[ Sylvain immediately makes a face at the very idea. ]

Pretty sure that guy doesn't have friends. He has minions and scapegoats, and people who have been one or the other - or both - and now hate his guts.

[ Don't get him wrong, Sylvain has a healthy appreciation for the machinations and intrigue that go on in all levels of the Gold Court, from the lowliest servants to the... well, whatever the vampires do in the open, at least. It's not the questionable using of people he's criticizing in the novice. It's just that apparently he's bad enough at it to burn so many bridges quite so spectacularly and make far more enemies than he'll ever have allies. If any.

And that just seems kinda pointless, in his opinion. If you destroy any advantage you have in a situation, just because you can, you're going to find yourself alone and empty-handed. ]