Yes, Lady Funina!

"I...I don't know!" Fucaros turned her face away. "Shouldn't this be something the man should be thinking about?"

Do you expect me, a girl, to teach you how to pursue myself?

That would be too much of a waste; even Funina wouldn't do something like that!

"Think it over carefully before you answer, I have something on you!" Fukalos said, mimicking a villain's line he often heard at the Opiclie Opera.

"Mr. Richard, you wouldn't want your crimes to be known by others, would you?"

Oh no, why does this water god always have an indelible Inazuma vibe?

“In fact, as long as I don’t admit it, without evidence, even you, Fucarus, can’t falsely accuse a law-abiding citizen, right?” Richard remained completely calm.

“You admit it!” Fukalos seized on the loophole in Richard’s words. If it weren’t Richard, he would never have said something like ‘as long as I don’t admit it.’

"Then I'll take it as an admission." Richard stopped pretending and laid his cards on the table: I am that big corrupt official, so what?

Fukaros had never seen such an arrogant 'criminal' before. Even after being caught, he still dared to flaunt his power in front of her, the goddess of justice, completely disregarding her.

When Fukalos saw Richard suddenly stand up from his seat and move closer to him, he unconsciously took a few steps back, bumped into the chair behind him, and plopped down on it.

Before Fukalos could even ponder why the offensive and defensive strategies had suddenly shifted, Richard had already walked up to her.

"W-what are you going to do?" she asked, somewhat flustered.

Shouldn't I be the one threatening you? It feels like... I'm the one being threatened now.

"My esteemed Lord Fucarus, what can I do to make you keep this secret for me?"

"Gulp." Fukaros looked at Richard, who was so close to her, and subconsciously swallowed nervously.

But it was this one action that seemed to cause Richard to misunderstand something.

All she heard was the man say, "I understand," and then Fukalos felt Richard pinch her chin.

Wait... what did you understand?

Before Fukaros could even open her mouth, she was already speechless. In fact, because she wanted to speak, Richard easily captured her pink tongue when their lips met.

"Hmm..." Fukalos struggled symbolically for a couple of moments, then fell silent, even closing her eyes, completely absorbed in the kiss.

'So this is what kissing feels like... Although it's a bit different from what I expected, it doesn't seem so bad?' Fukaros thought.

After a long silence, their lips parted, and the girl's face, as delicate as a peach blossom, heard the man opposite her say with a hateful smile:

"Ms. Fukaros, are you satisfied with my hush money?"

Chapter 184 How does Lord Fukaros taste? (6K)

Is this how you pay hush money?

Fukaros wanted to reprimand Richard, but when she thought about how he had only made a token struggle before giving up and fully immersing himself in the wonderful kissing, she lost the confidence to reprimand him.

He could only say, somewhat hesitantly, "Couldn't you have told me beforehand?"

What kind of surprise attack is this?

"What should I say in advance?" Richard looked at Fucarus with a leisurely air, deliberately speaking in the tone of someone being coerced, "Is it something like—'Lady Fucarus, I promise I'll do whatever you say, please don't tell anyone about this'?"

Fukaros didn't know how to answer, but Richard had a playful smile on his face: "However, since Lady Fukaros has accepted all the benefits, I hope that she will keep her promise."

"Where did I receive any benefits?" Fukalos was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. Was that a benefit for me? It looked more like I was giving you benefits.

"Okay, I understand what you mean."

"Wait... ugh!"

You understand what? You understand! You don't understand at all, ugh...

After another heated debate with Fucarus, Fucarus's greedy appetite was finally temporarily satisfied. Poor Mr. Richard, because someone had something on him, had no choice but to submit to the cherry lips of the goddess of justice, which was very painful.

Panting, Fukaros saw that Richard was still planning to pay hush money, so she quickly covered her slightly reddened lips with her delicate white hands, her eyes filled with panic.

No, we can't kiss anymore. If Lynette comes back soon, she'll find out.

If Lynette found out that Richard had forced her to kiss him like that, what authority would she have left in Lynette's eyes? How would she lead the team in the future?

Richard thought that if Lynette witnessed this scene, she would most likely become very jealous. Well, she might even ask Fukaros for advice and experience while she was jealous, and then apply it to herself.

"Lord Fucarus, are you satisfied with this hush money?"

"Is this hush money?" Fucaros couldn't help but retort.

Then, seeing that Richard was about to cover for her again, she quickly said, "Satisfied, satisfied, I'm satisfied, okay? I promise I won't tell anyone, and you shouldn't kiss me anymore, at least... not here..."

Does that mean anywhere else will do?

Before Richard could ask the question, Lynette returned from running errands outside.

"Lady Fukaros, the notice has been posted... Why is your face so red?" Lynette asked suspiciously.

Fukaros subconsciously reached up and touched her face, then, meeting Lynette's suspicious gaze, forced herself to remain calm and said, "It's a bit hot in here."

Lynette glanced at the half-open window. Winter had just ended, and Fontaine was in the most pleasant season. With the windows open for ventilation, the office temperature, no matter how high, couldn't possibly be high enough to make someone blush.

It was obvious that Fukaros was lying; her blushing had no necessary connection to temperature, and it was probably related to someone in the same office.

Lynette didn't directly expose her new boss; she simply nodded and then walked to the window, opening it fully.

Fukalos then noticed that the window was actually open, and her previous excuse was clearly invalid.

Now our Lady Fukaros blushed even more. She caught sight of Richard looking at her with a smile, and immediately glared back at him with a cute but fierce look.

Seeing Richard's arrogance, Fucarus had an idea. He coughed and said to Lynette, "Lynette, I've found some clues about that corrupt official that Vilette mentioned earlier. Would you like to hear about it?"

As she said this, Fukaros glanced at Richard out of the corner of her eye, thinking, "Let's see if you panic now."

You dare to shut me up in front of Lynette?

Richard certainly wouldn't shut Fucarus up in front of the cat, but he also didn't take Fucarus's 'threat' to heart.

Lynette looked at Richard with some confusion, as if asking with her eyes: Should we tell Lord Fukaros about this?

Richard responded with an "agree" look.

Seeing Richard so confident and even flirting with his permanent secretary, Fukalos suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I already know who it is, Lord Fukaros."

"You...you know?"

"It's Richard, right?"

Although Fukaros had been mentally prepared, she was still somewhat dazed when she actually heard Lynette mention Richard's name.

I was so stupid... really. Since I knew that Lynette had been Richard's secretary all along, I should have assumed that Lynette must have known about this.

Fukaros couldn't help but think of a question—which side is Lynette on?

As her executive secretary, Lynette would normally be on her side, but that's not the case. Judging from her performance just now, there's no doubt that her capable assistant, Miss Lynette, is completely on Richard's side.

How could this be? This is clearly my office, but among the three people, I feel like the outsider.

“Lord Fucarus, what were you trying to say? A clue? Hmm? You seem to have forgotten our agreement.” Richard’s words interrupted Fucarus’s lament.

When Fukalos saw the smile on Richard's face, his heart skipped a beat. Oh no, he had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.

I originally intended to scare Richard and make him less arrogant, but instead of scaring Richard, it seems like I'm about to get myself into trouble.

"Hey, can we reconcile?"

"Of course, that's assuming you're willing to pay a good price."

"Well……"

Lynette didn't know what had happened between Richard and Fucarus, but she knew that Fucarus definitely hadn't gotten the better of Richard.

But for some reason, I always felt that Lord Fukaros's expression was so unnatural when Richard talked about the price.

And I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but Lady Fukaros seems to be looking in my direction the whole time.

Does she want me to save her?

From this perspective, it seems that Lady Fukaros and Lady Funina are actually not that different.

Well, strictly speaking, they are actually the same person.

"Should we tell Lady Funina about this?" Linette asked, ultimately changing the subject for Fucaros.

After all, Fukaros is now somewhat of her superior, and she naturally has to give her superior face. Moreover, based on Lynette's understanding of Richard, even if she defends Fukaros now, things will still be the same later. Richard won't let this matter pass so easily.

Therefore, helping Fukaros change the subject right now is a favor that Lynette can easily gain, so she might as well take it.

As expected, after hearing Lynette change the subject for her, Fukaros gave the cat a grateful look. If this were a game, you could see 'Affection +1' constantly popping up above her head.

“I don’t care.” Richard genuinely didn’t care about this kind of thing. If this had happened before the crisis was resolved, he might have worried about whether it would affect Funina’s trust in him.

But Richard is not worried at all now. He might tell Funina the truth, and she might even help him conceal his identity as a corrupt official. He is afraid that Richard might accidentally be arrested and taken to Petersburg one day.

"So why did you do this in the first place?" Fukalos was puzzled. Knowing Richard as she did, he clearly didn't lack money, so why would he protect those corrupt officials?

“I have never protected those officials. Haven’t you noticed that those officials who have made deals with me and couldn’t uphold their principles are already undergoing labor reform in Melo Petersburg?” Richard said with a smile.

Hmm... Thinking about it that way, it seems to make sense. Including the corruption chain that was uprooted this time, Richard seems to have completed the purge of all the corrupt officials related to him, except for himself.

And it didn't leave any evidence; everything looked so natural, without any trace of human intervention, as if it were all just an accident.

If it weren't for the deep spiritual connection with Richard, Fukaros would probably have believed that there really was such a corrupt official in the Moman Palace.

Moreover, upon closer examination, the downfall of these corrupt officials actually streamlined and rectified the internal atmosphere of the Mo Mang Palace. While shedding a major burden, it also made it easier to achieve the intended goals of the separation of powers.

"Was this all part of your plan?" Fucaros couldn't help but ask.

“It’s just a coincidence.” Richard looked at Fukalos, whose face was full of disbelief, and knew that the other party was already convinced that this was all his “conspiracy.”

At this moment, Fucarus was thinking, to borrow a phrase from a play: 'This boy is cunning and scheming; we must never make an enemy of him.'

“In fact, the reason I did this is more or less related to you.” Richard shrugged. Whether Fukaros believed it or not, that was the truth.

"What do you mean?" Fukaros felt that Richard was not the kind of person who would make baseless accusations. Moreover, the other party had no reason to lie. Even if Richard really embezzled, could she arrest Richard and put him on trial?

Even if she could do it, Fukaros would never do it, because without Richard, even if she could deceive the heavens in the end, she herself would perish as a result.

From this perspective, Richard was also her benefactor. It's one thing if she didn't repay him with her body, but how could she possibly be ungrateful?

Therefore, unless Richard is truly caught red-handed and his crimes are too numerous to count, Fucarus would never bring him to trial.

Applying classic theory, as long as you don't get caught, it's not considered a crime.

Call it favoritism or personal bias, but when it comes to Richard's problems, the scales of justice of Fucarus, the god of justice, selectively turn into a 'black-hearted scale'.

After all, even the laws of nature cannot be absolutely fair. If they could be absolutely fair, there wouldn't be so many people in Teyvat thinking of rebelling against them.

Besides... she served five hundred years in prison for Fontaine, so what's wrong with being a little biased? The little Mora that Richard embezzled can be considered as payment for saving Fontaine. If she had known Richard had this ability five hundred years earlier, she would have given him not only Mora, but even the position of the Water God!

“When I was watching the trial before, I discovered that the Proclamation Machine could generate legal compensation energy through the trial, and that the Proclamation Machine had accumulated an extremely large amount of legal compensation energy, which is obviously abnormal.”

"So I guess it might be related to the prophecy of the end of the world, and it is very likely a contingency plan left by the water god. Otherwise, there is no way to explain why Funina is present at every trial."

It's impossible that the big star Fulina really enjoys the farces in court, right?

Even if you really like it, it's impossible to say that you haven't stopped for five hundred years, right?

Clearly, there must be some compelling reason why Funina is so insistent on the trial. Therefore, Richard can basically conclude that there is a serious problem with the imperial edict.

After hearing Richard's explanation, Fukaros's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. Only then did she realize why there had been a significant increase in corruption cases in the last ten years or so. It turned out that Richard had provided her with valuable experience.

It should be noted that not all trials could be held at the Opéra Garnier. Only those cases that were extremely serious and had a great impact could be tried at the Opéra Garnier by the Supreme Judge, Navigette.

Corruption falls precisely into this category, especially the corruption of officials, which is of utmost concern to the people of Fontainebleau.

Whenever those high-ranking, incompetent officials fall from grace, the emotional response from the audience can generate legal compensation several times greater than in ordinary cases!

For the imperial decree machine, the downfall of each corrupt official is equivalent to a large energy gift.

Richard really became a corrupt official for Fontaine's sake!

"Didn't you ever consider the possibility that it might not be true?"

"If it's not true, it's not true. They can't catch me anyway." Richard acted like an outlaw, extremely arrogant.

Fukaros: ...

Upon hearing Richard's answer, Fucarus wanted to handcuff Richard on the spot and take him to court.

At this moment, Fukaros couldn't help but recall the image of Richard being handcuffed by her and begging her to let him go.