Of course the war isn't over for everyone, for better or for worse. Whatever Lucius may think of the result, he can at least breathe easier. Mention of the diary gets a sharper sidelong glance, the lines between his eyebrows defined as he listens.

"Your alternate," he says, "waited much longer." To die, he means, or to show his true colours, or seek an end game-- all of those things are rather firmly interlaced.