In Fontaine, there were two Hydro Archons.
One existed openly, serving as the public face to let the world know of the Water God's presence.
The other existed in secret, conserving strength to deal with the Prophecy inscribed upon Irminsul.
Two beings, yet in essence, one and the same. To outsiders they seemed different people, but fundamentally, they were one. Thus, Furina could still be called the Hydro Archon.
That, at least, was Richard's deduction. Whether or not it was fully true required more evidence, but he had a strong, inexplicable intuition that he was correct.
If he was wrong, well, he hadn't said anything.
After all, the last time he'd felt this way was when he was absolutely certain Furina wasn't the Hydro Archon.
Sometimes it was like this: the more certain you were, the more likely fate would reverse you.
It had been a week since their return from Mondstadt.
Furina sat in the Minister of Administration's chair, kneading the cheeks of her Dodoco doll, while her own cheeks still burned pink from lingering embarrassment.
It had all begun on her way to work that morning.
Though "on her way to work" was just a matter of walking down from her residence atop the Palais Mermonia. On the way she happened to encounter Neuvillette and his secretary, Melusine Sedene.
Normally it would have been a routine encounter, a greeting and nothing more. But Sedene had sharp eyes. She noticed the ring on Furina's left ring finger.
Until then, Furina always wore gloves of contrasting colors: one black, one white. Yet now, only her right hand bore a black glove. Her left hand was bare, save for a dazzling, beautiful ring.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Sedene asked:
"Lady Furina, you're wearing a ring?"
"Oh, this? It's a gift from Richard. Isn't it lovely?" Furina answered with an air of casual pride.
"It truly is," Neuvillette agreed.
But Sedene's expression shifted to one of surprise.
"Lady Furina, are you certain this ring was a gift from Lord Richard?"
"Of course. He personally gave it to me," Furina said firmly.
But to Sedene's ears, the phrasing sounded more like "He personally placed it on my finger."
And with that, the meaning changed entirely.
"Then allow me to offer you my congratulations, Lady Furina," Sedene said with utmost seriousness.
Furina blinked, stunned. 'Congratulate me, for what?'
Neuvillette too seemed confused and glanced at his secretary for clarification.
"Why would you say that?" he asked plainly.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, perhaps you are unaware. In Fontaine, the finger upon which a ring is worn carries special meaning. For instance, a ring on the right index finger signifies the wearer is single. On the left index, it means unmarried…"
"But when Lady Furina wears a ring given by Lord Richard on her left ring finger, it signifies she has accepted his proposal. That they are newlyweds. Why, their recent envoy trip to Mondstadt must have been both diplomacy and honeymoon!"
Sedene explained this with utmost solemnity, completely missing Furina's face, now flushed crimson all the way to the tips of her ears.
Neuvillette, upon hearing this, revealed an expression of dawning realization. He immediately turned to Furina and, with grave politeness, congratulated her:
"In that case, congratulations are indeed in order, Lady Furina… or should I say, Lady Furina Richard?"
But before his words had even finished, Furina bolted in panic, fleeing without a word of farewell.
Neuvillette frowned. "Did I say something wrong?"
Sedene soothed him: "Not at all, Monsieur Neuvillette. Lady Furina is simply shy. She likely hasn't adjusted to her new identity, transitioning from maiden to newlywed wife. In time, she will."
"Ah, I see. Thank you, Sedene."
That was the entire incident. A trivial misunderstanding, yet enough to leave Furina restless, unable to calm down even after retreating to her office.
Her mind spun endlessly. 'Did Richard know about this? Was he secretly laughing at me behind my back? Or… could it be he truly harbored that sort of feeling toward me?'
'Otherwise, why hadn't he warned me?''
'Surely with his breadth of knowledge, he must have known what wearing a ring on the left ring finger signified in Fontaine.'
'No, maybe he didn't know. It was an obscure cultural detail, after all. Perfectly normal if he hadn't.'
If not for Sedene's explanation, Furina herself would have been ignorant of it.
As she spiraled in her thoughts, a knock came at the office door.
Knock knock.
The sound startled her. She hastily set her Dodoco doll aside, tucked her left hand under the desk, coughed lightly into her right hand, and called:
"Come in."
It was Clorinde. Since becoming Furina's chief private secretary, the duelist's air had grown more composed, less sharp, more approachable. At least, to a degree. For most people, she still radiated an intimidating aura.
"Lady Furina, Secretary General Richard requests an audience," Clorinde said.
Protocol dictated that all visitors, even Richard himself, needed Clorinde's clearance before entering.
Yet upon hearing Richard's name, Furina panicked.
"I won't see him!" she blurted.
Clorinde froze. Did she hear correctly? Since when was Furina so decisive?
"No, I mean, not right now. It's… inconvenient." Furina quickly corrected, flustered.
"I understand. Shall I inform him that you are unavailable at the moment?"
"Yes, do that," Furina nodded quickly.
But just as Clorinde turned, Richard himself appeared at the door.
Startled, Clorinde instinctively stepped back several paces into the office, allowing him through.
The abrupt motion caused her chest to sway slightly, the strain testing a button that had no business being tested.
"Secretary General Richard, how did you get in here?" Clorinde asked in an unusually loud voice, clearly for Furina's benefit.
Richard frowned. "Clorinde, I know you're energetic today, but neither I nor Lady Furina are deaf. There's no need to shout."
Clorinde bit her lip, saying nothing, awaiting Furina's orders.
But Furina dared not reveal herself, wishing only to crawl beneath her desk and vanish from Richard's sight.
Richard turned to Clorinde, baffled. "What's wrong with her?"
There was no work for her, today's documents were still in his satchel, not yet delivered.
Clorinde silently cursed her superior's evasiveness. Still, she forced herself to say:
"Secretary General, Lady Furina has not yet granted you permission to enter."
Richard frowned deeper. Was she challenging his authority?
The tension in the room thickened.
Finally, Furina spoke, drawing a deep breath.
"Enough, I'm fine. Clorinde, you may leave."
Clorinde: 'What? I was protecting you, and now I'm the one being sent out?'
Still, she obeyed with relief, better to leave than be trapped between these two.
With Clorinde gone, the air eased somewhat, though hardly amicably.
Richard couldn't make sense of it. She'd been perfectly fine yesterday, what happened overnight? Did something slip?
He decided to wait for Furina to speak.
But she, terrified of the ring incident, dared not start either.
Silence stretched, until Richard relented first.
"Lady Furina, here are the documents for your review today."
"Ah, yes." Relieved, Furina accepted them quickly, grateful for the excuse.
But Richard noticed: she used only her right hand to take them, and continued flipping pages one-handed.
"Lady Furina… did you injure your left hand?"
"No, no, it's just…" she faltered, lifting her left hand briefly as proof, then realizing too late, hastily tucking it behind her back.
Then she thought that looked suspicious, so she drew it forward again, finally covering it with her right hand, unconsciously rubbing the ring on her finger.
Richard's gaze narrowed.
"Is the ring the wrong size, Lady Furina?"
"No… it fits perfectly, it's just, " She floundered, her words dying as her face turned scarlet.
"Just…" Richard pressed gently.
Seeing her flushed face and breathless tone, he relaxed inwardly.
So it wasn't that he'd been exposed. Good.
"Just that I think we should focus on work, Secretary General Richard. Do you have anything else?" she blurted, her almond eyes staring straight at him.
The message was clear: If not, leave.
Richard had never seen Furina like this before, issuing a dismissal with such force. It intrigued him all the more.
"Nothing else. In that case, I'll not disturb you further."
He turned crisply and left.
The moment the door shut, Furina sagged in relief. She glanced at the thick pile of documents, then down at the glittering ring on her left hand.
With a sigh, she opened her drawer and pulled out a white glove. She slipped it on, yet at once felt empty, as though something was missing. So she pulled it off again.
On, off, on, off, several times she repeated, before finally collapsing into her chair like a defeated fish, staring blankly at the ceiling.
At last she bit her lip and donned the glove, forcing herself back to work.
But every so often, her right hand drifted to rub at the ring hidden beneath the cloth…
Meanwhile, Richard, leaving her office, sought out Clorinde, who was idling with tea in the breakroom.
She stiffened upon seeing him, recalling their earlier clash. Nervous, she moistened her lips with a quick flick of her tongue and asked in a soft, placating tone:
"Would you… like a cup?"