The second female lead Dual Cultivates

"Sir, we've managed to secure princess Trisha in our custody. Also, the intruders inside the palace had been repelled by our forces. Everything is under control now, President Rosewell" the elder man looked at the guard that had presented him with the information with an unreadable face.

The expression on the President's face looked closed off but it also had just a hint of satisfaction mixed into it that reassured the guard that he had done well. The president was likely pleased with the effort being put up.

"I see. And what about Lucas? Has he gained consciousness yet? Has he talked?" Elder Rosewell asked, sounding a little impatient and the guard hesitated to answer. He did not want to answer the elder because he knew it would piss him off but staying mute here was not an option either.

In the end, he decided to tell the elder what he had heard from his colleagues and if the worst came his way, he would blame someone else for this information and wash it off of his hands entirely.

"Sir, your son has gained consciousness but he refuses to say anything. According to him, he had one too many glasses of drinking that caused him to lose consciousness but we found no traces of the foreign substance in his blood, nor did we find any excessive amount of alcohol" the blond elder hummed thoughtfully.

It might have been the confirmation the elder needed to solidify his claims about this issue but the guard was not sure. He could not read the elder, despite his experience in dealing with him. The elder seemed like a changed person every day and maybe that was why his opponents in the courthouse were also not able to counter him.

"And what about Lady Elma's escort? Did you find her at least?" Now, this the guard had an answer for and he puffed his chest out in pride before replying.

"Of course. Lady Elma's escort was seen leaving the perimeters alone a little over an hour ago and alone. We further investigated and found that there was no way she could have been involved in things. The timing doesn't match" the guard assured, lying out of his teeth.

He was not sure why Lady Elma had asked him to lie about her escort and send her home early but the guard was more than happy to do her lady this tiny favour. Maybe it would also lead to something between him and Lady Elma in the future?

Well, not likely but he could always dream about these things, could he not? It did not harm anyone in the slightest even if he did do it.

"You're dismissed then. You along and join you post" the elder dismissed and it took a few seconds for the guard to figure out that it had been him that had been addressed. He had been a little too lost in his thoughts to pay attention to what had been happening around him.

But as soon as the orders came in, he bowed to the President in front of him before joining his post back with an almost skip in his steps.

"Not involved, huh? You're one crafty lady, Elma. But it's time you are brought down" the elder muttered as he opened a chessboard in front of him and moved a piece from the opposite side.

……..…………………..

"I'm out? It's been months since the last time I've been out here. It feels good" princess Trisha exclaimed as she took in the vibrant scenery in front of her. This was the last stretch of the royal palace and the courthouse before they would be out.

Ideally, they should have gotten going but Trisha had gotten nostalgic and Maria had folded like paper under her demand of 'five more minutes. She tried to justify her actions as sensible but even Maria knew she was acting out of pure nostalgia here.

"I know this place is beautiful but we really should be going now. We don't want to get caught" Maria reminded but it looked like her words were falling on deaf ears. The princess was in her head right now, likely going through her memory and it was a dangerous headspace if one was not knocked out.

"Suna, no" Maria yanked at Suna's shirt as the female tried to make a dash for a small butterfly in the bush in front of her. The animal instincts must be strong for her to show this much canine behaviour and it worried Maria.

Would Suna ever go back to normal? Or was he stuck like this forever? Maria had no time to ask these questions from Lady Elma beforehand and now it seemed like such an oversight on her part. It just confirmed her belief that she was not made for planning and strategy.

"Suna, Trisha, we need to leave now. The guards are coming" Maria yelled without actually yelling and it worked. The other two finally ventured back to her side with a guilty expressions on their faces and Maria finally finished decoding the device Lady Elma had given her.

As she had suspected, it had not been Imu's technology but it had not mattered in front of her system. It had decoded it in a matter of minutes and had uncovered another set of coordinates inside the coded data.

It had to be the site of the meeting Lady Elma wanted them to make their way toward and Maria decided to risk it to reach there. She wanted to finish the node business and then use the extra time to get out of this place, or even get Suna treated for her injury.

But the carrier of the key seems to have other plans and Maria felt like she was being swept with the flow along the way. She also felt like she was getting invested in plots she should have no connection with and it sucked. It had been her companions' job to make sure she was on track but it had not exactly worked out in her favour.

Thankfully, the road toward the coordinates was empty and they managed to avoid all the patrolling units along the way. They didn't even realise that they had been so close to the base when Maria saw a little deep in her system indicating an intruder nearby.

Suna growled and attacked before Maria could form any semblance of thought and held the other by her neck in a submissive position. Whines and growls rose through the canopy and the hybrid body beneath Suna's locked itself to get Suna off of herself.

And when Maria finally had a good look at her, it looked like the other was a bird-demon hybrid with feathers on her neck and other parts. Her stomach also looked pregnant and Maria tried not to stare at the indecent state Suna had left her in.

"Get your mutt off me" the other growled, clutching her stomach protectively"