{"The Geo Archon met with a heavenly tribulation, his soul returning to the heavens."
"At Guyun's sea, the vortex demon god Osial broke free of his seal, intent on destroying Liyue."
"Tianquan Qixing Ningguang resolved to cast down the Jade Chamber to defeat the demon god. At the moment the Chamber fell, a radiant light wrapped around it, and this heavenly palace descended like a meteor into the sea."
"The sound of its fall echoed for thousands of miles. In an instant, it swept away the dark clouds, and when the waves calmed, Osial had vanished without a trace."
"And miraculously, despite such a violent explosion, though most of its structures were damaged by the impact, the most important [Floating Life Stone] and [Core of a Thousand Wonders] were completely unharmed. Once salvaged and its Adepti Sigils repaired, they continued to operate normally. It can be foreseen that in the near future, this skyborne palace will rise again."}
Furina set the newspaper down, propping her chin on one hand as she stared absently out the window. After a while, she let out a long sigh.
"So boring…"
This wasn't Furina speaking; it was Clorinde, who was diligently processing documents at the side.
Furina turned toward her. "You think it's boring too?"
"No. As you can see, my life is very full right now," Clorinde said, aligning a sorted stack of documents neatly before picking up the red case by her feet and opening it to take out more files.
"Then why'd you say it was boring?"
"I was speaking for you. Just this morning alone, you've said 'I'm so bored' six times, 'Isn't there anything interesting?' ten times, and 'When is Richard coming back to work?' twenty-two times."
Clorinde rattled this off like a soulless counting machine, multitasking as she answered while reviewing the papers in her hands.
"But it's already been three days! Tomorrow's nearly Tuesday, and Richard still hasn't returned. If I'd known, I wouldn't have approved such a long leave…" Furina muttered, listlessly sprawling across the desk, her face flattened against it like melting jelly.
"Lady Furina, is it possible there's someone in this office who wants Lord Richard back even more than you?" Clorinde put her pen down, rubbing her sore wrist before stacking her annotated papers.
For once, the usually composed and voluptuous woman let a trace of gloom slip onto her face. If that man didn't come back soon, who knew how long she'd have to endure this nightmare?
Just a single morning's workload was enough for Clorinde to grasp the meaning of 'the civil servant's dead end'.
"Who?"
Someone is missing Richard more than her? Impossible! Absolutely not!
Furina jerked her head up, scanning the room. When she realized Clorinde meant herself, she collapsed back down again.
"Don't worry, Clorinde. Even if he comes back, you'll still be doing all this work."
Clorinde trembled. "Lady Furina… surely you're joking?"
"Joking? Not at all. Haven't you noticed? Your workload has only ever increased, never decreased."
"…That's true."
"This pattern's common, you know. At first, they don't know your ability level, so they gradually add tasks without slowing progress. It continues until you hit your absolute limit. There's even a fancy phrase for it, making full use of talent!"
"It's more like driving people to their graves!" Clorinde shot back.
Still, she hoped Richard would return soon. Without him, the office just felt… incomplete.
"Speaking of which, so many big events have happened in Liyue these days, even the Geo Archon died… Richard isn't hurt, is he?" Furina fretted, regretting not asking his purpose before granting leave.
Clorinde opened her mouth to reassure her, but at that moment, the office door knocked. Lynette walked in, calm as ever.
Spotting Clorinde, her brows knitted. "Clorinde, what are you doing here? Did you finish the documents I sent you?"
"Documents? More documents?!" Clorinde's vision went black. Life was nothing but endless paperwork.
"Why that expression? Your workload is far less than during the explosion incident," Lynette said, irritated at Clorinde's attitude.
The tasks weren't light, but they weren't excessive, normal civil servant levels. An hour's effort at most, leaving plenty of time to ponder life's meaning.
Yet Clorinde looked like she was dying.
"Are you… Sure?" She stared at the mountain of papers before her. 'This was supposed to be less? It was clearly way more!'
Lynette frowned, baffled. She walked over, picked up one of the files Clorinde was reviewing, and her anger shifted to confusion.
"What are you doing?"
Furina shrank back.
"Working. Reviewing documents, sorting them, returning important ones to the red case, tossing unimportant ones into the blue basket. Adding annotations, advice, recommendations."
Furina ducked her head lower.
Clorinde froze, face twisting in agony. "Why are there so many requirements this time? Annotations, suggestions… I'm just a personal secretary!"
Furina hunched down, trying to sneak away.
"This is ministerial work! Why are you doing it? Isn't this Lady Furina's duty?" Lynette's words struck like lightning.
Clorinde turned mechanically toward Furina, who was creeping toward the door, and spoke with deep, wounded bitterness:
"Lady Furina?"
No wonder she was so "bored." If all the work was dumped on her secretary, of course she had nothing to do!
Furina gave an awkward little smile. "Ahaha, I just remembered, the Débot Hotel delivered a cake order. I'll fetch it, we can all share."
Before they could react, she bolted like a sprinter, vanishing down the hall.
Lynette sighed at Clorinde. "So how did you let Lady Furina trick you?"
Clorinde squirmed. It felt like being outsmarted by a grade-schooler, only worse because her colleague witnessed it.
"She gave me the case and told me to do this and that. Anyone would comply, it's her office, after all."
Lynette stared at her like she was an idiot. She tapped the red case. "Don't you know this is where the ministerial files are kept?"
To keep Furina from causing chaos during Richard's absence, Lynette had even padded her workload with extra tasks.
"I… I knew. Wait. So that's why she told me to put the important ones back in the red case…" Clorinde's voice trailed off as realization dawned.
"Forget it. Secretaries do filter files. Think of it as… deep processing." Lynette skimmed Clorinde's work. "Consider it sharing your master's burdens. I'll put in good words for you in this month's report."
"Lynette…" Clorinde was touched.
"Just don't neglect your actual work."
"Ugh…" She slumped, trying to collapse on the desk like Furina, but her bust stopped her, leaving her face hovering far above the surface.
Lynette glanced at the "obstruction," then at her own, lips twitching. 'Can this woman even see her feet? May she trip on flat ground.'
Just then, Furina reentered with a cake bag from Miss Chevreuse. Inside were three elegant cream cakes, today's hotel specialty, and, perhaps out of guilt, three extra cream puffs.
She offered them with an apologetic bow. "Sorry, Clorinde. I won't trick you again. Tell me how I can make it up to you."
"Lady Furina…" Clorinde's face was complicated.
"Say it! Limited pastries, opera tickets, I'll get them."
"No, I don't need those."
"Then Mora? Overtime pay?"
"My salary is enough."
"Then what do you want?"
"Just don't say you 'tricked' me again. Helping ease your burdens is part of my duty as your secretary."
Between humiliation and swallowing her loss, Clorinde chose the latter. If Richard found out she'd been duped into doing Furina's job, he'd laugh at her for years.
"So that means in the future my work will…" Furina's eyes lit up like stars, as if she'd discovered a new world.
"Please act like a human being!" Clorinde groaned. She was starting to think Furina was becoming more and more like Richard, always finding new ways to fleece her.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it myself. By the way, Lynette, do you know when Richard's coming back?"
"As his secretary, you should know something of his schedule, right?"
"Probably today or tomorrow," Lynette replied after a thought. "Things in Liyue were messy. The Osial incident disrupted sea routes, so he may not get a ticket right away."
"You're right… Liyue's Geo Archon was struck down by heaven, an ancient god rampaging at sea; no wonder it's unstable. Still, Richard shouldn't have gone at a time like this!" Furina complained, pouting.
"Lady Furina," Lynette said softly, "Richard went to Liyue for you."
Furina froze.
"Whatever agreement you made with him, that's why he went. No doubt about it."
Furina fell silent, stabbing her fork repeatedly into her cake, lips pressed tight, thoughts unreadable.
Lynette watched, saying nothing more. 'Richard, this is all I can do for you. Hopefully, when you return, Furina will finally share that secret with you…'
Then she paused. Wait. Furina already had unusual feelings for Richard, had she just made things worse?
'Did I just create my own rival?'
The room fell into pensive silence, leaving only Clorinde nibbling her cake, completely lost.
'Why'd the mood suddenly turn so heavy? I haven't even spoken yet…'