Furina glanced at the little cakes on the table, no different from usual, then looked up at Daelan sitting naturally across from her. Her heart felt… complicated.
Having spent over four hundred years with Daelan, his appearance hadn't changed in the slightest—not even a single wrinkle on his skin.
So, she didn't have to worry about so-called lifespan issues.
But even so, that didn't mean she had nothing to worry about.
Or rather… what she had to worry about was far more terrifying than any lifespan concerns.
That prophecy, still without the slightest clue after all this time, filled her with unease.
She remembered when that refined Liyue Qixing came to Fontaine to discuss trade cooperation, she'd quoted a classic Liyue proverb:
"There's only a thief for a thousand days, not a guard against a thief for a thousand days."
Furina's current state was worse than guarding against a thief for a thousand days—she'd been guarding for five hundred years! And she couldn't say a word about it!
Recently, that prophecy about Fontaine's future had once again stirred ripples among the populace.
For five hundred years, she'd sat on the throne as the Hydro Archon, secretly searching for a way to break the prophecy.
But… lately, the voices accusing her of inaction had grown louder and more numerous. Even when she went out at night to feed stray cats, she could overhear one or two comments about her.
This made her anxious.
She was afraid of disappointing Focalors. She was afraid of disappointing the Fontaine people who trusted her.
And she was afraid… that Daelan would dissolve into the sea and disappear from her side.
At this thought, Furina couldn't help but shudder. Having grown accustomed to Daelan's presence, she couldn't imagine a future like that.
"Furina? Are you okay?"
As Furina sank into her fear of the prophecy's doomsday, Daelan's voice snapped her out of that incomprehensible reality.
Startled, Furina looked up at Daelan's worried expression and instantly realized her lapse.
Daelan's aura was simply too gentle. Though he occasionally used respectful terms like "Lady Archon," most of the time he just called her "Furina."
He even skipped the "Lady" part!
This treatment made Furina feel, at times, that she wasn't the lofty Archon or Fontaine's superstar Furina de Fontaine—
But just an ordinary Fontaine girl named "Furina."
Though she'd once suspected Daelan knew something, whenever she asked, he'd firmly deny it.
"Know what? Oh~ you mean how I noticed you're in a bad mood today?"
"That's what a good subordinate, a good friend, should do, isn't it?"
Time passed amid these constant disturbances, and Daelan's presence naturally became the one flaw in Furina's "performance."
She couldn't help but… show her vulnerable side in front of him.
Daelan, meanwhile, looked at the somewhat dazed Furina, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Could it be that recent events have her so stressed she's starting to crack?"
Daelan waved his hand symbolically in front of Furina's beautiful heterochromatic eyes and said softly, "Furina? You shivered and then started spacing out. Did something happen?"
At his words, Furina snapped out of it like waking from a dream, hurriedly shaking her head and saying anxiously, "No, no! What could possibly trouble the esteemed Hydro Archon Focalors, Fontaine's household name, Furina de Fontaine?"
A slightly smug smile appeared on Furina's face, but Daelan just shook his head gently at this performative display.
He wouldn't call her out. Nor could he stand by her side and offer empty words.
As Fontaine's advisor and, in his past life, a devoted Furina fan, there was only one thing he could do: protect her well.
With that thought, Daelan sighed softly, then flashed his signature gentle smile.
"Eat up. I made your favorite matcha flavor and mousse cake."
"I've got an especially heavy workload today, so if there's nothing else, I'll get back to work."
As he spoke, Daelan slowly stood from his seat. Noticing Furina's hat about to slip off her head, he instinctively reached out to adjust it for her.
"Don't wear your hat during afternoon tea. As Fontaine's superstar, your appearance and charisma are already perfect—you don't need to keep up the act all the time."
"There, much better. I'll be off then, Lady Furina. Enjoy your afternoon tea~"
Daelan said as he left her room with Furina's silent permission, while she looked at the cakes in front of her, lost in thought.
…
Time passed quickly for Daelan. As Fontaine's advisor, he hardly had a moment to rest.
Looking at the stack of documents, thicker now than when he'd received them that morning, he sighed helplessly.
"This is… really a headache…"
Muttering to himself, Daelan sat at his desk as if resigned to his fate and began tackling the extra paperwork.
As time ticked by, it was already evening by the time Daelan finished the documents in front of him.
"It went by so fast…" Daelan shook his head lightly, then turned his gaze to the panel counting down.
"Five… four… three… two… one!"
As the timer on the panel hit zero, the screen in front of Daelan suddenly expanded several times, like a projector had been set up in his office.
As a familiar figure appeared on the screen, Daelan's pupils contracted to pinpricks in shock.
It had been nearly four hundred years since he'd heard that familiar "Hello, dear Travelers" and seen that somewhat aged figure.
"Today, we bring you advance information on the Nation of Water, Fontaine!"
As Weizi's voice fell, the screen in front of Daelan suddenly went black, followed by the Genshin Impact logo, long forgotten by him, and a scene of Fontaine's deep sea.
"We want to know what exactly is inside the 'Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale'?"
"What powers it, and what… enables it to make judgments?"
Lynette's voice rang in Daelan's ears as the Oratrice on the screen gradually shrank, eventually fading into darkness.
The scene that followed shocked Daelan even more.
Step—step—step—
With the sound of heavy footsteps, a face Daelan knew all too well appeared center stage at the Opéra Epiclese.
"Ignorance is no crime, and I understand everyone's curiosity about the 'Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale,' but…"
"Mr. Lyney, since there is an 'accusation,' there must be a 'trial.'"
"Though I don't participate in any of Fontaine's trials, I can guarantee…"
"Fontaine's judges, advisors, and the 'Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale' will deliver the outcome you deserve."
Daelan, sitting before the screen, stared in shock at the figure on it.
"That person… who is it?"
"Is it… me?"