The joke doesn't really land, because Alfred knows it's deflection - but still he laughs softly anyway, just so that the older vampire feels responded to. Skilled fingers work the peppermint down to the root, the oil softly cooling and tingly on his skin.

"Corvids are wildly intelligent," he retorts with a wry little smirk. "Some of the most fascinating birds there are."

He's not letting Georg off that easy.