Yes, Lady Funina!

"Understood." With a determined look, Funina closed her eyes and swallowed the bitter medicine in the cup in one gulp.

Although it tastes bitter, it works very well. At least after drinking Funingna, I felt warm in my stomach and my dizziness was greatly reduced.

However, this is probably just psychological; cold medicine can't possibly work that quickly.

"You just said you fell and hurt your butt last night, do you need some medicine?" Richard produced a bottle of liniment for sprains and bruises imported from Liyue as if by magic.

Simply apply it to the wound and rub it in thoroughly to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. The wound will heal quickly, although the treatment process can be somewhat painful.

"W-what are you saying?!" Funina almost dropped the cup from her hand, and she hurriedly grabbed it.

Then, seeing Richard's gaze fall on her pert little buttocks, Funina quickly pulled out one hand and covered the swollen buttocks.

"Don't do anything reckless." Funina was really afraid that Richard would flip her over and pin her to the bed, just like in her dream, and spank her hard.

This is utterly disrespectful to the gods!

Doesn't she have any pride?

However, what made Funina even more ashamed was that she didn't seem very angry in her dream; she was more ashamed than angry, and there seemed to be other feelings mixed in with that ashamedness.

I vaguely remember that I seemed to be...enjoying it in my dream?

Funina thought this dream was too strange; it couldn't possibly be her.

She would never admit that she made such a strange sound.

"I won't do anything reckless. You'll definitely apply the medicine yourself. I'll leave it here for now." Richard placed the medicine bottle on Funina's bedside table and gave her a few brief instructions on how to use the medicine.

Although Funina is indeed the Water Goddess of Fontaine, with her divine essence extracted, she is essentially just an ordinary human being.

While she has a lifespan far exceeding that of ordinary people and can remain young forever due to the curse of Fucarus, this does not mean that she is immune to illness. She can still get injured if she falls, and catch a cold if she gets chilled, just like a normal person.

However, under Fucarus's care, there will be no major illnesses or disasters.

“Oh, okay,” Furnessa replied. “G? No, wait, what are you doing in my house, and why are you in my bedroom?”

Richard pointed to the ring on Funina's hand and replied, "You're sick, the ring told me."

“The ring…” Funina looked at the ring on her hand, then stared at Richard with disbelief in her eyes: “You’re spying on me?”

So if she's wearing a ring while showering, wouldn't that mean...?

The blush that had just faded on Funina's body reappeared, this time even more pronounced than before.

“No, it’s just that if you keep thinking about me, I’ll sense it. Otherwise, it’s just an ordinary ring,” Richard said. He wasn’t a voyeur.

“Of course, if you mind, I can remove this function and only leave the protective effect,” Richard added.

She had been muttering Richard to herself? Fulina instinctively felt that Richard was lying, but when she thought about the dream she had just had, everything suddenly made sense.

Fu Ningna blushed and shook her head, saying, "Never mind, it's too much trouble. Let's just leave it at that."

"By the way, what time is it now?" Funina asked.

"It's almost noon, would you like something to eat?"

"It's noon?! Then I..."

"I skipped work," Richard said succinctly.

Seeing that Funina seemed a little flustered, Richard kindly comforted her, "It's okay to skip half a day of work. Everything is normal at the city hall right now."

With high emotional intelligence, everything at City Hall is running smoothly.

Low emotional intelligence; it's the same whether you're there or not.

However, Funina didn't think much of it and simply said, "Then I'll go to work this afternoon."

"No rush. Are you hungry? What would you like to eat? I'll have Clarinde bring it over." After seeing that Funina was alright, Richard stood up from the chair beside him, ready to take his leave.

After all, they were alone together in the Mo Mang Palace, and Richard hadn't bothered to avoid people when he came up, so they definitely couldn't stay with Funina for long. They had to be mindful of their behavior.

Seeing Richard stand up, Funina asked, "Are you leaving?"

Whether it was because of her illness or the dream, Funina didn't want Richard to leave and subconsciously wanted to stay with him a little longer.

“Yes, I’ll have Clarind bring you food and take care of you later. Since we’re both women, it’ll be more convenient for her to stay here,” Richard said.

Funina quickly waved her hand and said, "No need, no need, I can go to the restaurant by myself."

Richard glanced at Funina's buttocks and couldn't help but chuckle as he asked, "Are you planning to eat standing up in the restaurant?"

Funina immediately put her hands behind her back, spat lightly, and then thought Richard made a good point, but said aloud, "I...I'll pack it up!"

Can't we just pack it up and bring it home to eat?

"What's the difference between Clorind bringing her own food and you getting takeout from a restaurant?"

"She's busy with work."

"Should I have Lynette come?" Richard thought for a moment and replied, "If that's not possible, I can go downstairs now and bring you your food."

Funina was very tempted by the second suggestion, but reason prevailed over emotion. She shook her head and refused, saying, "No, I'll go down with you. I feel much better. It's the same if we eat in the office."

Eating while standing in the office won't bother anyone.

"Okay." Li sensed there was nothing wrong with the suggestion. "Then you should change your clothes. I'll wait for you outside."

To be honest, Fu Ningna's current outfit is not very elegant. Her upper body is exposed, and the legs of her pants are uneven in length. In addition, her hair is messy because she just woke up, and the tuft of hair on her head has become several strands longer.

When Richard mentioned clothes, Funina realized that she was still wearing pajamas. She hurriedly pulled up her collar to hide her exposed shoulders and lifted the neckline.

However, this measure was not very effective, because it didn't show much scenery to begin with; all that could be seen was the delicate collarbone, and there wasn't much scenery below the collarbone.

Compared to those towering mountains, Funina... calling it a plain would be an insult; it's more like a small mound, with some undulations, just less pronounced.

Seeing Richard walk out of the room, Funina carefully loosened her collar and hurriedly adjusted her trouser legs to the same length. As soon as she finished, she muttered to herself, "Clumsy."

I've already changed my clothes, why bother with the pant legs?

Funina pulled down her pajama bottoms decisively, or rather, not so decisively, at least not from the waistband to her thighs; she was quite careful.

After all, it still hurts a lot when you touch a swollen wound. Funina is very afraid of pain, so she has to be as gentle as possible.

As for the medicine Richard had placed on the bedside table, Funina thought that she would just apply it herself later, without rubbing it vigorously. If the effect was less, so be it; at least it wouldn't hurt...

She was very careful when getting dressed. To prevent her poor bottom from suffering any more, Funina didn't wear her original outfit but instead put on a skirt.

Although it was a bit chilly outside, it was warm inside the Moman Palace. There was no trial to watch at the Opiclie Opera House today, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, Frinina wouldn't be leaving the Moman Palace all day, and wearing a skirt wouldn't be a problem.

After changing her clothes, Funina came out of the bedroom and saw Richard waiting on the sofa in the living room. She coughed lightly and said, "I'm ready."

Richard turned around and noticed that Funina had changed into a dress. A hint of curiosity in his eyes appeared as he asked, "You changed your dress?"

Richard rarely saw Funina wearing a skirt. Generally speaking, Funina's style of dress was more neutral, and she usually wore pants or something similar on her lower body.

Today, however, Funina changed into a long dress, only revealing a small section of her calves. Her hair remained the same, but her hat changed from a top hat to a wide-brimmed hat, which is usually worn by noble ladies. It was also decorated with sapphires, and the overall style was very appropriate.

This outfit added a lot of femininity to Funina. In addition, Funina had a cold and looked a little haggard. The fragile feeling of a sick girl intertwined with her original purity, making her look incredibly beautiful.

"Hmm, I want to try a different style today." Funina's voice sounded muffled because her nose was a little stuffy.

Feeling a little embarrassed by Richard's gaze, she pressed down on the brim of her hat and urged, "Alright, let's go, I'm starving."

“Yes, Lady Funina,” Richard replied.

Since we're getting ready to go out, we should use honorifics.

The girl clearly noticed this and couldn't help but pout. Actually, it wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't used honorifics, but she didn't say it out loud.

Richard walked to the door and turned back to find Funina struggling with her shoes. Because of the 'wound', whether she sat or squatted, it would aggravate the pain. She had no choice but to reach out and hold onto the wall, bending over to try to squeeze her feet into her shoes.

After finally managing to put on one shoe, just as Funina was about to struggle with the second one, because the shoe she had put on was a high heel, she became a little unsteady, and even while holding onto the wall, she swayed from side to side.

Already sick and weak, the swaying of her body aggravated her wounds, and it looked like she was about to fall and even out her size. Richard reached out and helped Funina.

He helped her steady herself, then squatted down and sighed, saying, "Let me do it."

Richard held Funina's small foot, clad in pure white cotton socks, in one hand, and could clearly feel the girl's full shape.

Unlike her slender figure, Funina's small feet, though they look petite, actually feel rather fleshy and are very comfortable to hold.

Meanwhile, Funina's heart was in turmoil as Richard held her delicate foot in his large hand. When Richard grabbed her foot, Funina almost impulsively stepped on his face with her foot.

Fortunately, she resisted the urge to 'reward' Richard. She bit her lip tightly, forcing herself to calm down and not make any strange noises. She obediently watched Richard put her feet into his shoes and fasten the buckles on his dark blue leather boots.

Richard didn't feel anything amiss during the whole process, but it made Funina extremely nervous; she felt sweat beading on her feet.

"Won't it have any smell?" This thought couldn't help but pop into Fu Ningna's mind.

As a girl, Funina was very concerned about her own smell. If Richard smelled her feet or something, she felt like she could be reincarnated.

What a shame!

In her mind, Funina transformed into a small white bread roll and screamed.

"Can we set off now, Lady Funina?" Richard clapped his hands and stood up as if nothing had happened, looking at Funina.

"Oh, okay, thank you, let's go quickly." Fulina didn't ask Richard why he suddenly helped her put on her shoes. She just interjected a quick thank you that was barely audible, and urged Richard to get going.

"Hmm." Richard nodded.

Seeing that Richard's expression was normal, Funina asked, almost as if possessed, "Does it smell?"

She regretted it as soon as she finished speaking. What was she saying? Had her cold made her brain go haywire?

“No, it’s very clean.” Richard wasn’t a clean freak, and besides, Funina was wearing new socks and had taken a shower before going to bed. She hadn’t gone out or sweated, so it was impossible for her to be dirty.

"Hmm..." Funina blushed and responded, then, feeling embarrassed, added, "Go to the bathroom to rinse off, we still have dinner later."

"Alright." Richard thought about it and agreed. He had just touched Funina's little feet, so he should wash them before eating.

Richard hadn't thought of this if Funina hadn't brought it up, so he agreed.

After quickly rinsing his hands and using his fire elemental power to dry them, Richard noticed that Funina was staring at his hands and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Funina replied quickly. She couldn't very well tell Richard that it was his hands that held her down firmly in her dream, could she?

Soon the two walked side by side to the mechanical elevator, preparing to take it to the restaurant in the Mo Mang Palace.

Funina unusually remained silent throughout the journey, and Richard, noticing her lack of interest, kept quiet as well.

After all, when you're sick and feeling unwell, you're unlikely to want to talk.

Not to mention that not only was Funina sick, but her buttocks were also badly injured. Although Funina tried her best to walk normally, some abnormalities could still be seen when she walked.

This anomaly, however, becomes quite intriguing to those who are observant.

Funina was already quite the center of attention in Fontainebleau, always the center of attention wherever she went. Now, Funina and Richard descended the elevator leading directly to the top floor of the Moman Palace, and Funina was walking unsteadily, as if...

We dare not speak of or ask about the affairs of these important figures.

In short, Funina felt that the way people looked at her was strange. Although they still respected her, it seemed like there was something else about them that she didn't usually see.

Fu Ningna had already seen several female civil servants huddled together chatting, with maternal smiles on their faces, while others looked rather sad and disheartened, as if their men had been stolen from them.

Seeing this, Funina slowly typed a question mark.

No, what happened?

"What's wrong?" Richard noticed Funina's confused expression.

"I feel like everyone's looking at me a little strangely. Is it because of the dress I'm wearing today?" Fu Ningna lowered her head, pinched the hem of her dress, and looked at herself from side to side.

No problem, the skirt isn't on backwards.

It's just an ordinary long dress, maybe a little nicer in design than the ones sold in regular department stores.

"Oh, this..." Richard glanced at it and immediately understood what the people around him were thinking.

"You know?" Funina asked.

Does this mean that everyone knows I skipped half a day of work?

"Could it be because of skipping work? Sure enough, it seems that being an administrative minister and being absent from work for half a day without cause has a significant impact on the Mo Mang Palace." Fu Ningna couldn't help but say, rubbing her chin.

After all, you see, she only missed half a day of work, and everyone's gaze towards her has changed.

“I don’t think so.” Richard shook his head. He was certain that very few people around him knew that Funina hadn’t come for half a day, and even if Funina hadn’t come, everyone would have assumed that Funina had something more important to do.

For example, going to the Opéra Garnier to see an opera, or going into the wild to cause trouble for the Pompom Beast...

"Then why are they looking at me so strangely?" Funina wondered.

"Let's go back to the office first and talk about it then."

"Oh."