The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Imperial Palace Complex- Unnamed Side Palace)

Sophie strode forward confidently as she stepped inside one of the many palaces that made up the Imperial Complex where the royal family and their direct descendants lived.

The multiple servants escorting her tried their best not to stare. They did not want to offend one of the most powerful young nobles in the Federation.

Today was Saturday… tomorrow would be the opening ceremony and then the selection trial would begin the following week.

Sophie did not reveal a hint of weakness in her demeanor but internally she was anything but calm.

She hated being in this place.

It reminded her of the day when she had been sent to the Unovan Syndicate due to the teleportation rune.

That was not a pleasant memory.

Being here… she could remember it all. The feeling of confusion and terror as the mad emperor cackled with glee.

The glowing light… grabbing Lily tightly… not knowing what was going to happen…

Sometime her thoughts would wander to just how lucky she had been to somehow manage to survive the ordeal.

The random nature of the teleportation meant that there was a very high chance that she could have ended up like the other heirs who were sent straight into the vacuum of space.

And during her many battles in the Unovan Syndicate… there was plenty of times when she could have easily died.

No… don't think like that… calm yourself down…

"Are you all to be my personal servants for the duration of my stay?" Sophie asked calmly as she turned around and shot a glance at the group following closely behind her.

"Yes Duchess Peterlor," a middle-aged maid wearing a long and elegant black dress bowed her head politely.

There were five servants in total. Three maids of varying ages and two elderly butlers wearing long black overcoats.

These servants were professionals, but Sophie could still smell the faint scent of fear wafting off their bodies.

She terrified them… or perhaps they were scared of nobles in general.

As servants in the Imperial Complex, they probably dealt with their fair share of unpleasant nobles and arrogant aristocrats who saw themselves as better than everyone else.

"You can relax," Sophie spoke quietly as she walked through a long and winding corridor towards the master bedroom.

"As long as you follow my orders… I do not intend to cause you all any unnecessary stress or trouble."

"Yes master," one of the butlers bowed his head but the tense expression on his face did not change despite her words.

Sophie let out a light sigh under her breath as she realised that merely talking would be useless in calming down her new servants.

Well, all she could do was make her actions speak louder than her words.

The hybrid girl walked forward confidently while stopping to glance at the paintings on the walls or the statues along the corridors.

Nobles with the ranks of duchess or dukes were treated the best.

They were assigned entire palaces to themselves while other nobles would need to share rooms in the same wing of a castle.

It was unfair but that was the nature of a strict hierarchical society. Sophie's footsteps slowed down as one painting in particular caught her attention.

On the canvas, an artist had painted the scene of a woman in a scarlet dress holding her face in her hands and weeping tears of blood.

The tears slowly dripped down her arms and turned into silk which then flowed into the dress causing her to look even more beautiful.

"Who painted this?" Sophie asked curiously as she approached the painting to get a better look.

"My lady… that painting was a famous work done by the artist Jean-Luc, he gifted it as a present to the former occupier of this palace," the oldest maid replied immediately.

"The painting… it has a bit of a history…"

"Oh… do tell?" Sophie as she examined the painting and admired the delicate brushwork. Clearly this was a labour of both hard work, dedication, and love.

"Yes… um… Jean- Luc and the concubine of this palace had an affair… the emperor was not happy and expelled her from the Imperial Family," the oldest maid hesitantly spoke.

"She lives now with the painter in some backwater colony in the Hydra Star System."

Ahh… a forbidden love.

There was one main problem with having a large harem of a thousand plus women and that was the fact that it was physically impossible to spend enough time with each of them.

And obviously if you weren't spending time with your partner… it was very easier for your partner(s) to find someone else willing to give them attention.

Sophie would not be surprised to find out if the late Emperor Sisrelis had gotten cucked many times by all the women whom he had bedded once and then forgotten.

The hybrid girl stifled the laugh that was threatening to burst out of her mouth. She tightened her lips into a thin smile and then proceeded to walk away from the painting.

The palace that she had been assigned to was quite nice.

The floors were covered in expensive fabric carpets, the walls shone with a golden luster and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

Honestly… it was a little bit too much. The sheer display of opulence and wealth was almost… gaudy in a way.

At least the interior of the palace was very clean, and Sophie spotted androids walking around the palace and clearing away all the dust and filth.

Finally, after ten minutes of more walking Sophie arrived at a large set of heavy doors with golden engravings carved onto its wooden surface.

"You may leave now," Sophie gently ordered the servants who nodded their heads in acknowledgement and then retreated.

The young duchess placed her fingers around the doorknob and slowly turned. The heavy doors swung open with not even a single creak or noise.

Inside was the master bedroom.

An enormous space the size of a concert hall with multiple beds, an indoor pool, two bathrooms, a private spa, and other luxurious amenities.

Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small ball-shaped metalloid device. Now perhaps this was unnecessary but old habits died hard.

She pressed a button on the side of the device and a green light was emitted from several holes along the device's exterior.

The hybrid girl wandered around the room while carefully scanning for any listening devices or bugs.

Nothing.

Well, that made sense considering that an upper-class noble finding a listening device in their assigned room would be extremely insulted.

Sophie turned off the device and then sent over a quick message to Cleo. Her girlfriend was on a later spaceflight and would be arriving in the afternoon.

Sophie wanted them to go together but Cleo had to do an assignment for her mech controller class, so she had to leave a little bit late.

The hybrid girl chatted with her girlfriend for a bit and then made her way over to the bathroom to take a shower.

Tomorrow was an important day and she needed to look her best.