"Why?" Furina looked at Richard in confusion. The plan she had proposed took everyone's needs into account, it should have satisfied all parties.
She couldn't understand why Richard would reject it. Did he really not want to be the Minister of Administration?
Richard met her gaze directly, staring into the young girl's eyes.
"I think, Lady Furina, you may have misunderstood something."
"Misunderstood?"
"Furina, do you think I came to Fontaine just to pursue high office?"
Furina pressed her lips together but stubbornly insisted, "And isn't that the case?"
"If I really wanted to be an official, to climb above others… not to brag, but I had plenty of other choices. Options with prospects far brighter than the Palais Mermonia." Richard wasn't lying. Back in Inazuma, he had already risen to a position just one step below the highest.
And if he really wanted, he could have pushed further, to be above even that "one."
After all, as long as the position was on top, it was still "above."
Furina suddenly thought of Inazuma's Yae Miko, then of Mondstadt's Jean. She knew Richard wasn't bluffing. He wasn't bound to Fontaine, both Mondstadt and Inazuma could accommodate him, even welcome him.
And those were just the places she knew. There might be others. For instance, the Fatui Harbinger "La Signora" had once mentioned the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya… Richard seemed to hold considerable status there as well.
After all, if your standing was low, no one would care if you defected.
"Then if not for rank and fortune, why did you come to Fontaine? Opera?" Furina pressed.
"Prying into people's private lives isn't exactly a good habit, Lady Furina."
"And you don't do the same?"
"I do. But unlike you, I have no intention of changing."
'He admitted it outright!' Furina hadn't expected Richard to be so… shameless.
"Lady Furina, do you know the real reason people today feel so much pressure in life?"
"Too much work, too little pay?"
"That's only the surface. Aren't there plenty of civil servants who still suffocate under pressure? Do they work too much? Are they underpaid?"
"Uh…" Furina couldn't bring herself to deny it.
In truth, Fontaine's civil servants were well paid, with excellent benefits. Their workload was much lighter than average too.
That was why the profession was so desirable.
"The true reason for the pressure," Richard continued, "is that they don't know how to release it. When something happens, they refuse to seek help from friends. They'd rather shoulder everything alone, keeping up a façade so that others think they're doing fine…"
"So, Lady Furina, tell me, do you feel stressed?"
"Not at all. I'm fine. Perfectly fine." Furina said with her trademark fake smile.
"You see? Patients never think they're patients."
"And you're a patient, then?" Furina shot back, finding a hole in his logic.
"I can be both patient and doctor," Richard replied calmly. "It all depends on you."
"Depends… on me?" Furina frowned, not knowing what this man was scheming.
"If you treat me as the patient, then our talk about 'illness' doesn't have to be yours, it could be anyone's. For example, 'I have a friend…'"
"But if you treat me as the doctor, then you'll need to let me know your condition. Only after fully understanding the patient can a doctor prescribe treatment, isn't that right?" Richard leaned forward, showing clear intent to engage.
Furina, however, leaned back with arms crossed, a defensive posture, her guard high. There was little chance she'd open up honestly.
"I'm not a patient. Neither are you. And you're certainly no doctor. Our priority now is dealing with the public opinion crisis." As expected, Furina chose to avoid the subject.
Yes, a mask worn long enough fuses with flesh. Forcibly tearing it off only rips skin and bone, exposing raw white beneath.
From their conversation, Richard now understood Furina's issues ran far deeper than he'd thought, she was seriously afflicted.
Worse yet, this "patient" refused any treatment.
Even the renowned "Doctor Richard" could only attempt a shallow diagnosis from surface symptoms, with little effect.
"Public opinion is easy to handle. Hardly worth resigning over."
"It's not about public opinion. I simply want to resign. The timing just happens to fit."
"When did you decide this?"
"Just now."
Right when Furina sensed Richard's curiosity probing her hidden secrets.
She needed distance from him!
"Such a big decision deserves careful thought."
"I've thought about it before."
"Even careful thought doesn't always guarantee the answer is right."
Furina laughed bitterly. "So now only your words can be right?"
"Of course not. But if I believe you're wrong, I'll act to correct it. Isn't the duty of a secretary-general to prevent the minister from making mistakes?" Richard spread his hands.
"And if I resign, I'm no longer a minister." Furina reminded.
"Have you resigned yet?" Richard smiled.
"I… I can't out-argue you. But either way, I'm done being minister!" Furina snapped, deciding not to get entangled further.
"Sorry, Lady Furina. But this ministry can't do without you." Richard shook his head.
"So you mean you can interfere with my decisions?" Furina sneered.
"Not interfere, only advise you toward the best decision."
"Yet you can't even resolve the current problem. Do you need me to remind you, my scandalous 'husband,' Secretary Richard?"
"There are many solutions. In fact, simply removing the word 'scandalous' would be one."
"Richard, I'll admit you're remarkable. But if you think that makes you worthy of a god, you're being far too arrogant." Furina mocked.
"Truthfully, if I hadn't run fast enough back then, you'd be calling me 'God-King' now." Richard shrugged. Believe it or not, that was the fact.
Though, if he really had become a God-King, Furina probably wouldn't even have met him…
"?" Furina's brow arched. From his tone, it sounded like an actual god had taken interest in him?
Who could have such poor taste?
A strange irritation flared in her chest, as though someone else were coveting something that belonged to her.
"Of course, if you're unwilling, that's fine. I understand, feelings take time to nurture before blooming into love. We can always resolve the rumors another way."
"Such as?"
"For example, expelling all seventy-six Snezhnayan envoys from the embassy. Or, perhaps, launching a small war with Sumeru." Richard offered casually.
Furina felt her scalp tingle. This man was far too extreme.
But undeniably, such acts would divert the people's attention.
No nation in Teyvat had ever expelled an entire embassy. Nor had any started a war against a neighbor.
The Seven Nations might bicker constantly, but conflict never escalated beyond friction. Even the Fatui followed this unspoken rule.
Breaking that precedent could lead to unimaginable consequences.
"Don't you think that's too much? Just to shift public opinion?" Furina's worldview was on the verge of collapse.
"Too much? Not at all. Compared to the Fatui's deeds, I'd say I'm restrained. Don't worry, Sumeru's god is currently imprisoned by her own people. Easy prey." Richard even joked.
"If we capture Sumeru City and liberate the little Dendro Archon, she might even thank us."
"No, Richard. You're right about one thing, you are a patient. And a seriously ill one at that."
"Excellent, Lady Furina. Then, are you willing to discuss your condition with me?" Richard clapped his hands and looked at Furina with eager anticipation.
"I'm not sick!"
"Patients never think they're patients."
"Are you a patient, then?" Furina blurted out, then froze, how had the conversation looped back here again?
"I can be both patient and doctor. Everything depends on you, Lady Furina." Richard repeated, but this time he added: "Though I hope you'll think carefully. If I'm the patient, I tend to… ramble nonsense. And if I were to accidentally say something I shouldn't, or let slip secrets I shouldn't, you ought to be understanding."
"You're threatening me!" Furina's brows knit in anger.
"Oh-hoho, Lady Furina, how could you think such a thing? What power could I possibly have to threaten you? You're so mighty, even without a Gnosis, you've sat firmly as Hydro Archon for nearly five hundred years. How could I dare threaten you?"
Furina clenched her little fists, anger and grievance flashing in her eyes. 'If that wasn't a threat, what was it? Every word was a threat!'
'This wasn't a loyal right-hand man at all, he was an overbearing, treacherous minister!'
She really must have been blind to tolerate him this long!
"We're on the same side, Lady Furina. Perhaps you don't feel that way now, but time will prove it. No matter what, I am the one most worthy of your trust."
"Heh. The person most worthy of my trust wouldn't threaten me."
"Heavens as witness, Lady Furina, I truly don't know how I've threatened you. Why don't you tell me where you think I've threatened you, and I'll be sure to change?" Richard smiled brightly as he said it.
"You know perfectly well!" Furina fumed. But how could she say it out loud? That would be the same as exposing herself!
And the fact that he knew she couldn't say it, and still pressed the issue, made him even more insufferable!
"If you don't say it, how can I know? I don't have mind-reading, Lady Furina, surely you're being too unreasonable."
"Heh… Richard, you've really opened my eyes today. Or perhaps… this is the real you?"
"That's unfair, Furina. I've shown you my truest self. In return, shouldn't you do the same?"
Furina: "..."
She realized that in terms of sharp tongue, even several of her wouldn't be a match for Richard. So she shut her mouth, hoping silence would convey her stance.
But Furina didn't know, silence wasn't a tool you could casually use. Against someone like Richard, the moment you went quiet, he would speak on your behalf.
"Furina, I thought we were friends. I never imagined you'd guard yourself against me this much. So you've always been speaking to me from behind a mask? Beneath that mask… which one is the real you?"
Richard even broke into an operatic trill: "Ohhh~ poor Richard, toyed with in Lady Furina's delicate hands~"
"Who's toying with you!" Furina snapped, unable to keep her composure. If she stayed silent any longer, she'd look like some heartless villainess discarding him!
"Alright, alright. You're not toying with me. Everything is my own fault, my self-inflicted misery…" Richard lowered his gaze, his expression clouded with melancholy.
"You-you…"
"Please don't be angry, Lady Furina. It only makes it seem as if I'm in the wrong."
Furina: ###(p￣皿￣)
She completely lost control, lunging forward as if to drag Richard down with her. But whether from moving too hastily or from imbalance, her body tipped forward, and she ended up tumbling straight into Richard's arms.
From an outsider's perspective, if you ignored Furina's furious expression, the scene looked like nothing less than her leaping willingly into his embrace.
"L-let me go!" Furina struggled to pull away, intent on showing this man some real consequences.
And at that moment, the office door swung open. Clorinde stepped in, having heard noises from inside. She thought Lady Furina and Richard were about to break into a fight and rushed in to mediate.
But instead, she was greeted with… quite the explosive scene.
They were fighting, just in another sense.
"M-my apologies, I thought something serious was happening…" Clorinde's eyes widened in shock. At a time like this, Furina was still…
'Wait. Didn't this mean the rumors weren't rumors after all?'
As always, the more the government denies something, the more likely it is to be true.
'Secretary Richard. Lady Furina. Could it be that they really were…?'
Clorinde glanced at Furina, whose ears were red to the tips, then at Richard, who held her with an expression full of weary helplessness.
That helplessness, to Clorinde, looked like indulgence, the indulgence of a husband toward a spoiled little wife.
'…It was almost endearing.'
An absurd thought flashed through her mind: 'This pairing is actually kind of… good?'
"It's not what you think, Clorinde!" Furina cried, her voice tinged with despair.
"I understand, Lady Furina. Love is always blind, always impulsive… I read that in a book once."
'Understand your head! And what kind of books are you even reading?!'
"Clorinde, you've misunderstood. Just now, Lady Furina tripped on the desk corner. I merely caught her to steady her, nothing more." Richard calmly slipped back into his composed mask.
"So that's it… I see." Clorinde nodded in sudden realization.
"Why is it that when I say something you don't believe me, but when Richard says it you do? Whose side are you on, Clorinde?!" Furina shot her a death glare.
Clorinde activated selective deafness and quickly changed the subject. "Lady Furina, Lord Richard, Charlotte from the Steambird requests an audience. Shall I let her in?"
"Let her in. (Don't let her in.)" Furina and Richard spoke at the same time.
Clorinde's eyes went blank. Ah, another death-choice.
The battle-hardened duelist once again regretted agreeing to take on this troublesome assignment under Richard.
If she'd known earlier… she might as well have stayed a duel agent.