Piotr's brow is knit in skepticism, ready to roll his eyes and brush this off as merely a childish game, but Lakshmi has laughter in her eyes, and her touch is not mocking. It even elicits another one of those rare smiles, a bare breath of a laugh escaping him. Quiet and tired, because he rather is, but all the same.

"I intend to." There's a wryness about Piotr, though he declines to share the oft-cited joke-that-isn't-really-a-joke about Vor lords always needing two sons -- an heir and a spare -- partly because Piotr doesn't do jokes, and it isn't an especially funny one. "Though I think you ought to hedge your bets on malleability. You do know my wife."