The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

Thunderous applause echoed through the hall after Duke Braveheart's announcement. Sophie slowly got up from the iron throne and the spotlight fell on her body.

She looked at ease with all the attention.

A small smile spread slowly across her lips, it was the only hint of emotions on her face.

The hybrid girl raised up her right hand and the ring on her index finger gleamed under the light.

The resounding cheers got even louder as many nobles stood up and clapped their hands together.

Of course, there were some who remained seated and looked at the proceedings with darkened expressions on their faces.

But Sophie didn't care.

She looked at the crowd and spotted her girlfriend standing up in one of the front rows and giving her a wave.

Cleo looked at the beautiful hybrid girl on the stage and felt her heart flutter. The princess felt very happy for Sophie but at the same time… she was worried.

"Well my dear sister… you seem to have found quite the backer," Prince Theseus spoke casually and his hand reached into his pocket.

"I would like to offer a gift as an apology for causing such a ruckus. It was not my intention to almost ruin the succession ceremony."

"You didn't ruin it. Sophie would have been the duchess of House Peterlor regardless of whoever stood up during the objection part and said some nonsense," Cleo snarled angrily.

Her piercing green eyes turned in the direction of her brother and she had to force herself not to use her mental energy to try to turn his brain into mush.

"Is that so?' Dr. Valenna asked quietly as her eyes shifted away from Sophie and focused on the angry young woman.

"Did you know that your lover may be an Insectoid?"

"She is not," Cleo vehemently denied as she refused to back away from Dr. Valenna's creepy gaze.

"I pity you… those Insectoids… they aren't like any other species in the universe. All they know how to do is consume, destroy and expand," Dr. Valenna continued to speak in a calm tone.

"They are incapable of emotional bonds."

"That is quite the assumption to make. For a scientist don't you think that you are reaching conclusions without enough evidence," Cleo replied back with a smirk.

"Enough," Prince Theseus interrupted the conversation.

"My dear sister… I only wished to keep you safe. It would be dangerous to associate with someone whose bloodline belongs to the enemies who desire to see the Federation destroyed."

"Have you given any thought to what would happen should Sophie Peterlor's bloodline be exposed to the wider public?"

"I told you already… she is not an Insectoid," Cleo refused to fall for the verbal trap that the crown prince set in his words.

"Denying it to the end…" Prince Theseus let out a heavy sigh under his breath and the rummaged around in his pocket.

He pulled out a small wooden box and placed it on the armrest of Cleo's chair.

"Please accept this gift my dear sister… I hope that when we meet again you will finally see from my perspective," Prince Theseus softly spoke.

He grabbed Dr. Valenna by her arm and escorted her away from the front row and towards the exit of the hall.

Cleo stared daggers into their retreating backs as they got further and further away.

When she could no longer see them, she turned her attention to the small box on the top of her chair.

The box was around the size of her palm and rare jewels had been embedded into the corners of the material.

It looked expensive at a glance, but Cleo did not pick it up. The crown prince claimed that he was only looking out for her well-being.

Bullshit.

In the Imperial Family love between siblings was a rarity usually only reserved for those who shared the same mother and even then…

Cleo glanced at the box one more time and then moved away from it. She wasn't even going to touch it in case there was poison dust sprinkled on top of its surface.

She would just need to tell Sophie about it after the ceremony and they could get one of the androids servants to handle it.

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(Meanwhile) ｂ𝚎ｄｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

The spotlight had stopped shining and Sophie had left the stage. She entered the corridor connected to the main stage and opened the first door to her right.

The door led to a private room with a simple interior and limited amount of furniture.

There was a table in the corner of the room with light refreshments and snacks on top of it and a few chairs at the back.

Sophie walked up to the table and grabbed some of the nutrient bars resting on its metallic surface.

She scratched off the wrappings and placed the nutrient bars in her mouth.

Crunch!

They weren't exactly delicious but after such a long ceremony, she was feeling quite hungry so these bars would have to do for now.

She walked over to one of the chairs and then sat down. As Sophie leaned against the back of the chair, she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

She was now Duchess Peterlor.

That was somethings that she was finding difficult to process and it was not the only worry on her mind.

The crown prince and that female scientist may have sounded crazy to the other nobles in the hall, but Sophie knew the truth.

They were right.

She was an Insectoid- Human hybrid.

Was it only a matter of time before her heritage was exposed?

She no longer had her father to shield her from the other nobles…

What would happen if the truth was revealed? Would Cleo be affected as well? Would it be safer to flee from the Federation?

These questions filled Sophie's mind with worry and the hybrid girl rubbed her temples to try to alleviate the stress.

Fortunately, a sudden noise interrupted her from her musings.

Knock! Knock!

"Enter," Sophie called out.

A middle-aged man walked into the room and a friendly smile flashed across his face as he saw Sophie sitting down on a chair.

"So how does it feel?" Duke Braveheart asked gently as he approached the hybrid girl who looked a bit tired.

"It… it doesn't feel real…" Sophie admitted truthfully. She looked at the ring on her finger and the grasping hand seemed to move ever so slightly.

"My father… was… no… is House Peterlor. He was the one who took the clan from a noble family on the verge of collapse to one of the most powerful in the Federation."

? "He did that on his own. He had no relatives to help him and most nobles at the time wanted House Peterlor to disappear into the annals of history."

"I… I… don't know if I could have done what he did. I inherited my father's work and I'm worried that I will not live up to his legacy."

Sophie furrowed her brows as she confessed to the anxieties that were plaguing her thoughts.

She felt like a fraud… a fake.

Her father was the real head of House Peterlor and she was just the cheap replacement.

"Might I offer you some words of advice," Duke Braveheart calmly spoke as he approached Sophie and rested a warm hand on the top of her shoulder.

"These emotions that you are feeling right now… I felt them when I was declared as the head of my family and I was hundreds of years older than you at the time."

"And I am sure that your father felt them as well."