Reincarnated As An Archmage’s Daughter

Lusha burst out laughing. "Oh," she wheezed, wiping at her eyes. "I have not laughed like that in decades. Did you see his face? He looked like a fish that had just been informed it was going to be dinner."

"He looked like that before I even started talking," Hania said, dropping into the nearest chair. Her legs were still shaking slightly. "I just helped him reach his full potential."

Lusha crossed the room and poured two cups of something and handed one to Hania, who sniffed it suspiciously.

"It's not alcohol," Lusha said, rolling her eyes. "You're just nine. Even though nine-year-old spiders can drink alcohol, but you can't. It's nectar, very popular among the young weavers."

"I wasn't worried about that. I was worried it was going to be something like fermented spider milk."

"...Why would you even think that?"

"I've been living in a spider kingdom for a month, Lusha. My brain has been rewired. I don't know what's normal anymore."

Lusha sat down across from her, cradling her own cup. For a moment, she just looked at Hania. Then she sighed.

"The letters," she said. "You want to know about the letters."

"I want to know why you've been burning them like a woman trying to hide evidence of a crime."

"That's... actually not far off." Lusha took a long sip of her nectar. "They're from the Empire and the Magic Council. And several other... interested parties."

"Interested in what?"

"In you."

Hania's hands tightened around her cup. "Me?"

"The Emperor has been sending letters since the day you fell into the coma. Demanding updates on your condition, wanting to know where Dravin is, and why a human child is being raised in the Spider Kingdom." Lusha's voice was flat. "The Magic Council is worse. They've been writing to every kingdom, every territory, every magical institution in the known world, claiming that I kidnapped you. That I'm holding you hostage, and... experimenting on you."

"What?!"

"They believe a human child cannot possibly thrive in the Spider Kingdom. They believe you're being corrupted or brainwashed. Or... something equally ridiculous." Lusha's tongue twisted in irritation. "They've demanded I hand you over to the Council for 'proper magical education and evaluation' no fewer than seventeen times."

Hania stared at her. "Seventeen times?"

"Yeah! Also the Emperor wanted to know where Dravin is and why he hasn't responded to imperial summons." Lusha paused. "He's also demanding to know if you've shown any... unusual abilities."

"Unusual abilities?"

"Like the ability to survive a two-year coma with no lasting damage." Lusha set her cup down. "There's also the Great Academy."

"The what?"

"The Greatest Academy of Magic and Human Excellence. It's the premier magical institution in the empire. The Vice Principal has been writing to me personally."

Hania frowned. "Why would an Academy be writing to you?"

"Because they want you." Lusha's voice was dry. "The Vice Principal believes you need a 'proper human education.' He believes you're being deprived of your cultural heritage and the Spider Kingdom is no place for a human child to grow up."

Hania snorted. "He sounds like a joy."

"He's persistent. I'll give him that." Lusha reached into a drawer and pulled out a small stack of papers. She handed them to Hania.

Hania unfolded the first letter. The handwriting was elegant.

To Her Majesty, Queen Lusha of Silkhariana,

I write to you once again regarding the matter of the human child, Hania Luxe Noctis. While I acknowledge your kingdom's sovereignty and your personal connection to the child, I must reiterate my concern for her development.

As a human, she requires human education, human social interaction and human cultural context. Without these things, she will grow up to be a stranger in her own skin. A creature caught between two worlds, belonging to neither.

I understand she is special and has connections to the Noctis bloodline. But I also understand that children need to be around their own kind. They need to see faces like their own, hear voices like their own, experience a world where they are not a novelty.

I am not asking you to surrender the child. I am asking you to consider her future.

Please. Let her attend the Academy. Let her learn what it means to be human.

With the utmost respect,

Master Valentin, Vice Principal

"Is this letter old?" Hania asked.

"About a year. Why?"

"Just curious." Hania folded it and set it aside. "What else?"

Lusha pulled out another letter. "This one is from the Magic Council. Dated last month."

Hania read it. It was much less polite.

Queen Lusha,

We have received no response to our previous sixteen letters. We are left to assume that you are deliberately withholding information about the princess in your custody.

We remind you that Hania Luxe Noctis is a human being, not a spider. She is not a citizen of your kingdom. She is not subject to your laws. She is a citizen of the Empire, and as such, she falls under the jurisdiction of the Magic Council.

If you do not provide proof of her wellbeing within the next thirty days, we will have no choice but to take more direct action.

We do not wish to escalate this matter. But we will not allow a child to be held against her will, regardless of your personal feelings.

The Council

Hania set the letter down. "They think you kidnapped me."

"They've always thought that. From the moment you fell into the coma, they've been convinced I stole you away from your father and forced him into hiding."

"That's insane."

"It's politics. The Council has never liked me. They've never liked the Spider Kingdom. They tolerate us because we're too powerful to ignore and too useful to destroy. But they've been looking for an excuse to interfere for centuries."

Hania's eyes narrowed. "And I'm the excuse."

"You're the perfect excuse. A human child, related to the Archmage of the North, living in the Spider Kingdom, displaying unusual magical abilities. They can't get to Dravin. But they can get to you."

"Can they?"

Lusha smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "They can try."

Lusha picked up another letter. "This one is from the Ant Queen of the Eastern Tunnels. She says she's 'concerned about the implications of a human heir to a spider throne.' She says it's 'unprecedented' and 'potentially destabilizing.' She says—"

"Let me guess. She wants me gone."

"She wants you dead, actually. But she's polite about it."

Hania blinked. "She wants me dead?"

"She's an ant. They're very territorial. The fact that a human is now second in line to the Spider Throne is... concerning to her. She sees it as a threat to the balance of power in the underground kingdoms."

Hania leaned back in her chair, processing. "So I have the Emperor, the Magic Council, the Great Academy, and an ant queen all wanting a piece of me. That's... a lot."

"That's not even all of them." Lusha gestured at the remaining letters. "There are more. Dukes, counts, minor nobles. Everyone wants to know where Dravin is, why you're here, and what it means for the political landscape. The succession crisis in the Empire is getting worse. The Emperor's health is failing. His heirs are circling each other like sharks. And you—" She pointed at Hania. "—are a wildcard. A Noctis heir with unknown loyalties and unknown power. Everyone wants to either control you or eliminate you."

"..."

"..."

"... So what did you do, Lusha?"

"Nothing! Just ignore them and enjoy your time, sweetie. I'll handle the rest." Lusha smiled.

"But they're all saying the same thing. I can't stay here."

Lusha's expression flickered. "Hania—"

"Let me finish." Hania held up a hand. "The Empire is threatening war. The Magical Council is demanding my return. The Grand Academy is offering me an 'education.' Everyone thinks you kidnapped me and wants me back in the empire."

"I don't care what they want."

"I know. That's why I love you." Hania smiled. "But I care about the consequences. If I stay here, the Empire will use me as an excuse to attack. They'll claim you're holding a child against her will. They'll rally the other kingdoms and start a war you can't win."

Lusha's spider legs twitched. "I can win any war."

"Maybe. But at what cost? How many spiders would die? How many weavers would lose their silk? How many families would be torn apart?"

Lusha was silent.

"I can't let that happen, just because of me," Hania said quietly.

"What are you suggesting?"

Hania took a breath. "I'm suggesting I leave."

Lusha's eyes flared. "Absolutely not."

"Listen to me." Hania leaned forward. "I'm not saying I'll abandon you or I'll stop being your heir. But I need to be strategic. I need to outmaneuver them. And the only way to do that is to play their game."

"What game?"

"The political game. The one they think I don't know how to play." Hania smiled. "They think I'm a child, don't they? So stall them until I turn twelve."

"Twelve?"

"Old enough to be taken seriously. Young enough to be underestimated. The perfect age for infiltration and manipulation."

Lusha was silent for a moment. Then she sighed.

"What's your plan?"

Hania's plan, as it turned out, was threefold.

Step One: Delay. Respond to the letters with diplomatic non-answers. Acknowledge the concerns, express appreciation for the interest, promise to consider the requests. Buy time.

Step Two: Prepare. Use the next three years to master weaving, master spider culture, master human politics. Build alliances and gather information. Become indispensable.

Step Three: Infiltrate. When she turns twelve, formally accept an invitation to study at the Grand Academy. Enter the empire not as a kidnapped child, but as a princess making a diplomatic visit.

"It's a terrible plan that might work."

"That's the best kind."

Lusha laughed. "You're insane. I knew this day would come," she said quietly. "From the moment you woke up, I knew you wouldn't stay forever."

Lusha shook her head, but she was smiling.

"Fine. We'll do it your way. But I have some conditions."

"Name them."

"You have to train every day. Weaving, combat, politics, strategy. No exceptions. You don't leave until you're ready... And please come back."

Hania met her eyes. "I promise."

Lusha pulled her into a hug. Her spider legs wrapped around Hania like a protective cocoon.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Lusha whispered.

"Hm."