[ He lets that hang for a while. A long while, actually, cold stare boring into Sébastien, in no hurry to put an end to a need to squirm. One of the many joys of good position in the pecking order is not needing to adhere to other peoples' comfort with silence. ]
I'm not old-fashioned. Margo can do what she wants with whom she wants. But I am curious to know what makes you think you're any kind of fit.
[ And then, to add a little fuel to the flame and see how high it leaps: ]
Convenient for a social climber to find his way into the affections of a Cardinal's child.
[ As intended, the comments cut at him like a sharp-edged blade delivered with a quiet calmness and a judgmental stare that grip his insides with ice. It is one thing to know who he is and what had brought him to this point, every description of him true. It is entirely another to be called out on it, especially when things had changed so much along the way, making it easier to use it against him.
But he isn't here to prove his affections for Strange's daughter; nothing he says or does will ever make him 'enough' for her simply due to the nature of his birth anyway. Flickers of a conversation a few days ago surface in his mind, make him think of how foolish he'd been to even entertain such a thing.
Stephen Strange certainly has a way of making anyone feel so impossibly small. ]
I'm unsure what you expect me to say. [ He isn't going to apologize, after all, even if he almost feels like he should.
He swallows. ] The circumstances of our meeting don't negate our involvement now.
[ A tilt of the head, assessing. His expression tightens to a thin smile, and the silence stretches.
Finally: ]
You'll never have my endorsement. Not my money, not my position. Maybe one day when Margo makes Cardinal she'll elevate you of her own accord, but she'll not have my blessing.
[ And Margo, for any faults her privilege has given her, has never been anything but respectful toward her father.
It's a drawing of a line. Entanglement with her guarantees him nothing. It won't be the move that carries him to the position he's craved. If he wants to spend his time with her regardless, so be it. But there will be no profit in it for him without years of commitment to the woman whose family legacy he claims to no longer be driven by. ]
[ And there it is, the final nail in a coffin he'd had half-open since he'd started this whole affair with Strange's daughter, and it became something else all together. The meeting he'd dreamed of having with the very man himself, someone he'd intentionally and unintentionally modelled himself after — over. The results are quite the opposite of what he'd expected all those years ago.
But Sébastien isn't stupid; he'd had this whole time to learn. He could have been more discreet. They could have stopped seeing each other all together. He understood the moment he'd been called into this office today that whatever came out of this would not be a dream position and a dream life, even though he'd still held onto that foolish hope regardless. That someone like Stephen Strange could hold so much power over him and others like him feels wrong somehow though, even if nothing else has changed: not his current position, not his feelings for Margo.
His expression remains neutral, painfully polite, not giving anything away. ]
[ It doesn't feel like an ending. Sébastien's grand ambitions had never meant anything to Stephen, so drawing one entryway to them closed doesn't hold any significance. And then that's it doesn't close any definite doors on the relationship between le Livre and his daughter either.
He watches him with that same quiet consideration for a while longer. A shrewd individual, this one. Smart enough to play his cards towards the right Cardinal, if not so wise with his methods. A shame.
Still, if he outlasts Stephen's threat and stays true to Margo, he may yet find himself amongst their ranks. If that happens, he may even decide to call his ultimatum a bluff.
But for now, that's enough. The point has been made and understood. ]
[ Understood, indeed. But perhaps the tone and the manner of this conversation feels wrong to Sébastien, rather than some kind of test to further his devotion to the Volary and the Cardinals who sit at the highest seats. It feels fruitless.
He had always known it would be a difficult path and he's accepted the challenge, relished in it even. No path made easily is worth it, and the day he was chosen to join the upper echelon of the Volary would be a good one.
But something doesn't sit right with him now. In this large, peacefully quiet office, the dismissal leaves a gritty, unpleasant taste on his tongue. At the very least, nothing further is said about his relationship with Margo, which had surprisingly been the thing he'd feared most, so he nods his head, ever polite, takes a step back and moves towards the doors he'd come through. ]
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no subject
[ He lets that hang for a while. A long while, actually, cold stare boring into Sébastien, in no hurry to put an end to a need to squirm. One of the many joys of good position in the pecking order is not needing to adhere to other peoples' comfort with silence. ]
I'm not old-fashioned. Margo can do what she wants with whom she wants. But I am curious to know what makes you think you're any kind of fit.
[ And then, to add a little fuel to the flame and see how high it leaps: ]
Convenient for a social climber to find his way into the affections of a Cardinal's child.
no subject
But he isn't here to prove his affections for Strange's daughter; nothing he says or does will ever make him 'enough' for her simply due to the nature of his birth anyway. Flickers of a conversation a few days ago surface in his mind, make him think of how foolish he'd been to even entertain such a thing.
Stephen Strange certainly has a way of making anyone feel so impossibly small. ]
I'm unsure what you expect me to say. [ He isn't going to apologize, after all, even if he almost feels like he should.
He swallows. ] The circumstances of our meeting don't negate our involvement now.
no subject
Finally: ]
You'll never have my endorsement. Not my money, not my position. Maybe one day when Margo makes Cardinal she'll elevate you of her own accord, but she'll not have my blessing.
[ And Margo, for any faults her privilege has given her, has never been anything but respectful toward her father.
It's a drawing of a line. Entanglement with her guarantees him nothing. It won't be the move that carries him to the position he's craved. If he wants to spend his time with her regardless, so be it. But there will be no profit in it for him without years of commitment to the woman whose family legacy he claims to no longer be driven by. ]
no subject
But Sébastien isn't stupid; he'd had this whole time to learn. He could have been more discreet. They could have stopped seeing each other all together. He understood the moment he'd been called into this office today that whatever came out of this would not be a dream position and a dream life, even though he'd still held onto that foolish hope regardless. That someone like Stephen Strange could hold so much power over him and others like him feels wrong somehow though, even if nothing else has changed: not his current position, not his feelings for Margo.
His expression remains neutral, painfully polite, not giving anything away. ]
Then that's it.
no subject
[ It doesn't feel like an ending. Sébastien's grand ambitions had never meant anything to Stephen, so drawing one entryway to them closed doesn't hold any significance. And then that's it doesn't close any definite doors on the relationship between le Livre and his daughter either.
He watches him with that same quiet consideration for a while longer. A shrewd individual, this one. Smart enough to play his cards towards the right Cardinal, if not so wise with his methods. A shame.
Still, if he outlasts Stephen's threat and stays true to Margo, he may yet find himself amongst their ranks. If that happens, he may even decide to call his ultimatum a bluff.
But for now, that's enough. The point has been made and understood. ]
We'll see. On your way.
[ Discussion over, you're dismissed. ]
fin.
He had always known it would be a difficult path and he's accepted the challenge, relished in it even. No path made easily is worth it, and the day he was chosen to join the upper echelon of the Volary would be a good one.
But something doesn't sit right with him now. In this large, peacefully quiet office, the dismissal leaves a gritty, unpleasant taste on his tongue. At the very least, nothing further is said about his relationship with Margo, which had surprisingly been the thing he'd feared most, so he nods his head, ever polite, takes a step back and moves towards the doors he'd come through. ]
Stephen.
[ And then, yes. He is on his way. ]