A weird dream. That's exactly what Corvus thought it was. He felt like he was tightly wrapped in his own blanket, keeping it nice and cozy. He didn't open his eyes. Just a few more minutes of sleep then go to the lecture.
"Excuse me, Ilyana."
In the hallway, a man's voice echoed. The maid Ilyana stopped suddenly. The baby in her hands, wrapped in her own web, startled awake as well.
Corvus started to sweat. This was not a dream, he thought.
Cassian walked up to Ilyana. His white gloves were a cultural thing to showcase he was peaceful.
"I was supposed to meet lady Lyssandra at this hour but I haven't seen her since we arrived in the palace. Do you perhaps know where she is?"
He glanced down at Corvus.
Ilyana's spider's eyes glowed and webs appeared out of thin air, forming letters that Corvus couldn't understand.
"I see, it is important to tend to a newborn," he paused.
A little girl came running down the hallway. Her shoes would get stuck on the silk floor sometimes and she would be flung forward. Yet she would always manage to catch herself.
"Father, father," the girl said as she ran into his leg. She looked up with big eyes, "Can we go play with the webs?"
The girl had a small plant on her head with a single pink flower. Corvus felt an intense pull towards her.
Cassian patted her on her head. "Sure Aurelia. After this conversation with Ilyana," he said.
Aurelia jumped up and down. Then her eyes were glued onto the baby.
[System Activation: Flower Harem God System]
A notification came from the depths of Corvus' soul. The notification didn't have a voice.
[Bonding with an Oleander will allow for the use of Poison magic]
Corvus looked at Aurelia and back at Cassian.
[Current bond: None]
He felt a slight panic. The previous system message told him he didn't have any magic so his only chance was to connect with this flower girl. The voice didn't come back. Ilyana and Cassian were still talking.
He's read novels with systems before yet this one didn't answer anything. It didn't give him any quest. It didn't help him understand his situation. He got an ache in his throat.
Two small hands covered his eyes.
"Boo."
Corvus could see again. He looked up and saw Aurelia's big blue eyes staring back at him.
Cassian grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Aurelia, what did I tell you?"
Aurelia's face turned into a pout.
"Not to bother the baby spiders," she mumbled.
Cassian apologized to Ilyana and took Aurelia away.
Corvus looked at the duo as they walked away.
Aurelia turned her head and their eyes met. She waved.
Now Ilyana was staring at Corvus. A minute passed by as Corvus was being examined. The maid's piercing gaze felt like it was staring right into his soul. Then her spider casted another magic. The outline of a flower made of web and some sort of kanji-like letter. Ilyana pointed to the hallway where the flowers left and then back to the letter. She was teaching him how to read their silk language.
It didn't take a genius to realize that this letter meant Oleander. Corvus committed this act to memory. Maybe she could help him escape his fate of being eaten.
Ilyana stopped in front of a big door made of pink webs. The silk opened itself and Ilyana stepped inside. It was a big bed chamber; a large webbed bed stood in the middle, made from the same pink spider silk.
Ilyana removed her webs from Corvus and laid him on the bed. She made another letter and pointed to a normal door before leaving him alone in this room.
No one showed up so Corvus started going through the events that happened. Reincarnation or transmigration, it didn't matter to him. His throat was scratchy. He started to sniffle. He didn't get a chance to say goodbye to his dad.
"Fuck," he thought.
The thought of leaving him the same way his mom left him, it broke Corvus' heart. His baby face was contorting in weird ways.
"A man shouldn't hold in his tears," his father had told him when they were at his mom's grave.
Corvus let out his baby voice and cried.
The door sprung open and Lyssandra came out. With her hair wrapped in a towel, she picked Corvus up.
"What's wrong little Corvi?" her worried expression made her seem more human.
Her spider was caressing Corvus' spider. A few moments later, he was able to control himself better. The scratchiness in his throat was gone. It felt comforting. He wondered if that is what having a mother would've felt like on Earth. But he shook his head. This woman wasn't his mother, she was the matriarch. She said he would be eaten. A sacrifice.
Lyssandra kissed her baby on his cheek and then proceeded to wrap him up in some of the webs from the bed. Corvus' stomach grumbled. The matriarch chuckled.
"Seems like you're hungry little Corvi," she said.
She got up and grabbed a book. It had a big spider and a little spider on the cover. Corvus was staring at her. Why is she reading a book about babies when she already raised a daughter?
Lyssandra noticed. She hid her face behind the book.
"Why do I feel like you're judging me?" she whispered.
Her spider looked at him and then back at her. She put the book away and picked up Corvus.
"Let's get you the finest milk of the Black Widows," Lyssandra said.
They left the room and headed towards the kitchen. The palace felt like a maze. Some doors were on the roof. Others upside down. They stopped after reaching the dining hall. Maids were waiting in every corner, standing on walls or hanging from the roof.
Lyssandra sat down on a chair that seemed fit for royalty. Then Ilyana walked in with 20 different bottles filled with milk. She took one, readying herself to feed Corvus as she used to feed Valerica.
"What are you doing?" Lyssandra hissed.
The maid flinched and looked at her.
"I'm simply going to feed Corvus my lady," she answered in a silk sign.
"I will feed him myself."
Ilyana froze. The Matriarch feeding her son?
Lyssandra grabbed a bottle and held it in front of Corvus' mouth.
"Wait my lady," a sign appeared in front of her face.
Lyssandra raised an eyebrow, "What?"
Ilyana lowered her gaze.
"If you wish to feed him yourself, it would be better to let him drink directly from your body."
Lyssandra stood silent for a minute. Her ears turned red.
"You mean let him suck on my breast like a barbarian?" she finally said.
Ilyana nodded timidly.
"It would benefit both the child and the mother by bonding in this way," a silk sign formed.
Lyssandra thought for another moment.
"I suppose if he grows up strong, then Valerica will benefit as well," she said.
She grabbed Corvus and returned to her room. Corvus' face turned beet red. No way he could enjoy being breastfed by a beautiful woman. He's being fattened up like a pig for slaughter.