Vega is either immune to these reactions or pretending to ignore everybody involved in them, save for Benedict, who she has turned her body in toward to effectively cut Bastien and Byerly both from the conversation. It's strange hearing somebody other than herself teasing Benedict in a mean way, even sounds terrible coming from Bastien. She says, with as much sympathy as is possible (for her), "Well — I hope you also feel better, Benedict."

And having made her point, she finally looks at Bastien to answer him properly. "You should feel happy for all of us, I think, because my family did not want me around any longer than I had to be and I wanted to be rid of them. We're both lucky that I have this... this thing in my hand." The shard, not shown. She's become used to holding her hand stiffly in her lap when speaking, palm down.

"To answer your other question: we lived in different cities. We only saw each other when we had to."