[The slightest of smiles, gone before he can really break away from the rather glum train of thought.]

There was this diplomatic function on Komarr. I'm emperor of three planets, you know, and Komarr is one of them. But I was there, staying at some oligarch's mansion, and I went out on the balcony. And for the first time, there was no one around. I don't know how the hole happened in my security, but it was the first time since I was five years old and sneaking into a wedding reception at the Imperial Residence that no one was watching. And I was leaning over the balcony...

[He stops there, glancing self-consciously at Adele and sipping his wine.]