If there was ever a moment when Dietor simply could not believe what his ears had just heard, then it was this moment right here.  Lillinete had actually gone to<i>Aizen-san</i>to have her age and appearance modified for Dietor's sake?  That alone seemed to strike a chord somewhere deep in the assassin's calm and logical heart, but whether that was really good or bad was still something that he didn't know.  All he knew was that this situation was quickly becoming more and more volatile with each passing moment, and that if he didn't do something about it quick, then he would surely find himself in one<i>HELL</i>of a mess later on.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"What did I do to deserve this?"</span></i>the assassin thought as he took another cursory glance at Lillinete, his eyes closely examining every detail of her with an analyst's logic.  Who knew that Starke's little FracciÃ³n would "grow up" to be such a beauty?  But while Grimmjow, Szayel, or Nnoitra were selfish enough to use her body for their own ends, Dietor certainly was not.  Because unlike them,<i>he</i>actually had a sense of restraint.  Maybe not exactly a real conscience, so to speak, but definitely restraint.<br/><br/>It was enough to make Dietor lift a hand to his face and rub his eyes in mild perplexity.  He already made his decision on what to do here, but now the problem was breaking it to her gently.  If not to ease her own pain, then to ease<i>his</i>pain when and/or if any problems arose because of all this.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"I see..."</span>he replied to Lillinette carefully, his hand dropping away from his face to recross with one over his chest.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"You've put me in a rather strange position... Lilly.  But... Because of the lengths that you've obviously gone through to get to this moment, I'm going to be  completely honest with you.  You deserve at least that much."</span>he finished before pausing to gather his thoughts and take a quick breath.  Out of all the things he had done...  All the deceptions and killings that he done throughout the many years...  This was probably one of the hardest that he would ever do.  When it came to slaying someone in the back, he was the best in Las Noches.  When it came to lying and deceiving to accomplish a goal assigned to him, he had no problems whatsoever.<br/><br/>But when it came to something like this...  When he was stuck with the burden of actually<i>caring</i>about someone else and their feelings...  That was a whole 'nother story.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"I can't accept your invitation, Lillinette.  Truth be told, I'm both flattered and flabbergasted that you would do all of this just for me.  But what you want for the two of us can never be.  There's just... too many things that could go wrong if I should accept."</span>he told her plainly.  What he was saying was coming straight from the bottom of his heart, and he was hoping that she would listen to the words he had still yet to say with a clear mind and a calm heart.  For both of their sakes.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"You are not only the FracciÃ³n of one of the Espada, someone who I must <i>kill</i> if I am ordered to, but you are also "technically" his zanpakutou. And I don't think I need to explain what kinds of complications that comes with.  You are the source of Starke's power, and I know that despite whatever you may say about him...  He means a great deal to you.  And I don't ever want to put you in a situation where you need to choose between your master and your lover."</span><br/><br/>And he really meant it, too.  He was who he was, but not even Dietor was totally heartless.  Not to a young and surprisingly courageous girl, anyway.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"And besides..."</span>Dietor continued.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0000ff">"You know as well as I that I function best alone.  My purpose in Las Noches doesn't allow me to afford very many personal attachments.  I won't go into that any further, but I think you know very well just how <i>fickle</i> Aizen-san can sometimes be." </span>He also meant<i>that</i>very much, too.  He wasn't about to start offering idle insult to the Lord of Las Noches, but there wasn't a word in that sentence that wasn't part of the absolute truth as he saw it.  Aizen was the Lord of Las Noches, a Shinigami of great influence and even greater power.  But that still didn't mean that Dietor was going to mince his words in front of Lillinette for Aizen's sake.