Life soon returned to its usual calm.
Ever since the contract was forged, Furina had been radiating an air of lightness and joy. Even the way she walked felt brisk, almost as if she carried the wind with her.
"Lady Furina seems… different somehow. Did she tell you her secret?" Lynette was the first to notice. She turned her gaze toward Richard, suspecting he must have done something.
Richard tugged his glove halfway off and wiggled his hand at her, showing the contract mark.
The meaning was clear: 'We've signed a pact. My lips are sealed.'
Lynette understood and smoothly changed the subject to today's work.
"The reconstruction of the Fontaine Research Institute is proceeding in an orderly manner. At present, it is jointly managed by Raimondo, once considered Edwin's equal, and the administrative officer, Chuvoiselle."
"Raimondo? I recall he was pushed out of the Institute's power circle for being too conservative in his research. Now that the radical Edwin has fallen, they've invited him back?"
Richard frowned thoughtfully.
"But wasn't there another professor as renowned as Edwin? The one who prepared the environmental assessment for Inazuma… If I remember right, his name was Bossuet. Why wasn't he asked to lead the rebuilding?"
"Professor Bossuet left the Institute even before the explosion," Lynette explained, flipping through her files. "Apparently, due to an academic scandal. His reputation was already poor; he was notorious for exploiting his researchers. Eventually, isolated and despised, he had no choice but to resign and return to his hometown, Petrichor."
The report detailed how his departure had been received.
In short, not a single researcher mourned his exit. On the contrary, they rushed into his laboratory to divvy up his academic assets.
They hadn't left him anything, aside from his portrait. Even his office sofa had been looted.
"Well, in a way, that was fortunate. Had he stayed, he might've perished in the explosion. You could call it a blessing in disguise," Richard remarked, returning the file.
"So now Raimondo hopes the Palais Mermonia can provide funds to rebuild the Institute. What's the Ministry of Finance's stance?"
"The Ministry says they can provide every form of support, except actual funding."
"Fontaine's finances were already strained. Add to that the explosion, it's devoured the entire disaster-relief budget just compensating victims and cleaning up the aftermath. In the current public climate, allocating funds for reconstruction is nearly impossible."
"Besides," Richard added dryly, "who knows if the next Institute will spawn another bomb enthusiast?"
He thought that proposing a new institute might have a higher chance of getting funding. Still, with the Ministry of Finance, even plucking a single feather from those iron roosters was nearly impossible.
"So, rebuffed by Finance, Officer Chuvoiselle decided to try us instead," Lynette continued. "It wasn't Raymondo's idea, it was his."
Raimondo was a scholar, unskilled in politics. But Chuvoiselle? Smooth-tongued, adaptable, able to handle any situation. After the explosion, he even set a record: talking with a Steambird reporter for an entire day without revealing a single useful fact.
In plain language, he could talk all day and say absolutely nothing.
The press had given him a nickname: 'Banana Peel' for being too slippery.
"They came to us? More like they came for Furina," Richard noted.
Over the years, the Administration had grown into a giant institution, second only to the Court of Fontaine. But to force the Ministry of Finance to part with its budget? Impossible.
Unless… Furina herself spoke.
As Queen of All People, she theoretically possessed supreme legal authority, higher even than the Chief Justice. Though for reasons everyone knew, this authority remained mostly theoretical.
Still, a direct order from her could succeed.
"Besides, rebuilding the Institute quickly is actually good for us," Richard said.
"Good for us? How?" Lynette was puzzled.
"The explosion erased two-thirds of the Institute. But it also exposed its corruption, mismanagement, and decaying academic standards."
"That's hardly news."
"Not to us. But to the public? It is." Richard pointed out the key.
Because of the genius Alain, the Institute was revered as a holy place of knowledge. The people's respect for him carried over to the Institute itself.
So even though those in power knew of its rot, few dared to speak up. Those who did were swiftly silenced by vested interests.
A giant oak, even with its roots rotting, cannot be toppled by ants. It takes a sharp axe.
And Edwin's explosion had become that axe.
"Thanks to him, and the ridiculous squabbles of his surviving researchers, now every citizen of Fontaine knows the Academy was rotten to the core."
"But why does helping it rebuild quickly benefit us?"
"Because of the Ministry of Education." Richard raised a finger.
Lynette caught on instantly. The explosion at the nation's highest academy made the Ministry directly responsible. Investigations had already exposed massive corruption within, implicating many officials. The Ministry was on the verge of restructuring.
At the last full assembly of the Palais Mermonia, this had been discussed openly. The secretary-general of the Ministry protested, but everyone knew reform was inevitable.
As for the Minister himself? He was still stuck in the Fortress of Meropide, unable to attend. For the first time in history, a ministerial seat had been empty at a full assembly.
"Because of history, the Administration looks huge but lacks core functions. It's… bloated."
"Doesn't helping citizens with their problems count as a core function?"
Richard shot her a look. "When you're in trouble, do you first call the Special Patrol nearby, or ride a railboat all the way here just to be kicked around like a ball?"
Lynette: …
"And city sanitation?"
"That's the Health Department."
"Transportation?"
"The Transportation Bureau."
"Urban development?"
"The City Planning and Development Committee."
Bit by bit, Lynette was forced to admit: City Hall looked grand, but was hollow inside.
"Someone even proposed forming a Ministry of the Interior to strip away our functions. They wanted me to serve as its minister."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Do you really think cleaning up after other departments is good?"
"…Fair point. Better to deal with just Lady Furina's mess than an entire bunch of old bureaucrats."
At least with Furina, if needed, he could pressure her…
Though Lynette decided to phrase it politely: "Encouraging Furina not to be too reckless."
Richard snorted. "Well, Furina's backside is certainly more attractive than those greasy old men's."
"…?" Lynette slowly raised a brow. 'Is this about butts now?'
Seeing her sharp gaze, Richard quickly added, "Of course, yours is quite nice too."
Her face twisted with disgust, and she stood up to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"To the Court. To report my superior for sexual harassment, and for verbally harassing the Hydro Archon."
"You brought Furina up first!"
"Save that line for the Special Patrol to hear."
If phones existed, she'd have been dialing already.
After much effort, Richard persuaded her not to report him. Wiping imaginary sweat, he continued seriously:
"My real goal is to secure the Ministry of Education's core functions. Even if we can't seize them, gaining their alliance will cement our position. And no matter what, the Fontaine Research Institute is the hurdle we can't avoid."
"I see. So the key is to get Lady Furina to agree. That shouldn't be too hard for you, right?" Lynette asked, her tone oddly sour despite her expressionless face.
"Unfortunately, that's the hardest part," Richard admitted.
Though Furina trusted him deeply, that didn't mean she obeyed his every word, especially when it came to finances.
"Funding the Institute's reconstruction? Absolutely not." Furina refused outright after hearing the plan.
She was saving every coin for her dream, rebuilding the Jade Chamber. To her, pouring money into the Institute was throwing Mora into a bottomless pit.
Not to mention, after what she'd witnessed during and after the explosion, her opinion of the Institute had sunk to rock bottom.
Sometimes, she wondered if it even deserved to exist at all.
"Lady Furina, I think- "
"Enough. Say no more. I'm more concerned about our own Ministry's spending."
"Our spending?" Richard blinked.
She pointed at the Ministry's annual expense report, her face stern. "Don't you think our daily expenditures, and those of the entire Palais Mermonia, are far too high?"
"…Wait. Lady Furina, don't tell me…" Richard's mind flashed with dread.
"I believe we should cut back on these expenses and invest the funds into more useful areas." Furina clasped her hands, deadly serious.
"With all due respect, Lady Furina, this is… unheard of." Richard was stunned beyond words.
This wasn't courage. It was suicide. No, worse. It was pulling everyone into self-destruction with her.
Compared to this, the Ministry of Education and the Institute were small problems.
The real crisis was figuring out how to stop Furina from carrying out another utterly disastrous idea.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu