The Spider Queen

(Virvedean Star System- Planet Exereon)

(Private Estate)

"Mother! What the hell is going on?!" a handsome young man in his early thirties shouted in excitement as he slammed a piece of paper on the table.

Lady Beterica calmly sipped on a cup of tea and glanced at her son who was staring at her with an expression of disbelief.

"I know you are not talking in that tone of voice with me young man," Lady Beterica softly whispered as she placed the cup of tea down on the table.

"Sorry mother," Chase replied quickly as he bowed his head.

Even though he was an adult, whenever his mother used her stern voice he would immediately be taken back to his childhood days.

"Good… now tell me darling. What has you so upset?" Lady Beterica asked gently as she stretched out her hand and lovingly touched her son on his shoulder.

It was an old habit that she had picked up.

When her son was born she would touch him every so often just to make sure that he was still there.

A silly fear but one that she had developed after losing her other two children.

"Did you see the news? The daughter of Duke Peterlor… my brother\'s child will be the next head of House Peterlor!" Chase hurriedly spoke as he unfolded the sheet of paper on the table.

Lady Beterica stared at the contents on the page.

It was just as her son had described it, she saw a beautiful hybrid girl standing confidently surrounded by a group of noblemen.

The title of the article was \'Sophie Peterlor Wins Support Of Many Noble Families!\'.

"And? What does that have to do with us?" Lady Beterica asked with confusion evident in her tone.

"What? Mom! Aren\'t I the rightful heir to House Peterlor?" Chase replied with a puzzled look on his face.

"No? Who told you that?" Lady Beterica asked softly as her brows gradually furrowed.

"The Grand Tutor! He… he… said that I am the rightful heir," Chase murmured softly as he wilted under his mother\'s fierce gaze.

"And you believed such rubbish?" Lady Beterica sighed heavily as she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.

"Son… your father was the previous head of House Peterlor and you were conceived long after he died."

"Sophie Peterlor has a much better claim than you and she already has the support of House Peterlor\'s allies."

"The Grand Tutor is only telling you that you are the rightful heir in order to push us into his petty vendetta against hybrids."

Chase nodded thoughtfully as his mother\'s words made sense.

He did think that it was a little bit strange that someone who was important as the royal tutor of the Imperial Family had reached out to him out of the blue.

"Can we at least go and see the succession ceremony?" Chase asked softly.

Lady Beterica did not reply as she tapped the top of the table using her fingers. Planet Gaia… she had not stepped foot in the Alpha Star System for over thirty years.

There were too many bad memories in that place.

Even now when she closed her eyes to sleep, she would occasionally see her daughter and son looking at her with blood running down their bodies.

Still if Chase wanted to go… she was afraid that someone might try to manipulate him without her standing by his side.

Lady Beterica\'s fingers slowly curled up into a tight fist and she let out a small breath of air.

Her fists trembled ever so slightly but she forced the emotions in her chest to calm down.

"If you want to take part in the succession ceremony then I will send a formal request to House Peterlor informing them of our visit," Lady Beterica whispered cautiously.

"Should they acknowledge and accept our offer then we will travel to planet Gaia to take part in the ceremony as bystanders."

"I thought nobles of our ranking could just show up," Chase said as he rubbed his chin with his hand.

"Yes we can but I am not going to take any chances. We are not going there to be enemies," Lady Beterica explained calmly.

"I see… thank you mother!" Chase happily shouted as he got up from his seat and pulled Lady Beterica into a tight hug.

It was a terrible breach of etiquette and yet the stern noblewoman simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of her son.

She regretted not doing this more often with her two other children when she had the chance.

She had babied Chase a bit too much over the years, so he was a bit naïve. Still… he was a good boy and she was proud of him.

The mother son pair remained in place for a few long seconds before Chase broke the hug and dashed out of the room.

Lady Beterica stared at his retreating back and a warm fuzzy emotion filled her heart.

If she could get a second chance… would things have been different?

Still… there was no use dwelling in the past. She could only look forward to the future and protect the son that she had left.

Visiting Planet Gaia would pose some risk, but it was an acceptable amount. Besides her son\'s last name was Serpentinesa… not Peterlor.

She would not allow him to take over that den of vipers.

Honestly Lady Beterica felt a twinge of sympathy for the duke\'s daughter who had to take over his house at such a young age.

Especially a household that was an upper ranked noble family. Those with great power had to play the political game extremely well.

Many powerful houses and clans even those with the strength to challenge the Imperial Family had disappeared within the annals of history.

Would Sophie Peterlor be able to handle the pressure?

Well… it didn\'t really matter.

Honestly there was a small part of Lady Beterica that would be elated to see House Peterlor fall into ruin.

The beautiful noblewoman picked up her cup of tea and took another sip.

A bitter tasting liquid flooded her mouth but despite the unpleasant taste, not a hint of displeasure surfaced on her face.

Lady Beterica slowly tilted her wrist upwards and checked her communicator.

She scrolled through her list of contacts and clicked on a name that she had not touched in a very long time.

The head servant of House Peterlor.

Butler Gerald.

Lady Beterica tapped her fingers against the surface of her communicator and began to compose a message.

She was honest as possible and mentioned the reason for her visit as well as her son\'s true heritage.

If the Grand Tutor knew her secret then it was really only a matter of time before the news reached the young heiress to House Peterlor.

Better the news to come from her than a third party.

Lady Beterica finished typing out a long and lengthy paragraph and then pressed send.

She did not know if the future head of House Peterlor would accept her and her son to planet Gaia, but it was at least worth a try.

The beautiful noblewoman leaned back against her chair and looked out of the window. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and small flying animals soared through the air.

Life would go on.