"Me? Why would you want magi-?" The answer smacks him in the face and his confusion vanishes, leaving him stunned. He stares at her for half a second and then looks away to hide a sudden surge of emotion that a moment ago had been firmly locked away. Setting his cup carefully down on the table only buys him seconds.

"Ame..." Her name trails off and he swallows hard, taking a deep breath as he tries to process this without panicking. He desperately wants to panic. His mind already flooded with questions and outcry. Just for a second, he closes his eyes and breathes. When he opens them again, he still doesn't look at her, keeping his pained, confused frown directed at anything but her. "Why... Why would you do something like this? How...? In the hope that... I am not worth that. I was never worth that."

And yet she did it. She did it for him. How many people does he think would go to half that much effort him? And he can't offer her anything in return. He, whose marriage is the one being discussed, can do nothing. That's just the way things are. It's just the way things are.

He spots his hands shaking and brings them together, rubbing his knuckles in an attempt to steady them. Slamming his eyes shut again, he looks away. "There are thousands of... of better men. Men who can... Men who wish..."