Fiona was initially stunned, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The laughter came without warning, even a bit indiscreet, and she had to use the back of her hand to cover the corner of her mouth.
"You're quite something." She said while laughing and shaking her head, "Others would, at least, try to cover it up for the sake of decency when reaching this point. But you, you'd even hand over self-respect as a bargaining chip."
"Then you misunderstand me. My self-respect has never been a bargaining chip for exchange."
"Oh?" Fiona raised an eyebrow, "There was someone who just claimed being Vasiliyichkov wouldn't be a bad choice."
"That's because I am now standing on this position devoid of self-respect," Arthur replied earnestly, "If I truly were a person without self-respect, getting from a street patrolman to Greenwich Police Chief, this step was achieved not by bowing down to please, but by the choice of the citizens."
