"Let's just say…. having spent two years in that devil's company…I can't say that it was all bad," the duke stammered out with a blush.
"Your old man even managed to defeat her in combat during the last months of my stay," came a proud boast as the duke valiantly tried to restore his image.
"So why did you leave?" Sophie asked in puzzlement.
A look of sorrow crossed her father's face and he just silently shook his head in reluctance to say more about the matter.
Sophie could tell that she had pushed him enough today and would not receive any more information on what happened to her parents' relationship. She just nodded her head in silence while thinking of when to breach the subject again.
The duke snapped out of his daze and asked the burning question on his mind, "So what exactly happened to your body?"
Where do I even start!
Sophie frantically began to tell her father about everything that had happened to her, from the strange space in the necklace to her new spider appendages with added fangs. Not to mention the acid spit that melted the mattress on her bed!
There was actually a brief moment of hesitation when deciding if to reveal the knowledge of the cultivation technique or not, but her father just nodded in silent contemplation and did not seem too surprised.
"Could it be that human qi gathering methods have no effect on your body," her father muttered softly.
It would finally answer the vague feelings he had over the years as it made no sense that with parents as talented as Sophie had…. his daughter had remained at the qi body stage for years!
"May I check your dantian?" the duke asked.
Sophie nodded in consent and he gently placed his hands on the lower back of his daughter. A warm flow of qi exited his palms and entered Sophie's dantian where it checked all the acupuncture points and meridians. A strange look crossed the duke's face as he withdrew his hands and stood up.
"It must be the same method that your mother used," he confidently declared.
"I only saw that particular qi circulation path once in my life… when your mother decided to… cough cough…perform some dual cultivation."
His cheeks suddenly flushed bright red and Sophie groaned in embarrassment. From her memories she could tell that dual cultivation was not sexual in the slightest way but simply meant the act of joining hands and allowing the qi to circulate both bodies.
But… her father from his bashful expression definitely did a lot more that just hand holding!
The tablet on the duke's desk suddenly vibrated and her father gasped in shock.
"Sophie you haven't eaten dinner yet! I set a timer to make sure we had some father-daughter bonding time. The chefs have prepared every single one of your favourite dishes and if a single one is under-cooked…your old man will have him executed on the spot!"
"Wait…. wait… I still have questions to ask!" came a resigned pout from Sophie who was ushered abruptly out of the study room and escorted down by her cheerful father down to the dining hall.
Before they entered the dinning room, her father quietly whispered in her ears,
"I know you want to learn more about your mother, but I really can't bring myself to say anymore at this time… some memories are best left undisturbed"
"Just know that your mother loved you very much."
Sophie smiled at the warm figure conjured up in her mind but failed to notice the complex expression in her father's gaze.
(Sixteen years ago)
"Take our child and run as far as you can!" an angry shout came from Thai'lle as she thrusted a small bundle into his hands.
"I don't want anything to do with you or this girl!"
The duke stood in shock as the woman he loved showed a face full of rage as she threatened to kill him and her own newborn daughter.
"You don't mean that…. I thought you loved Sophie," a trembling voice replied.
Rokan no longer saw the image of the beautiful insectoid woman who would dance and laugh with carefree abandon. Instead she gazed upon him and the child as if they were nothing more than strangers.
Thai'lle snarled with her fangs menacingly flashing in the sunlight as she moved towards Rokan with purplish flame flickering above her palm.
"This was all just a game to me… you foolish human!"
There was no time to react as she lunged furiously towards him with claws outstretched with a fierce air of danger. The duke darted backwards holding on to the small bun and used a spatial technique to flee to upper atmosphere.
Rokan wrapped his qi around his daughter to form a protective barrier and vanished into an unknown direction with deep pain and sorrow entering his heart.
He would never trust an insectoid ever again.
Meanwhile on the planet, Thai'lle stared intensely at the vanishing figures of her husband and child until she could no longer sense their presence.
It was only when they disappeared out of the range of her divine senses that she allowed the unshed tears to flow freely from her eyes.
"Ahhh!" a scream of rage and frustrating echoed through the empty planet. She loved that stupid human more than he would ever know but would never be able to tell him the real reason for sending them away…as he would never leave without her.
(One day later)
A magnificent spaceship almost the size of a moon hovered slowly above the forest planet that Thai'lle lived on. Hooded figures wearing white cloaks dropped down from the sky and respectfully approached the lady calmly waiting for them.
There was no trace of the emotions in her eyes as she surveyed the humanoids surrounding her in a tight encirclement. A mocking laughter erupted from her mouth as she spoke with a biting tongue,
"I must say… it has been quite a while since my father's dogs have paid me a visit. He must be proud that he hid a magic rune under my dantian to track me down."
The figures removed their cloaks to reveal extremely attractive humanoids with spider legs jutting out of their backs. A petite lady stepped forward with a half bow and quietly replied to Thai'lle,
"My lady… the rune only activates once you have passed down the imperial genes to a worthy heir. But there were none of our Arcahnais brethren in this star system within the last decade so the child must be a hybrid and rumors say the father is a human."
"The king is extremely upset and wishes to remove this stain from the royal family. You have brought great shame to the insectoid empire by consorting with a low life human."
Whispers of disgust and hard stares surrounded Thai'lle from the spiderkin surrounding her, but she silently stood there with a trace of a smile touching her lips.
She raised her hands with a sigh and said with a hollow tone, "Fortunately there is no need to worry… the child was born a stillborn as our Arcahnais genes were too powerful for a mere human to handle."
"I came to my senses and devoured both the corpse and the waste of a father!"
A frightful boom of power flowed from her body which caused all of her father's guards to kneel in awe.
This was the strength of the seventh princess of the Arcahnais tribe!
"Will you be returning princess?" one guard tentatively asked.
Thai'lle silently nodded and flew up into the entrance of the spaceship followed closely behind by the group of royal guards.
She could not help but use her high cultivation level to listen in on the conversations among them and overheard a guard at the back of the procession talking into a communicator to order a search for a human male within the nearest five star systems.
"It seems they did not trust my story," she muttered with a frown.
Thai'lle could only pray silently to all the deities she could remember with a worried look reflected in her eyes.
Please keep my daughter safe!
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