The tiny spider crept along the dark hallway’s ceiling, marking its target that was scurrying through the night. The foolish creature thought it was undetected, but the Messenger Spider could see all stalking in the night with its eight eyes. The cloaked target veered a corner, so the spider continued its inevitable hunt. Suddenly it stopped, checked its left and right sides before channeling a strange spell. It was in the Banquet Hall, the other Messenger Spider was asleep! No matter, it decided to follow anyways. Its efforts were rewarded, since secret entrance behind a portrait of Sigrid Bohun revealed itself to its target. Normally, if the target was headed towards Her Majesty’s abode the spider would alert her. This new pathway could be useful. A winding secret staircase to the depths of this rotten Manor was more than satisfactory, since now the existence of such things has now given itself and its kin a purpose to explore more.
At the bottom of the stairs lay a small entrance and its target finally revealed herself to be that half-elf creature who Her Majesty was weary of. Oh, yes, the Messenger Spider shuddered in excitement. This was its time to be useful for its beloved Queen. It has been too long since anything interesting happened in this place.
— Skill: Message activated. Active Memory Fragment Recording:::
The cloaked Emma entity pushed through the door, but a circle of magic flashed as she took a step inside. Immediately, she collapsed in the center of it. Two cloaked figures surrounded her, activating a strange Skill that the Messenger Spider could not interpret. Emma’s eyes glowed with a golden aura as her head jerked up to look at the cloaked figures. One of the cloaked figures approached her and held his hand over a hidden marking placed above her neck.
“Report,” the first shadowy man commanded her.
“Charlotte is a lot more than we think,” Emma said blankly, her voice devoid of the coldness that usually enshrouds it. “Her magic and strength are hardly existent, but she aimed for my hand and broke my sword. The girl must have been growing her power inside the Forbidden Woods, or perhaps darker forces lurk around that place granted it to her. There must be a reason she survived that long period of time.”
The cloaked figure in charge contemplated for a moment, shifting his weight upon one of his feet and then to the other.
“Report,” he commanded the second one. The cloaked man lowered his hood. He had no marking, but humans were tasty all the same to the Spiders.
“Sting and Blade have not reported back and the Witch Spawn still walks. The Awakening Ceremony failing should have been a warning to us that this job won’t be easy.”
“Don’t say that,” the other chastised him. “It’s justification that the Light has abandoned her. What of Arrow? No… Nevermind. I suspect like Sting and Blade he will be silent as well.”
“But he is level 25! He shouldn’t be defeated so easily! But if you’re correct, well,” the man lifted his glowing hand off, releasing Emma from the spell. The half-elf slumped over. “We can always release this one and—“
“No, not necessary yet. She’s too destructive,” the one in charge waved his hand. “We shall watch and report back to our Brother.”
The spider watched the duo leave the creature behind. As it crawled over to inspect Emma, it fumed. It wished it was a Body Spider.
— The Recorded Memory Fragment has ended
Hmm, I wondered what that all meant as I pushed the webbed cocoon dangling down from the ceiling with my finger idly. Those were the guys from the Church of the Light, but they apparently wanted me dead for a long time. They seemed like they were also the ones poisoning this family against Witches. I lost concentration and the body bumped into me. This guy, the assassin Who Was Arrow, stood for everything I hated! He was responsible for ruining my bed! How dare he!
I looked over to the bed frame. There were a lot of new additional decorations on it; arrows riddled its wood with holes and poison dashed the blankets. So I took it upon myself to use Light and blasted a hole through him! Ha!
Well, his remains that survived the Light spell were inside here. Unfortunately, Attor did not want to eat him and was not speaking to me after my constant pestering so I strung him up right here! Plus, he was getting too large to fit anywhere! I have not raised a dragon before, but I have forgotten how large and less cute he gets when he grows! I clicked my tongue in frustration. He did not make for good food for either of us and on top that, made for a short lived experiment! Perhaps Blanche can come by and take his body!
I looked at the remains of my bed. Even in its current state, it still was more comfortable than my time in the Labyrinth. A chuckle escaped out of me and was about to erupt into an evil cackle but suddenly nausea struck the side of my head. Why? I flopped onto the remains of my bed. The view of the floor and the ceiling were blending into one! I wanted to escape this dratted place, but with Wisdom’s warnings making my headache get worse that was not meant to be. I squirmed, but nothing made the swirling disorientation go away so I gave up and lay flat!
Light magic, in combination with Mage Link took a lot out of me. I think I needed a bigger explosion of experience points, like the time Attor destroyed all those Goblins. That would sort my weak Mana pool in an instant! Mere weaklings like the assassins and librarians weren’t enough to level me up so I needed a whole bunch of them to slay! At least it gave me an excuse to use the Spell Pages and Martial Arts if I absolutely have to, but there was so much more work to be done! This Forbidden Skill will not stay weak like this forever! My vision closed itself before I could close the warnings from Wisdom.
All was fine as I felt the embrace of blackness in my sleep. I was floating, wrapped in warmth, as soft webs and strings glided away from me. A soothing voice told me that they will “take this thing for experiments.” Experiments? I stirred. Get out of my dreams with your experiments and go back to sleep! I could sense the voice’s speaker was still looming inside my sleep, but instead it wished me a good night. Yeah, get out of here, you beautiful voice! I’ve faced off one assassination attempt tonight now go book another night instead!
A high pitched scream jolted me awake.
“Charlotte’s dead!”
Eh? I’m what? I opened an eye and noticed the Status of a familiar weak servant girl hovering above my head. She nearly screamed again, but I raised a hand to silence her. There were holes inside my dress along with the remnants of my bed frame. A worker spider and my Tier 2 Spell could fix this up easily! However, I kind of liked the rundown and gloomy feel of this room. Every room in this mansion should be like this! Wait, I’m getting distracted! I checked the cowering servant again.
— Nana of Bohun, level 7
— Class: Human [Common]
“You’re no assassin,” I grumbled. I noticed the door to my room did not survive the Light Spell, so it must have caused this creature to investigate. “What brings you here?”
“L-Lady Charlotte!” Nana immediately bowed and backed away. “I-I was just about to retrieve you for breakfast a-and this—“
She looked like she was going to faint when I got up. My Mana was at 50%, which was more than enough for me to wake up. I believe that meant half of the Mana Pool was full. Or was it half empty?
“With whom?” I asked coldly. I didn’t mean to be so rude to a servant, but the tone of my voice was a bad habit from my Demon Queen days.
“It has been brought to the attention of Master himself, that you have not been given any proper meals yet,” the maid continued to stammer.
“Very well,” I checked the state of my room. The servant cleaned me and changed me swiftly into a new dress; her trembling cold fingers still had their expertise despite the trashed state of this room. Wooden debris and arrows littered the floor, but strangely the poison and the assassin’s body were missing. Did Blanche stop by and take that guy? How convenient! “Where is Emma?”
“We do not know, honest! I-It’s why I have been sent here in her stead, but I was in such a fright seeing your Lady like this,” Nana informed me. She was not lying about not knowing where Emma was, but it was clear she hated being around me. She flinched when I turned to check myself in the mirror. “I-I’ll send for someone to fix this place up!”
“No need,” I waved her off. “Lead me to breakfast, Nana.”
At the sound of her name, she suddenly looked faint. Come to think of it, I pondered. There was another servant this one was close with. Who was she again? Syri? Silly? Sarah? Nana panicked when the door suddenly collapsed, but after a sharp eye she immediately started to guide me to breakfast. It’s exactly what I need after a night’s rest!
Instead of the grand dining room, I was led to a smaller room with a plain table. A plain meal was on the table already, which even my Cooking Skill did not list. This was a tea room, Charlotte’s old memories surfaced but she did not appear to have a Wild Skill somewhere in this room. I was sat down on a wooden chair instead of the cushioned ones, too.
Must I always have the short end of the stick here?
There were two maids in here, who closed the doors and stood by quietly. My Queen’s Eye revealed not even guards showed their faces here. These trembling servants’ names were already slipping out of my mind; they were mere insignificant creatures that no one would miss. Nana and— oh! Sydney. The name of her friend and fellow servant was Sydney.
“Sydney,” I muttered. “Not even close to those other names I guessed.”
“Y-Yes, Charlotte Lady, ah, milady?” She squeaked. I had a mind to ignore her, but a small label appeared above the plate of food caught my eyes. It was not a Cooking Skill tag — it was a Brewing Skill tag? How peculiar!
— Brewing: T1 Poison (Skin Burst) has been detected. User Charlotte will not be harmed upon consuming this poison due to Passive Skill: Poison Immunity [Legendary].
Ah, a harmless prank. I smiled wickedly to myself. When I was a young demon, the other young demons would prank others by using subtle means to maim or even kill their peers to get ahead in the race of becoming the Demon Lord. The immaturity made me chuckle. If that’s how these servants want to play, then bring it!
“Come here,” I beckoned her with a finger. We shall see how human friends of this Realm treat each other when another is in peril! The maid looked at Nana, who bowed her head low and stared at the floor. “It has come to my attention, that one shares foods and pleasantries in the presence of guests, no? Come, come.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“L-Lady Charlotte, t-that’s for esteemed Nobles like yourself!” Sydney stammered, standing away. Her legs were quaking, but I kept waving for her to approach.
“Ah, now I am an esteemed Noble,” I gripped her head with my speed and drove it into the table, hearing the satisfying crunch of her face smearing on the poisoned food.
“Lady Charlotte, what are you trying to do? Guards—“ Nana tried to scream, but I used a blast of Advanced Web Conjuring to weave her mouth shut and slammed her to the wall.
Sydney tried to scream but I crunched her head harder on the plate.
“Did you not think I wouldn’t notice the poison in this little game of yours?” I smiled and kept up a friendly tone. “Now you shall be volunteered into my service, the test subject to my experiment.”
“Poisoned?” She heaved for air, but her skin began to peel apart and started to become inflamed. Nana’s delightful muffled scream became more erratic as she watched helplessly.
“Oh? So you did not know that this was poisoned?” I wondered, keeping her head pinned on the table.
“I swear!” Her muffled voice warbled. “L-Let this servant go, have mercy!”
“Ah, you see, I already know who did it,” I lied. It did not matter. “Attor complained I didn’t really get retribution for you calling me a bastard child… I’m not deaf, you know?”
Sydney’s eyes bulged as she realized I knew that she called me that.
“It’s nothing personal, kid,” I shrugged as I picked up a chunk of the porridge with my fingers and drove them into her mouth. “Now be a good test subject and taste this food, O servant!”
She was too boiled over and her Health was eradicated by the time she could even scream. The horror was pleasing to me, but the experiment yielded only disappointment. This one died to mere T1 poison. Nana passed out from terror, nor did she act like any of the warriors in my Realm who refused to abandon their fallen comrades on the battlefield. Too bad for her, I scoffed as I sat on the table next to Sydney. I guessed that my webs were simply too strong.
My shadow stirred. Oh, lucky timing! It’s Blanche…? Instead of pink and white hair, the shadowy figure kept rising until it was taller than me sitting on the table! Eh? Ah, it was the Body Spider who was Malcom Willster. He bowed before me and unlike Blanche, he kept his distance. What a relief!
— Nameless Body Spider, level 34
— Classes
Messenger Spider [Epic], level 20
Body Spider [Epic], level 10
Spider Sage [Legendary], level 4
Inherited the high Magical Attack power and Warding magic of the body’s former owner. The Nameless Body Spider hopes to make his Queen proud, even with his current face.
“Your Majesty,” He greeted me. What’s wrong with his face? His voice was shaky, probably because he did not have much training, but I sensed fear from this Body Spider. Why? Despite this strange anomaly in his behavior, the spider persisted. “We have been assigned to you on behalf of General Blanche.”
“Wonderful, wonderful,” I pushed the maid’s corpse on the floor. It made a light thud, leaving a trail of blood and foodstuffs smeared on the wooden table. “Wait, we?”
At his shoes, tufts of little white fuzzy butts lined up next to him. Ah, reinforcements! Body Spiders, Attor! The dragon snorted groggily, apparently because he was waking up now. Are all dragons this lazy!?
“We sleep for centuries in our true forms,” Attor muttered.
“Well, I don’t think humans live that long! It’s time to put you to work! Come to me, O Familiar!”
“Wait, Charlotte—“ The dragon’s Spirit head blinked then opened wide awake, realizing I was summoning him. He landed with a thud in his physical form, but according to the contract I found that I could send him wherever I wanted! Well, if he wanted to. I glared at the dragon and dared him to defy me.
“I shall send you to Blanche,” I declared. How brilliant! “No, she is brilliant! She knew the Humans would search for the man who used to be Malcom Willster and sent him back to not raise suspicion! Ahah! It’s wonderfully wicked.”
“You’re raising suspicion by having a loud voice,” Attor scolded me. Eh? “And I shall go to Blanche, since a human spider prowling about with you would be more subtle than I.”
“See? She thought that all along!” I felt a cold breeze flutter over me. My shadow was stirring once again. Blanche was coming to take these! Before I knew it two of the body spiders have infected the dead maid and her friend.
“Forgive my late arrival, Your Majesty,” Blanche kneeled. She still had pink stripes in her hair and her dress, so that means she must like that color! “I shall retrieve these creatures immediately. And Attor, I look forward to working with you.”
The bodies of the maids sank into the ground in Blanche’s shadowy pools, while I wondered how the Fey were doing. Attor unfolded his wings, almost knocking the small chandelier hanging above us out. A shining Pink light sparkled from behind Blanche’s ear and zigzagged in front of my face.
“Eh? Is that you, Pink?” I exclaimed.
“You!” She exclaimed. “Playing with the Humans, are we?”
“Well, I—“ I glanced at the mess I made. “T-They started it!”
“It’s not like you to get revenge on these little things,” Pink scoffed. “And one of them could have become a part of your Pact! What am I saying? Listen. I-It’s your underlings! Well, they’re more like overlings! The seven Arch Spiders have claimed the Seven Mountains as their new homes! Even Dragon Watchkeep’s seal is not safe from them!”
“Underlings?” I questioned, but suddenly remembered I told those Arch Spiders to live in the mountains because the Fey Golems needed room to live in… “Oh.”
“Oh? Don’t you ‘Oh’ me!” Pink’s tiny face scowled. Her tiny wings beat into a frenzy and let out a shower of pink sparks, making the stains become clean. “Come and gather your pets up. Blanche has been expanding the Dungeon and even has tribute for you to claim! Ugh, why am I even bringing up those things to you? Come home soon, deary, the Forest calls for you.”
“I will!” I promised. These walls suddenly mattered a lot less to me now. We said our goodbyes and I even hugged Attor despite his protests as Blanche’s shadows over took them. I turned to see Malcom and the host of Body Spiders around him standing still the entire time. “Now, what shall I do with you guys?”
I could give them individual instructions using Queen’s Eyes, but they could simply act as spies for now. Malcom shook in his anticipation, while the other Body Spiders scattered across the floor out of sight. They seemed to be coordinating with the other Messenger Spiders on where to go. Good luck, guys!
“Your Majesty…” the Man Who Was Malcom seemed sad or distant. It was odd, but better than how the original owner treated me. He leaned over to bow again. His movements were more fluent than Blanche when she started and his expressions made me feel guilty. “Do you dislike this form? It treated Your Majesty with blasphemy. Shall I hide away?”
Ah, he was feeling sad for his original owner’s sins.
“You don’t need to feel sad about that,” I told it. “For now, you are going to act as Malcom and restore the Library’s Ward. Contact me if you find anything in there worth mentioning.”
“It shall be done, Your Majesty!” He bowed with more vigor. His mood improved and that’s a plus! “I swear to make up for this body’s grave sin!”
With that, he began his way to the Library and left me alone. I should have told him he didn’t need to make up for anything. Oh, well! The mess was cleaned by that Fey, even my dress’s blood stains were replaced by pink cloth and clean food rested on the table instead of a smear. That Pink Fey was quite something, I supposed. Perhaps making everything her pixie dust touched pink was a Passive Skill of hers? Oh well! I lost my appetite, but it was exciting! I couldn’t rely on Attor anymore, but it was time for me to start pulling my weight!
The hallways were mostly clear, until I saw a crowd of people near the main entrance again. This mansion was busy! I snuck by, but I heard a clapping sound and my name being called.
“Lady Charlotte!”
Gah! How do they— Oh, right. I sent Attor away. I turned to see one of them headed over to me. A younger fellow, with a Status not worth paying attention to compared the other nobles in that glob of people. Twig of Bohun, level 10, eh? The commoner waved at me and looked afraid, as he should!
“Y-You remember me, right?” He stuttered as he withdrew a letter from his bag. “I’m His Highness’s messenger, Twig.”
The Prince? I raised an eyebrow. What’s a man like him have anything to do with me? Twig waited pensively, as if he expected me to be excited or something. I gestured at his letter.
“Oh, right, right,” he cleared his throat and unfolded the letter. “Your Father wishes you to see His Highness.”
“Can I decline?” I muttered. Twig looked at me oddly, so I spoke up instead. “Lead the way then, ah, Twig.”
“Yes, milady,” Twig bobbed his head enthusiastically as he skipped along. It reminded me of my crow form, which amused me. “B-By the way, Lady Charlotte— Are you by chance, not excited to see Prince Devon?”
“It is Father’s request, unfortunately,” I mused. “How would you take it if I don’t feel excited?”
“D-Don’t mind this commoner, milady,” he shuffled nervously past a guard. I noticed the guard was also following us, but he was also only a level 13 human soldier. How could Father have such weak people in our midst? We were headed towards a room with tea and our guests inside, but the Messenger Spider watching over that place revealed to me the Prince was with someone already. Has he forgotten that he sent for me? “I feel as if, something or somehow has worked out for me. If you fell out of interest with him, oh! As if I have a chance with you… Forgive me, Lady Charlotte. I mean nothing, here we are!”
“Thank you, Twig,” I ignored him. What does he mean having chance with me? Did he want to fight me at level 10? Not a chance, mister! The guard silently opened the door and both of them followed me in. Inside, I found myself beholding an unsightly scene. The woman was sitting upon the Prince’s lap, embracing him. These despicable humans have time for acts like this? I cringed.
“Your Highness,” Twig confidently proclaimed to the uncaring couple. “Lady Charlotte has arrived upon your request.”
Prince Devon’s hand rose and signaled us to wait, while his mouth was busy kissing the girl. Was this one Laura? I scrolled through the names of those faces the old Charlotte’s memories had. The woman’s Status listed her as a certain Noble Kiara of House Olivette and her green dress was slowly slipping off. I turned away, unsure why a feeling of jealousy was stirring in me. This guy is a total sleezeball! I told myself. Snap out of it, old Charlotte! This guy was not even remotely interested in you. Twig looked at me apologetically, but I had a different plan in mind. Who was I to judge someone else’s lifestyle? It was time to go and leave these lovers some privacy!
“Well, it seems you are busy so I shall be taking my leave,” I began to turn, but the Prince’s smug voice invaded my ears.
“Wait,” Prince Devon nearly tossed the giggling Kiara off of himself. “If it isn’t Lady Charlotte, stewing in such, unsightly jealousy. It’s not good to be like that, you know. I’ll have you know you don’t have your beautiful older sister to protect you anymore. I sent her away on a little trip!”
He wrapped an arm around Kiara and laughed, who seemed to delight in his attention, and kissed her greedily. My Doom’s absence being away was a good thing, not that I would tell him. As for the Spiders, well, I think they’ll know what to do with her. I turned with a dark grin on my face as I read his Status. Luckily for him, his Royal Aura buff shielded the couple from most of my debuffs.
— Devon Sharra, level 15
— Classes
Royal Prince [Legendary], level 10
Royal Strategist [Legendary], level 5
Danger Class: C
Buffs: Royal Aura, Lovers, Cunning III, Magic Resistant III, Light Magic Aura
Debuffs: Mage Killer
“Father sent me to visit you, against my will, I might add, so here I am,” I repeated myself. “I wish you well, but now I am leaving.”
“Ho, do you really think you could treat the Prince of Sharra this way?” He grinned. The guard stepped in the way of the door, as if he could stop me! “I have missed you so! Say, I have heard tell of your Awakening Ceremony. Level 1, with no future. Now that’s a hoot! The Great Charles Bohun’s witch-daughter is a level 1 with no hope!”
“Weak!” Kiara laughed. I merely smiled while they laughed. A small scowl flashed on Twig’s face, but I spoke after they realized I was not giving them the reaction they wanted.
“If you have heard the whole story, Your Highness,” I chuckled. “Then you would know the Awakening Orb they used was faulty. Besides, if I am weak then what is this man doing in my way?”
I turned and placed a hand on the guard’s chest plate and began crunch it like paper. He started gasping for air and choking up blood, unable to fight back against my webbed grasp. The guttural squelches this insolent guard gave out were music to my ears as I continued to crush his armor. The spear dropped on the ground, so I kneeled to pick it up.
“It appears, sir, that you have dropped this,” I raised the spear and threatened him. “Heh, if even a level 1 like me can carry a spear like this with one hand then surely you can hold it under this pressure.”
“Enough!” Prince Sharra told me. Got you where I wanted, I grinned and dropped the man. Now release me from your sight, O Prince!
“Why would you desire my company, if I was as weak as this?” I cheerfully declared over the bloody groans of the guard. “Now, I hope you two have fun with your lives, but I have to inform Father that I am no longer interested in your company here.”
With that, I bowed and departed the room. The Messenger Spider in my Queen’s Eye showed Kiara attempting to hold onto Prince Sharra, who shoved her off as he fumed. Her loss, I scoffed. She was simply a toy for this sleezeball just like the old Charlotte. She really did have the short end of the stick in everything. I heard thumping and heavy breathing chasing after me. Was it the rest of the guards? No, those footprints were too light.
“Lady Charlotte!”
I turned to face my would-be challenger and stopped. It was Twig, heaving and resting on his knees.
“That was awesome!” Twig blurted, but suddenly went silent when I looked at him. What’s with this child? “Everyone says you’re a mean girl, but I admire that. I will support you!”
“Thanks, now don’t you have work to do?” I asked him. His cheeks turned red as he quickly turned back to attend to his prince. His compliments were going right to my head! I watched him stumble away. He kind of reminded me of Frampton. That’s right, I also have work to do. I found the Messenger Spider watching over my Father’s office and began my march towards him. It was time to tell him that humans don’t interest me in that way again!