The Spider Queen
chapter-99

Rokan was still discussing some other matters with the head butler when Sophie burst into the study room.

"Dad I'm back!" she excitedly spoke.

"Young miss please wait for us," two flustered maids followed behind her rather out of breath.

The duke had temporarily fired all the staff while Sophie was taking her entrance exam and all workers in the mansion had to undergo strict evaluations before resuming their old positions.

His worries were not unfounded as several spies sent from various noble houses had been caught leaking information to outside groups.

Needless to say, they would no longer be physically able to carry out such acts of betrayal after a few hours of Katarina's interrogation sessions.

Cultivators who studied poison techniques may not be able to split mountains in half or crush their enemies with overwhelming force.

Yet their very presence on the battlefield was enough to make their enemies feel the cold scythe of death.

What is the use of a man with overpowered strength when he is on his knees gasping for breath?

To see his flesh rot and melt off his limbs before his very eyes as he screams and cries for mercy.

A sword may kill a man once…. but poison can make a man beg for death.

None of the traitors planted in the Peterlor estate were allowed to escape and Katarina made sure to send a message to their masters by leaving the bodies on their doorsteps as a warning.

Sophie had no idea of her mentor's darker side as Katarina had always been a sunny and kind friend when training her in the art of poison.

Well…maybe sometimes she would come off as a bit sadistic when administering the injections.

"Welcome back milady," the head butler bowed slightly as Sophie entered the room.

The duke sneakily hid the investigation files under a pile of papers and also greeted his daughter with enthusiasm.

"How was your date with that princess friend of yours," her father asked.

Sophie's eyes sparkled as she talked about the amazing experience at the zoo where she saw animals whose appearance far exceeded her imagination.

The popcorn and snacks were quite delicious and being on a date somehow made the ice cream taste even sweeter.

Boosting Cleo's image would make any future meetings between the two easier, so Sophie did not hesitate to inflate the good qualities of her partner.

Of course, she did not mention Cleo's bad habit of kissing her when she least expected it.

Sophie somehow had the hunch that her father would not be too pleased.

The duke smiled along as Sophie continued to talk about Cleo's sense of humor, beautiful appearance, and great cultivation talent but inwardly he was very unhappy.

Why did he suddenly get the feeling that his precious treasure was being stolen away by others under his very nose?

Rokan still remembered the last visit Cleo took to the Peterlor mansion where that scoundrel princess tried to meet his daughter secretly.

He still needed to settle accounts!

"Oh, by the way," Sophie paused for a moment to bring up another topic.

"It's almost time to give my little frostwing bat some qi!"

The qi injecting ritual was now done on a daily basis even though the guidebook from the pet store said that it was unnecessary as the blood bond had already been formed.

"Bye dad!" Sophie waved goodbye and left the study room while her two personal maids followed swiftly behind.

Petra and Alice were two of the new helpers hired by the duke and neither possessed high cultivation skills as they were simply there to fulfill Sophie's personal needs.

Both girls came from one of her father's lunar colonies and Sophie had a decent impression of them.

They were both very polite and seemed to blend into the background and would only step forward whenever Sophie called for their assistance.

That wasn't to say that Sophie would meet any danger with weak maids as her well being was carefully monitored by a team of death guards whenever she went outside.

The duke had attached great importance to his daughter's first combat beast pet, so the egg was housed in an empty room on a luxury bed.

Sophie had also brought additional blankets to make a vaguely nest-like building so the egg would be warm and safe.

This room was next to Sophie's bedroom which was only about a six-minute walk from the study so it did not take long for the group to arrive.

"Petra why don't you go on ahead to check on the egg while I stop in my bedroom to get some things?" Sophie suggested.

The maidservant nodded silently and opened the door to the hatchery while Sophie entered her bedroom to drop off some trinkets, she had bought during the zoo trip.

She had only just placed a few items on her desk when a loud noise interrupted the quiet atmosphere.

"Young miss this is terrible!" came a panicked shriek from the room next door.

Sophie froze in shock and quickly ran over to take a look. She could not bear the thought of something awful happening to her pet.

She was greeted by what appeared to be a….

Winter wonderland??

The entire floor of the room was covered by a thick sheet of ice and frost could be seen creeping rapidly up the windows.

Sophie activated the scanner function on her wristband and found that the temperature in the room had dropped to around minus twenty degrees Celsius.

One of the Frostwing bat's abilities was frozen domain which allowed the pet to drastically lower the temperature in its immediate surroundings.

At the highest rank, this ability could flash freeze enemy cultivators and slow down any spells or qi attacks that entered its range.

But this Frostwing bat had not even emerged from its egg!

Frostwing bats took a long time to fully mature into adulthood and their first ability would develop after one year at the earliest.

This initial version of frozen domain would only be able to lower the temperature by a few degrees and would pose little threat.

As Sophie glanced at the now shivering maid at the entrance of the room, she could not help but harbour some doubts.

Why was her pet so much stronger than what the guidebook predicted?

Crack! Crack!

The egg shuddered a few times and the numerous cracks on the outer shell started to widen as the bat sensed that its master was nearby.

Sophie had reached the qi spirit stage, so she was unaffected by the cold as she walked carefully into the room.

Cool white clouds formed around her mouth as she slowly exhaled and soon reached her naughty little pet.

The cooing noise began louder and louder until suddenly the fragile egg fully cracked, and a furry creature tumbled out.

Sophie gently picked up the frostwing bat in her hand and felt her heart instantly melt at its adorable appearance.

The frostwing bat resembled a puffy ball of fur that was silky to touch with two small wings jutting from its back.

"What a cutie," Sophie whispered as she observed its beautiful light blue coloured fur and tiny size.

It's eyes were closed as it had just hatched, and they would not open until a few days had passed but Sophie's palm was thoroughly sniffed by the bat whose tiny nose kept twitching in happiness.

(Mommy!)

Sophie felt a mix of various emotions from the fledgling transmitted into her mind through the blood bond and was pleasantly surprised.