When Ophelia arrived at the Wishing Pond once again, she was greeted by the same dazzlingly harsh scene. She finally believed it—she had truly been reborn!
On the shore of the Wishing Pond, four-year-old Amy stood with her eyes squeezed shut, holding a small red flower. "Wishing Pond, I want my favorite Miche to be my mother."
The male and the young female standing behind Amy exchanged a helpless, amused smile.
"Amy, your father is already mated to your mother. Even though you're my favorite too, unfortunately, I cannot be your mother," Miche said softly.
The little female cub, Amy, was entirely unconcerned, a purely innocent smile on her face. "Then just have Father break his mating bond with Ophelia! That way, Miche can mate with Father."
Hearing the exact same words from her previous life once more, Ophelia was enveloped in an icy chill. This was the little female cub she had carried for ten grueling months and raised tirelessly day and night for four years. Yet here her daughter was, making a wish at the Wishing Pond for another female to replace her, showing nothing but utter disgust for her own biological mother. The agonizing pain numbed Ophelia's heart as tears slipped silently from her eyes.
From the corner of her eye, Miche caught sight of a piece of red animal skin clothing hidden behind a tree. She bent down and patted Amy's head with a bitter smile. "My fertility is poor. Your grandfather, the Clan Leader, would never agree to let Loki and me become mates."
"Hmph! If Ophelia weren't a Dragon Clan female with strong fertility, Father never would have mated with her. Father loves you the most, Miche. I want to be your little cub. Just pretend I only borrowed her belly to be born, but I'm actually your and Father's child!" Amy declared triumphantly.
Hearing his little cub come up with such a novel idea, Loki couldn't help but chuckle. "You clever little imp."
"And you know what else? My name is Amy because my father, Loki, loves you, Miche! I'm the living proof of your love!"
Ophelia's heart twisted like a knife was plunging into it, making her feel as though she were reliving the excruciating pain of having her heart carved out in her past life. In that previous life, Loki had clearly been deeply in love with Miche, yet he had gone against his heart to mate with Ophelia just to gain the backing of the Golden Dragon Clan.
After she bore him a female cub and helped him ascend to the position of Clan Leader of the Snow Wolf Clan, he forcibly severed their mating bond and imprisoned her. He did it all just to harvest the blood from her heart, using it to nourish his precious true love's beauty and maintain her youth. Finally, after enduring the agony of having her blood drawn eighteen times, she found release in death. Yet even then, while a fleeting spark of life still lingered in her, Loki carved out her heart to brew into a porridge for Miche.
And when Miche refused to eat it because she found the bloody smell repulsive, her own daughter, Amy, had gently coaxed her from the side, saying, "Mother, as long as you eat Ophelia's heart, you will become the most beautiful female on the entire Starfall Continent."
The agonizing memories of her past life crashed into Ophelia's mind like a breached dam. Unable to bear it any longer, her vision darkened, and she fell unconscious. Just as her body was about to hit the ground, a pair of gentle but strong hands caught her.
DING!
[Congratulations on your rebirth. Because you lived in too much agony in your past life, the System's Main God has decided to grant you a chance at rebirth, along with the reward of a Farm Space.]
Farm Space: 100 square meters (Initial size; can be upgraded using points). Suitable for growing crops and raising livestock.
Points: 200. (Points can be earned by collecting prey, animal hides, and water spirits).
Farm Store: Contains a wide variety of seeds for high-yield grains, fruits, and vegetables, as well as chicks, ducklings, goslings, piglets, calves, lambs, and various fish fry.
Wheat Seeds: 20 points, Level 1. Maturation time: 36 hours. Area required: 10 square meters. Yield: 10 kilograms of wheat.
Rice Seeds: 20 points, Level 1. Maturation time: 36 hours. Area required: 10 square meters. Yield: 10 kilograms of rice.
(Other crops such as millet and sweet wormwood follow the same metrics.)
Apple Tree Sapling: 30 points, Level 1. Maturation time: 88 hours. Area required: 10 square meters. Yield: 100 apples.
Peach Tree Sapling: 30 points, Level 1. Maturation time: 88 hours. Area required: 10 square meters. Yield: 100 peaches.
(Other fruits follow the same metrics.)
...
DING!
[The system will now unlock your sealed memories.]
Bustling traffic and neon city lights flashed before her eyes. The lost memories flooded back into Ophelia's mind. She was Ophelia, an international student in Australia who had been entirely devoted to the agricultural industry, holding dual doctorates in Agriculture and Animal Science from the Agricultural University. In her first life, she had accidentally wandered into a swamp while researching saline-alkali tolerant rice cultivation. Afterward, she had transmigrated into the Starfall Beast World Continent, becoming the most favored Princess of the Golden Dragon Clan.
In her previous life in the Starfall Beast World, her modern memories had been locked away. This time, as compensation for her rebirth, the system unlocked her sealed memories from the modern world.
"Princess, are you alright?" a male's steady voice asked with deep concern.
"Ty... Tyler?" Ophelia rubbed her forehead and sat up. "What happened to me?"
"You fainted outside. I apologize; I carried you back without your permission," Tyler said cautiously, his face tense with worry.
Seeing Tyler's overly cautious demeanor made Ophelia's nose sting with unshed tears. In her past life, Loki had claimed that since they were already mated, it was inappropriate for her to keep a single male by her side, so he had forced her to drive Tyler away. Despite that, Tyler had continued to silently guard her from the shadows. He had been the first to discover her imprisonment, and in the end, he had died a gruesome death—strangled and decapitated by Loki while trying to save her.
"Tyler, I'm sorry." She thought bitterly that she hadn't been worth saving.
Tears welled up in Ophelia's eyes as the hatred in her heart for Loki and Miche burned even brighter. This time, she would make Loki and Miche pay their blood debt in full. She would watch their every ambition turn to dust and their every desire fade into an illusion.
Tyler's lips parted, and his hand twitched at his side as if to reach out, but he quickly lowered it when he sensed someone approaching.
"Ophelia, the Clan Leader selection is in three days. Have you prepared the three-year-old tiger?" Loki asked as he stepped inside. His brows furrowed the moment he spotted the other male standing in the room. "Why is he here? What are you two doing?
"Get out!" Loki commanded.
Tyler lowered his eyes and turned to leave, but Ophelia grabbed his arm to stop him. "You are a male of the Golden Dragon Clan. He has no right to order you around."
Tyler's body stiffened slightly. "Yes," he replied, his voice low and hoarse.
Loki's face darkened. "Ophelia, what kind of tantrum is this? Just because I accompanied Miche to the Wishing Pond today, you brought this male here to spite me?
"Don't forget, I am your mate."
"Even the Beast God never decreed that a female can only mate with one male, so what are you barking about? Tyler is the Guardian my father prepared for me. Wherever I am, he stays.
"A Princess Guardian is also a future Beast Husband, as you well know." Ophelia stood up, glaring at Loki with a level of disgust she had never shown before.
Loki scoffed. "Ophelia, don't forget that we signed a sole-mate contract. You can only have me as your partner. Otherwise, you'll be punished by the Beast God."
In the Starfall Beast World, males heavily outnumbered females, meaning monogamous families were practically non-existent. Even her father, the Clan Leader of the Golden Dragon Clan, had to share her mother with four other males. In her past life, she had truly been foolish beyond belief, giving up the entire forest for the single weed standing in front of her. She had been so stupid, which meant her death in her past life was entirely her own fault. As the modern saying went: Pity a man, and you're doomed for life.
"Even if we signed a sole-mate contract, it's not like it can't be broken. Doesn't your precious little female cub want Miche to be her mother? I'll grant her wish.
"Loki, I am breaking off our mating bond!"
As those words dropped, both males were stunned.