[ Set’s attention is heavy, but as always, Sebastian bears it easily. He takes it as a deep sign of respect, after all, for a demon’s full attention wasn’t so different. It was something rarely given, for it rarely needed to be so intense. So, the nature of Set’s answer is fitting.

Sebastian laughs, and there’s the clear twang of frustration and pleased amusement both, because it’s the perfect answer and a useless one. It’s his fault for being imprecise, perhaps for not giving Set his full consideration because this was a bargain with low stakes. But it’s not uninteresting, which would be the worst crime of all. ]

Well, Mr. Burton I had assumed, but the other two are a surprise. I found them wholly inoffensive. Dull, even. Was my impression incorrect and they were more interesting folk than I thought?

[ Though it’s partially a lie. He knows Vander holds interest, but he also is forbidden from giving too much of that away even with the terms of his contract with Silco having changed. He may have a guess that Set’s interest in Vander relates to Silco, but he wouldn’t be backed into a corner by pointing that out. ]

First, I give you Lord Voryn Dagoth.

[ two can play at this game BITCH!! ]

He very well could have been my master, had he only shown up just a bit earlier and beat Mr. Silco to offering himself. He was confident, self-righteous, and so very willing to take a demon’s hand, even though he was not as ignorant as some to what that could mean. For him, demons were no abstract concept, and his soul was the fair price for what he wished even so. He was a man with ambition who wished for revenge, but also for a future that would outlive him.

[ This is the practical part of the answer, and also things that Set likely already knows. But as Sebastian continues, his voice shifts from the calm, pleasant cadence of a lecture to the dark, indulgent purr of the more personal. ]

But these practical sorts do not truly know as much as they think they do. I saw weakness in Lord Dagoth—An ambition so fervent that it would blind him to all the ills it caused. For who could praise revenge taken in the name of someone already dead? Whatever noble intention he had, I saw chance to rot it. To be the dark mirror of his dearly loved king and to gently lead him to his heart’s desire… Where he would realize that it did not free him from the crushing weight of loneliness and loss. I would have wanted his love and his loathing, and I would drink of both until there was nothing left of him— When ending his existence would be a kindness.

[ And just as easily, he switches back to the smooth calm. He’s given an answer that he’s sure that Set will find rich and intoxicating, and he hopes that’s incentive enough to get him back to what Sebastian is actually looking for. ]

But, speaking of the departed is only a curiosity, is it not?