Chapter 179: Coercion and Bribery

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Coercion and Bribery

Tyler felt a pang of heartache as he watched Lobak, who was still kneeling by the bed. "Lobak, go back to the third floor and rest. Ophelia and I are here with Wendy, so you don’t need to worry."

"No, Mr. Tyler, please don’t send me away. I promised Clan Leader Ophelia that I would take good care of the Princess."

Seeing Lobak being so stubborn, Tyler could only sigh and let him be. He had assumed the boy wouldn’t be able to hold out for long. However, by the latter half of the night, even though Lobak’s head bobbed with sleepiness, he still showed no intention of leaving.

Ophelia patted Wendy’s head on the bed and lowered her voice. "Thank goodness she hasn’t developed a fever. She should be able to get a good night’s sleep tonight." She then shot a glance at Tyler.

Tyler gently patted the boy’s shoulder. "Wendy is fine now. Go upstairs and get some sleep."

Lobak bit his pale lower lip and shook his head.

Seeing him like this, a glint of resolve flashed through Tyler’s eyes. He raised his hand, struck the back of Lobak’s neck to knock him out, and then carried him over his shoulder up to the third floor.

The cubs were still young and hadn’t been separated into their own rooms yet. As the older brother, Lobak slept with the little dragon cubs so he could easily take care of them. Ophelia and Tyler thought they could finally get a good night’s rest, but shortly after lying down, they were jolted awake by the shouts of a little dragon cub.

The second child, Dan’er, scratched frantically at their bedroom door. "Mother! Mother, help! Lobak is sick!"

"What happened?" Ophelia asked, glancing at Tyler as she threw on her clothes.

Tyler shook his head. "I didn’t see any injuries on him earlier."

Ophelia opened the door, and Dan’er immediately threw himself into her arms. "Mother, Lobak is burning up! Is he sick?"

Hearing that he was burning up, Ophelia’s eyelids twitched. She hadn’t expected that Wendy, who had fallen into the water, would be fine, while Lobak would be the first to come down with a fever. "Tyler, bring up the fever-reducing medicine warming in the pot. I’ll go check on his condition first."

Leaving Dan’er downstairs to watch over Wendy, Ophelia draped a coat over her shoulders and hurried up to the third floor. There, the eldest child was using a damp cloth to wipe Lobak’s forehead. Seeing his mother arrive, he immediately stepped aside.

"Mother."

Ophelia reached out to feel Lobak’s forehead and found it was indeed scorching hot. She quickly checked his body and confirmed there were no external injuries. He must have caught a chill while rescuing Wendy, which triggered the high fever.

"Mother, he’s been burning up for a while now. Will he be okay?"

From Kohen’s inherited memories, he knew that a fever was a very dangerous thing for a cub. If it couldn’t be treated, or wasn’t treated in time, the cub would either die or be left permanently disabled. Even if they luckily survived, the fever could leave them simple-minded.

"It’s nothing. After taking a couple of doses of fever-reducing medicine and sweating it out under the blankets, he’ll be fine," she reassured him.

Tyler soon came up with the medicine, and the two of them worked together to feed a bowl of it to Lobak. Tyler tried to take the boy from Ophelia’s arms, but she refused.

"No need, let me hold him. You go downstairs and take care of Wendy."

Logically speaking, since Lobak was a male cub, his constitution should have been much sturdier than that of a female cub like Wendy. But his sudden high fever meant psychological reasons couldn’t be ruled out. This kind of high fever was much harder to break, so she needed to stay by Lobak’s side and monitor him constantly.

Tyler suggested, "Why not move Lobak to the second floor? That way, we can look after both of them together."

Ophelia shook her head. "He has a fever right now. The discomfort will definitely make him restless, which would disturb Wendy’s sleep."

Seeing this, Tyler could only agree.

Just as Ophelia had predicted, barely half an hour after taking the medicine, Lobak began to sweat and suffer from full-body muscle aches. His body burned like a little furnace. He couldn’t help but stretch his limbs out from under the blankets, but Ophelia tucked them back in every single time. Lobak felt frustrated, but his body ached so much and he was so weak that he didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes. He could only try to resist time and time again.

Seeing Lobak being so persistent, Ophelia sighed, gathered him up—blankets and all—into her arms, and held him tightly. Once enveloped in that warm embrace, Lobak actually stopped thrashing about as much.

But then he started talking deliriously. "Mother, Baba hurts so much. Mother, why did you leave me? Why didn’t you take me with you? Mother, life is so hard for Baba."

Every single cry for his mother made Ophelia’s heart ache. She gently patted Lobak’s back through the blankets, comforting him softly. "Mother is right here. Mother will blow on it, and it won’t hurt anymore.

"Baba is Mother’s most beloved child. You must live on well.

"Mother wants Baba to be happy every single day."

When the first light of dawn broke across the sky, Lobak’s fever gradually subsided. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Ophelia leaning against the wall, holding him in her arms. As memories of Ophelia’s gentle comforting from the previous night surfaced in his mind, his nose began to sting. If his own mother were still alive, she probably would have taken care of him like this when he had a fever. Ophelia was a wonderful mother; Wendy and her brothers were very lucky.

Lobak raised a hand to wipe the sweat from Ophelia’s forehead. "Clan Leader Ophelia, I’m alright now. You should go back and rest."

Ophelia was awakened by his hoarse voice. Her first reaction was to feel his forehead. Finding that his fever had truly broken, a happy smile touched her lips. "It’s good that the fever is gone."

"Have some water." A fair, tender-looking little male cub walked over, holding a Stone Bowl in his hands.

Looking at Kohen in front of him, Lobak was a bit puzzled.

"He wants you to drink some water," Ophelia explained thoughtfully.

Lobak took the Stone Bowl and drank every last drop of water inside.

Keen then tugged gently on Ophelia’s hand. "Mother, go get some rest. I’ll stay here and watch over Lobak."

Seeing how sensible her son was, Ophelia rubbed his little head. "Such a good boy. Once your sister gets better, I’ll take you all hunting in the forest."

Lobak opened his mouth, wanting to ask about Wendy’s condition, but before he could get the words out, a tiny figure ran in through the doorway.

Wendy rushed to the bedside, staring at Lobak without blinking. "Lobak, you’re sick? Are you feeling okay now?" Upon waking up and hearing that Lobak was sick, she hadn’t even bothered to put on her shoes before running up to the third floor. She leaned against the edge of the bed and stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach Lobak’s forehead, but she was simply too short. Even on her tiptoes, she couldn’t reach it.

Sensing her intention, Lobak leaned down slightly, allowing Wendy to successfully touch his forehead. "I’m fine now. The fever is already gone."

As if she couldn’t quite believe it, Wendy looked over at Ophelia. Seeing Ophelia nod, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Watching her daughter’s concerned and worried expression, Ophelia couldn’t help but shake her head. This child really was a sucker for a pretty face! She honestly didn’t know what to say.

"Wendy fell into the water and came out completely fine, yet you ended up with a fever. It seems your constitution can’t even compare to hers.

"I’ll get some medicine for you to drink and help nourish your body."

Lobak knew that these medicinal herbs were extremely precious and quite expensive. He hastily declined. "No, there’s no need. My health is perfectly fine."

"I won’t take no for an answer." After saying that, Ophelia turned to her daughter. "Wendy, starting today, you will supervise him and make sure he drinks his medicine every day. Otherwise, you won’t be allowed to go out and play."

Hearing her mother speak so strictly and even using playtime as a threat, Wendy immediately made a promise. "Don’t worry, Mother! I’ll keep a close eye on Lobak and make sure he takes his medicine like a good boy."