The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Peterlor Estate- Private Study Room)

Sophie got up from her chair and slowly walked around the room.

She took in a deep breath and could smell the comforting scent coming from the old books on the shelves.

This place… reminded her of her dad.

She glanced at the desk and could picture her father writing reports and sending out documents to the various heads of the companies that he owned.

Still even though he was always busy… he made time for her.

Sophie remembered playing with wooden boxes, toys, and other knickknacks in the corner of the study room while her father worked.

She must have been a bit of a nuisance but her father never kicked her out.

A small smile crept up the hybrid girl's face as she lost herself in the good memories of the past.

This was a place with a lot of happy memories.

Sophie let out a heavy sigh and walked over to the chair. She sat down on the comfortable seat and the memory foam wrapped itself around her body.

A perfect fit.

She picked up the report on the desk and began to read it thoroughly. It was a report about a recent drought on planet Xereon.

The governor of the planet wanted additional food and water supplies. Sophie furrowed her brows as she looked over the report.

She sent out a message to one of the shadow guards to investigate the authenticity of the governor's statement and then scheduled a pending approval for the supplies.

Being the head of an upper ranked noble family was not as exciting as most people probably imagined.

Yes… there was nothing stopping you from recklessly spending wealth and drowning in various pleasures but then your family would most likely collapse within a few decades or centuries.

With power came responsibilities. It was a lesson that Sophie had learnt after observing her father over the years.

She could only hope that she would be able to live up to his legacy. She did not want what he had built to ever collapse.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in," Sophie whispered softly.

Katarina opened the door and entered the room. The scarred woman smiled when she saw Sophie and handed her a piece of paper.

"Here are the list of guests who will be arriving tomorrow," Katarina spoke with barely concealed excitement in her voice.

"This might be the greatest succession ceremony that planet Gaia has ever seen! Nobles from across the Federation are coming to witness your ascension to the head of House Peterlor."

"Don't jinx me," Sophie laughed as she took the report and looked through its contents.

"Jinx?" Katarina asked in a puzzled tone.

"Jinx… it's a slang… for… bring me bad luck…oh never mind," Sophie's voice trailed off when she saw the confusion on Katarina's face.

She forgot that 'jinx' was a word from Sui Meng's memories. The hybrid girl coughed awkwardly and then turned her attention to the report.

At least ten other duke families would be coming along with other upper rank noble families and countess other lesser aristocrats.

"Also I have a surprise for you…" Katarina leaned in closer and whispered in an almost conspiratorial tone.

She checked her wrist communicator for the time and then pressed a button on the side of her device.

Sophie raised an eyebrow and waited to see what her guard wanted to do. She froze in place as she felt her heart skip a beat.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Wait… no… that was impossible…

Sophie's golden eyes briefly flashed pink as she sensed someone very special and dear to her heart.

"Isn't Cleo supposed to be at the Inter University tournament?" Sophie blurted out in surprise.

"Huh? Aww… it was going to be a surprise…" Katarina smirked mischievously as she enjoyed the shocked look on her mistress' face.

Katarina bowed her head respectfully and then left the room.

Before she walked out of the doors, she told Sophie that Cleo would be arriving in twenty minutes.

Sophie placed a hand on her heart and could not stop the fierce blush that was beginning to form on her cheeks.

Cleo… she missed her girlfriend.

Did that mean that she got eliminated in the semi-finals?

No… that wasn't right… she was pretty sure that Cleo had won that fight. Sophie powered on her wrist communicator and quickly searched up the news.

There were no reports of Cleo leaving the tournament and the only information that she could find talked about how the princess had made it to the finals.

In that case what was she doing here?

The finals would start in two days! She wouldn't make it in time!

Sophie was torn between concern and elation. She didn't want her girlfriend to drop out of the tournament for her but at the same time…

She wanted Cleo by her side.

It was a conflicting feeling.

Sophie glanced at the time on her wrist communicator and saw that only five minutes had passed.

Just fifteen more to go before she would see Cleo again.

The hybrid girl took in a few deep breaths and then picked up another report on her desk. She wanted to bury herself in her work so that she would not focus on the time.

Time always passed super slowly when you counted down the minutes.

The report in her hand was about a pirate attack on a merchant company that House Peterlor had a twenty percent investment stake in.

The pirates had successfully stolen most of the cargo and several members of the trading organisation had been kidnapped as well.

They were being held for ransom.

The report stated that the shareholders of the company would be allowed to vote on whether to put up the ransom money to save the kidnapped merchants.

Sophie verified that the report was truthful and then submitted her approval for the rescue operation.

It was not the best financial decision but she was well aware of what would happen to the merchants if the ransom was not paid.

If they were lucky then they would be killed immediately. If not, then… some fates were better left unspoken.

Sophie grabbed another report and fortunately it was a more positive one.

Apparently a mine had been discovered on one of the lunar colonies that she now owned. The metal found inside the mine was a rare material known a Nth metal.

There was a thick vein of this metal running through the rocky cavern where it had been initially discovered.

The report included an estimation of the value of the mine and Sophie's eyes widened when she saw the number.

Twenty billion Enas.

It would be enough to fund and pay for several long-term projects that her father had been working on.

Sophie approved the extraction of the metal and sent a copy of the report to the head of the trading organisation that House Peterlor employed.

The hybrid girl was so distracted by the good news that she didn't notice the doors to the study room open.

Suddenly a warm pair of arms draped around her shoulders and soft lips briefly pressed against her left cheek.

"Hi beautiful," Cleo purred softly as she tilted her Sophie's face to the side and kissed her lips hungrily.

"Miss me?"