The Spider Queen

Chapter 225: The Predator Lurks

(Planet Gaia- Imperial Palace)

It was a grand banquet the likes of which had never been seen before. 

Only a few times in the history of the Federation had the heirs to every single high noble family been gathered in the same place.

Those noble families with the status of duke had power that was only below the royal family, so they were capable of influencing the very core of the empire itself.

It was for this reason that previous emperors had been very cautious when promoting noble houses and it would take a great accomplishment to even have a chance to be granted a dukedom.

But even still….

The Federation had been established for thousands of years and the human population was now conservatively estimated to be in the trillions as the number of colonies and planets controlled by the Federation increased drastically.

From the original handful of noble houses at the start of the Federation who had the status of duke…

The number now was well in the thousands.

And it was only kept so low because the emperors of the past had purposefully restricted the number.

The banquet held today would be inside the grand hall of the main palace where the majesty of the royal family was put on full display.

The floors were coated in a shiny whiteish- green metalloid imported from traders in the outer regions.

This material had a minimum price of ten million Enas per pound and the supply was never enough for the demand.

Statues of graceful phoenixes and majestic dragons towered over the heads of the guests inside the hall.

World renown artists and sculptors had designed these sculptures to make them as life-like as possible.

Several long tables were laid out along the sides of the room with delicacies and dishes prepared by the imperial chefs.

Only the top quality and the freshest ingredients were allowed in the kitchen, so the standard was quite high.

The various meat dishes, vegetable salads, rare jellies and seafood looked extremely appetising as these chefs were masters of their craft.

Any ordinary person who even got a whiff of the delicious odour coming from the food would be unable to stop themselves from drooling.

There was an open area in the middle of the hall for dancing that was to be held later in the evening.

It had been only an hour since the start of the banquet and already the hall was occupied by a vast sea of bodies.

High class mages had already cast spatial enchantments to expand the internal space of the hall so even with thousands of people present it did not feel crowded.

Emperor Sisrelis had yet to arrive, so the golden throne lay empty on a raised platform overlooking the hall.

No one knew when exactly the royal highness would be gracing these noble heirs with his presence, but many assumed that it would be later in the evening.

Occasionally one would hear the cries of the palace attendants announcing the entrance of guests into the hall.

“Announcing the entrance of Rosalina of House Farkin!” 

A noble girl with a fresh and youthful appearance entered the banquet hall while wearing a plain white dress.

She walked down the stairs with dignity and grace in order to leave a good impression in the minds of her fellow peers.

Unfortunately, she thought too much. 

Certainly, at the start of the evening many were paying attention to new arrivals but after hundreds of people had entered…. 

The announcements by the palace attendant simple became background noise.

There was a strange feeling present in the atmosphere of the banquet as no one took the initiative to actively socialise with those outside of their faction.

Of course, that did not mean the noble heirs present weren’t polite and respectful but there was a sense of distance in every interaction.

(Rosalina Farkin’s POV???)

Rosalina walked down the stairs to the floor of the banquet hall and realised that no one was paying any sort of attention to her.

What went wrong?

She could still remember the words of advice that Duchess Farkin gave her before the banquet. 

In order to attract the attention of a male suitor, one needed to put on the appearance of a weak and delicate maiden.

The noble girls present at the banquet were prideful and arrogant so any change in flavour would draw some intrigue.

Rosalina casually swept her eyes through the crowd and picked out several targets that seemed worthwhile to pursue.

Even though everyone here was a high noble…. 

There were obvious differences between those whose families were on the rise in contrast to those whose houses showed signs of decline.

It was not surprising.

Over the course of the Federation, there were several prominent noble families that eventually disappeared after falling into less fortunate circumstances.

Rosalina spotted an old acquaintance chatting merrily with a tall dark gentleman wearing a business suit.

It was not the man’s appearance that caught Rosalina’s eye but rather the limited edition Experion watch strapped tightly to his waist.

Jackpot.

Rosalina adjusted her hair, so it swayed gently from side to side as she walked towards her acquaintance.

“Miss Eva. It is truly an honour and surprise to meet you here,” Rosalina smiled sweetly and bowed slightly towards the girl.

“Rosalina?” the noble girl raised an eyebrow with some confusion as she had never been particularly close to Rosalina.

And in her memories, she could not recall Rosalina ever dressing so modestly before.

Despite her doubts, the noble girl politely bowed as well and returned the greeting,

“It is an absolute pleasure to see you as well.”

“May I inquire who this gentleman is?” Rosalina continued to speak softly and showed a flushed face.

There were traces of embarrassment in her cheeks as she blushed fiercely. 

She held her hands to her chest eagerly to portray an image of a lovestruck teenager.

“I am her fiancé Luke,” the man warmly smiled and replied.

Immediately all the enthusiasm disappeared from Rosalina’s face and her lovestruck appearance turned to one of casual indifference.

She exchanged a few more words of pleasantries with the pair before excusing herself and walking towards the drinks section.

“Fuck. Why are the good ones always taken,” Rosalina scowled and muttered to herself.

She had no interest in playing around with a man who already had someone else in his heart. 

It was simply too much drama.

“Let me get the strongest mix you have,” Rosalina ordered the servant working at the bar and the young man immediately handed her a glass full of a purplish liquid.

Rosalina leaned back and swallowed the drink with one smooth gulp. 

No traces of drunkenness could be found even though the alcohol content in the purplish fluid was combined with other liquids to produce a mixture that was enough to knock out a full-grown man.

[Have enough fun playing around?]

A voice suddenly transmitted in her ear, but Rosalina continued to order more glasses to quench her thirst.

[Don’t forget the purpose of your mission. If you stop drinking for just one second, we can begin to put our pla….]

The voice cut off immediately as Rosalina tore the earpiece from her ear with an irritated scowl.

So noisy.

Too loud.

I’ll kill him later.

For a split second the look in Rosalina’s eyes shifted from that of an innocent girl to a hungry predator lurking in the darkness.

The aura around her body shifted as well but this change was so quick that not even the bartender noticed that the noble girl drinking shot after shot seemed a bit different.