Upon hearing words that were no different from her memory, Furina's face involuntarily showed a smile.
However, this smile was only a slight one in the eyes of the audience, just like the unique smile of the former Water God Furina.
But in Yuto's eyes, Furina's smile was exceptionally gentle, like a blue rose blooming only for him.
However, this blue rose did not bloom for long, or rather... it did not bloom for long in public.
The young girl quickly put away the smile that was only for her beloved, and instead put on the exaggerated demeanor unique to Water God Furina.
"Hehe, praise the blessings and grace I bestow upon you~ It is your honor to serve Focalors, the Hydro Archon who represents justice."
Before Yuto could reply, she gently pushed the plate, which she had unknowingly finished eating from, towards Yuto and continued:
"I don't need your verbal thanks. More than that… I prefer you to show me your loyalty through actions."
Hearing this, Yuto gently nodded, then picked up the plate and temporarily left the audience's sight.
The lights dimmed at this moment, and time seemed to stand still.
And this form of expression... in Fontaine Opera, is usually considered a "heartfelt monologue."
Furina slowly stood up, turning her head slightly to look in Yuto's direction, a hint of apology showing in her beautiful, heterochromatic eyes.
"I need to… be the Archon that people expect, so… even if that appearance is not my original intention, I must do it."
Seeming to recall the scene of her first inaugural speech, Furina sighed softly and murmured:
"Fontaine is a nation that represents justice. The people here do not need a gentle and intellectual Archon."
"What they need is a Archon full of artistic flair and personality to lead them."
"Although this is not my original intention, I am sorry, but this is my duty."
With that, Furina sat back down in her seat, then assumed a posture as if deep in thought.
The moment Furina returned to her seat, the stage lights came back on, which meant the focus had returned to reality.
While Furina was delivering her inner monologue on stage, Lauvik also quickly made his way onto the stage, using the blind spot of the audience's view as cover.
His role was simple: a regular clerk at the Palais Mermonia responsible for organizing archival documents.
At this moment, he was holding a detailed catalog and content of all the Judgments carried out this morning. Normally...
This should be given to Furina, the true Archon, for review.
Looking at Furina, who seemed to be spacing out, Lauvik cleared his throat and then asked:
"Lady Furina? Are you alright?"
Hearing this, Furina's body trembled slightly, as if she had been pulled out of her thoughts by the sudden sound.
However, she quickly concealed this surprise. She gently raised her head to look at Lauvik in front of her, her heterochromatic eyes sweeping over Lauvik's attire, and then she asked indifferently:
"Are you here again to deliver case processing reports and results?"
Lauvik nodded, just about to place the documents on the table when... Furina interrupted him.
"Sigh, didn't I say before? I was present for the Judgment process of all these cases. Those minor details can be left to Neuvillette."
"What's more…"
Furina lightly rubbed her chin with her index finger, then said:
"What's more, none of these Judgments are 'what I expected'…"
Hearing this, Lauvik stopped his movement of placing the documents on Furina's desk, and then asked:
"Uh… May I ask what kind of Judgment you are expecting?"
Hearing Lauvik's words, Furina raised her eyebrows slightly, then stood up abruptly, just as she had shown her personality before, and said with great intoxication:
"The Judgment I expect… is a grand, theatrical, beautiful Judgment that can end everything…"
At this point, Furina paused slightly, and the intoxicated expression on her face instantly turned into helplessness.
The young girl spread her hands, her eyes slightly closed, and she said softly with a very complex sense of loss:
"Ah… you probably wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Furina's words caused a hint of unease to appear on the face of the Palais Mermonia clerk in front of her, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Yes… I am but a mere mortal, incapable of presuming to understand the thoughts of you, Archon…"
Hearing this, Furina looked at the apprehensive clerk in front of her with a strange expression, then shrugged lightly and said:
"There's no need to be so apprehensive, and no need to dwell on what I just said. Go about your business."
"As for the Judgment I expect… I will encounter it one day, and it will surely arrive one day."
After saying this, Furina gently stretched her neck, watched the apprehensive clerk flee her office, and sighed softly.
"Although this is not my intention, judging by their current reaction… after all these years, they still regard me as Archon, which proves my plan is successful."
Furina said softly, then raised her head to look at the sky, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"But… how much longer until that Judgment arrives?"
As Furina uttered this sentence, the fill lights on the stage instantly extinguished, and two spotlights converged on her in an instant.
She slowly closed her eyes, adjusted her breathing slightly, and then began to sing:
[The duty of Archon cannot be cast aside, the obligation of Archon cannot be abandoned]
[Everything is not my will, but I must walk this path]
[If I drop my disguise, I cannot protect my people, I cannot bear the responsibility of Archon]
[If I wear a mask, I cannot be close to my people, I cannot reveal my inner self]
[What a fortune to be Archon, what a sorrow to be Archon]
[The sorrow and numbness in my heart, only I know]
Accompanied by Furina's graceful dance and slightly melancholic tone, her figure once again disappeared behind the curtain.
And just as the audience below the stage had anticipated a scene change... the red curtain, which had been perfectly covering only the center of the stage, suddenly moved.
Swoosh—
With the sound of a cable moving, the red curtain that had been concealing the left side of the stage quickly opened, revealing the stage scenery that the theater troupe had already prepared.
Not only that, the scenery of "Furina's Office" which was originally in the center of the stage was at this moment precisely covered by the excess part of the right curtain.
Looking at this unusual transition method, the audience below the stage was stunned for a moment, and then a new round of discussions erupted.
"If I remember correctly… that's Lady Furina's reception room, isn't it? Anyone who visits Lady Furina is received there."
"Oh? Such a novel way to change scenes? So the office set earlier wasn't actually in the middle, but rather to the right?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, Lady Furina and Lord Yuto's research into Fontaine drama is truly profound. This kind of scene change… is truly unheard of."
"And did you notice, even though this set appears to be on the left side of the stage under the curtain's cover, a large part of the scene is still in the center of the stage."
"Yes, yes, even from our relatively remote corner, we can clearly see Lady Furina's facial expressions. It's hard to imagine how much effort they put in."
...
The audience's discussion below the stage was not intense; on the contrary, they quickly quieted down.
Anyone who comes to the Opera Epiclese to watch Fontaine Opera should understand that what they are watching is the story, the actors' dance and movements, and the actors' voices.
—Definitely not just the scenery and stage arrangements.
Because these things are merely icing on the cake; one must not mistake the main focus.
And Polo, sitting in his seat, looked at Furina in front of him and said with some excitement:
"Lady Furina! I… I am too excited, I don't know what to say, but in short… thank you for receiving me!"
Feeling the intense emotions of the "Water Archon believer" that Polo was temporarily portraying, Furina nodded slightly, her approval for Polo growing.
"No need to say thank you. You should thank yourself for having the perseverance to finally wait in line for this day to see me."
"Hahaha… It seems that the charm I, as Archon, emanate has also caused some trouble for everyone in certain ways~"
After saying this, Furina lowered her head slightly, as if contemplating something, then spoke:
"Oh right, your name is Salrais, isn't it? How is your son's illness recently?"
Furina's words instantly stirred Salrais's emotions. His excitement and agitation, which he had previously been able to somewhat conceal,
instantly transformed into the fanaticism unique to a "believer" the moment Furina mentioned his name and his son's condition.
"Ah! You, you actually remember me, and even know about my family's affairs…"
Polo's head swayed irregularly, a movement only possible when a person is extremely excited.
His voice trembled slightly, as if he had completely immersed himself in the role of "Salrais," which Furina had temporarily conceived.
"He's much better now, and… he's also your believer, even more devout and loyal to you than I am."
"He wanted me to come see you and then repeat to him whatever you said…"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Furina's face, and she chuckled softly before saying:
"Haha… that's really good. Both Father and son are residents of Fontaine, and both are my devout believers…"
"Next time there's such a situation, you can tell me in advance. It's not impossible to occasionally make an exception and visit the common folk's homes."
"Consider it a change of pace~"
Furina's voice was quite relaxed, as if her personality and demeanor should naturally be so gentle.
"You are truly a gentle and wise Archon. I want to thank you again on behalf of my son…"
Polo's fervent yet somewhat restrained voice came again, as if he were originally the Water Archon's most loyal believer.
Looking at the devout believer in front of her, Furina smiled slightly, then pushed the dessert, made by Yuto's hands, across the table to Salrais.
"Lady Furina, you are—"
"Consider it… a blessing from Archon to you two loyal believers~"
...
After confirming that Salrais had left, Furina slowly leaned back on the sofa, gently closed her eyes, and a rare hint of fatigue appeared on her delicate face.
"It seems the effect is still good; even children are my loyal believers…"
"Just keep it up… because only this demeanor can put them at ease."
"I must protect them well… this is my duty as Archon."
Furina sighed softly, casually put a macaron from the plate into her mouth, chewed it twice, and then realized…
"It seems… the taste isn't quite right…"
Furina pursed her lips slightly, then said somewhat oddly:
"Is it because my mood is bad that the taste of food has changed? Or did I give Yuto too much work earlier?"
And just as Furina was feeling strange because the taste of the macaron had changed… Yuto pushed a silver dining cart to her.
"Lady Furina, this is your afternoon tea for today. Please enjoy it."
Yuto said as he placed everything in front of Furina, who at this moment fell into a brief daze.
She looked at the rather exquisite small cake placed in front of her, then looked at Yuto, who was about to leave, with some surprise and asked:
"Yuto… have you finished all the paperwork I assigned you yesterday? Also, this afternoon tea…"
Furina pointed to the multi-layered plate piled with macarons in front of her, then pointed to the small cake in front of her, seemingly a little surprised.
And Yuto blinked somewhat confusedly, but still replied:
"Of course, I've finished it all and submitted it to the Marechaussee Phantom and the Momang Hall office. As for this afternoon tea…"
"I considered that since you are Archon, the pastries you eat should be somewhat different from those of mortals."
"These macarons are specifically made by me for the mortals you receive."
"Although this is not my highest standard, it is still very good compared to pastries you can buy outside."
"As for this cake… it is naturally for your afternoon tea. As the Archon of Fontaine, you have worked hard."
Yuto's words were quite pertinent, which made Furina somewhat dazed for a moment. After a long pause, she softly hummed in response to Yuto.
And Yuto took this opportunity to unhurriedly leave the stage once more.
"'You've worked hard'…"
Furina carefully savored the meaning of these three words, a smile appearing on her face, then she softly said to herself:
"Yes, Furina, you've worked hard…"
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