The Spider Queen

"This meeting has to do with your daughter courting my precious child?" Duke Peterlor drummed his fingers on the table with a steady rhythm as he spoke.

"You are quite the straightforward man," Concubine Sisrelis took another sip of wine and felt the cool liquid run down her throat smoothly.

It was clearly an expensive mixture inside the wine bottle made from rare and exotic fruits.

"Why bother with a facade?" Rokan smiled with confidence.

Concubine Sisrelis was almost amused by the nature of the youngest god cultivator in the Federation's history.

All of her meetings with other nobles in the past were nothing more than tiring affairs where no one spoke as openly as the duke.

Everyone wore masks to conceal their true thoughts and their words were nothing more than thinly disguised weapons.

The concubine knew that was useless to verbally probe the other party, so she just held up two fingers and got straight to the point.

"Two billion," she stated quietly.

"I will sell my daughter to your house for two billion Enas."

"Use her, kill her or anything that you fancy. Her life and death will be in your hands."

"You would sell your own daughter?!" Rokan was taken aback.

Shock and disgust could be seen on the duke's face as he reevaluated the woman seated across from him.

He knew that members of the royal family treated their own children as goods to be sold but he could never imagine even considering the thought.

Sophie was priceless.

He would give up all the wealth in the worlds just for her.

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"Outsiders may think that us mother-daughter pair are holding on to your thighs, but I would rather break the bond with money," Concubine Sisrelis spoke in a calm voice.

"My daughter will no longer have anything to do with me."

Her information channels had long passed on various rumors that it was only a matter of time until the human supremacy supporters would launch an ambush to kill their greatest political rival.

Duke Peterlor's presence was a rallying point for hybrid rights activists and his death would open up the floodgates for swift actions to be taken against the hybrid individuals on planet Gaia.

Eventually new restrictive laws that targeted their kind would be introduced to the other human controlled territories across the Earth Federation.

No one knew of the Emperor's stance on the matter, but it was probably due to the fact that he was more interested in spending time with whores than running his empire.

An awkward silence was formed between the pair as the duke still could not believe that a mother could be so cold-hearted.

After a few moments had passed….

"Are you familiar with the game of chess?" Rokan reached under the table and pulled out a board which broke the quiet atmosphere of the room.

The chessboard was not expensive and was made from simple design that had figures carved from wood to represent the pieces.

Many aspects of the culture and life from ancient earth before the 'Great Enslavement' had been long lost to the ravages of time.

Certain pieces of history had been passed down due to word of mouth or rediscovered from old ruins.

Some of the strategy games such as go, chess, checkers and mancala were still popular even to this day among the military officers and the noble class.

Chess was a game of great skill and tactics that pitted two opponents against one another to command an army of troops to capture the enemy king.

After surviving many years in the royal palace, Concubine Sisrelis was no stranger to the game but she was a bit caught off guard to see the duke bring it out unexpectedly in the middle of their meeting.

"What side would you like?" Rokan asked politely.

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"Black is no problem," Concubine Sisrelis replied.

Duke Peterlor brought the board closer and begun his attack by moving his Queen's pawn to the middle of the board.

"The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit?" Concubine Sisrelis noted in surprise.

Concubine Sisrelis was expressionless as she moved her pawn to accept the trap without any hesitation.

One's style of play in strategy games would often give hints to the true nature of their character.

Duke Peterlor's playstyle was fierce, aggressive, and open with no signs of trickery or deception.

Admiral traits in a warrior but Concubine Sisrelis noted that these characteristics showed that the man was horribly naive.

It was clear that he would not survive for much longer in the political world of the high nobility but was it worth the risk to offend him?

Hmm…. worse case she could just sacrifice her offspring to one side and stay neutral if pressed by the duke's enemies.

Besides, it was a simple matter to just birth another child to replace Cleo.

Concubine Sisrelis continued to play and soon fell into an advantage as piece after piece were captured with ease.

She relied on a style based on trickery and duplicity which caused the duke to gradually be on the losing side.

"Do you want some friendly advice?" Concubine Sisrelis suddenly spoke up.

"Please by all means," the duke gestured meaningfully as he leaned back in his chair.

"You should learn to compromise and join the tides that will swallow the Federation. A simple and honest man like yourself will always be a thorn in the eyes of others," she explained.

"All you need to do is replace your current heir to protect that hybrid daughter of yours."

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The duke remained silent and continued to move his pieces around the board as if he never heard the words that the concubine had just spoken.

Concubine Sisrelis was going to press on with her point but recalled that Duke Peterlor's daughter was his pride and he was fiercely overprotective of her.

The words to persuade the man died in her throat as the shadows below her feet whispered in her mind to drop the matter.

Duke Peterlor continued to play in a straightforward manner and a series of moves by the concubine showed the prowess of his opponent.

His castle was taken….

Then his bishop….

And finally, his queen….

"I think I have seen enough to judge your character," the concubine spoke in a dismissive tone as she felt that victory was now a foregone conclusion.

"I will be taking my leave now."

She stood up and briskly walked out of the room without taking a second glance behind her to gauge the duke's reaction.

Her identity as the mother of his daughter's girlfriend was enough to ensure that the duke would not take offense to her abrupt exit.

Concubine Sisrelis always trusted her instincts and every fibre of her body was telling her that this man would definitely suffer in the future.

New plans would have to be set in motion….

Rokan observed the concubine leaving the room while shaking her head at his seemingly foolish character and naive nature.

A trace of a devilish smile flashed across his face.

He casually moved one of his knights to an open square position that the concubine had overlooked.

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Checkmate.