"Okay," Villeneuve laughed.
It was a short laugh, flat and without warmth.
The Viceroy did not react. His expression remained composed, but the officials standing behind him looked far less certain now. One of them shifted his weight. Another tightened his grip on the scroll in his hand.
Villeneuve straightened and adjusted the front of his coat.
"Tell him," he said to Remy, "that the Emperor of France gave us a mission. We intend to complete it."
Remy translated carefully.
The Viceroy listened in silence, then replied at once. His tone was calmer than before, though there was a harder edge beneath it.
Remy listened, then turned back.
"He says the Qing Empire has already given its answer."
Villeneuve nodded.
"And now we have given ours."
Remy relayed the line.
The Viceroy held Villeneuve's gaze for several seconds. Then he said something else, longer this time.
Remy listened.
