Raiden Ei was also dumbfounded.
Her hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air, her purple eyes filled with confusion.
As the Electro Archon of Inazuma, she considered herself to have seen many grand spectacles.
But she truly had never seen a scene like this today.
King only has Paimon in his heart?
What does this mean?
Isn't Paimon King's pet?
Why can a pet occupy King's heart?
Her brain began to work at high speed, trying to understand this proposition that exceeded her range of cognition.
"Paimon, what on earth are you talking about? I don't understand at all."
Raiden Ei spoke for once, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty.
Everyone looked at Paimon in shock.
Those gazes were like looking at a Slime that suddenly announced it was going to rule Teyvat.
"All of you give up! Only Paimon is the main wife!"
Paimon acted with full confidence, pulling a crumpled newspaper from her magical interdimensional cape and holding it high above her head.
"Ta-da!"
"That's what everyone is saying!"
"See for yourselves! This is the evidence!"
Everyone's eyes fell simultaneously on that newspaper.
Lumine grabbed Paimon's cheek and pulled it long.
"Paimon! What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Paimon's little face was distorted from being pulled, but she still stubbornly waved the newspaper.
"Mmph... Paimon isn't talking nonsense... see for yourself... the newspaper... says so..."
"What newspaper?"
Arlecchino narrowed his eyes.
Neuvillette's expression changed instantly.
He recognized that newspaper.
It was the special edition of The Steambird that had been urgently printed in the early hours of this morning.
The gossip special written by that reporter named Charlotte.
He had already ordered all special editions to be confiscated and destroyed.
How could there still be one that escaped the net?!
Paimon rubbed her reddened cheek and floated triumphantly to the center of the dining table, unfolding the newspaper.
"Look! Front-page headline! A Comprehensive Review of King's Rumored Girlfriends!"
She pointed at the massive headline on the newspaper, her little face full of pride.
"Paimon! 47.9% support! First place!"
"The newspaper says Paimon is King's only—"
"Mmph mmph mmph!"
Lumine lunged forward in one step and covered Paimon's mouth.
But it was already too late.
Everyone crowded around.
Furina was the first to lean in, snatching the newspaper away.
[Exclusive Reveal! The Mysterious Love History of Lord King! Who is the True Love in His Heart?!]
Below was a row of photos.
A silhouette of Raiden Ei.
A view of the back of the Traveler Lumine.
A huffy front-facing photo of Paimon...
Furina's gaze skipped over the row of candidate photos and landed on the poll results—
[Paimon: 47.9%]
[Lady Hydro Archon: 17.5%]
[Lady Electro Archon: 15%]
[Lumine: 12%]
[Clorinde: 4%]
[Lynette: 3%]
[Others: 0.4%]
Furina's face collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Only... 17.5%?"
She muttered to herself, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Why am I only at 17.5%?"
"As the God of Fontaine, I actually lost to Paimon in Fontaine?"
"On what basis does Paimon have 47.9% support?!"
She looked up at Paimon, who was still triumphantly wiggling her bottom while Lumine covered her mouth, then looked down at the numbers on the paper, and then up again at the arrogant Paimon.
Those heterochromatic eyes were filled with a stubbornness called resentment.
Raiden Ei had also leaned in at some point.
She looked down at the newspaper, her purple eyes narrowing slightly.
"15%..."
She read the number aloud and then fell silent.
A few seconds later, she looked up at King.
On that usually expressionless face, a hint of confusion rarely appeared.
"King, what does this poll result mean?"
She paused and then asked:
"Why do I only have 15%? Why is Paimon so much higher than me?"
King: "..."
What could he say?
Say that this was made up by some idiot reporter?
Say that this poll doesn't mean anything at all?
Say that you shouldn't take it seriously?
Looking into Raiden Ei's serious purple eyes, he felt that whatever he said would be useless.
Lumine let go of Paimon and leaned in to glance at the newspaper.
"12%..."
She read the number and then smiled.
She smiled very gently, very appropriately, very...
In a way that made one's spine go cold.
"Paimon is truly amazing."
Her voice was still gentle.
"47.9%, almost half."
Paimon poked her head out from behind her, shaking her head proudly.
"Of course! I, Paimon, am the most beauti— Eek!"
The Traveler used an Iron Fist Sanction on Big Fool Paimon.
Clorinde and Lynette also leaned in.
The two looked down at the '4%' and '3%' on the newspaper and exchanged a glance.
Clorinde didn't do much, just sighed silently, her eyes full of disappointment.
Lynette's cat ears drooped, and her tail stopped wagging.
She lowered her head, her bangs covering most of her face, her whole being radiating a low pressure of 'I'm unhappy.'
Arlecchino stood to the side, watching this scene with great interest.
His gaze swept over the 'Others: 0.4%' on the newspaper, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"What does this 'Others' mean?"
He spoke softly, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"Could it be that Lord King has other close female friends?"
Columbina tilted her head and leaned toward the newspaper to 'look.'
Then she smiled.
"I'm not in the rankings."
Her voice was still ethereal and dreamlike.
"But it's okay, I just got here."
She turned to King, her face with closed eyes full of expectation.
"King, when the next poll happens, I'll be your first choice, right?"
King: "..."
He took a deep breath.
Then he slowly exhaled.
"Neuvillette."
Neuvillette's whole body stiffened.
"These newspapers, you told me you had handled them cleanly, right?"
"Is this the result of your handling?"
"Weren't they all supposed to be destroyed?"
King's voice was tired and helpless.
So helpless it made one's heart ache.
Neuvillette opened his mouth, speechless.
The newspapers should indeed have been completely destroyed.
He had personally watched the soldiers throw stacks of the special edition into the incinerator.
He had personally watched those papers turn to ash in the flames.
How did Paimon get a copy?
Neuvillette suddenly felt like crying.
As the Hydro Dragon King, he had lived for a long time.
Today, for the first time, he felt that living was so difficult.
Venti poked his head out from a corner at some point.
He watched this farce, his emerald eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Oh my, oh my~" he whispered, "this is truly wonderful~ more exciting than the operas in Mondstadt~ I should write it into a narrative poem~ let's call it 'The Chronicles of the Fontaine Palace Infighting'~"
Wriothesley silently picked up the cup of coffee that had already gone cold and took a sip.
He decided to say nothing and do nothing today.
Just quietly watch the show.
As for Snezhnaya's honey trap?
Whatever.
Eat the sugar coating and throw the shell back.
In any case, Lord King would definitely not be brought down by such minor tricks.
Paimon broke free from Lumine's iron fist, floated in front of King, hands on her hips, triumphant.
"King! Look! Paimon is number one!"
She tilted her little face up, her eyes bright and sparkling.
"So Paimon is your girlfri— mmph mmph mmph!"
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