To be honest, whenever Ye tried to do something that Furina found unacceptable, she didn't even know why she felt compelled to stop him.
She just couldn't stand it.
To say that Furina harbored feelings of love or affection for Ye… over the centuries, she'd never felt anything like that.
The concept of a "maiden's heart" was completely foreign to her. She'd never entertained such thoughts before, as her responsibilities were far too heavy, leaving her no energy to consider personal matters.
That said, she still couldn't stand certain things Ye did.
The reasons were unclear, but she just couldn't let them slide.
That's why, when it came to stopping Ye from doing certain things, she acted without hesitation.
What were intelligence agents for? What was her vast intelligence network across Teyvat for? Exactly this.
When Furina learned that Ye had been supporting the resistance in Inazuma, she immediately took control of the intelligence network there. Agents were planted everywhere—within the resistance, on Watatsumi Island, and beyond.
She didn't give these agents difficult tasks. Their job was simply to act as her eyes and ears, reporting Ye's actions in real time.
Of course, they didn't need to actively spy on him. They just had to report anything they happened to see or hear.
This wasn't hard.
After all, Ye had kept the existence of phones a secret precisely to make them a powerful tool for Fontaine's intelligence network. As a result, key agents now had phones.
And Ye and Furina… they shared the same intelligence network.
Or rather, Ye's network had been inherited from Furina.
After Furina fully delegated her authority, she handed over the intelligence network she'd built to Ye—just as she'd handed over Fontaine's political and military affairs to him and Neuvillette. While she'd delegated power, she still held the highest authority.
The only difference was that while Furina had once managed the entire network herself, she now only needed to listen to Ye's reports on what he deemed important.
So, when Furina got her hands on a phone, it was easy for her to bypass Ye and directly access the Inazuma intelligence network, having agents report to her in real time.
After all, Ye had given her a notebook containing the contact numbers of all the agents.
Thus, the moment Ye made a move, Furina's intuition screamed at her: Now! Immediately! Bring him back!
And so she did.
From an outsider's perspective, the relationship between Furina, the Hydro Archon of Fontaine, and Ye, the Supreme Bishop, was peculiar.
Rather than Ye being Furina's subordinate, it was more accurate to say that Furina acted as Ye's restraint.
Furina was Ye's moral compass—a truth only a few in Fontaine could see.
Neuvillette, for example, was one of the few who had glimpsed this truth.
When he first arrived in Fontaine centuries ago, invited by a letter, he met Furina, his future superior, and Ye, his future colleague.
At the time, Neuvillette didn't understand humans well, but even so, he felt that Ye didn't seem human at all.
Ye's demeanor wasn't haughty, yet Neuvillette couldn't shake the feeling that Ye looked down on everyone.
Though Ye treated everyone equally, there was an air of disdain in his gaze.
Those at the bottom of society might not feel it, but beings like Zhongli and Neuvillette—powerful and highly respected—could sense Ye's peculiarity.
Zhongli saw this as a sign of Ye's transcendent mindset and admired him for it.
Neuvillette, however, was left wondering what kind of being Ye truly was.
No matter how he looked at it, Ye didn't seem human.
But after centuries of working together, Neuvillette gradually realized that Ye was, in fact, a perfect person.
Some who only superficially knew Ye might assume that his personality and methods would lead to significant flaws in his relationships.
But in reality, if one could overcome the inexplicable fear Ye inspired, it was easy to get close to him. Ye never rejected those who sought to approach him and was skilled at nurturing relationships.
If Ye wanted to, he could even bridge the gap with those who couldn't shake their fear, making them forget their instinctive unease without realizing it.
Ye could adapt his attitude and behavior to suit anyone, making it impossible not to feel close to him.
Moreover, he knew exactly when to make someone feel close to him and when to inspire fear, striking a balance so precise it was almost terrifying.
As a human and as a ruler, Ye was practically flawless—perfect to an unreal degree.
Over the centuries, Neuvillette found himself growing closer to Ye… and, in some ways, even becoming like him.
At first, Neuvillette had felt a barrier between himself and Fontaine, as well as between himself, Ye, and Furina. But at some point, that barrier had quietly dissolved.
Neuvillette hadn't even noticed the change until one day, when it suddenly hit him: When did I become like this?
It had happened so subtly.
While he hadn't noticed this transformation, Neuvillette did gradually come to understand something else:
Ye, as a person…
On one hand, he had no standards or boundaries.
On the other hand, Furina was his standard and his boundary.
Because in everything he did, Ye consciously considered Furina.
The reasons were unclear, but it was a fact.
And if Furina were ever gone… Neuvillette thought it best not to imagine that future.
Though he was an outsider, after so many years in Fontaine, he'd developed a deep affection for the nation—whether he wanted to admit it or not. The thought of what might happen without Furina was something he couldn't bear to contemplate.
So, many times, Neuvillette found himself grateful for one thing:
Thankfully, Furina was a god. There was no need to worry about her dying someday.