Under Verlet's balancing influence, Ralph's rigid features were but a minor issue.
"Please follow me, gentlemen and ladies, we mustn't keep the baron waiting too long, for each minute we linger, my little master grows ever more in danger," Becky, the butler, took the lead and entered the grand fortress-like building.
Lyle and the others followed at a respectful distance.
"Uncle, perhaps you should try changing the way you treat others," Lyle advised Ralph on the way. Although his appearance was quite gloomy, his facial structure wasn't bad; it was more the deliberately morose expression he wore that was alarming, and Ralph was particularly adept at plunging others into a negative mood.
Ralph's riding boots stepped on the silk carpet, his gaze fixed on the retreating figure of Butler Becky, his face like an unchanging sculpture.
