*if he seems unsurprised by any of this, well... he really is* He was a Maia, Doctor. An evil, fallen Maia. *oh, how he feels his age now (archaic terms)* Dismiss history as fiction if you will, but those tales speak to the kind of corruption and deceit his kind are capable of.
*lays his hand atop his opposite wrist but stops short of rubbing it (a nervous habit he's not really noticed before now)* 'Manipulative' doesn't begin to cover it. I've seen entire kingdoms fall and nearly fall, as a direct result of one treacherous Maia's influence. Compared to that, sliding past a few mortals' notice would be nothing.