Yes, Lady Funina!

What an unfamiliar word! How long has it been since Richard last heard this word? Since arriving in Fontainebleau, he seems to have been cut off from it.

This is why Richard has such a high opinion of Fontaine; at least she doesn't work overtime!

Don't be fooled by the fact that civil servants in Fontainebleau have a lot of miscellaneous and trivial matters on a daily basis. As long as you don't strive for advancement and leave work on time, no one will blame you.

For Richard, a seasoned veteran of the industry, these trivial matters were no challenge at all. With a little bit of connections, he quickly thrived in Fontainebleau and rose to the position of Executive Secretary.

If it weren't for Furnessa's arrival, and if he had sent away another Minister of State, he would have been the next Minister of State.

It seems that it's not that the civil servants in Fontainebleau aren't busy, but rather that someone is bearing the burden for them.

To be honest, the administrative departments are not particularly important in Fontainebleau. Although they are closely related to people's livelihoods, Fontainebleau, as a country of justice, can only support absolute justice if it has sufficient military force.

The courtroom is the true authority in Fontaine, so it's normal for them to work overtime and be a little busy.

The city hall is at most... a logistics department? That's definitely much easier than for their colleagues in the courtroom.

"Taking time off from your break, if I may ask, Clarinde, how long has it been since you left work on time?"

"Leave work on time?" Clorinde's delicate face froze. What did this have to do with her?

Richard decided to rephrase the question: "How do you usually determine when you'll leave work?"

“Once Funina returns to her palace, my guard duty will be over; in other words, I’ll be off duty,” Clorind said.

"So this is usually around..."

"It's hard to say. Sometimes it depends on what Funina wants. Sometimes the trials go on very late, around eight or nine o'clock at night, and sometimes they go back to the palace very early, around four or five o'clock," Clorind said as she recalled.

"After becoming the Minister of State, the time I spent returning to my palace became much more stable."

"It will definitely be after six or seven o'clock."

Listening to Clarinde's words, even Richard, an outsider, couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

This strongest duel agent lady has it tough too.

However, it's not easy to succeed, because the more difficult it is, the greater the chance that his plan will succeed.

If everything goes smoothly at this job, then Richard should be the one advising Claudia to change jobs, right?

"What about vacation time? You must have vacation time, right?" Richard asked, feigning concern, as if he genuinely cared about the other person's vacation time.

Claude didn't hide anything, after all, Richard could easily find out these things if he wanted to, so there was no need to hide them.

"Yes, generally there are shifts. As long as Funina's safety is guaranteed, someone else will cover my shift. Usually, we rotate every two weeks, but there may be emergency missions in between."

"So theoretically, there's a two-week vacation period, right?"

Upon hearing Richard's words, Claudia shook her head. If only that were true.

"Although that's how it is in theory, deviations inevitably occur when it comes to implementation. You know I'm a duel agent, and duel agents have other jobs besides dealing with suspects who are 'protecting reputation'."

"So the real implementation of leave is..."

“One day?” Clorind thought for a moment and then waved her hand.

"Anyway, during that period I was able to leave work on time, around five o'clock, and the rest of the time was completely my own—as long as no unexpected situations occurred."

Normally, unless there are many unexpected situations, Clarinde would not follow up with such a sentence.

So Richard deliberately asked, "Unexpected situation?"

"It's just that the courtroom is short-staffed. Whether it's to arrest dangerous suspects or to fill in for an emergency, life is always full of unexpected events. You just get used to it."

Richard: ...

Richard now seriously suspects that this aloof and cool woman isn't truly aloof, but rather that she's become somewhat numb from work, which is why she's so unsmiling.

But after all that buildup, Richard was finally ready to bring up the matter of his private secretary.

"Claurind, are you planning to change jobs?"

Volume 1: Chapter 21 Stealing the Corner

"Claurind, are you planning to change jobs?"

Claude was taken aback by Richard's words. What did he mean?

"I don't understand what you mean." Clorind felt that although her current job was busy, it was stable, and since Funina was her friend, she had no plans to change jobs.

“Furina is still short of a personal secretary. I’ve been doing the job myself, but that can’t go on forever. I have my own things to do, but this position isn’t one that just anyone can fill. After thinking it over, I finally thought of you.”

Richard knew that Claudia wouldn't agree easily, so he turned the papers in front of him around and pushed them in front of Claudia. Then he stood up, left his desk, and walked to the display window.

"Black tea or coffee? I also have some Fontaine," Richard said, looking at the drinks in the cabinet.

“Anything is fine, plain water is okay too,” Clarinde said.

"Then go for Fengda. No need to brew it, just open and enjoy." Richard weighed the canned drink in his hand and tossed it to Clarinde.

Claude took the drink and smiled, "The advertising idea is pretty good."

"There's something even better: the personal secretary position has a light workload, you can leave on time, and there's free afternoon tea every day. The main job is to arrange Funina's schedule, which will also make it easier for you to protect her."

“Besides that, you’re still the strongest dueling agent, and you don’t have to be as busy as before. Most importantly, you get a two-day weekend every week.” Richard stopped next to Clarinde, smiling as he gestured for a toast.

“Sounds good, but will the court release him?” Clarind clinked her can against Richard’s, and the sound of soft bubbles rose from inside the can.

"I'll handle that. With Lady Furina's influence, they probably won't make things difficult for us." Richard had already taken care of things at the court before meeting with Clorind, so transferring Clorind's file to the city hall shouldn't be a problem.

"You went to all this trouble just to find a secretary for Funina?" Clarinde was surprised, not expecting Richard to go to such lengths.

It's important to understand that because of the special status of the Tribunal in Fontainebleau, they are usually the ones poaching people from other departments. Richard is the only one who has actually taken the plunge into the Tribunal.

“You can’t underestimate the position of a private secretary; it’s crucial to the proper functioning of the city hall,” Richard said earnestly and seriously.

If Furina had actually carried out that plan, which was tantamount to a suicide terrorist attack, it's hard to say whether Fontaine would still have a city hall.

"Because of Funina's status, this personal secretary must be reliable enough. Can you imagine the consequences if a person with ulterior motives became Funina's personal secretary?"

A scene involuntarily flashed through Clarin's mind: Funina was enthusiastically counting Mora, while Richard behind her had already made a deal with someone else. The amount of the deal was exactly the amount of Mora that Funina had counted. Afterwards, Funina happily told Richard that the amount was correct.

Given Fulina's naiveté, if she were to encounter a private secretary with ill intentions, she would probably be sold out while still counting the money for the other party.

Thinking of this, Clarinde's gaze turned serious, but she still said with some uncertainty, "I understand, but... can I do it?"

She had no prior experience as a secretary, and generally speaking, if a problem could be solved with force, she would have no other option.

Moreover, a position like secretary inevitably involves dealing with people. While Clarinde felt that although she wasn't bad at speaking, she certainly wasn't eloquent either.

She was even labeled as difficult to get along with because of her cold appearance and unsmiling attitude. Only a few people knew that this strongest duel handler was actually quite easy to talk to.

Being cold on the outside but warm on the inside is a good description.

“Of course, no problem. In fact, among all the candidates, you were the first one I thought of. You are the most suitable one.” Seeing that Clarinde’s attitude had softened, Richard prepared to seize the opportunity and win her over.

"What about Lynette?" Clorinde thought Lynette would be a good fit, since she had been the one arranging Funina's schedule all along.

"You want to be my secretary?" Richard looked at Clarinde strangely. Don't you know that Lynette is his private secretary?

He's the kind of person who thinks, "I'll steal everyone else from the world, but no one else can steal me from the world." How could he possibly hand over his cat secretary, whom he painstakingly recruited from the Fools, to someone else, not even Funina?

“It’s not impossible. Okay, I agree.” Clarinde knew Richard was joking, but she also knew that it seemed she was the only one who could be her personal secretary.

“In that case, how about a pleasant collaboration?” Richard extended his hand to Clarinde.

"It's a pleasure working with you!" Claude took off her gloves and shook Richard's hand, which also signified that Claude had officially taken over the position of Private Secretary to the Minister of State.

Under Richard's guidance, Claudia quickly completed her inauguration procedures, including the handover of some duties within the courtroom.

Without Funina's knowledge, he suddenly became Funina's personal secretary.

To welcome their new colleague, Richard and Lynette prepared a small welcome tea party and onboarding training for Claudia.

Of course, most importantly, Fu Ningna was still absent from this training session.

In fact, Clarinde also wanted to call Frynn over, but Richard stopped her.

Just kidding. I called you over to discuss how to deal with Funina. Calling her over is like plotting in front of her.

Funina is just a little naive, not really stupid. You can't just say you want to rebel in front of people.

There's a saying that goes something like this: "Enter the village quietly, and don't fire your gun."

So, two very different beauties, one tall and one short, sat down on the sofa in Richard's office. Both of them were secretaries.

Keyword extraction: office, secretary, one man and two women...

Clarinde had already taken off her dueling agent uniform and changed into the attire of a secretary.

She wore a well-fitting women's suit jacket on top, the collar slightly open, revealing her fair neck and delicate collarbone, paired with a moderately long pencil skirt that accentuated her perfect figure, exuding both elegance and sexiness.

A pair of sheer black stockings encased her long, shapely legs, with a leather leg ring cinched around her full thighs. The ring had a slight indentation around its edge, creating a visually suggestive effect of constriction.

Clarinde wasn't exactly a skinny woman; she was voluptuous with beautiful curves, truly the epitome of plus-size. The worldly-wise Richard understood that such beauties were the real predators.

Meanwhile, this 'man-eating' beauty was sitting upright on the sofa, listening to the advice of her two senior colleagues, Richard and Lynette.

"Let's begin today's topic: how to stop Minister Furnessa's 'complete transformation' plan proposed yesterday."

PS: 500 pulls for a fully maxed-out Fou, haha, miHoYo's scriptwriters... haha... macaroni... ⑦

Volume 1: Chapter 22 When did I get a personal secretary? 4

"Wait, stop her?" Clarinde had expected Richard to discuss how to better assist Frynn, but instead, he immediately told her to stop Frynn from implementing her decrees.

This gave Clarind a sense of absurdity, as if she had thought herself a loyal and righteous subject, but was actually the biggest rebel leader. ③

Shouldn't a secretary's duty be to better serve the minister? 2

When Claudia raised this question, Richard replied, "That depends on how you define the word 'assistant'."

In a broad sense, the word "assist" means to help or assist others in completing a task or achieving a goal.

"In politics, the military, or other fields, assistance typically refers to helping others manage, make decisions, or act to achieve common goals. This assistance can include providing advice, opinions, support, resources, or other help to enhance the capabilities and effectiveness of the person being assisted."

"But have you considered this question, Ms. Clarind?"

"What if the decision made by the person being assisted was flawed from the very beginning? What should be done then?"

Richard's words made Claurind think deeply. Yes, decision-makers are human too, and humans are bound to make mistakes.

If the assistant continues to help the other party at this time, it will only lead them further down the wrong path. The correct approach is to correct the other party before they make a mistake.

Claude understood Richard's meaning; he believed that the decree that Funina had proposed a few days ago was wrong and therefore had to be stopped.

The problem is that Clarinde doesn't think that cleaning up the department is a wrong thing. On the contrary, she believes that doing so can effectively prevent corruption and promote integrity within the department.

“But the problem is, what Funina wants to do is not just prevention, she wants to eradicate it completely,” Richard corrected. She wants to uproot her own roots!

Why is Your Majesty plotting a rebellion?

According to Furina's plan, she intended to bring everything from the past to the future to the forefront, like the trial at the Opiclie Opera House, putting everything into the sunlight.

Unlike trials, some things within the city hall are shady and should not be the subject of trials. Often, what seems unreasonable is actually the best way to handle things at the time.

These things cannot be explained by law.

"So you actually don't approve of Funina interfering in the court's special struggle?"

“I don’t disagree, but I feel that Funina was being inconsiderate,” Richard replied succinctly.

Claude bluntly replied, "If that's the case, why didn't you object directly back then? You even smiled at me. I thought you would be happy to do such a thing."

“Ms. Clorind, there are many kinds of laughter: happy laughter, unhappy laughter, helpless laughter, forced laughter… Besides, no one wants to do things outside their job responsibilities for no reason, especially when such things not only won't bring you any benefits but will also add to your troubles.”

"But aren't those grades?" Claude looked puzzled. Don't you want to improve?

“It’s an achievement, but the problem is that Funina isn’t satisfied with it,” Richard said.

Is handling old cases a political achievement? Of course it is, but the problem is that Fulina is like a wild horse that has broken free of its reins. Not only does she want to eat, but she also wants to overturn the pot that's cooking.

"What she wanted was a clean, transparent, and flawless government department."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Clarin asked, puzzled.

At this point, Lynette spoke up, saying in a cool tone, "That's a contradictory phrase in itself. You can be clean and transparent, or you can have a government department."

"In other words, do you think the Shadow Hunters of the Inquisition should have given a public announcement to the people of Fontainebleau before taking action?"

“Of course not. The operation is absolutely confidential. If it is leaked, the difficulty of the capture will increase exponentially,” Clarind retorted instinctively, then she understood what Lynette meant.

“Similarly, if a department’s policies are known to the vast majority of people, the difficulty of implementation will increase exponentially. Do you think Funina can come up with a decision that satisfies everyone?” Richard said with a smile.

Clarind didn't need to think at all to conclude that it was impossible.

"Forgive my bluntness, but what Funina wants to implement is not a decree, but political suicide. Stopping her will benefit both us and her."