Merlin nodded. "I forget a lot of the details. I had business, a mobster had an artifact that I wanted, I traded him for a prophesy. Politics are messy, you know, and I like to keep above them." That wasn't exactly true: Merlin had always had a hand in politics, but he turned them to the outcomes he desired. He'd had no skin in the game for that inter-mob tussle. He hadn't cared. But he'd liked the dancer. He liked women with shades of grey, they were far more interesting than innocent flowers (although he'd had his taste of them, too.)
"Anyway. Scarlet took it out on me after she was shot. Easier to blame me than accept the twists of fate. Ruined my business and my reputation, robbed me and burned down my shop. Revenge is an ugly colour." He curled his lip in disgust and drank. "So that's why he's an arrogant shit, and you're better off without him."