Yes, Lady Funina!

"Too ordinary."

"You mean tea? You're too demanding of yourself. I think it tastes great, it suits me perfectly, and I could drink it every day without getting tired of it."

Lynette thought Richard was faking it, but she had no proof.

Seeing Lynette's 'jealous' little face, Richard couldn't help but want to laugh.

"I just chatted with Claurind in the break room for a while about Funina."

Lynette thought for a moment and asked, "Has Lady Furina made another very decisive decision?"

"not yet."

"So, does she plan to work hard?"

Richard thought about Funina's absent-minded expression as she lay on the table; she didn't look like someone who was working hard and striving for excellence.

"nor."

"...Could it be that she's planning to overthrow the Mo Mang Palace?!" Linette's pupils shrank, and she looked extremely surprised.

No, she's spacing out.

Lynette tilted her head cutely and said, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"is it?"

"Isn't it?"

For Richard and Lynette, nothing was better than 'Furyn doing nothing,' or if there was one, it would be 'Furyn leaving all the day-to-day work to them.'

"Could it be because of the ring?" Lynette guessed.

"How did you know? I also think it's because of the ring. When she was lost in thought, she kept rubbing the ring I gave her." Li realized that Lynette could be a fortune teller.

“It seems she’s found out,” Lynette muttered to herself.

"Found? Found what?" Richard was completely bewildered. Logically speaking, the power crystal on that ring should have been purified by the Corruption Sword, making it a completely pure, unpolluted power without any side effects.

Could it be that the power has some side effects that he and Aberdo haven't discovered?

Uh, like, enticing someone to keep staring at a ring or something...

“Lord Richard, I always thought you were a seasoned womanizer, a real scumbag. But now it seems that’s not the case. I’m sorry, I misunderstood you.” Lynette sighed.

“???” Three question marks appeared above Richard’s head.

“Do you know what a ring given by a member of the opposite sex means to a girl?” Lynette asked.

"Does that mean... it was a ring given by someone of the opposite sex?" Richard thought for a moment and replied.

What do they do when a couple gets married in Fontainebleau?

"Praying for blessings at Lujing Spring?" Richard was right. Many newlyweds pass by Lujing Spring on their wedding day and then pray for blessings by the spring.

“That’s a ceremony after the wedding. A newlywed couple exchanges wedding rings during their wedding.” Lynette took off her black lace embroidered gloves, revealing a pair of flawless jade hands.

Then, pointing to his left ring finger with his right hand, he said to Richard, "The rings exchanged are usually worn here, on the left ring finger, to announce to the outside world that 'I am married.'"

Richard understood, but he still couldn't help but say, "But I'm only giving Funina a ring unilaterally; there's no exchange involved."

Lynette pursed her lips; of course she knew that, otherwise she wouldn't be so calm now.

If you two really exchange rings, then what chance do I have?

"That's what you think. To outsiders, Funina's behavior of showing off everywhere is no different from that of a newlywed woman, especially since she always says that 'the ring was a gift from Richard.'"

When Lynette mentioned this, her breathing became rapid and she seemed very angry, as if her chest was about to expand by two sizes.

Richard, watching Lynette's chest rise and fall without any ripples, finally understood the cause of Funina's unusual behavior today.

"Thank you, Lynette."

—If it weren't for you, I might still be in the dark.

As expected, compared to that silly and naive Clorinde, my own catgirl secretary is much more reliable.

Clarind, who was being bombarded with strange knowledge by Sedna, couldn't help but sneeze.

"Clorind, do you now understand the different meanings conveyed by wearing rings in different ways?" Sedna, like a patient teacher, was checking on Clorind's learning progress.

Claudia nodded calmly and said, "Understood. I will be careful not to wear rings in the future."

Sedna: ...

"Well, there's no need to go to such lengths. Speaking of which, I'd like to ask you about Lady Funina."

"About Lady Funinna?"

"How is her relationship with Mr. Richard? Have there been any disagreements since the wedding? If so, as Lady Funina's secretary, you should help mediate, but don't go too far, or it might cause misunderstandings..." Sedna went on and on about solutions to marital relationship problems.

Like a true marriage expert, Clorind felt her head was spinning.

"By the way, Chlorind, do you have someone you like? Huh, where did she go?" Sedna was about to change the subject to the cute dueling agent when she realized that he had already disappeared.

However, Sedna did not feel disappointed or offended. She simply marveled at how interesting human emotions were. Unfortunately, she was not human and could not directly experience the emotion called 'love'. She could only vaguely perceive this emotion through the words recorded in books.

Even so, she could still taste the sweetness of honey.

"I hope Miss Clorind will find her other half soon!"

Clarin arrived at Richard's office with a wealth of intelligence. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she found that it opened by itself.

“Clorind, you’ve come at the perfect time…”

"Lord Richard, I know the reason..."

The two spoke almost simultaneously, and then Lynette, who was behind Richard, read aloud expressionlessly, "You two are really in sync."

The scene shifts to Richard, Lynette, and Clarinde sitting around a desk, reporting on their findings.

"Lord Richard, do you know the ten ways to wear a ring?" Clarinde asked, launching into a bombshell.

“I know, after all, people have ten fingers, and I also know how many different ways there are to wear two rings,” Richard joked.

“45 kinds,” Lynette replied immediately.

"You did a great job in math, Lynette," Richard praised, adding that she did a good job and shouldn't need to do it again next time.

"One ring is troublesome enough, but I have to wear two." Just thinking about it made Clarinde's head spin.

Imagine a person wearing a ring on the middle finger of their left hand and another ring on the index finger of their right hand.

The former represents being in a passionate relationship, while the latter represents being single and longing for a relationship.

What a mess!

“I know what you mean. In fact, I just learned from Lynette that there’s so much to know about such a small ring,” Richard said.

"So you and Lady Funina really..." Clorind clenched her fists together and then pressed her thumbs together.

Lynette was furious.

If it weren't for ladylike etiquette, she probably would have angrily denounced that duel agent as "all looks and no brains" on the spot!

All the nutrients in the brain are flowing into useless fat deposits!

“What do you think, Clarind?” Richard smiled kindly.

“I…I think we should discuss how to clarify this matter,” Clarind said, sensing danger and looking down.

“There’s no need to clarify this. On the contrary, deliberately coming forward to clarify might have the opposite effect. We just need to make Lady Funina be mindful of the impact,” Lynette said, taking a sip of tea.

“I know that. Often, the more the government denies something, the more likely it is to be true,” Clarinde quickly replied.

Then she saw Richard and Lynette staring at her intently. The aloof, mature woman shrank back slightly and asked uncertainly:

"Is not it?"

Volume 1: Chapter 68 That guy really deserves to die! (3K)

Now that we know the crux of the problem, things are much easier to handle. Richard looked at Clarinde.

This familiar scene gave Claurind a sense of unease.

As expected, Richard spoke up, "Claurind, you..."

“I’ll go and explain the situation to Lady Funina,” Lynette volunteered.

She realized that she had to handle this personally; neither Richard nor Claude were suitable.

The former is because Richard's position as the person involved is awkward and it is not appropriate for him to tell Funina about this, and the risk factor is too high. What if it turns out to be true?

The latter is because Clarinde is bad at talking, and Frynn is obviously not sober right now. What if she gets confused by Clarinde's nonsense and it turns out to be true?

In short, Lynette believed that it would be best for her to explain the situation to Lady Furina herself.

After all, Lynette wouldn't make the game more difficult for herself, would she?

When Clarinde saw that Lynette had taken on this task, which she considered quite troublesome, the aloof and sophisticated woman was deeply moved.

Richard was also surprised that Lynette would take the initiative to handle the matter, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that she was indeed the most suitable candidate.

She was even more suitable than Claude, but for some reason, Richard instinctively didn't want Lynette to get involved...

But since Lynette has said so, and Clorind has no objections, then so be it.

After all, Richard couldn't force the task onto Clarinde; even a rabbit will bite when cornered!

The task of explaining was left to Lynette; the next step was to control public opinion.

Thanks to Tofnina's habit of showing off her ring to everyone, there are probably very few people in the entire Moman Palace who don't know about this ring.

However, in many people's eyes, it is perfectly normal for a big star like Funina to have a few more pieces of jewelry. Funina herself cannot tell everyone that the ring was a gift from Richard, since many of them do not recognize Richard, and there is no point in saying that, as it does not serve the purpose of showing off.

Therefore, Funina would only discuss this matter with people who knew Richard and had a fairly good relationship with him.

Richard's colleagues, who were on good terms with him, naturally knew that it was impossible for Frynn and Richard to become a married couple just by going to Mondstadt.

But the information bias caused by the spread of the word from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, is unavoidable.

Especially when Sedna learned of this, as the secretary and assistant to the Supreme Judge Navilette, Miss Melusin came into contact with countless people of all kinds every day.

From ministers and secretaries-general of various departments to Fontaine citizens who come to the Mo Mang Palace to conduct business, and given that the other party is a well-known expert on relationships, conversations inevitably tend to gravitate towards this aspect.

In addition, the big star Fu Ningna herself has a lot of popularity, so when they start talking about her, it becomes quite a big deal!

Despite the large number of people in Mo Mang Palace, such sensational gossip, whether true or not, spreads very quickly.

Moreover, as the power center of Fontaine, Mo Mang Palace is the most concentrated place for information exchange in the entire Fontaine. Even the slightest disturbance could cause a great uproar outside.

If this matter is left unchecked, it will probably take only a few days for everyone in Fontaine to know that their Lady Funina has become Mrs. Funina.

Richard would inevitably be exposed to the public eye, which is exactly what he least wants to see.

However, sometimes the more you don't want something to happen, the more likely it is to happen.

The following day, the topic of "the ring on Furina's hand" immediately became a trending topic in Fontainebleau, becoming the focus of discussion among the people of Fontainebleau.

However, this news did not originate from the Moman Palace. It was taken by reporters in the audience when Furnessa spontaneously went on stage to perform at the Opicclay Opera two days ago.

After the photo was published in the newspaper the following day, someone noticed that Funina was wearing a sapphire ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

The news spread like wildfire, and with the added 'insider information' from the staff of Mo Mang Palace, everyone in Fengdan soon knew about it.

The newspaper featuring the photo of the Funina ring saw its sales soar, and today it is extremely difficult to find a copy.

Inside the Mo Mang Palace, Richard put down the newspaper he was holding, which was described as "hard to come by," his face expressionless, neither happy nor sad.

Now there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that although there is much speculation among the people of Fontainebleau about the ring on Furnessa's left ring finger, there is still no clear indication that the ring was a gift from him.

The bad news is that, although it hasn't been announced yet, it's likely that the people will soon find out that the ring on their water god's hand was a gift from him.

While the Mo Mang Palace may not be very good at keeping secrets, these civil servants are definitely experts at preventing leaks!

What is there to say?

The message was passed between various departments in Fontaine. The first to receive it were definitely the House of Hearths of the Fools, then the reporter from the Steambird newspaper, and finally the government departments that should have received the message.

Furina was also worried. After Lynette's explanation yesterday, she put the ring Richard gave her back on her right pinky finger, meaning that she didn't have time to date and was enjoying her single life.

However, this was of no use, because during her performance on stage the day before yesterday, the ring was permanently left on the ring finger of her left hand.

Even though it has now been moved to the little finger of the right hand, it still gives people the feeling of trying to cover it up.

Who knows, some unscrupulous newspapers might even use headlines like "Water God Fucarus Returns to Single Life a Week After Flash Marriage, Suspected of Being Dumped," "Water God Fynne Abandons Her, Victim Mr. Li Speaks Out," or "Shocking! Water God Married, and the Opposite is Him"...