[ There's a moment where he brings his free hand up to tap a finger against his chin as if he's seriously considering Jesper's offer to ask nicely, but it's all for show. After all, such a thing practically demands it - and it's not at all because Claude enjoys being difficult where he can.

That guise is set aside in favor of using that same hand to point to Jesper thoughtfully as if the other man's landed on something of Great Importance. ]

See, that's what I'm talking about. It would be an immense tragedy to injure my roguishly beautiful face, wouldn't it? It's fortunate we're on the same page.

[ Including the rest of it, even if he's getting around to the actual point. Which includes wiping the smirk away into something else more properly befitting what he's about to do, just to play up the request part of this entirely. ]

In that case - consider this me beseeching you to be my valiant knight in colorful armor here to save the day. Not that your skills need any sort of assistance, but take this with you for added luck.

[ For good measure, Claude's also extend the torch to Jesper's waiting hand with a slight bow. The more drama, the better - at least that's always been his opinion, which is why he's also absolutely grinning despite supposedly being serious a mere second ago. ]