The master's reaction was at first to pause, silent, unblinking. Then, suddenly, he was laughing. A lot. Beside himself. For probably the first time she would see him genuinely amused, thoroughly set into a fit of mirth. "I... I..." He tried to say, still catching his breath and laughing. But eventually he managed to settle down enough to say "I wasn't... Thinking that!" He shook his head, a cruelly unflagging grin formed on his face. "I mean, please don't be offended," even though he would have been absolutely fine if she was offended, "I'm not in the habit of bedding the staff and you'd have known long before this night if I was."<br/><br/>Finally letting himself breathe, Tannow regarded #74 with a chilling smile. "It's a more intimate sacrifice, mere sex is much the same as making dinner or sweeping the floor, or some other sacrifice of your time for my betterment. This is... Personal." He reached out both arms and took the elf's shoulders. "Number, you are invaluable to my work, to my plans... You are the instrument of my will, and in you my hopes and happiness lie." His tone grew cold. "You, not Setrina." His green eyes were all but burning. "I don't need your other half, and now you don't need her either. You can survive and even thrive without her." He let a small laugh pass his lips. "And in these advanced times... There are surgeons who can remove her from you permanently."