Tiberius was at a loss for what to say. Her comment had caught him off guard, and it seemed calculated, but he wasn't sure what its intention was and therefore couldn't decide what he ought to say to best counter her. What was her aim? What sort of reaction was she trying to provoke in him?

As she left he failed to consider what his answer would have been, had he been answering earnestly — but even if he had, he never would have voiced an honest answer to a question like that.