The second female lead Dual Cultivates

With Suna out of the mix, it left Maria alone with Noa and the air turned awkward. It was thought to start any conversation because of the tense air between them.

"Nao, is everything alright between us? I thought we were fighting and then that night happened and once it was over, we both went to our past attitudes. We never addressed the problem" Maria opened with hesitation.

This was probably the worst time to start such a high-emotion conversation. Maria should have ideally waited till they were at a secure location before opening this can of worms.

But that right location might never come if Maria left it all up to Nao to decide. Maria has given Nao enough time to gather her courage and come forth on her terms. She had even created opportunities by leaving herself vulnerable but Nao had never taken them.

Thus, Maria would have to take matters into her own hands. Also, this was not a situation Nao could flee from so it was an opportunity as well.

"Is there a reason things should not be alright between us?" Nao asked, her voice sounding genuinely puzzled. It made Maria falter in her train of thoughts.

Had she been the only one having these doubts about their relationship and what this fight would do for them? They had never really fought before and Maria felt afraid of what would happen next.

"I just thought that you would still be angry with me. I did make the mistake of keeping things from you" Maria admitted her mistake. Not that she thought of her actions as a mistake

And that was also why she did not apologize for her choice. That must have not escaped Nao's notice but she was also nice enough not to bring notice to it.

"Every relationship has fights, some major and some minor. I'm not angry and I do understand your point of view. I'll come around eventually so don't mind my feelings that much. My feelings and even yours don't matter in front of the mission" Noa spoke those words as she believed them.

Maria did not know how any of Nao's other relationships had worked for her to be able to say that with such confidence. But Maria knew their current relationship was not such. It needed communication to uproot the festering wounds.

The anger brewing inside Maria at those words was sudden and explosive. It left Maria panting in anger and her eyes red with tears.

"Our feelings matter. Mine and yours and Suna's. Heck, even the royal guards and Neha's. They all do matter to me" Maria felt it all explode out in one go.

Her words poured themselves out of her mouth before she could stop herself and then she took a look at Nao's expression. It was blanker than any time Maria had seen and it left her with an awkward feeling.

"Ugh, guys. I reached the panel and switched the light on but there is a teeny tiny problem. This place is not as empty as we thought" Their conversation never got resolved since Suna chose this moment to contact them back.

Suna's voice cut through the tension and knocked the other two back into their right mind. An angry flush blew upon their faces as soon as they realized just how badly they had been performing. Had they been about to almost fight over nothing?

"Suna, can you explain clearly what the problem is? I don't think we can figure it out from just tour hints" Maria took a deep breath before asking this question. She had to bite her tongue as to not ask stupid questions.

She did feel relieved with the timely intervention though. It had been getting close to dangerous for her with those questions.

"I ah, it's hard to explain for me as well. You see, there is a guard in here but he's sleeping and not a threat to me. I don't know how to handle this situation" Suna asked and her voice did sound panicky to Maria.

But the news of a new person inside the room was surprising. Maria was so sure that no one had been inside the room since her system had not picked up any reading. Could there be a mistake on her part?

"Does that person look dangerous? Human or demon?" Nao picked up Maria's train of thoughts right away. A person unaccounted for was never a good idea to ignore. Especially in abandoned places.

"He doesn't look dangerous. Rather, he looks like your average kid of around sixteen. He's also sleeping right on top of the safe case so I can't avoid him either'' Suna complained and Maria heard the hint of panic beginning to sneak into her voice.

Suna was also progressively getting louder by the second in her panic, totally forgetting that she had to be quiet to not wake up the guard.

"Don't panic Suna. Keep your calm and listen to one on what to do next. We are coming in there to help you so do not make any noise" Nao's voice sounded commanding. It was one she liked to use when she wanted things done her way.

Noa hadn't had that voice aimed at her but she wanted it to be. Something was arousing about that voice. The tenure of her pitch was low and tickled Maria's ears.

"Ok. I'll wait for you two here" Suna's voice came from the speaker but it was meeker than before. Nao's voice had affected her badly and it made Maria want to do things and have things done to her.

And there went her mind in the gutter.

"Let's go. Suna is not going to stay calm for long" Nao complained as she entered the doorway. Maria entered a few seconds apart but the place already felt dark to her. Nothing was visible for miles ahead and Maria instantly found a wall to follow.

Chances were that the control panel for the light switches was on one of the internal walls. Maria just needed to find the panel and then this darkness would be gone.

But the more she walked, the more the corridor seemed to be stretching itself. Her surroundings were not changing and even her hand felt the same texture. The only thing that seemed to be moving was her feet and the scent of magic was thickening in the air.

They had been careless and fell into an enemy trap. Now it was too late to be able to escape without fighting their way out. And none of them was in any condition for a heavy fight to take place.