A different man might punch Antonin in the shoulder. Rodolphus has never been or wished to be that kind of man, but he feels the impulse all the same, which is strangely hilarious. He smiles very briefly to himself, eyes still shut, and then reluctantly opens them to look at Antonin, unsurprised, and comforted by it.

"Very well."

What's another bad decision, after a lifetime like theirs.