@mauvesonata said → " Your secret is safe with me. " ( src. / accepting. )
In the end, they're only words. The person speaking them might be the renowned Rover who delivered Jinzhou from its grim fate, but that doesn't change the fact that they're only words.
Of course, that reasoning is just what Hakkai uses to try and convince himself not to have any sort of shocked reaction to the fact that they were said. The reality of the situation is that he wasn't expecting that sort of kindness for someone who had come to be associated, intrinsically, with the 'right side' of humanity thanks to public perception.
Conversely, Hakkai had come to terms with being wretched long before Orpheus had arrived in Jinzhou.
"I'm very grateful," he responds, trying and somewhat failing to hide his aforementioned surprise. He's given away by the raise of his brows, slight but something. "Publicly, it was declared that my violent outburst was a result of my overclocking; that's how I managed to escape punishment. I can't imagine what sort of situation I'd be in today if they'd known I was of sound mind when I initiated the slaughter."
The grim subject is approached with the same sort of casual air it always is. Even if he were able to summon feelings of remorse, faking them would feel improper, after what Orpheus has just discovered about the incident.
Ill judgement doesn't mean much to Hakkai, after all. He is what he is, and knows better now than to feel guilty for it.
"Your choice to keep quiet is worryingly magnanimous, with that in mind," Hakkai points out, tone switching to convey a strangely grim tease—as though attempting to provoke, to see if the Rover will change his mind. "This isn't the sort of situation that can be excused by way of personal growth or resonance stability; I very much am still a danger to everyone around me. Does that factor into your decision at all?"
