[There is not much Alhaitham knows about the world that Benedikta and the various other members of the Hideaway hail from, beyond what they have been willing to share, but what has been told is more than enough to paint a picture of their circumstances—alongside the telling choice for their desire to remain here no matter what. That alone is more than enough for Alhaitham to refrain from pressing further, regardless of his own curiosities. No form of knowledge is ever really worth that sort of thing.

But at least there are easier, lighter topics to discuss outside of that. Alhaitham hears that quiet laugh and makes a soft hum himself, lacing the fingers of his own hands together as he rests them on the table.]

I can't speak for your partner, but I doubt much would have changed on Kaveh's end. No matter the circumstances, he has always been one who is true to himself, even to the point of his own detriment.

[And as much as Alhaitham chides him for it, there is a level of respect that he has come to give to those choices as well. Despite everything, he knows that Kaveh would not be who he is, if he did not make the choices that he had made. He would not love Kaveh if he would let himself be a fundamentally different person from who he always has been.]