There are two problems with this. (No, there aren't; the problems with this are legion, but there are two at present that stand out to Simon more than the rest.) First, that the magister is right, a sentence he has never thought before in his life and will absolutely never be caught saying aloud. And second, that the only way he can comply with both Wren's order and the prisoner's reasonable request is to get close to the bars again, when Wren does still have a sword on her and nothing stopping her from using it.

But her order comes from a train of thought he thinks he can follow, and she's calling him by name. It's a slightly more promising situation than they'd been in a minute ago.

"Ser Coupe, I'm going to need your keys." He approaches as if trying to pacify a wild animal, except that he doesn't have an offering of food, or anything to distract. Reminding her that she has the keys is a double-edged sword, much like the one she can still very much kill him with if she wants to, but there's nothing else to do. He'll need them if he's going to put Atticus into a cell Benedict can't cast into, and he'll want them if he's going to let Wren out at any point in the near future, though given a lucid mental state and a bendy enough wrist, she can do it herself if she keeps them.