"That tends to happen when you befriend someone as obsessed with seeking knowledge as I am," Claudius says, but there's no true blame in it -- after all, Claudius started the friendship himself by choosing Lan Wangji, and Lan Wangji repaid him with loyalty and kindness and saving his life. There's a new gratitude for it, but Lan Wangji has saved Claudius's life more than once. "And sometimes, it leads to something like the mess between myself and Luo Binghe. I ran into him -- no need to worry. We only talked. But it became obvious that I see him too clearly, and he can't stand it. I still half-hoped he'd surprise me, but he never does, and he never will. And he'll never apologize for what he's done." It stings more than it should: Claudius never expected an apology, never demanded one. There are so many nevers between them.

Gaze softening, he says, "I appreciate that thou didst let me see thee. Mine isn't always the kindest eye -- it can be too keen, too quick and cruel. 'Tis no easy thing, to have thy silence ripped from thee, to break a life-long precept and not by thy will. But nothing I've heard of thee, nothing I've seen in thee, has made me think less of thee."