[Jasper tilts his head aside. His finger strokes his chin. One path could see him admitting this arrangement is his design, another might hear him deny involvement. Whether or not he is lying is immaterial; both gift him the reaction he craves. He sees it in cleched fists and gritted teeth. He hears it in his old friend's stubbornness. It brightens him up, honestly.]

Oh? Surely that is rich coming from you!

[The way Hendrik had treated him was the worst kind of comedy.]

It is fortune alone that you are here. Would to heaven you ever realize you are not special.