"If you've..." He swallows, trying to find the right words. "You've repented, you've left it behind. That's the choice you've made and that's who you are. It doesn't matter if you accidentally used it. It can't. That wouldn't be..."

Fair, he wants to say, but little about this is fair. Including the fact that he's finally found another profane and they don't use it, don't want to use it. Detlef deflates a little, bending forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Everyone's got the Vice, so most have to have slipped up. Right? It follows. And maybe the Shepherds are the ones who judge everyone the hardest because they can't deal with their own failures."