Solo's eyes, filled with anger, fell upon Loki, and once again he cursed his son in his heart as a complete fool.
Clearly holding a lump of gold in his hands, yet he insisted on treating a worthless piece of stone like a precious treasure.
Stupid!
The humiliating feeling of being put on the spot made Loki's face flush. He stammered, not knowing how to speak.
"Ophelia, you are a good female. Rest assured, I will never let Loki break off his bond with you. As his mate, I only recognize you." After saying this, Solo glared at Loki.
Loki guiltily lowered his head.
Ophelia shook her head. "Chief, this time I genuinely want to break off my bond with Loki."
"How about this? As long as you can get Loki to break off our bond, I won't charge a single payment for these fifty catties of rice."
If paying a tiny bit of rice could completely shake off this piece of scum, it would be well worth it.
"Father, why don't we..."
Solo's expression turned gloomy, his sharp gaze locked onto Loki, cutting off whatever he was about to say next.
This fool. Since Ophelia could take out fifty catties of rice now, he believed she could produce five hundred or five thousand catties in the future. Therefore, he absolutely could not let the two of them dissolve their bond.
"Ophelia, never speak of this again. In both my heart and Loki's, nothing is more important than you."
"Loki, stay right here tonight and properly coax your mate. If you can't coax her properly, you can forget about becoming the tribe leader."
With that, Solo left with a look of utter disappointment.
With his father's warning ringing in his ears, Loki's attitude softened considerably.
His pair of green eyes looked gently at the little female across from him. "It was my fault this time, forgetting to bring you to the Wishing Pool. If you like it, I'll take you there tomorrow. We'll bring Amy along too—just our family of three, nobody else."
If it were the past, just a few words like this from Loki would have made her heart soften and agree. But looking at him now—with those eyes so affectionate they could look at a dog the same way—she only felt sick, even nauseous.
"Aren't you afraid Michelle will be jealous? If she cries, she won't be so easy to coax, oh."
"It's all a misunderstanding. Michelle is just a relative from my mother's side, and all those rumors in the tribe are fake. I only treat her as a younger sister. We share a unique bond, and it's impossible and out of the question for me to mate with any other little female."
Ophelia remained noncommittal. That much was true: if a male who had formed a unique bond with his mate had relations with another little female, the male's vital parts would rot away—a consequence no male could ever bear.
"Father has already promised me that as long as you produce fifty catties of rice, he will persuade the tribesmen to choose me as the chief. When that happens, you will be the chief's wife, and Amy will be the princess of the Snow Wolf Tribe. In the future, she will be the most noble little female cub in the whole tribe."
He knew how much the little female treasured their daughter; since he had put it this way, she would definitely agree.
Thinking this, an expression of unconcealed smugness appeared on his face.
"If you want rice, bring payment for it, or else break off our bond—otherwise, forget it!"
"You can leave now." Ophelia briskly ushered him out.
Loki's long-suppressed anger finally erupted. He stepped forward, raising his hand high. "Ophelia, you'll hand over this rice whether you want to or not, otherwise I..."
"Otherwise what?" Two voices—one female, one male—sounded at the same time.
The two people inside the room turned their gazes toward the male striding in from outside the doorway.
The male had long golden hair, and his azure eyes swept a chill over Loki's raised hand before finally landing on his flustered face.
"Laxus, why are you here?"
"If I hadn't come, how would I have ever known what kind of life my sister is living in the Snow Wolf Tribe? A mere Wolf Beast actually dares to lay a hand on a princess of the Golden Dragon Clan!"
Loki felt a pang of guilt, and his face panicked as well. "Y-you misunderstood, I was just angry."
"Ophelia, hurry up and explain for me! I've never laid a hand on you, I've always been so good to you."
"So good? Is your idea of 'good' taking my animal skins to give to your beloved? And robbing me of the rice my brother gave me to hand over to her as well—are these what you call good?"
Before, for the sake of pride, she hadn't dared to tell her parents and brother about her grievances. But now, what was pride worth? Could it vent her anger, or could it slap someone in the face?
Hearing her younger sister say this, Laxus gritted his teeth, his azure eyes wrapped in frost as he looked toward the now-trembling Loki.
He no longer concealed the pressure belonging to a Dragon Beast, and it poured down upon Loki with the force of an avalanche.
Though a Wolf Beast, facing a Dragon Beast emanating royal dominance, his legs grew weak beyond control, and he dropped to his knees, his body prostrating on the ground in submission.
He wanted to speak, but the Dragon Beast's intimidating presence choked the words right back into his throat.
After a long moment, Laxus finally withdrew his pressure. "Get lost, and fast."
Regaining control of his body, Loki didn't dare linger, scrambling out of the stone house on all fours.
"This is the male you had your eyes on? A spineless coward with zero ability! How could I possibly have a sister as stupid as you?" Laxus's eyes were red with anger, though underneath it all lay an even deeper heartache.
Ophelia stepped forward and tugged on her brother's sleeve. "It was my eyes that were blind; I didn't listen to my brother back then."
"Brother, just forgive me this once. I know I was wrong."
Laxus pulled his arm back and lifted his chin.
She pouted and acted coquettishly. "Brother, good brother, dear Laxus, you're the best! Just forgive your silly little sister this once, okay?"
Laxus's hardened heart finally softened amidst the little female's repeated calls of "good brother."
He raised a hand and flicked her smooth, full forehead, his voice dropping low. "Stop trying to play the rogue."
"What on earth is going on between Loki and that little female named Michelle? How could you just let them ride roughshod over you? Did those dogs eat all the arrogance and wildness you used to have back in the Dragon Clan?"
She rubbed her nose. "Brother, don't worry, they won't be able to jump around for much longer. I'm getting ready to break off my bond with Loki."
"Is this for real?" Laxus held a skeptical attitude toward his sister's words.
"For real! Three months at most, and I'll definitely break the bond!"
Laxus reached out and patted his sister's head. "Alright. When that time comes, you'll come back to the Golden Dragon Clan. With Father, Mother, and Brother here, no one will ever bully you again."
Ophelia's nose stung. She truly was damned; in her past life, she had actually alienated the family members who genuinely cared for her just for the sake of that scumbag Loki.
"Alright, this is a bag of rice. Keep it for yourself to eat, and don't go selling it out anymore." Laxus untied an animal-skin pouch from his waist and handed it to Ophelia.
"If you lack anything in the future, have Taylor go to the Golden Dragon Clan. You are not allowed to wrong yourself ever again." Although his voice carried sternness, his eyes were full of pity and doting affection.
The corners of Ophelia's eyes turned red, and crystal-clear tears slipped from her eyelids.
Yet she didn't immerse herself in sorrow; she turned and walked to the corner of the room, pulling out a rattan back-basket. With a few subtle movements, she quietly transferred rice out from the Farm Space.
Then, under Laxus's astonished gaze, she lifted the animal skin covering the basket to reveal the gleaming white rice inside.
"You—where on earth did you get so much rice?" Laxus asked in shock, stepping closer and lowering his voice.