart softened.
The Princess seemed to have returned to the way she was back when she was still with the Golden Dragon Clan. At that time, the Princess only needed to be happy and beautiful every day, without a single worry in her mind.
Taylor’s lips curled upward, a faint hope rising in his heart that what the Princess said yesterday was true.
"Ophelia, just how much further are you going to take this?" At that moment, the door to the stone house was kicked open.