"So when Ninguang and I went to see that musical, Shenhe came looking for him again?" Furina asked the other two members of the tea-guarding squad.
"To be precise, it was Lady Xianyun who brought Shenhe along," Clorinde corrected her.
"Two of them!?" Furina's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Uh… I don't think Lady Xianyun has that kind of interest in Richard," Clorinde recalled the adeptus's attitude toward him.
"The way she looked at him," Lynette added precisely, "was like a farmer looking at a pig that knows how to dig up cabbages."
Furina pinched her chin with elegant fingers and muttered through gritted teeth, "The cabbages of Liyue are far too impolite."
Coming to deceive her! To ambush her!
They even pulled a sneak attack behind her back, how despicable!
Furina hadn't ignored Shenhe, of course. The problem was that the mysterious Liyue adepti disciple left almost no trace; she couldn't dig up any information on her at all. All Furina knew was what Richard had briefly said when he introduced them.
As for the sudden "assault" by Shenhe and Cloud Retainer, Furina didn't blame Clorinde or Lynette for not stopping Richard from going. After all, Richard was a free man, and her two allies had no reason to prevent him from meeting old friends.
"How did things go on your end?" Clorinde asked curiously.
Did she manage to cut that "Heavenly Jade Star" down from her horse?
"…" Furina didn't answer. "Cut her down"? She was lucky to hold her ground at all.
If not for the fact that Ninguang was from Liyue and couldn't stay permanently in Fontaine, Furina suspected she'd already be dethroned.
Lynette noticed Furina's silence and instantly guessed the outcome, the so-called "show of dominance" had clearly failed miserably. If it had worked, Furina would've immediately declared victory and insisted on using the same tactics against Shenhe next.
"Care to tell us what happened?" Lynette asked.
Furina briefly described last night's encounter with Ninguang, focusing on the drama and the jade pendant.
Even with only a short retelling, Lynette realized how formidable Ninguang truly was. Furina's defeat made perfect sense; the opponent had cards just as powerful.
After hearing everything, Clorinde caught something odd. "Wait, what about the clothes?"
Why didn't she play the outfit card?
At that, Furina let out a long sigh. She hadn't wanted to talk about this, because while the earlier rounds had been draws, she had to admit that in terms of attire, she had lost completely.
Not because her outfit was worse, but because of what it represented.
Furina had worn a dress Richard bought her, yes. But Ninguang had told her that Richard had an entire wardrobe of clothes she'd personally picked for him.
That single statement ended the match.
"It's not about how much someone gives you," Lynette summarized softly, "but how much you give to them."
Exactly. Even with home-court advantage, Furina had still been outplayed.
Part of it was Ninguang's experience , but the larger issue was Furina's lack of practical experience in love and rivalry.
In short, too little palace intrigue training.
Clorinde couldn't help clicking her tongue. Compared to Furina's battlefield, she and Lynette were just fighting minibosses, the real endgame boss was over there.
Wait…? Hold on. Why was she even getting involved? Unlike Furina and Lynette, she didn't actually love Richard , she just lusted after him. Why not just watch from the sidelines?
Wouldn't it be better to sit back and enjoy the show?
But then she quickly dismissed that thought. Sure, the Liyue offensive was fierce , but it would only last two weeks in Fontaine.
If Clorinde wanted to stay neutral, both sides would need to remain locked in long-term conflict , which was unlikely. Ninguang couldn't stay in Fontaine forever fighting over a man.
So, if Clorinde didn't pick a side now, once Ninguang left, she'd face Furina and Lynette's reckoning.
"Clorinde, you seem deep in thought," Furina said, eyeing her strategist curiously.
Seeing her so serious, Furina assumed Clorinde had come up with a brilliant new plan.
Little did she know, Clorinde was actually thinking about which faction to join to stay alive.
Having learned from previous slip-ups, Clorinde stayed cautious this time. Despite her wandering thoughts, her tone was calm when she finally spoke:
"I was just thinking, Lady Furina, why do we have to fight Ninguang at all? Why not… cooperate?"
"Cooperate?" Furina blinked, touching Clorinde's forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you?"
Richard was only one man! If they cooperated, how would that even work, cut him in half and share?
"If we can't cooperate," Clorinde replied, gesturing toward Lynette, "then what are we doing right now? Technically, she's your rival too. And yet, here we are, working together."
"That's different," Furina argued. "We're cooperating because we want to keep Richard in Fontaine. That's an alliance of necessity!"
Besides, Ninguang was from Liyue. Clorinde and Lynette were Fontaine natives, as was she, the Hydro Archon herself. Regionally speaking, they were natural allies.
"This isn't about nationality, Lady Furina," Clorinde pressed. "Even if Richard went to Liyue, Lynette and I could just go with him. That's not a problem."
'I can't!' Furina groaned inwardly.
She was Fontaine's Archon, burdened with duty. If she left, who would protect Fontaine?
"Of course, I understand your position," Clorinde continued, "but have you ever considered another possibility?"
"What possibility?"
"That Richard doesn't need to have only one girlfriend. He could have multiple partners. If you care about labels, 'girlfriend,' 'lover,' 'beloved', "
"Pfft-! Cough!"
Even Lynette, calmly sipping tea, choked.
"Girlfriend is girlfriend, lover is lover!? Clorinde, are you out of your mind!?"
"Are you really surprised?" Clorinde asked evenly. "Among Fontaine's upper class, this is quite common. Many nobles and tycoons have lovers outside their marriage."
"Well… not just men," Lynette admitted. "Plenty of noblewomen have their own affairs. Some even share lovers , men and women alike."
Furina flushed scarlet. "T-That's different! It's improper! Unacceptable!"
She yearned for a pure, one-to-one love, not to be some man's 'wing.'
"But what if Richard chooses someone else?" Clorinde asked. "Would you give up? Would you be content?"
"I… I could endure," Furina said softly. If that truly happened, she'd be heartbroken , but she'd bear it in silence.
She was good at enduring pain.
"But what if they can't?" Clorinde pressed. "If Richard chooses you, but Ninguang or Lynette refuse to give up, what then?"
Furina looked at Lynette. "Would you do that?"
Lynette paused, then said quietly, "I don't know."
That was answer enough.
Furina tried to argue. "So what? If Richard already chose me, "
Clorinde shook her head. "Lady Furina, there's no such thing as a cat that never steals fish."
"I believe in Richard!" Furina declared stubbornly.
"Even if he resists temptation," Clorinde countered, "what if they go through you instead? What if Ninguang manipulates things so you think he betrayed you?"
Furina opened her mouth, but couldn't deny it.
"If that happened," Clorinde continued smoothly, "would you forgive him, or cut him off?"
"Forgive him once, then twice, then again… How long before you're just suffering?"
Furina's face darkened as the imaginary betrayal played out in her mind.
"And finally," Clorinde concluded, "after endless compromises, love fades, bitterness remains. You break up , and the others rush to fill the vacancy. To avoid your tragedy, they tolerate his flaws, even encourage them… until everyone's 'happy' except the one who left."
Furina fell silent. She knew Clorinde's scenario wasn't impossible.
"Of course," Clorinde suddenly added, "that likely won't happen."
Furina's eyes brightened , until Clorinde calmly finished:
"Because if you insist on your ideals, Richard probably won't choose you in the first place."
"Why not!?" Furina demanded.
"Simple," Clorinde replied. "Would you give up a whole forest for a single tree?"
"If someone as charming as you insists on exclusivity, but another woman, nearly as good, offers to share instead, who do you think he'd choose?"
"There can't possibly be people like that!" Furina cried.
"Oh, there are," Clorinde smiled. "We call it… competition."
She gave examples , merchants lowering prices, workers overworking, job applicants lowering pay , all to outcompete others.
"Doing the same in love isn't so hard," she said. "Difficult, sure, but possible."
For her part, Clorinde truly didn't mind sharing Richard , she only desired his body, not his heart.
As she once joked: I just want to be the mayor's wife; I don't care who the mayor is.
Or in her case: I just want Richard's body, who else he's with doesn't matter.
"Lady Furina," Clorinde said earnestly, "you must expand your horizons."
Furina could only gape. 'Expand my horizons? This wasn't an expansion, it was a detonation!'
Still, even if she couldn't accept it now, Clorinde's words had planted a seed.
Lynette, meanwhile, set down her cup and sighed.
"I think before we worry about how many girlfriends Richard might have," she said quietly, "we should first worry about how to get him to have one at all."
Because really , they hadn't even lit the stove yet, and they were already arguing over what dishes to cook.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu