The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Peterlor Estate- Dinning Room)

Duke Peterlor leaned back against a wooden chair and looked out of the window. In front of him was a steaming cup of hot tea with a small purplish-green leaf inside.

Icathain tea was his favourite.

It was made from feeding a certain cat-like animal a specialised diet of specific types of nuts and berries only found on planet Ryenarics.

The cat-like animal's saliva would then be used to fertilize a young Icathain plant which would bear a single leaf.

The process was long and arduous and hence the price for the tea was quite expensive as a result, but Duke Peterlor was a man who did not lack money.

He reached for the cup and raised it to his lips. The duke took a small sip and enjoyed the bitter taste that filled his mouth.

His lips gently curved upwards as he felt a quiet moment of peace.

The duke had been quite busy last night since he had to investigate who dared to attack his daughter and Cleo.

Progress had been slow so far but there were certain rumors floating around the underground market that seemed quite promising.

Whispers that someone or an organization were looking to take advantage of the upcoming fight for succession.

Unfortunately, those rumors were quite general and there were numerous organizations that had a vested interest in who would become the next emperor or empress.

Duke Peterlor took another sip as he waited for his daughter to arrive.

As a god stage cultivator there was honestly no reason for him to consume any food or drink and many didn't since it was seen as being attached to the mortal ways.

A load of bullshit in the duke's opinion.

What was the point of living if you simply holed yourself up in some far away cave and just cultivated every single hour of every single day for decades if not centuries.

Life had to be lived otherwise there was no reason to seek immortality.

"Send word to the kitchen to prepare a standard breakfast feast. Extra eggs and fish today," Duke Peterlor spoke quietly to the android standing nearby.

The machine's red eyes blinked twice and then it rolled off towards the back of the hall where a simple metalloid door led to the kitchen.

Duke Peterlor hummed quietly as he glanced at his wrist communicator and replied to a few messages that were piling up in his inbox.

Being the head of a high noble house well... at least a responsible one meant that there was a lot of work to be done to maintain business relationships and fill the coffers.

The duke was a hard-working individual because he had grown up with very little in life and knew that wealth could disappear if not managed correctly.

Tens of thousands of noble houses had disappeared in the sands of time for one reason or the other.

Nobles were not inherently better than the general population, they merely had access to better and more resources.

Those resources and advantages had to be maintained or improved with every successive generation in order for a house to survive.

"Dad!" a cheerful voice interrupted the duke's musings.

He glanced in the direction of the sound and saw Sophie walking towards him with a warm smile on her face.

The hybrid girl gave her father a tight hug and then sat down in the chair next to him. She was currently wearing some black track pants and a simple white tee shirt and jacket.

The outfit that she wore to training had gotten covered in blood, so Sophie was forced to change before she went to the dining room.

"How was the training this morning?" Duke Peterlor gently asked as he lifted up his hand to brush a stray strand of hair from his daughter's face.

"Not too bad... I managed to beat the tenth level of difficulty with the safety caps off," Sophie replied proudly as she stretched her arms and yawned.

"Safety caps off? Well, I hope that you had a medical bot on standby in case of any accidents," the duke sternly warned.

"And remember that level thirteen and above are for void stage cultivators so do not even try to activate those."

"I know dad... you don't need to remind me," Sophie casually replied.

The father daughter pair spent the next few minutes engaging in small talk as the robot android rolled back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room table.

It carried plates of food using its multiple mechanical arms that were built specifically for this task.

Large plates of mouth-watering food arrived on the table, and one could see small wisps of steam rising up from the plates.

There were over half a dozen loaves of bread, eggs in many different styles from hard boil to scrambled, sausages both vegan and made from animals and finally an assortment of soups.

This was a breakfast feast.

Sophie looked down at the food and heard her stomach rumble.

She shot her dad an embarrassed look and the duke pretended that he did not notice to save his daughter's pride.

"Enjoy," Duke Peterlor warmly spoke as he passed the nearest plate to Sophie. The hybrid girl immediately reached for a fork and began to dig in.

The eggs were soft and fluffy, and they paired well with the warm loaves of bread that simply melted in her mouth.

After a hard morning of training, Sophie's body needed some nutrients even though she was a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

She cut a piece of a sausage link and bit on its crispy exterior. A sharp burst of flavour filled her mouth from its delicious juices.

The hybrid girl continued to eat while occasionally glancing in her father's direction. Sophie didn't know how to bring up the events that had occurred last night.

Obviously, her dad needed to know that his wife was still alive and well but how could she say that her mom was in prison...

Would it be better to conceal that detail, so her father didn't worry? Sophie didn't know what the right answer to her dilemma was.

Okay think about it from my perspective...

Sophie furrowed her brows and thought about how she would feel if Cleo went missing and someone knew what happened to her but didn't say.

She would be fucking pissed and probably torture that person until they confessed everything that they knew.

"Dad... I have something to tell you," Sophie put down her fork and addressed her father seriously.

"What is it?" Duke Peterlor asked curiously as he mimicked his daughter by putting down his cup of tea.

Sophie frowned slightly as she thought about the words that she wanted to say. She opened her mouth and explained everything as honestly as she could,

"I was somehow able to meet mom last night. I was cultivating inside the amulet's space when I saw a humanoid outline made out of stardust."

"When I touched the outline, I was suddenly teleported to a mysterious place..."