"Odilon: Your diligence has been invaluable in earning the counts' favor, Lord Barnier. They think quite fondly of you. Jacopo: Is that so? 'Cause that's certainly not the impression I'm getting. They put on a façade of friendliness, but beneath the surface, they're all laughing, trying to figure out how to best use me— or just outright scoffing. Not a one of them sincerely trusts me. I am just a pawn to them. Odilon: We are all pieces on another's boards. Jacopo: What's that supposed to mean? Odilon: 'Twould be most prudent to consider that unqualified friendship simply does not exist in high society. All interpersonal relationships are built upon a foundation of mutual benefit, save for exceedingly rare short-lived exceptions. Nonetheless, you should not consider being used as a bad thing. We all climb atop each other's boards, offering ourselves up as a powerful piece. And so do they offer themselves to us. Should you wish to survive in high society, you must always ensure your peers see you as a piece worth playing."