"Is't e'en so?" Claudius laughs, face softening further. "I suppose he would have a weakness for knights, wouldn't he? Though I found the ones in Elsinore failed to live up to youthful dreams of some foreign cavalier who would swear himself to me and protect me." It makes him feel slightly less irritated and envious towards that other Claudius who seemed too perfectly tall and confident -- he should know himself well enough by now to realize their sentiments formed around the same vulnerabilities. He used to think the romantic knight was a comforting fantasy, after realizing how many knights in his own court would openly disavow him for favor with the king. But perhaps it's not so remote a possibility. After all, he's about to marry a former knight who no longer serves any king or god, and who would challenge emperors for him. Perhaps there's more than a single fascinating but unlikely world where Claudius can find people who care enough to protect him, no matter his status -- knight or no. Lan Wangji protected Claudius, protected the mansion in its entirety, not as a knight who's sworn to a monarch but as a man acting of his own conviction. Claudius rests easier, holding Lan Wangji close.

This other Claudius, apparently, was loved and protected and instead of feeling bitterly envious, Claudius feels a bittersweet sense of kinship. And, of course, he wants to know more. He wants to know everything. "What was this Haurchefant like? An equestrian?"