Inside the Opera Epiclese.
After listening to Furina's speech, the audience left one after another, their faces full of happy smiles, their excited chatter rising and falling, clearly very satisfied with the new Hydro Archon.
A civil servant from the Court of Fontaine approached Furina. Upon seeing her, his eyes lit up. He first bowed deeply, then excitedly said, "Lady Furina, I am Dako. It is an honor to guide you on your tour of Palais Mermonia!"
Clearly, this civil servant had already become a fan after Furina's recent speech.
Furina, who had just relaxed, instantly tensed up when she saw someone approaching. She stood straight, raised her tone, and declared, "My subject, there is no need for formalities. Seeing a subject who loves me as much as you do brings me great joy. Come, lead me to see this magnificent palace."
Seeing Furina's reaction, Dako's excitement was even more evident, but he did not forget his duties. The Archon and the man boarded a carriage. Dako stood beside her while Furina sat elegantly inside, maintaining the Hydro Archon's grace and nobility at all times.
Fuyana watched her like this, feeling deeply uncomfortable.
Only seconds after taking off the mask, Furina instantly put it back on.
Once the mask is worn, it is not so easy to take off... After a while, the carriage drove into the Court of Fontaine.
Furina and Dako disembarked. Dako led the way as the guide. All the staff around and inside the Palais Mermonia immediately stopped their work upon seeing Furina, shouting, "Lady Furina! Lady Furina!" They had certainly heard about her inauguration speech.
Seeing so many people, Furina was initially a little nervous. Fuyana frowned, immediately raised her hand, and gentle Hydro energy slowly flowed into Furina's body, calming her slightly panicked heart. Furina then enthusiastically greeted those around her.
The Palais Mermonia was bright and grand, featuring a European architectural style. After greeting Furina, the staff returned to their busy daily work. They looked genuinely busy; documents piled high on their desks, and hardly anyone stopped to rest.
"Ah—the working people truly have a hard life," Fuyana sighed.
Furina didn't pay attention to Fuyana's words. Instead, she was focused on the strange shift in her emotions moments ago. Suspecting that Fuyana had helped her, she asked mentally, "My other self, was that you helping me just now? Thank you."
Upon hearing Furina's words, Fuyana's heart instantly bloomed with joy, and an uncontrollable smile spread across her face. However, she turned her head away and said, "No, no! I definitely didn't help you!" Having said that, she quickly turned her back so Furina couldn't see her smiling face.
Although Furina hadn't deliberately tried to look anyway.
Seeing Fuyana's reaction, even if Furina was slow to catch on, she could guess what happened. However, she chose not to expose Fuyana's lie, and her suspicion toward her lessened slightly.
"Lady Furina, this is the office for the Chief Justice whose appointment you previously announced."
The office was vast and magnificent. The large desk placed at the far end awaited its user.
"Ah... huh? Chief Justice? Who is that?" Furina was startled internally, but her face remained expressionless, acting as if nothing had happened.
"The Hydro Dragon Sovereign of Fontaine—Neuvillette. It was the true Hydro Archon—Focalors—who invited him. Ah, I forgot you didn't know. The one in the mirror is the true Hydro Archon of Fontaine."
Fuyana continued, "Once he arrives, you can hand over all the state affairs to him, and you'll be free."
"Tsk, she's still so resourceful, dragging a working dragon over here. Furina certainly gets to relax a lot, but can those nobles accept this? It looks like we need to prepare for a backlash from the aristocracy."
Fuyana did not voice the second half of that thought; she was currently formulating a plan.
Furina didn't notice. She was already dizzy from the sheer amount of information, and her steps involuntarily slowed down. Dako noticed Furina's unusual behavior and asked worriedly, "Lady Furina, what is the matter?"
"Ahem..." Furina coughed twice, quickly recovering. "Nothing, nothing. I am the Archon Focalors. What could possibly be wrong with me?"
Since Furina had said so, Dako naturally had no further questions. He led Furina to the upper levels of the Palais Mermonia.
"This is the location of the Marechaussee Phantom and the Gardes. The Marechaussee Phantom is an organization directly under the Chief Justice, responsible for investigating major cases; the Gardes are responsible for maintaining public order in Fontaine."
After touring the area and greeting all the staff at work, they arrived together at the top floor of the Palais Mermonia.
"Lady Furina, this is your private residence."
The Hydro Archon's accommodations were naturally not perfunctory: a Western European-style suite, fully furnished, with blue decor that perfectly suited her identity as the God of Hydro.
Oh, and there was a mirror.
Yes, the mirror through which Furina and Focalors communicated.
Furina instantly fell in love with the place.
"Hmm... barely acceptable," Fuyana grudgingly admitted about the environment, though her smiling face betrayed how much she actually liked the place.
"In that case, Lady Furina, I shall take my leave." With that, Dako exited the room. It was already evening, and tomorrow she would formally assume the role of the Hydro Archon.
Furina lay down on the bed. After ensuring that no one was around and the doors and windows were closed, the divine demeanor she had maintained all day as the "Hydro Archon" finally vanished, and she reverted to the gentle, polite young girl she truly was.
Furina was planning how to play the role of the Hydro Archon better, and Fuyana was also contemplating certain matters. The two Furinas did not speak much that night, and Furina quickly fell asleep.
However, after today, Furina had lowered some of her guard against Fuyana, and at least she was willing to listen to her words now.
Late at night, a private residence in Fontaine.
"The new Hydro Archon has arrived, and judging by her performance, she belongs to the assertive faction. And that incoming Chief Justice, the scope of his authority means he will take away most of our power. What do you all think we should do?" An elderly man spoke slowly. He sat in the center, appearing to be the highest-ranking person among them. Around him were a dozen adult men whose luxurious attire indicated their status in Fontaine was certainly high.
The answer was precisely that: these men were Fontaine's top aristocrats.
Since the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah, the former Hydro Archon Egeria had passed away, and the new Hydro Archon Focalors had only officially shown herself today.
Previously, Focalors had made some moves but had not interfered with Fontaine's internal affairs, allowing the nobles to seize the vast majority of power in Fontaine.
Now, the arrival of Furina and Neuvillette meant they would have to spit out the meat they had already eaten. How could they possibly agree to that?
"Regarding the Hydro Archon, I think we should reserve judgment. That day, she only displayed her attitude through a speech, but her actual power was not demonstrated. What if—and I mean what if—she actually possesses no power at all, or very little? We could..." A man to the right of the elderly speaker proposed his idea.
At these words, the entire room erupted in an uproar.
"Delore, are you insane? This is the Hydro Archon! If we are discovered, your entire family will end up in the Fortress of Meropide!"
"Exactly, the risk is far too great. I disagree."
"I also disagree."
Everyone voiced their disapproval of his suggestion.
The man, however, said unhurriedly, "We can act before the Chief Justice arrives. Once we succeed, we can use public pressure to drive away the Chief Justice. Fontaine would then be almost entirely under our control. How immense would that profit be! Besides, if we do nothing, our power will still be drastically cut."
The man's additional points certainly tempted a few people, but the majority remained skeptical.
He continued, "If we handle this cleanly, even if we fail, the investigation won't lead back to us. Plus, we get to use this opportunity to test the Hydro Archon, don't we?"
"Even if we take a step back and are discovered, given the resources we control, a slight threat is all it would take. How dare the Hydro Archon move against us?"
Clearly, this was a gamble.
If they didn't gamble, they would retain a small portion of their power; if they won the gamble, nearly all of Fontaine would be theirs; if they lost but weren't discovered, they would still retain some benefits; even if they failed and were discovered, while their benefits would be further curtailed, they could still continue to live comfortably.
It seemed like a worthwhile proposition.
This wasn't an "all or nothing" situation.
It was "everything," or "continue living comfortably."
At this point, almost everyone agreed, except for one or two timid nobles. These men immediately imprisoned the dissenting nobles. After this, the remaining aristocrats continued to discuss the specific plan.
The lights in the residence stayed on all night. When the moon set and the sun rose, the nobles left the mansion one by one, looking hurried, clearly off to attend to some urgent matters.
These coming days were certainly going to be turbulent...