Yusen had come down from the attic at some point. The stairwell was dark; only the fireplace by the living room window cast a layer of dim, warm orange shadows.
He leaned against the wall, his ice-blue eyes as still and placid as a tranquil lake. He watched the man who appeared on the video screen, his tone faint.
"Who is he?"
The three simple words sounded like ice dropped down the back of her neck, and Yu Zhizhi couldn't help but flinch.
"The... the Duke," she replied in a small voice.
When the Duke saw another male figure intrude on the video feed, he lazily raised a hand and tapped the butterfly-wing-shaped communicator on his ear. "Take it off. Put it on speaker."
He reminded the little rabbit.
Yu Zhizhi let out a soft "oh," took off the headset, and switched to the external speaker as the Duke had instructed.
"Good evening, little one." The Duke's voice traveled through the video feed to their ears.
