"Why did you suddenly stop talking? It's so rare to see such an interesting creature. Chat with me some more, won't you? I can tell you lots of secrets~"
Angel had only just stepped onto the stairs of the crystal cottage when a string of voices drifted out from inside.
The voice possessed an androgynous quality. It was hard to tell its gender from listening alone; its intonation merely sounded somewhat strange, and its syllables were slightly shrill.
Angel turned to look at Laplace beside him, curiosity and puzzlement in his eyes. Who was speaking? Was there someone else in the house? Was it... her Time Doppelgänger?
Laplace answered with her eyes as well. No. Go in and you'll know. With that, Laplace was the first to arrive at the crystal cottage's door.
The moment her hand touched the door, the voice within suddenly brightened with delight. "Ah, guests have arrived. Who could it be? Is it Laplace, who can fulfill my little request?"
Laplace pushed the door open and walked in.
The light from outside shone into the pitch-black room, bringing with it patches of geometric light.
The light patches extended all the way to the crystal walls of the inner room. Through one illuminated corner, an exquisite oil painting frame could be seen.
The painting's contents could not yet be seen, but at a glance, there was nothing at all inside the crystal cottage. The most conspicuous thing was the oil painting. Presumably, this was the "strange little trinket" Laplace had kept mentioning. As Angel craned his neck to peer inside, the shrill voice rang out again.
"So it really is my dear Laplace. Is this your Time Doppelgänger? It has a human form..." The voice had initially sounded excited, but gradually turned disappointed. "Humans are acceptable too,