The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 93: I did good this time, didn’t I, Arinya?

I don’t know if that last part was necessary, but it was almost like I wanted to give him some kind of assurance.

I gazed into his worried eyes, and then he closed his eyes, nodding his head.

"I will never interfere in your decisions from now on. And... I am so—"

"Save it." I interrupted him. "Hearing you apologize right now will only burden me, instead of relieving me. Because at the end of the day, I just might get disappointed and your apology right now will amount to nothing. I don’t want to be hurt anymore, Father." I turned my head away, looking down sadly. "And I absolutely don’t want to have any expectations, so just do me a favor and pretend I don’t exist in the remaining days I am in the tribe."

My father pursed his lips and then gritted his teeth. But he quietly let go, sighing softly as he asked,

"When do you plan to leave?"

"I don’t know," I said while shaking my head. "But I won’t leave without a trace, don’t worry."

"That’s good enough." He said and then reached his hand to me, attempting to pat my head but hesitated.

He took his hand back and smiled bitterly.

"Live well, Arinya. Better than you lived in this tribe that only served to hurt you. And..." He looked at my husbands, glancing from Fenric, who held a proud smirk, to Damar, who held a little trace of hostility as he stared at my father. "...I hope you feel loved, treasured, and valued everywhere you go."

"Don’t worry. I don’t plan to go anywhere where I’m not valued." I said. "After all, a prophet isn’t valued in his hometown. Anywhere, as long as it’s not here, will definitely be welcoming." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

That felt like a stab to my father’s heart and I felt it in his eyes as he gazed down at me.

He nodded and turned, having said all he could and having no right to stand before me any longer.

It was settled.

I was finally free.

Not only was it revealed that I had a snake beastman as my spouse, but that I would leave very soon.

I’m sure people will try to drag me down with this news, but it’s not something I can’t handle.

I’ll definitely make it through until the day I leave.

"Ahem," Chief Kasa cleared his throat, and I turned my head to find him waiting with Solin, and behind him was... Rhask?

I hadn’t seen him the whole time but it looked like he had been in the crowd.

The moment our eyes met, I saw hatred.

It was so thick and didn’t match up with the innocent face he had.

Why did he hate me already?

Was he already in love with Veyra? If it’s like that then I must be the person he hates most in his life.

"I did good this time, didn’t I, Arinya?" Solin asked, blushing and I honestly didn’t know what to say.

It looked like she was looking for a compliment.

"Yes, thank you. If it wasn’t for you, things would’ve been a little more complicated."

And Kaelor might’ve never had the guts to speak up, so I was very thankful.

"It’s nothing." She said, smiling.

Fenric gritted his teeth, watching his sister smile at me. What was this competition?

"Now, now, there’s a reason we’re still standing here." Chief Kasa said. "We were supposed to watch a demonstration from you and that was why you were summoned. Although, I think things escalated and that can’t be done today anymore."

"Oh, right. The salt." I said. "It’s fine. The earlier, the better."

They want to see how long salt can preserve meat, so a few days are required. Thus, we had to do it now.

"I’ll come over soon. First, I need to deal with something." I said, planning to see Damer off first but then Rhask made a remark,

"What’s so good about that fake anyway?"

Everyone paused and the first to react was his big bro.

"What did you just say?"

Fenric was enraged.

He expected such words from my tribes folk, but from his own brother?

"I said, what’s so good about her? She’s just pretending to know things when she’s in fact dumb." He said and even Chief Kasa frowned.

"Rhask, what is this about?"

"Didn’t you see how she treated her sister? She was so cruel and..."

"Do you want me to show you what cruelty towards one sibling looks like?" Solin suddenly said and he flinched.

I looked at him. He still held hatred in my eyes.

How to deal with this?

Rhask will become the chief of their tribe soon since Fenric will give up their right. And having him be hostile towards us until the end will only pose a threat to our peace sometime in the future.

He’s just confused now because of his little attraction to Veyra. But if I can sway that attraction...

"Rhask, was it?" I asked and he scowled. "Do you have a problem with me?"

"Yes,"

"Why? I don’t think we’ve talked before. And I don’t think I’ve done anything to you either. So, why do you have a problem with me?"

"It’s because you hurt Veyra. Poor innocent Veyra had to go through so much because of you."

"So you like Veyra?" I asked and he flinched, blushing as he threw his gaze away.

"W-what’s it to you?"

So that’s a yes.

"Is it because she’s pretty or because she’s frail and has a nice personality?"

"She’s..."

"It’s all fake, idiot," Solin said. "She’s not nice and she’s very vicious. She made everyone hate Arinya and even made them starve her for weeks. Why is she someone you like? Do you have a poor judge of character?"

"That’s not true!" He said and we all looked at him.

He was so naive. Was that why he fell for her?

"Looks aren’t all that matters," I said. "It’s true that I’ve suffered because of Veyra, and I kept it in for a long time; that’s why when I finally exploded, I did that." I looked at my hands. "It’s not like I didn’t get hurt while hitting her either. It’s just, it was so painful to bear any longer." I clenched my fist. "She’s vicious and manipulative. She’s not someone I wish for you,"

"I won’t listen to you." He yelled.

"Then will you listen to your stomach?" I asked and he flinched.

"What?"

"They say someone capable of making tasty treats is never a bad person," I said, grinning.

"I’ve never heard of that."

"Well, now you have. If you eat the meat I prepared yesterday one more time, will that help clear your mind so you do not get confused about what kind of person I am?" I asked and watched him gulp, as his mouth began to salivate.

As much as he tried to hold his ground, the delicious meat he had eaten flashed back to him, and he had no choice but to give in.

"I... I’m not doing this because of the meat, okay?"

Gotcha!

"Yes, yes, I believe you," I said. "Now, just relax and don’t get swayed by anything Veyra says. She has a sweet tongue and can make you believe whatever she says, okay?"

Though he said he would try, I didn’t trust he would be able to pull it off when he was such a naive lover boy, so I asked Solin for a favor.