CHAPTER 33: CONFLICATED EMOTIONS AND READINGS.

"Maria~ Maria~." The sound of Seraphina’s voice came from behind.

Maria, who had initially been walking down the hallway, turned to look at her.

Upon veering around, she was shocked to see how brightly Seraphina was beaming. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, and even more shocking, she was skipping like a child.

"Well, you seem rather happy this morning, did you sleep in the mansion? I thought you headed home last night."

Seraphina finally stopped right in front of Maria, her arms cupping her cheeks as she blushed even more.

"Eh? You think so? Hm~ I guess it will be obvious, heheh~ hehe~"

Maria stared at her for a while, wondering what could have gotten into her.

But knowing Seraphina, she figured it was something that had to do with money, so she didn’t bother asking.

Yet, just as she was about to turn around, Seraphina uttered,

"Are you going to wake Lord Dorian up?"

Maria paused. "Yes, the soldiers are gathered at the training ground; he is supposed to be there."

"I see..." Seraphina pushed her middle fingers against one another, her face red as she concentrated on the floor.

At this point, Maria was getting irritated.

It was obvious Seraphina wanted to tell her something, and she was waiting for Maria to speak first about it.

Not wanting to have to deal with her for the rest of the day, Maria decided to take the bait.

"What happened?" she led.

"W-what do you mean?" Seraphina was quick to reply, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You obviously want to tell me something, so just get with it already."

Seraphina suddenly glanced left and right, checking if anyone was coming.

Once she saw the path was clear, she leaned forward, cupping her hands around her lips.

"Listen, yesterday," she glanced once more to the side, "I managed to have sex with Lord Dorian."

Maria froze, her eyes straying to the front before she shifted them back to Seraphina.

"It’s just as you told me," Seraphina continued, "If I want my love to reach him, I just have to keep pushing, and eventually he will give in. heheh~ you should have seen his face; he was in such disbelief."

"I didn’t think you’d take my advice seriously, did you—" Maria shook her head, halting her next words. "Never mind, we should go wake him up."

Seraphina noticed a change in her mood. No, she had expected it.

Ever since she had been working for Dorian, of everyone in the castle, Maria was the hardest person to read. It wasn’t like she wore her emotions on her sleeves either.

Still, when Seraphina realized she had feelings for her Lord, Maria was the first person she asked for advice, mainly because, according to the rumors, she had known him for the longest.

She did expect to use this as a means to finally understand what goes through Maria’s head; however, to her surprise, Maria gave her the advice with no reaction to it either.

If it were any other person, they would have seen it and figured Maria didn’t care one bit. Seraphina was different; perhaps it was because she loved Dorian, but she could tell Maria does indeed love him as well.

Every morning, Seraphina had often caught Maria peeping into Dorian’s room for a long time before walking in to wake him. Sometimes she would stare at him in such a way one could not mistake it for anything else.

And right now, the pace at which Maria looked away only further solidified her theory.

"Maria—" the wind howled, blowing the bottom of her dresses, "Are you in love with Lord Dorian?"

There was no reply.

Maria kept her back turned, her fist suddenly closing.

Just as she was about to turn—

"Uhn? Why didn’t either of you come to wake me?"

Immediately, they both tuned out of their serious tension, facing forward where they could see Dorian walking towards them.

"Lord Dorian," they called out together.

As Dorian approached, they could clearly see the exhaustion on his face. It seemed as if he had shed a significant amount of fat in a single day.

His first action upon approaching them was to rest his hand against the wall.

"Lord Dorian, you look...terrible..." Maria blurted out.

Dorian stood up in response, his hand resting at his head.

"I am just tired; come on, let’s go."

He walked away while gripping the side of his head.

"G-good morning, Lord Dorian." Seraphina immediately ran after him. "Ehnnn, you do look awful, my lord."

"Shut up."

Maria looked sideways, her fist clenched once more, her hands tightly clasped as she watched them leave.

"Maria?!"

Her eyes snapped open, looking to see Dorian standing at the front and looking at her.

"Are you good?" he asked, while using one of his hands to try and stop Seraphina from hugging him.

"Y-yes, I was just lost in thought, is all," she began walking towards him.

"Thought? Are you worried about today? Don’t worry, I doubt you’ll break too many bones."

Dorian turned around, also walking as Seraphina clung to his right hand.

"Bones? What are you having me do, my lord?" Maria’s expression turned into one of disgust.

To which Dorian waved his hand, "You worry too much; you’ll be fine."

Maria sighed.

As she followed at the side, she realized Dorian’s other hand was free, different from the other that was being squashed by Seraphina’s boobs.

Gulping down her saliva, Maria wanted to try it as well, reaching out to grab his hand.

Or that was the plan, at least.

Pa!

She suddenly slapped herself.

This, of course, drew Dorian and Seraphina’s attention, as they looked at her with shock, wondering if she had lost her mind.

"Y-you good?"

"Y-yes, my lord."

...

Soon, Dorian and Maria headed toward the training ground, while Seraphina made her way to the mining ground.

...

[A/N]

After checking, I realized Maria had the highest vote; as such, her pov will be coming next. Maria isn’t a character that I expect you to understand too easily; she rarely shares emotions, and as such, a pov is the best way to understand her better.

Oh, and also, thank you all for the power stones from the last challenge. I didn’t expect it to reach 50, so let’s do it again.

I’ll drop an extra Chapter from the daily 2 Chapters anytime we get to 50 power stones.

And for 15 golden tickets, I’ll do the same.

Hm, I also hope we can get 100 privilege unlocks as well. Thank you for reading.