"They don't count. They're not even real." He regrets it as soon as he's said it. That's not fair. At some point in time, somewhere else, they were. The Balladeer has never discounted the presidents, after all, even if they're just as oblivious to him as all the bystanders. It's a slippery slope. Even if they weren't dead at the end of things, they matter as much as anybody.

He sighs and tries to figure out how to correct himself. "No, I mean - they weren't there." It was only memories of them. They'd done nothing to deserve being trapped like that. He snorts. "They might've been more real than me, I dunno."