[ Jayce was never good with hiding his emotions. Far too easy to see it and the anguish on his face touches a nerve for Viktor. His expression is particularly glowering as he looks back at Sevika. ] You seem to be misunderstanding something.

[ He will close the book with a snap. ] Titles, glory, none of that is particularly important to me. I do not care about that. The work and the good that it will bring to Zaun is what I choose to focus on.

[ He was perfectly content to hole himself away in the lab. Given his race against time, where else was he supposed to be, what else was he supposed to do? A sigh as he looks at Jayce and then back at Sevika. ] Given the current state of our conversation, you can see why I, ah, choose to not have that particular position in our partnership.

[ Dealing with the council day in and day must be exhausting. Even if their worlds were slowly drifting apart back home, Jayce straying ever so slowly away from their original dream, their purpose, buried under the burden of the council and the increasingly unstable climate; Viktor looks back at Jayce with something akin to gratitude in his eyes, perhaps? The parties, the banners, the speeches. All taxing and yet Jayce worked through them and put himself through it for their dream. He couldn't imagine himself and his bluntness being particularly welcomed or helping the situation. But also he has never been welcomed in Piltover, an outcast since the very beginning. ]

We have our parts to play. I simply chose the one I excel at.