Yes, Lady Funina!

At the same time, Charlotte's gaze unconsciously fell on Frynn's left hand, after all, the matter of that ring had been making headlines recently.

Charlotte, being a journalist, had naturally heard of her, but knowing the inside story, she obviously wouldn't believe that Funina had really become Mrs. Funina.

Charlotte was an ambitious journalist and naturally wouldn't report false information to attract attention. She wasn't here today to interview Furness about the ring; she had another purpose.

Noticing Charlotte's gaze, Furna unconsciously pulled her left hand back slightly. Recalling what had just happened, her face flushed slightly. Worried that Charlotte might notice, Furna gently fanned herself with her hand while saying to Clarinde:

"Clorind, could you please open the window?"

Claude looked out the open window, her mind momentarily overloaded. Why did Funina keep bringing up things she couldn't do?

Ignoring Clarinde's resentful gaze, Furna turned to Charlotte and asked, "Did you come to see me this time because of the ring?"

As she spoke, Funina gestured with her left hand.

To Furna's surprise, Charlotte shook her head and said, "No, I came for something else. Of course, if Lady Furna is willing to tell me the origin of this ring, I would be happy to report it truthfully for you, which would also help clarify some unnecessary misunderstandings."

"Something else?" Funina asked, puzzled. Could there be something more important or more attention-grabbing than her wedding?

"Yes, the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences will be conducting a public experiment soon. However, although it is public, only a small number of people within the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences and some high-ranking government officials will receive invitations."

"So, since you didn't receive an invitation, you've decided to target us?" Richard continued her sentence.

“Hehe, that’s right!” Charlotte admitted without hesitation.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Charlotte, but we haven't received any invitations from the Fontaine Academy, so we obviously can't help with this." Furna shook her head regretfully.

“G? Is the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences moving this slowly?” Charlotte was taken aback.

Then there was a knock on the door. Clarinde, who was struggling to open an already open window, was finally saved. She went out and talked with the person outside for a while before returning to the office, carrying something that looked like a letter.

When Clarind noticed that everyone in the room was looking at her, she raised the hand holding the letter and said, "An invitation from the Fontaine Academy of Sciences."

Richard and Funina turned their gaze to Charlotte.

Charlotte was clearly delighted, and she looked at Richard with anticipation.

She clearly knew who truly held the reins here.

“I can agree to your request, Miss Charlotte, but you must also answer one question for me.”

"Please ask, Mr. Richard."

"Why would you be interested in an experiment when the ring on Funina's ring finger is the real hot topic right now? As a journalist, aren't you even a little curious?"

“My intuition tells me that this experiment is definitely not simple. It symbolizes one of the ways out for Fontaine under the shadow of the doomsday prophecy. If it succeeds, it will usher in a new era. Even if it fails, it is worth remembering by future generations.” Charlotte’s eyes seemed to be shining.

"And the ring on Lady Furina's hand must have been a gift from you, Mr. Richard, right? It shouldn't have the meaning that outsiders think it has; it should be a pure gift. If we have to give it a symbolic meaning—it should be friendship, shouldn't it?"

"After all, it's clear that Lady Funina and Mr. Richard have a very good relationship," Charlotte remarked. Such a harmonious scene between ruler and subject is a rare sight in the Mo Mang Palace.

Based on past experience, the relationship between the permanent secretary-general and ministers often ends up becoming irreconcilable, as they are natural enemies.

People like Richard and Funina are rare in Fontaine's history.

In fact, there are examples of the executive secretary-general and ministers working together harmoniously, but in most cases, it is because one of them is far more capable than the other, and one can firmly suppress the other. Only in this way can a peaceful scene be presented.

Charlotte felt that Richard and Frynn were clearly not among them, which is why she considered Richard and Frynn to be the epitome of a harmonious relationship between ruler and subject.

Fortunately, Funina didn't have mind-reading abilities and didn't know what Charlotte was thinking, otherwise she would definitely have objected.

Uh... maybe not? After all, wouldn't that be admitting that she's far inferior to Richard?

"I prefer reporting real, valuable news to reporting false information to grab attention."

"Moreover, Lady Funina, the hype surrounding your ring has actually died down. A mysterious force is already working to suppress the hype, and the Steambird Newspaper hasn't made any moves either."

“I think soon no one in Fontaine will care about the ring on your hand anymore. When that time comes, publish a report about your ring to clarify the matter, and I think the storm will pass quickly,” Charlotte analyzed for Funina from a professional perspective.

"A mysterious power?" Fu Ningna wondered.

“Well…you’ll have to ask Mr. Richard.” Charlotte clearly knew something.

“Just some insignificant connections,” Richard said with a smile, meeting Funina’s gaze.

It was only then that Furnessa belatedly realized that Lynette didn't seem to have come to work today...

PS: PY's original work, "Starry Sky Railway: My Simulation Event Came True?" (The synopsis is not included in the word count)

Synopsis: Luo Feng transmigrated to the world of Starry Sky Railway and awakened a simulator system. He can extract rewards from the simulator after completing the simulation.

Your home planet received a bountiful blessing, but due to its inability to control the power of the blessing, the planet was destroyed.

[The Immortal Boat Luofu Sword Master Jing Liu rescued you and took you as his disciple, hoping that you can cultivate a sword heart to suppress your Abundance Curse.]

You have merged into the Immortal Ship, becoming a part of Luofu, and Jing Yuan's junior brother.

[You asked Jingliu why he made me practice swordsmanship. Looking at your master's long explanation, you didn't understand. Swordsmanship is clearly for killing; why be bound by fame and fortune, why hesitate for loyalty and camaraderie?]

[You were possessed by Suiyang and, in front of Jingliu, told him you wanted to be Yang Guo.]

You have joined the Star Core Hunters and become a member of Kafka's team.

You were born in Beloborg and became the Silvermane Iron Guard commander before Jepard.

Until one day, you hear a message transmitted from between the stars.

"Wait...isn't this a simulator? How did it become real?"

Looking at Kagami Ryu, who had fallen into demonic possession because of his own death, and then at Kafka, who was activating her Word of Power, and Cocolia, who was conjuring ice spears.

I was drenched in sweat, really drenched in sweat!

Link to "Starry Sky Railway: My Simulation Event Came True?" (Already cut)

Volume 1: Chapter 72 Furina: Can you keep this a secret?

As Charlotte had predicted, things unfolded exactly as she had envisioned. Within just two or three days, the people of Fontaine had stopped discussing the ring on Frynn's hand.

Furthermore, Funina also cooperated with Steambird Newspaper in an exclusive interview, easily letting the matter of the ring pass by. Even if Funina wore the ring while shopping later, probably no one would care, just taking it as part of Funina's daily outfit, just like her hat.

In exchange, Furna granted Charlotte's request to accompany her to the Fontaine Academy to watch the 'launch experiment'.

In fact, the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences did send invitations to the Steambird Newspaper, but it should be noted that invitations are also tiered.

An invitation sent to a high-ranking government official like Frynn Richard would naturally have far greater authority than an invitation sent to Steambird Newspaper, and would allow access to confidential matters that are inaccessible to ordinary people.

Some might ask, if it's a confidential matter, how could it be seen by reporters?

Haha, since you can see it, it means it's not a secret. The so-called secret is just an excuse to avoid unnecessary trouble. The truly important things will definitely not be shown to you.

It's fair to say that any intelligence that can be obtained through normal means is not classified.

Normally, Frynn wouldn't personally participate in such events, but Charlotte's words piqued her interest. The phrase "one of the ways out for Fontaine under the shadow of the doomsday prophecy" was incredibly appealing to Frynn.

For over a century, she has been dedicated to escaping the shadow of doomsday prophecies. If this experiment succeeds, it would be the best news she has heard in nearly a hundred years.

When that time comes, perhaps she will be able to relax a little and take off some of her masks.

However, perhaps because of too many disappointments, Funina did not have high expectations for this experiment.

Failure is the main theme of life.

"Is that the end of the rumors?" Funina looked at today's Steambird newspaper, then went to the window and found that the reporters who had been crowding the Momang Palace a few days ago were nowhere to be seen.

Just as Charlotte said, it was just a passing fad.

“Is it possible that this isn’t a big deal at all, and you’re just overcomplicating things? Furnessa, you should try to trust people you can trust,” Richard said from the side.

“It’s definitely not you,” Funina replied casually.

Besides, things weren't complicated to begin with; it was you who made things complicated.

Funina finally realized that she had been misled by Richard's alarmist words that day, who said that if she wore the wedding ring, the people of Fontainebleau would question her identity as a god.

The reason is that no deity has ever married before.

Hilarious! There has never been a deity performing in a musical and becoming a big star before her!

"Alas, what have I done to make you distrust me so much?" Richard sighed.

Looking at Richard's handsome face, Funina felt that this guy was really shameless. "Do you want to listen to what you're saying?"

"In fact, I've always been on your side."

"Haha, did you learn that from Clorinde?" Funina burst into laughter.

"Honestly, don't you really intend to reveal something to your most loyal executive secretary?"

“My most loyal permanent secretary wouldn’t be constantly asking me about things I don’t want to reveal.” Funina closed the newspaper in her hand, sat back down in her seat, and looked at Richard with her fingers interlaced.

“Only with sufficient intelligence can your executive secretary better assist you,” Richard stated, emphasizing that intelligence is a crucial element in achieving victory.

Such concealment by someone like Fu Ningna could easily lead to a misunderstanding and unnecessary losses.

This is clearly disloyal.

"Even if I tell you, can you keep it a secret?" Funina asked.

"Of course, don't you even have that much faith in me?"

"Great, so I can too."

Richard was speechless. Seeing Richard's discomfiture, Funina playfully threw back the words Richard had just said to her.

"What, you don't even have this much faith in me?"

"Of course, Lady Funina." Richard didn't have a good way to deal with such teasing remarks.

One can only marvel at Funina's extraordinary talent; in such a short time, she grasped the principle of using someone else's own methods against them.

"If that's the case, do you still need to ask?" Funina looked at Richard with amusement, enjoying her rare moment of victory.

"Lady Funina..."

"Heh heh, you still won't give up?" Funina's tone became strange. She continued, "Fine, since you're so persistent, this water goddess will show you a way out."

“If you can prove to me that you can keep the secret forever, then I might tell you…about me.” Funina’s eyes flickered slightly at the end.

There seemed to be a lot of complex emotions involved. Rationally, she thought Richard couldn't do it because no one can keep a secret forever.

On a deeper level, she hoped Richard could do the same. The long performances had left her exhausted, and if there was someone to share the burden with... no, even just a listener would be enough to give her a moment's respite.

For Funina, this brief respite was as precious as a spring of water for someone suffering from thirst in the desert.

After listening, Richard looked thoughtful. Seeing this, Funina couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're not actually thinking about the possibility of success, are you?"

"No one can keep a secret forever, not even you, Mr. Richard."

Furness's words seemed to be addressed to Richard, yet also to herself.

……

"So Lady Funina still refuses to tell you anything?" Lynette asked elegantly, holding her teacup.

“Yes, it seems that secret is indeed very important, although I have already guessed some of it.” Richard felt that he was close to the truth, or at least part of it.

"Keep it a secret... Richard, how do you usually keep things a secret?" Lynette asked curiously.

"It depends on the importance of intelligence," Richard replied after thinking for a moment.

"What if it's extremely important information that can't be known by others?"

"Then I won't let anyone know."

"What if people find out?"

Lynette seemed to be at odds with Richard, unusually pressing him for answers.

Richard paused for a moment, then answered Lynette's question in a different way: "Lynette, there are still people in this world who can keep your secret forever."

"who?"

"dead."

Lynette showed no surprise at the answer, instead saying thoughtfully, "So how do you get Funina to confess her secrets? Play dead?"

Richard gave Lynette a disapproving look, feeling that the girl was becoming more and more fond of teasing him as they got to know each other better.

But this is for the best; it's better than when we first met and I was distrustful of everyone.

Those who have experienced betrayal find it difficult to trust others again, and this is the case with Lynn and Lynette. To some extent, Lynette's teasing actually signifies the other person's trust.

For a kitten, if she doesn't like something, she won't even say another word.

“I have my own methods, Lynette. You should know that so-called secrecy is actually a contract, and there is a God of Contracts on the continent of Teyvat.”

"You mean the Geo Archon of Liyue?" Lynette's beautiful eyes showed some surprise. "But asking K to help would be very troublesome, wouldn't it? I heard that K hasn't shown up in Liyue very often in recent years."