Yes, Lady Funina!

“It’s been a long time, Ms. Funina. I didn’t expect my meeting request to be approved so quickly. The efficiency of the Moman Palace is truly admirable.” Arecino said with an elegant bow and a smile.

After all, according to Arecino's estimate, even if Funina eventually agrees to see her, it will probably take a long time.

Arecino was well aware of the extent of the psychological trauma he had inflicted on Funina.

Even if Funina never sees her in the end, she wouldn't be surprised if the question was passed on to Richard or Navelette.

Arecino didn't want Frynn to do that, because neither Richard nor Navelette were as easy to deal with as Frynn.

Although Alegino has taken on Richard's form, public and private matters are still separate. Richard will not show any leniency to the Fools just because Alegino is his woman. In fact, because he understands the Fools very well and knows their bottom line, he will maximize his own interests.

It's fair to say that if Richard hadn't wanted to give Frynn some training, the Fools would probably have been severely bleed out.

It's true that the Fools helped Fontaine during the disaster, but this organization has also committed crimes in Fontaine. Let's keep things separate.

"You flatter me," Funina replied somewhat awkwardly.

The usually eloquent Funina suddenly became speechless after meeting Arecino. This was only because Richard was in the room. If Richard hadn't been there, Funina would probably have had to resort to the three-word mantra.

Hmm, ah, oh.

Perhaps feeling that replying with just three words would be a bit impolite, Funina added, "You are a renowned diplomat and deserve such courtesy."

Of course, the main reason was what Richard said: if Alegino didn't see him, she wouldn't leave Fontaine.

So, in order to be able to sleep peacefully in Fontaine from now on, Funina decided that it was better to end the pain quickly than to prolong it...

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Arecino and Furness sat down facing each other, and Richard briefly took on the role of secretary, making tea for them, which was his main task for the day.

Since Richard intended for Funina to train, he couldn't possibly help Funina deal with Arecino.

What's more, it was fine before, but now it's a love triangle, if you help one, what about the other?

"Ms. Furina should already know why I've come here," Arecino said, taking a sip of her tea and getting straight to the point.

“I know. Richard told me that you…you’re leaving Fontaine, right?” Funina nodded, then paused and changed it to “you all”, perhaps because she felt that the word “you” was too harsh.

Richard ignored Arecino's ambiguous smile and focused on sipping the black tea he had brewed. To be fair, his skills were still there, just slightly inferior to Lynette's.

But Li realized that the problem must be with the tea leaves on Funina's side, it couldn't be his fault, could it?

“Yes, I will be leaving Fontaine soon. Before I leave, there is one thing I am worried about.” Arecino said, placing the documents in her hand on the table and pushing them toward Funina.

“It may not be clear in a few words. I have written a proposal and would like Ms. Funina to review it.”

Funina took the document and glanced at Richard instinctively, only to find that he was intently drinking tea, not even glancing in her direction.

It seems we can't count on him, since Richard had already told her before we came that she would be in full charge this time.

Since she couldn't count on Richard, Funina had no choice but to pull herself together and read the report that Arecino had handed her.

The report was actually quite short, mainly concerning the placement of the House of Hearths and the concessions that the Fools could offer.

Ultimately, the issue of the House of Hearths' relocation from Fontaine is essentially a matter of Arecino's personal needs.

Based on the Fools' past practices, what personnel placement? That's simply not the case; there are never any useless people within the Fools' ranks.

Even if the Fools' stronghold in Fontainebleau is gone, there are still plenty of jobs in other countries, right?

Of course, there won't be so many extra positions out of nowhere. It's obvious that those vacant positions all have one thing in common—they are labor-intensive.

Although intelligence agencies like the House of Hearths are inherently dangerous and have a terrifying annual casualty rate, their work pales in comparison to those other positions.

Moreover, being injured in those positions doesn't mean you'll be transferred to an easier role; you might very well become some executive's expendable resource, contributing your last bit of strength to the great Empress.

The above situation is by no means an isolated case, especially for orphans like those from the Hearth House who have no roots. The probability of such a thing happening to them is definitely far greater than that of the Winterborn who are conscripted from the Winterborn.

Recently, Aregino has received several collaboration requests from the Doctor. The Doctor sends out such requests every year, especially recently with the House of Hearths set to leave Fontaine, the frequency of the Doctor's collaboration requests has increased even more.

It's clear he's set his sights on the Fireplace House, the production site for experimental consumables. After all, he used to have a very pleasant working relationship with his previous [servant].

Even though I know it's unlikely that Arecino will agree, but... what if she does?

People are always changing; you can't be too lucky to succeed. That's the idea of ​​the "Doctor".

Arecino glanced at Richard. She had also considered that if she simply left, leaving the House of Hearths in Fontaine wouldn't be a big problem.

Because she knew very well that Richard would not waste this mature intelligence system, and with Lynette as an inside man, he probably wouldn't have to spend too much effort to take over the entire Hearth House's intelligence network.

However, doing so would inevitably leave me indebted to the other party, and it would also make Linni and the others think, "Will I be abandoned by my father one day?" It's really not worth it.

So the thought only lasted for a moment before Arecino extinguished it.

“I understand your request. Hmm… it makes some sense, but I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand why you’re doing this,” Furina said.

Furina had previously inquired a lot about Arecino. Some said she was witty, elegant, and kept her promises, making her a great partner, while others said she was ruthless and heartless, definitely not a kind person.

Unfortunately, Frynn had seen both of Arecino's faces and was quite impressed by them.

But it was precisely because of this that Furina understood how incredible it was that the proposal was put forward by Arecino.

After all, in her mind, Arecino was the kind of person who wouldn't do anything unnecessary.

In Furina's view, disbanding the House of Hearths and finding a way out for these people was superfluous for Arecino, and she saw absolutely no benefit in it.

Moreover... this might be a bit biased, but Furina felt that, given Arecino's style, they should just take all the useful people away and let the rest of the useless ones fend for themselves in Fontaine.

In any case, Fontaine would not allow these unruly elements to roam the city unchecked, and in the end, Mero Petersburg would probably be their final destination.

“Fontaine is the land of water, and Lady Funina is the goddess of water, so I will use water as a metaphor,” Arecino said, straightening her posture slightly.

"Home is like a huge lake, into which countless rivers flow and out of which countless rivers rush."

"As someone who watches over the lake every day, I hope that every river that flows out of it can reach the sea."

"However, objective facts tell me that this is impossible."

At this point, Arecino shook her head regretfully, seemingly lamenting the 'rivers' that failed to flow into the sea.

But Arecino quickly continued, "Most rivers dry up halfway through their course, seeping into the soil and disappearing without a trace."

"Therefore... I want to find some meaning for those 'waters that cannot see the sea'. For example, to irrigate the fields on both banks, or to become a sweet spring in someone's cup."

Furina was quite clever; she easily understood Arecino's meaning and, following her lead, offered her own perspective.

"First of all, Ms. Arecino, I need to clarify one point: I am not targeting you personally, but simply stating the facts..."

“Ms. Funina, please feel free to speak your mind. After all, I am the one making the request, so please be as clear as possible,” Arecino said with a smile as he saw Funina folding her cardigan, which contained almost several sentences.

She knew that Funina had a considerable misunderstanding about her, but she didn't expect the other party to be so... cautious.

Moreover, this was with Richard sitting right next to her. With that guy there, why would she worry that he would do her a bad thing?

Arecino glanced at Richard again. She knew very well what place Funina held in his heart. Although she didn't understand why Richard favored Funina so much, there weren't so many whys in the adult world.

As long as Richard gets his share, she has no interest in caring about anyone else.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, Richard's workload is quite ample; there's no shortage of supplies. The only question is whether she can handle it.

Resources are overflowing, but the efficiency of extraction is not keeping up, and this is obviously not Richard's fault.

“Well, I mean, Ms. Arecino, have you considered that people would never want ‘muddy water’ anyway?”

“It’s ‘water that was once murky.’ Don’t worry, Ms. Furina, I will filter out the silt and sand, and restore it to its original state.” Arecino seemed to have anticipated Furina’s statement and had prepared her response in advance.

"...Since it's a transaction, what kind of conditions can you offer?" Funina asked, mustering her courage.

Despite some fear, she was now representing the Prime Minister of Fontainebleau, and her personal emotions should not be brought into her work.

And this was a normal discussion, so even if Arecino was domineering, she wouldn't hold a grudge against her for it.

The fear she felt was largely based on a lack of understanding. Through the conversation, Funina realized that Arecino wasn't as scary as she had imagined.

Naturally, Funina gradually returned to normal, found her own rhythm, and her intelligence once again took over the top of her brain.

And most importantly, she didn't want Richard to lose face in front of his former colleagues because of her cowardice.

You can look down on her, but you can't look down on Richard.

“If Ms. Furina agrees to my proposal, my forces will gradually withdraw from Fontaine. In the future, we will not carry out ‘special missions’ in Fontaine unless absolutely necessary.”

“Special mission.” Funina immediately thought of the night she was assassinated.

Richard spoke up at the opportune moment: "Take the 'Tartuffe assassination' incident, for example."

“Dardov assassinated? You mean…” Furina was taken aback, then thought of the recent uproar in Fontaine.

Although she didn't know who Talduffer was, she had heard about the case. It was said that the man's death was not peaceful, and the horrific state of his mansion made even the special patrol team shake their heads.

If Richard said that, doesn't that mean that Arecino and her group did it?

“You mean that hypocrite who embezzled charity funds? I deeply mourn his death, but as of now, there seems to be no evidence pointing to the House of Hearths,” Arecino said with a smile.

When Furina saw Arecino smile and say 'deepest condolences,' she immediately understood that this was what Arecino had done, but... there was no evidence.

And even if there is evidence, so what? Should we go after a terrorist who suddenly becomes kind just because of a criminal?

“Of course, if Ms. Furina approves my proposal, I can also help do some things to reduce similar incidents or to make the methods more moderate,” Arecino said.

She was practically telling Funina that she was involved in almost every one of these kinds of things.

“…Alright, I agree to your proposal in principle.” Funina lowered her head and pondered for a moment, knowing that there was no point in arguing about such matters.

So they simply agreed. In short, the most urgent thing was to get this guy away as soon as possible.

In Furina's view, Arecino's greatest contribution to Fontaine was not how much material aid she provided or how many people she saved during the disaster.

Instead... she and the forces behind her left Fontainebleau.

The crime rate in Fontaine dropped dramatically.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, Ms. Funina.” Arecino looked satisfied, and then glanced at Richard again.

Noticing Arecino's gaze, Richard suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I hope our cooperation will continue to be as pleasant as it is now in the future."

"Wait, wait, later?" Funina was stunned; she didn't understand why Arecino would say that.

"Weren't you going to withdraw from Fontainebleau?"

Where does the future come from?

"It was the Fools' Executors [Servants] and their backers who withdrew from Fontaine, but Arecino still needs to come and see the 'Doctor' from time to time."

Chapter 230 The Famous Doctor

"Is there a difference?" Funina was taken aback. Wasn't Arecino a [servant]?

But Frynn quickly understood what Arecino meant: even if she agreed to Arecino's proposal, Arecino would still return to Fontaine.

However, she did not return as a servant of the Fools, but as an individual.

Although Frynn felt something was wrong, she figured that as long as Arecino wasn't an executive member of the Fools, the previous incident wouldn't happen again.

As Funina thought this, she unconsciously breathed a slight sigh of relief. After their conversation, she realized that Arecino wasn't as scary as she had imagined.

Her fear and apprehension stemmed largely from insufficient contact with the other party and a lack of information.

It is the unknown that breeds fear.

"As an executor's servant, there are many things to consider, but as an ordinary person in Arecino, it's very simple. You only need to consider how to be a law-abiding citizen of Fontainebleau."

“Now that you mention it, it does seem to make sense… Wait, according to you, does that mean that as an executive officer, you don’t need to abide by the law?” Funina asked, frowning.

She discovered the blind spot.

"Why do you think that way? Even as an executive officer, I always keep the laws of Fontainebleau in mind and never overstep them. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you openly now, would I?"

“Although my men sometimes do some extreme things, please believe me that I personally never meant it that way,” Arecino said.

"You mean the crimes committed by those fools in Melo Petersburg were all individual acts?" Furina felt that Arecino was really trying to absolve herself of responsibility.

“Of course not. As a leader, I also bear some responsibility when my subordinates make mistakes. But as you know, there are always some self-righteous people in the workplace…” Arecino looked directly at Funina.

Furina felt a little uncomfortable under Arecino's gaze. "What do you mean by looking at me like that? Do you think I'm the kind of person who thinks they're so clever?"

What a joke! Even when I go out to give a speech now, I always have Richard check beforehand to make sure there are no problems.

How could I possibly be so clever?

Besides, even if she's smart, how could she possibly be as smart as Richard?

“The intentions above were good, but the execution below went wrong. Ms. Arecino, is that what you mean?” Furina replied.

“Very fitting, Ms. Funina.” Arecino nodded slightly, indicating that this was exactly what she meant.