The moment Furina saw that bold headline, she froze on the staircase, completely rigid.
She looked at the two messages placed side-by-side on the same page, her vision momentarily blurred.
"He really… went to get justice for me…"
Furina murmured softly.
With that, the young lady gently wiped the corners of her eyes, then quickened her pace back to her room.
Outside Palais Mermonia, she couldn't fully express her true emotions.
She wasn't just an ordinary young lady named 'Furina'; she was the Hydro Archon named 'Focalors'.
She wasn't entitled to lean into her lover's arms and cry her heart out like the maidens described in love Fontaine Operas.
At least not yet.
For Furina, there were only two places on the entire Teyvat where she could release her emotions.
One was her small room.
She could release a small portion of her negative emotions in the dead of night, leaving the rest for her future self to process the next day.
The other was where Yuto was.
He could always keenly detect Furina's emotional changes and, unknowingly, help her replace those negative emotions with beautiful memories.
—As long as Yuto was there, Furina didn't need to worry about her emotional problems.
Meeting him was the most fortunate event in Furina's five-hundred-year-long solo performance career.
...
Furina quickly returned to her small room and began to carefully read Steambird Newspaper's apology announcement.
Before long, Furina finished reading the five hundred and seventy-six-word apology announcement.
She slowly placed the newspaper on the small table, then stared blankly at Yuto's response to the erroneous statements about the Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale on the left.
As she read... Furina suddenly felt a prickle in her nose, and the corners of her eyes, which had just dried, became moist again.
Although she had long anticipated today's outcome, when the matter was truly laid before her, she still felt new emotions because of it.
Furina slowly lifted her head, silently watching the rising sun outside the window, a touching smile gracing her face.
Accompanying this smile was not only the rising sun outside but also a line of clear tears on the young lady's face.
This was not the first time Furina had cried, but it was indeed the first time Furina had shed tears with a smile.
Unlike the silent tears in the dead of night, this time, Furina truly felt what 'happiness' was.
"Being protected, being unconditionally believed in… it feels so good…"
Furina murmured softly in a slightly hoarse voice.
As if recalling some beautiful memory, the smile on Furina's face became even more pronounced, and that line of clear tears dripped precisely onto two words in the newspaper's headline, along the young lady's fair cheek.
One was 'Yuto', and the other was 'Furina'.
Soon, Furina shifted her gaze from the distant dawn and hurried into the adjoining washroom in her room.
For some reason, Furina really wanted to see Yuto.
Very, very much.
But before going to see the Assistant Administrator who brought her smiles, beautiful memories, and touching emotions...
She had to tidy up her appearance, not allowing herself to show even a hint of 'imperfection'.
Clear water ran down the young lady's delicate cheeks, washing away the lingering tear stains, and also washing away Furina's pain and sorrow from yesterday, leaving only a happy smile.
Furina slightly raised her head, looking at the exquisite face in the Mirror Self, a smile gracing her lips.
At this moment, the young lady had only one wish in her heart.
"Once I successfully complete the task given to me by the 'me' in the Mirror Self…"
"I hope I can stay with you forever."
Furina said with a smile, looking at her Mirror Self.
...
While Furina was tidying her appearance, Yuto was reviewing the pending documents left over from his two days of leave.
Although he took leave… he was truly busy for those two days, with his rest time being about the same as usual.
And this is where a classic quote from a public servant who often slacks off at work comes in:
"Leave is like deception, so it's called 'vacation'."
Thinking of this, Yuto suddenly looked up at Little Sanhua, who was curled up in the corner of the table, sleeping with narrowed eyes, and said aimlessly:
"A cat can nap anywhere, so it's called a cat…"
With that, Yuto's mouth twitched slightly, and then he sighed silently, seemingly speechless at his abstract thought for the day.
"Should I really take a few days off? It should be fine to leave these documents for Neuvillette to do for two or three days… right?"
Yuto blinked slightly, a dangerous thought appearing in his mind.
However, this thought was extinguished the moment it appeared.
He didn't want to become the culprit behind several consecutive days of heavy rain in Fontaine.
Thinking of this, Yuto sighed slightly, then took a newspaper from the top of the documents he had to review for the day.
Just as Sedna said, Yuto indeed had a habit of planning recent reform proposals based on the content of Steambird Newspaper during his usual work process.
This time, Yuto simply glanced at the newspaper's front-page headline, confirmed that his public statement from yesterday and their apology to Furina were there, and then...
He threw the newspaper into the corner of his office like trash.
To be honest, ever since yesterday's incident… he really didn't want to see any newspapers produced by Steambird Newspaper.
No reason, just simply didn't want to see them.
"Speaking of which… should I tell Sedna that she doesn't need to bring me newspapers when delivering documents from now on?"
Yuto tilted his head slightly, then jotted this down on a note beside him, to prevent himself from forgetting and causing the lovely Melusine to do an unnecessary thing tomorrow.
And just as Yuto's quill landed on the paper… his office door was suddenly slowly pushed open.
He instinctively looked up, and all he saw was a beautiful young lady with slightly flushed cheeks, slowly walking towards him step by step.
Yuto didn't speak, just smiled as he watched her.
Because he knew she would come to find him.
And she also smiled at him, a hint of joy in her beautiful heterochromatic eyes, as if she was very glad she found him.
The young lady sat down on the chair opposite him with practiced ease, staring intently at the man in front of her, then gently asked:
"Hey… Yuto, I want to ask you a question."
Looking at the young lady with a slightly serious expression, Yuto put down his quill and said softly:
"Speak freely, Lady Furina."
"If The Prophecy truly comes true one day… and even you are dissolved, what will you do?"
Hearing this, Yuto fell into thought, and after a moment, he spoke softly:
"Fontainians dissolved by the Primordial Sea turn into Oceanids. Although I don't know if I strictly count as a 'person'…"
"But if I were also dissolved…"
"I would, as an Oceanid, wipe away the tears from your face, and bring you smiles, just like yesterday."
"Likewise, I will hold up your divine throne underwater, so that it never falls."
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