Claudius considers the likelihood that this woman's wiped his memory once before, and wonders what he'd have done if he arrived here with the same power. He would've redone every interaction he didn't like the outcome of, certainly. Undo his little tiff with SecUnit, after he got its name, or erase Janet's memory before a power struggle could emerge, or ... actually, he probably would end up resetting his relationship with Luo Binghe over and over again, despite advising Aornis it isn't worth it. They'd probably keep becoming enemies, and he'd probably keep getting tired of it.

But after six months, that would no doubt leave an uncanny impression on people. No one would be able to remember any recent conflict with Claudius, except for the lingering impression of adrenaline, following what sounded like an innocent remark. He'd still be the decent, upstanding, and virtuous man he presented himself as to Crowley during their first conversation -- but no one would know much about him. He'd leave the same empty gap that Aornis leaves in the rumors about her, everyone talking about him, no one able to report anything concrete or suspicious from him.

Trying to maintain that mild reputation would quickly get boring. At this point, Claudius is sure he would've started over, wiped everything clean and reintroduced himself to the mansion at large. But Claudius was an amoral liar -- that sort of thing was easy for him. "I look forward to seeing what you'll do," he says honestly. "Do keep in touch."