Chapter 1

1

My best friend and I transmigrated into another world, becoming rare and precious females within a beastman tribe.

During the mate selection ceremony, my best friend acted first, snatching up the bear-shaman, Silas. She only wanted him because he was naturally brawny and possessed top-tier hunting skills.

Due to her machinations, I was left with no choice but to settle for the frail swan-shaman, Julian.

Who would have guessed that after marriage, Silas would remain a serial flirt? After endless, fruitless arguments, my best friend was kicked out of their cave on a winter day.

Julian, however, stayed by my side through it all. Even when my legs were disabled, he never abandoned me. Eventually, he unified the four great tribes, becoming the most powerful Chieftain in the entire beastman world.

On the day of the Chieftain's succession ceremony, my best friend, driven to madness, shoved me off a cliff.

When I opened my eyes again, we had both been reborn.

This time, my best friend acted first again, but she chose Julian, whom nobody else valued.

I, on the other hand, walked toward the invisible, ignored fox-shaman.

Watching the venomous glare in my best friend's eyes, I nearly laughed out loud.

A Chieftain's wife? What is that compared to having a sound, healthy body? In this new life, I will become the true Queen of the beastman world.

......

After being pushed off that cliff by my best friend, I was reborn.

I woke up exactly on the day we arrived in this strange world, back at the tribe during the mate selection.

Two precious females have fallen from the sky; they are a gift from the Beast God to us.

Although we do not know which tribe they originate from, a female is a female, and choosing a mate cannot go against their wishes.

In my previous life, just after transmigrating, I only felt a headache hearing words like "female," "Beast God," and "tribe."

But my best friend, Zoe, was filled with excitement. She was a fan of web novels, so these terms were second nature to her.

Before the fox-shaman could even finish his speech, she had already chosen the bear-shaman, Silas.

She leaned in to whisper in my ear, "The bear-tribe's hunting skills are the best, and rumor has it they are quite the stallion in the bedroom."

"I've been dying to see it in books for so long; now I finally get to try it for myself."

Unlike my repulsion, Zoe truly loved it here.

Seeing that I hadn't made a selection yet, she rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm, her face twisting into a mask of faux concern.

"Nina, if you don't want to choose, don't. You still have someone you like back home, after all."

She then scanned the crowd, "You love romance, but these guys only know how to hunt. Besides, they need a female who can handle chores, and you know, you've never been good at that sort of thing since you were a kid."

With just a few words, Zoe painted me as a fickle female who abandoned her partner and was lazy with work.

In this primitive world, productivity was low. Even precious females were expected to contribute.

So, after Zoe's little speech, the only one left standing before me was Julian.

I hesitated for a long time between choosing someone else and Julian. Finally, I remembered a nature documentary I had seen.

They say swans are creatures of absolute loyalty to their mates. I thought, two people working together had to be better than struggling alone.

As it turned out, Julian was exactly as the research had said―he never left my side.

Even when my legs were crippled, he still insisted I be his Chieftain's wife.

When Zoe found out, she was green with envy. By that point, her relationship with Silas was already on the verge of collapse.

She was desperate to find a new path for herself.

So, Zoe began visiting our cave every day, either wearing flowers in her hair or bringing him gifts.

Julian remained unmoved, being even more tender toward me instead, constantly showering me with care.

Zoe was absolutely livid. She couldn't fathom how she could lose to a crippled, paralyzed invalid.

Finally, she snapped and hissed at me, "That swan of yours is just an insensitive idiot!"

I smiled faintly.

I would concede that Julian was a bit oblivious to romance, but calling him an idiot? I wouldn't agree with that.

There wasn't a single beastman more cunning than him.

From his initial firm choice to his decision to exploit my legs, all the way to unifying the four tribes and successfully becoming Chieftain.

Zoe, that fool, was too busy playing house to notice that almost every female of the avian-shaman race had physical impairments.

I think the truth of that will only become clear to her once she experiences it herself.

So this time, I let Zoe have her way again and waited for her to speak first.

Sure enough, she pointed at the swan-shaman, Julian, and declared, "I choose him as my mate."

A commotion broke out in the crowd. Julian's eyes glowed with a flash of surprise.

Avian-shaman males were never popular. While they looked beautiful and were devoted to their mates, life in this primitive world was hard. Living on love alone wasn't a choice most females would make.

"An avian-shaman? How could you be worthy of a noble female? If you follow him, you won't even have enough to eat."

A hot-headed beastman jumped out, wanting to challenge Julian to a duel to decide who would possess Zoe.

Julian's eyes flickered with hesitation, and a trace of subtle inferiority crossed his face.

But Zoe took this as an opportunity. She quickly walked to Julian's side, took his arm, and announced to everyone, "I have love, so I don't fear hunger."

"Even if he lets me go hungry every day, I will never leave him."

The crowd of beastmen erupted.

What a moving performance. If it weren't for the fact that the fox-shaman had heard her whisper to me just before, "Just watch me become the Chieftain's wife," her act might have been even more effective.

Looking at the fox-shaman's smirk, a sudden intuition struck me.

Before Zoe could spout any more lies to frame me, I pointed at the fox-shaman, whose face was half-hidden by a hood.

"I choose him."

Zoe's face was filled with undisguised delight.

After all, in my past life, this fox-shaman had fallen mysteriously ill and died.

But since I was reborn, wasn't my goal to change my fate?

Besides, the fox-tribe was naturally cunning, and he wasn't as easily deceived by Zoe as the other beastmen.

In this new life, why not take a gamble with him?

Because my goal wasn't just to be a decorative Chieftain's wife.

After learning so much modern knowledge, to be subservient to others would be an absolute humiliation.

I wanted to do something big. I wanted the fox-shaman to support me as I climbed, step by step, to the throne of the Beastman Queen!