Then... what do you want? If we get close to each other, I might end up hurting you again. I can't promise you that won't happen someday.

[At this point, Richard would rather lose Sophie than hurt her - than hurt any of them - again. He still can't quite understand why Asbel places such absolute trust in him after everything that's happened. And as that last experiment proved, it's not even a matter of whether he consciously wants to cause harm or not. The Malnosso made that decision for him, and he was helpless against it.]