Yes, Lady Funina!

"Oh? Wasn't it said that the Fontaine Academy of Sciences is currently short-staffed? Have Schwarzel and Raymond come up with a solution?" Furina asked curiously.

“Of course…no.” Clarind drawled out the last syllable.

"In fact, the students studying at the Fontaine Academy are all working very hard these days, and it's all thanks to Mr. Edwin, huh?" Funina blinked her big eyes.

"The students are probably worried that someone like Edwin will become their academic mentor in the future. To avoid this, the best way is naturally to acquire more knowledge."

"Do they want to become mentors?"

“No.” Claude shook her head. Becoming the head of a scientific research project requires more than just knowledge.

"The more knowledge you acquire, the better you'll know which projects you can take on and which you can't, so you won't end up like those senior students who perished in a fire while their mentors are still alive and well."

“This isn’t funny, Clarind,” Furnessa said, somewhat speechless.

“I’m not joking about this,” Clarinde replied very seriously.

"Are you serious?" Furina looked at Clorind and realized that the other party didn't seem to be joking.

Claurind glanced at Funina speechlessly. She usually spoke out of turn to ease the atmosphere, but now that Richard wasn't around, why was she making such a fuss?

“Lady Furna, you are the same.” Clarinde’s words to Furna were not without deeper meaning.

“Me?” Funina pointed to herself.

"Yes."

"Are you suggesting I learn how to be a qualified prime minister? Okay, I admit I'm not quite qualified yet, but I've been trying." Furina said, sounding quite aggrieved.

Since becoming the Prime Minister of Fontainebleau, she has been constantly worried, fearing that she might fail to live up to the trust placed in her.

The most obvious thing is that Funina has been getting closer to Richard less lately.

“That’s it,” Claurind pointed out the key point.

"Which point?" Funina asked, somewhat annoyed.

“You’re working too hard,” Claurind sighed.

"You already have Secretary-General Richard, why do you still need to work so hard?"

Claude felt that Frynn hadn't seen through the essence of the matter. No matter how smart Frynn was, could she possibly be smarter than Richard?

If you can control Richard, you will be the most qualified, or even the most outstanding, ruler in Fontainebleau's history.

Even the ruler of the Remurian Empire in the legend of Fontaine is no match for you.

"..." Furina felt that there was something wrong with Clorinde, but upon closer inspection, it seemed that there was nothing wrong with her.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke:

"We can't rely on Richard for everything, can we? He's quite busy too."

When Clarin heard Frynn's words, the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily. Her legs were still a little weak. You told her Richard was quite busy.

What are you up to?

Oh, I'm busy playing with her.

Of course, this was something that couldn't be said directly to Funina, so Clarinde chose to remind her in a more tactful way:

"Perhaps he's not as busy as you think. At least he has time to have a meal with you or see an opera."

"That's true, but aren't we discussing governing a country?"

"Lady Funina, you've made great progress lately."

"Really? Thank you." Funina hadn't expected Clorind to praise her.

"He won't listen to reason."

Funina:......

Chapter 232 You'd better really care

Just as Clorind was lamenting her lord's lack of ambition, Lynette had already begun preparing for the third offensive.

This time she's going to take back everything she's lost, even though her "father," Arecino, doesn't approve of her big counterattack, feeling that he's still too bound by formalities.

In her opinion, she should have just found some excuse to bring Richard into her home, or delivered him herself, and then gone straight to his lair...

After all, Lynette wasn't without emotional ties; they'd been each other's secretary for so many years. Aregino didn't believe Richard was unaware of Lynette's feelings.

Perhaps they're pretending not to know, enjoying the feeling of teasing the cat, or maybe they're just too familiar with it to handle.

But regardless of the approach, Arecino felt that the best solution for Lynette at this moment was to cut to the chase, get straight to the point, and be open and honest...

Unfortunately, the child is older and has her own ideas, and given Arecino's past actions, it is indeed difficult to gain Lynette's trust in this regard.

No one will believe the advice given by their love rival, especially since that rival was recently considered 'family'.

"On Saturday morning, Richard will accompany Lady Furina to the opera. In the afternoon, he will help Fukaros debug the command machine. In the evening, he will routinely check Clarinde's martial arts skills..." Linette summarized Richard's schedule that she had collected in recent days.

"Richard is meeting with his father on Sunday to discuss the final steps of the evacuation plan from the House of Hearth, which will likely take a whole day, meaning he will still be unavailable on Sunday."

As for why a wrap-up job takes a whole day, Lynette wisely didn't think about it too much. Including the previous schedule, if you think about it a little deeper, it feels like every single one of them is R18 content.

Although Lynette had become somewhat accustomed to it, sometimes habit doesn't equate to acceptance. She was like an ostrich, burying her head in the sand, using this self-deceptive method to temporarily numb herself and forget the truth.

She put down the 'Richard's Itinerary' in her hand. Putting aside whether it would numb her mind or not, she was already finding it difficult to even interfere with Richard's schedule.

Back when I was Richard's personal secretary, it wasn't exactly easy for me to interfere with his schedule, but it was certainly a piece of cake.

It's nothing like it is now, where even Richard's schedule needs to be deduced from various pieces of intelligence through subtle hints.

Of course, this is also related to Lynette's own 'inflexibility'. In fact, if she had just asked Richard to make an appointment, there would definitely have been no problem.

However, she still wanted to give Richard a surprise, just like the previous two times, with the main focus being to catch him off guard.

Well, judging from the results, the expected effect has been achieved, but there are some minor differences between the object and the target.

There was only shock, not joy, and in fact, the shock was mostly felt by her.

Life is full of disappointments, and Lynette was already used to ups and downs. Compared to the circumstances that led her to meet Richard, these were obviously nothing.

After all, what could be worse than losing both parents, having siblings rely on each other, being betrayed by a powerful and ruthless nobleman?

Lynette cheered herself up, then crossed off her schedule. Weekends were definitely out of the question. Even if she could find a good time, anything could happen during the dangerous weekend hours.

Even though Yae no Miko is far overseas and Lady Funina is preoccupied with trivial matters, there's no guarantee that others won't interfere with her plans.

Therefore, Lynette thought that all interfering factors should be eliminated before proceeding.

Soon after a meeting, Lynette stopped Richard, who was about to go back to his office to slack off.

"What's wrong with Lynette? Is something wrong with Lord Fucarus?" Richard asked.

Lynette shook her head and said:

"Lord Fucarus has nothing to discuss with you; it is I who need to speak with you."

Richard stopped, looked Lynette up and down, and then gave her a strange smile that made Lynette feel like she had been seen through.

This feeling made Lynette instinctively want to escape, but she quickly suppressed the thought and tried her best to keep a straight face as she said:

"It's important business."

Seemingly feeling that this wasn't enough, she added:

"Regarding the work."

Her decision to stay or leave should be related to work, right? Although it's a bit of a stretch, it's still somewhat plausible.

“Alright, in that case… this Sunday?” Richard thought for a moment and replied.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with [Father] on Sunday…” Lynette asked instinctively.

“Oh?” Richard drawled out the last syllable, his gaze towards Lynette filled with amusement.

“Linette, I don’t recall telling anyone what I’m going to do on Sunday. Could you tell me why you know so much about my schedule?”

Lynette knew she had been exposed, and she also knew that Richard had known her intentions all along, but as long as he didn't say it, she would pretend not to know.

An ostrich mentality.

Lynette took a deep breath, then pretended not to know what Richard was talking about, and calmly replied:

"My father mentioned it before."

"Is that so?" Richard's lips curled up. He knew that even in front of her own child, Arecino would never easily reveal her whereabouts.

What's more, it was a trip arranged with him. You should know that besides being Lynette's "father," Arecino also has another identity—a love rival.

Arecino has no pity for her enemies; at most, she will refrain from attacking Lynette because of Richard's presence, let alone helping her.

Moreover, Lynette rejected Alegino's suggestion and decided to use her own methods, making it even less likely that Alegino would provide information to the cat.

Therefore, the news about going to see Arecino on Sunday was deduced by Lynette herself based on various bits and pieces of information; it was entirely her personal action.

Of course, Lynette was able to deduce this information because Richard had no intention of hiding anything and was all about being honest.

“I don’t recall Arecino being a talkative lady,” Richard said, looking directly at Lynette.

Arecino really doesn't like to talk too much, and even during battles, she tries her best to restrain herself and keep her voice to a minimum.

It is precisely this restraint that gives it its unique flavor.

After all, watching the aloof executor suppress his instincts, hide his voice in his throat, and only be able to whimper is indeed a unique experience.

There's a thrill of being forced and afraid of being discovered, though in reality, Richard is often the one who's passive.

Lynette, as if she hadn't heard, continued to ask:

"So when are you free?"

“Sunday then,” Richard said.

"After all, it's just discussing some minor details, which can be done in a morning, not a whole day."

"Then come to my house this afternoon." Lynette nodded after hearing this, but inwardly she was cursing.

They can talk about trivial matters for a whole morning, but if it really is a trivial matter, it won't even take half an hour.

Of course, Lynette didn't say this directly; if she could arrange a meeting with Richard on Sunday, that would be ideal.

Because both Funina and Fukaros knew that Richard was busy this Sunday, they wouldn't bother him at all.

This saved her the trouble of finding things for Funina and the others, and by securing a place at her house first, she further eliminated the possibility of being disturbed by others.

Lynette decided to wait a while before going to find Funina and the others, telling them that she wouldn't be home this Sunday and that they could talk on Monday or Saturday if there was anything.

Well, besides Funina and the others, I also need to tell my brother and the others.

Hmm... Should we inform [Father] about this?

But if I tell my father,

[Father], will you think I'm provoking you? After all, she practically snatched Richard from Arecino's grasp, even if it was only for half a day...

Lynette's mind raced. Richard had no idea what the cat was thinking, but he could guess the general idea.

"Okay, it's been a long time since I've been to your house. Is it still the same address?"

“Yes.” Lynette doesn’t have the habit of moving around so often.

Especially since Richard accompanied her to see and buy this house back then.

After deciding to become Richard's secretary, she moved out of the Hearth House to avoid suspicion and rented an apartment in Fontaine near the Palace of Moman in Fontaine with the secretary's salary that Richard had advanced.

Later, with the increase in salary and Richard's occasional bonuses, Lynette simply bought the apartment.

Lynette knew very well that they hadn't accomplished anything during that time, and the so-called bonus was just a pretext for Richard to slip money into her hand.

That apartment, roughly speaking, was essentially a gift Richard bought for Lynette.

Lynette will definitely not change unless there is a very important reason.

After all, in her heart, that was her real home.

"I remember the secretary-general's salary is not low, why not move to a bigger house?"

"There's no need for that. I live alone, and a smaller space actually makes me feel safer."

“That’s true… Can you tell me what you were planning to do that day?” Richard suddenly launched an attack.

Linette was taken aback by this unexpected question, and answered flawlessly: