Claudius laughs, meeting Mercutio's eye sidelong as he leads them to the forbidden garden that is alchemy. (It's hardly an exaggeration. When Claudius was young, he feared any alchemical discovery could be the doorway to witchcraft and damning his immortal soul, before he began to court damnation on purpose by studying poisons. Any explosive combination of compounds felt unholy. Man was not meant to have this power, or at least none of mankind's terrified princelings who weren't ready to face the damage they could do.) "Oh? What reason is that?"