As Rudeus sensed his mother Zenith's pain and Lilia's despair, a thoughtful look far beyond his years appeared on his little face. He seemed about to speak up, just as he had in the original story.
Paul, remember that you owe me one! Rudeus thought.
Just as he was about to "save" this situation on the verge of falling apart, Cui Ciyou spoke first.
Cui Ciyou's voice was quiet, yet it instantly broke the suffocating silence in the living room.
It also drew everyone's attention.
"Zenith," Cui Ciyou said slowly.
Zenith slowly raised her red, swollen eyes and looked blankly at Cui Ciyou, this "outsider."
Cui Ciyou stood and walked unhurriedly to the center of the living room.
He did not look at Paul, nor did he immediately look at Lilia.
Instead, his gaze first settled on Zenith's face, etched with pain and exhaustion.
"Zenith," Cui Ciyou said steadily, "I have something to say about this matter with Lilia."
Everyone froze, staring at him in surprise.
Paul's head snapped up, a flicker of uncertainty and alarm passing through his eyes.
Cui Ciyou ignored their reactions and continued:
"I don't think Lilia alone is to blame."
Then his gaze turned toward Paul, who was huddled in the corner, with a trace of undisguised mockery.
"Besides, can this really be one person's fault? What do you think, Paul?"
Called out so directly, Paul's face alternately flushed and paled. He opened his mouth but could not offer a single word in rebuttal. In the end, he could only avert his eyes in embarrassment.
Cui Ciyou's words brought even more pain and confusion into Zenith's eyes.
She seemed never to have considered the matter from this perspective.
Or rather, she did not want to think of it that way. The rules of this world