Yes, Lady Funina!

It seems Clarinde's declaration of loyalty came at the wrong time.

After Clorind left, only Richard and Funina remained in the office.

After a moment of silence, Funina felt she couldn't continue like this; she had to figure out Richard's position, so she decided to take a risk.

"Did you come for my Heart of God?"

This was the first time that Funina had taken the initiative to mention the Heart of God to Richard, and also the first time she had taken the initiative to talk to someone about the gods.

"No, as I said before, the Wind God's Heart is used to repay favors."

"Then will you use my Heart of God to repay favors, or for some other purpose?" Funina gritted her teeth. Since things had come to this point, she might as well ask for clarification.

"will not."

"you promise?"

"Of course, I guarantee it, after all, you don't have the heart of God."

Furninna: !!!

Richard looked at the look of fear and even horror on Funina's face, like a kitten whose secret had been exposed, its fur standing on end.

“I…I…” Funina’s lips were a little dry, and she didn’t know what to say for a moment.

It was clear that Funina was flustered. She was worried that the secret she had been trying to keep hidden for hundreds of years would be exposed, so she was restless and kept shifting her small, pert bottom. Her left hand was unconsciously rubbing the ring Richard had given her on her right little finger, and her beautiful almond-shaped eyes looked around but dared not look at Richard.

"I don't know what you're talking about." As soon as Funina finished speaking, she stared blankly at Richard sitting opposite her.

Because the other person had just said the same thing, their voices overlapped, making it sound as if they were spoken by the same person.

'How did he know what I was going to say? Could he be a mind reader?' This thought popped into Funina's mind.

“Don’t worry, Lady Funina, I don’t have mind-reading abilities.” Richard saw through Funina’s thoughts. “It’s just that you’re a little too easy to understand.”

"I... understand?" Funina regretted sending Clorinde away.

Things don't seem to be going in the direction she expected; in fact, they seem to be getting worse.

“This isn’t the Opikley Opera House. It’s just the two of us here, Furnessa. You know, the more outstanding an actor is, the more likely they are to fall into a vicious cycle.”

"Trying to completely play a version of yourself that is not yourself."

"You have to understand that what you act out will never be real. No matter how well you pretend, you'll eventually slip up."

Funina fell silent, and unusually, she looked directly into Richard's eyes, her gaze carrying a different meaning: "What do you mean?"

Richard ignored him and continued, "You know what? Trying too hard to play a person who isn't yourself can actually lead to losing your authenticity and personality. Over time, this can have an extremely negative impact on an actor's mental health, and this impact is very likely irreversible."

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Funina said expressionlessly, her tone devoid of any emotion.

“Furina, your problem is already very serious. You should know that you are not really…”

“Enough! We’re here to discuss the rumors, Secretary Richard, please… don’t talk about irrelevant things!” Funina interrupted Richard.

Richard gave Funina a deep look before finally saying, "Yes, Water God."

Upon hearing this, Funina's expression softened slightly, and her tone became lively again.

“I will explain the ring to the reporters at the Opiclie Opera House, saying it’s an Easter egg in a musical I’m preparing…” Furnessa paused here, “and at the same time, I will announce my resignation, because I don’t have the energy to take on the responsibilities of a minister of state while ensuring my creative work.”

"After I leave office, I will put on a grand show for all the people of Fontaine. At that time, I will also recommend you, Secretary-General Richard, to Navelette as the new Minister of Administration."

This provided a plausible explanation for the ring incident, and all remaining attention was drawn to Furnessa's new musical, so naturally no one paid any more attention to Richard's situation.

With Funina's departure, Richard can also take over, and everyone has a bright future.

There was one more thing that Funina didn't say: she was aware of Richard's 'danger,' that he was very likely to have sensed or already sensed something, and before things became irreversible—she felt she had to stay away from him.

Richard remained silent after hearing Funina's words.

After waiting for a while, Funina couldn't help but ask, "What do you think?"

'Say yes, say yes, it'll be better for everyone,' Funina thought to herself.

This is the best and only solution she can think of right now: Richard gets promoted, she continues to be the Water Goddess, everything goes back to normal, and no one will be harmed before the appointed day arrives.

Under Furna's eager gaze, Richard slowly gave his answer.

"I don't think it's very good, Lady Funina."

Volume 1: Chapter 70 Poor Richard, manipulated by Funina

"Why?" Funina looked at Richard in confusion. Her proposed solution took into account everyone's needs and should have satisfied everyone.

She didn't understand why Richard refused. Didn't he want to be the Chief Executive?

Richard met Funina's gaze and looked directly into the girl's eyes.

"I think Lady Funina may have misunderstood something."

"Misunderstand?"

"Furina, do you think I came to Fontaine because I wanted a high position?"

Funina pursed her lips, but still stubbornly insisted, "Isn't that right?"

“If I were in it for the sake of becoming an official, to become someone of high status, I would say without being modest that I have many options, and the prospects are far greater than those of the Mo Mang Palace.” Richard was not lying; back then, he had already reached a position second only to the emperor in Daoqi.

Even going a step further, it's possible to surpass that person by making a little effort.

After all, being on top is still being on top.

For some reason, Furna thought of Inazuma's Yae no Miko and Mondstadt's lyre. She knew that Richard's words were not an excuse; he did not necessarily have to stay in Fontaine.

Both Mondstadt and Inazuma are more than capable of accommodating him, and would even welcome him to visit.

This is only what Fulina currently knows; there may be more she doesn't know, such as the Winter Queen that the Fools' Enforcer [Lady] mentioned before. Richard also seems to hold a significant position in Winter.

After all, if you have a low position, no one will care if you switch jobs...

"If it's not for high office and wealth, then what brought you to Fontainebleau? Opera?" Funina asked.

"It's not a good habit to pry into other people's privacy, Lady Funina."

"Aren't you too?"

"Yes, but I don't plan to change it."

He actually admitted it outright! Fulina never expected Richard to be so...shameless.

"Lady Funina, do you know why people are under so much pressure in their lives these days?"

"Too much work, too little pay?"

"That's just the surface. Aren't there many civil servants who are struggling to make ends meet? Do they have a lot of work? Are their salaries low?"

“Uh…” Funina couldn’t bring herself to say something against her will.

After all, the salaries of civil servants in Fontaine are not low, and the benefits are quite good, while the workload is far below average.

Otherwise, why would civil servants be so sought after in Fontainebleau?

"The real reason they experience so much stress is that they don't know how to relieve it. When faced with problems, they don't seek help from friends, preferring to bear it all alone to maintain a facade of prosperity and make others think they're doing well..."

"So, Lady Funina, do you feel a lot of pressure?"

"Not bad, I'm fine, excellent," Funina said with her signature fake smile.

“You see, patients never think of themselves as patients.”

"Then are you a patient?" Funina found the logical flaw.

“I can be both a patient and a doctor,” Richard added. “It’s all up to you.”

"It all depends on...me?" Funina looked at Richard, wondering what this man was up to.

"If you consider me a patient, then the 'illness' you talk to me about doesn't necessarily refer to you; it could be anyone, like a friend of mine?"

“But if you consider me your doctor, you have to let me know your situation. Doctors can only develop a treatment plan after fully understanding the patient, right?” Richard leaned forward slightly, showing a strong desire to communicate.

Furnessa, on the other hand, leaned back with her arms crossed over her chest, a typical defensive posture, which meant that she was very wary and unlikely to be completely open with Richard.

“I’m not a patient, and you’re not a patient either, much less a doctor. Our immediate priority is to deal with the current public opinion.” As expected, Funina chose to evade the issue.

Indeed, a mask will become part of your flesh and blood if you wear it for too long. Forcibly removing it will only tear your flesh apart, causing excruciating pain and revealing the bare bones hidden underneath.

After the conversation, Richard realized that Funina's problem was much more serious than he had imagined, even to the point of being terminal.

Even worse, this 'patient' refused to cooperate with the treatment.

Even renowned physician Richard could only make diagnoses based on superficial symptoms, with little success.

"Public opinion is easy to manage; there's absolutely no need to resign."

"It was my personal desire to resign that came about, it just so happened to be the right time."

"When did you think of it?"

"Just now."

—Just as Furness realized that Richard was becoming curious about the secret she was hiding in her heart and was trying to pry into it.

She wants to stay away from Richard!

"Such a big matter requires careful consideration."

"I had thought about it before."

"Sometimes even the answer you arrive at after careful consideration cannot guarantee its correctness."

Fu Ningna laughed in exasperation. "You've said everything, good or bad, haven't you?"

“Whether it’s right or wrong isn’t up to you to decide,” Funina said, looking at Richard.

“Of course, but when I think you are wrong, I will take the necessary corrective action. Isn’t the duty of the Permanent Secretary to prevent ministers from making wrong decisions?” Richard said, spreading his hands.

“I will no longer be a minister after I resign,” Funina reminded her.

"Have you resigned yet?" Richard asked with a smile.

"I... I can't argue with you, but in any case, I'm not going to be a minister anymore!" Funina realized that there was no need for her to continue arguing with Richard.

“I’m sorry, Lady Funina, this minister can only be you.” Richard shook his head.

Funina sneered, "So you mean you can still interfere with my decisions?"

"There was no interference; I was simply advising you to make the best decision for the moment."

"But you can't even solve the problem at hand. Do I need to remind you, my rumored husband, Secretary Richard?"

"There are many ways to solve this problem. In fact, removing the word 'scandal' is also a viable solution."

“Richard, I acknowledge your excellence, but if you think that’s enough to be worthy of a god, aren’t you being a bit too arrogant?” Funina sneered.

"In fact, if I hadn't run fast back then, you'd have to call me 'God-King'." Richard shrugged. Believe it or not, that's the truth.

However, if he becomes a god, Funina probably won't be able to see him...

"?" Funina slowly typed out a question mark. Judging from Richard's words, there really was a god who had taken a liking to this guy?

Who has such poor taste?

For no apparent reason, Funina felt a slight unease, as if someone had their eyes on her things.

"Of course, it's okay if you don't want to. I understand. Feelings do need time to blossom into love. We can also use other methods to solve the problem of rumors."

"for example?"

“For example, we could expel the 76 envoys from the Winter Legation, or we could launch a small war against Sumeru,” Richard said, giving examples.

Fulina felt a chill run down her spine, thinking Richard was being too extreme.

But one thing is certain: if he really did that, the attention of the people of Fontainebleau would definitely be diverted.

After all, none of the seven Teyvat kingdoms would expel all the envoys of another country, nor would any of them ever wage war against a neighboring country.

Although the seven kingdoms constantly clashed with each other, they all tacitly agreed to keep the friction to itself and prevent the situation from escalating further. Even the Fools followed this unspoken rule.

Once a precedent is set, no one knows what will happen.

"Don't you think this is going a bit too far? Just to divert public opinion?" Fu Ningna felt like her worldview was being turned upside down by someone.

"Too much? No, compared to what the Fools have done, I think I've been quite restrained. Don't worry, the gods of Mount Sumeru are still imprisoned by their people and are easy to bully." Richard finished speaking and then joked again.

"If we conquer Sumeru City and liberate the Little Grass Goddess, she might even thank us."

"No, Richard, you're right, you are indeed a patient, and quite seriously ill."