It's mostly Varis' fault he ended up the way he did, as he was given a joyless upbringing that focused entirely on teaching him the skills needed to be the next heir to the throne, and he unfortunately ended up finding his sole sense of fulfillment from combat.

His little speech about you being his one and only friend gave me a strong impression of someone who was socially deprived even before they went into his backstory.

He's a bit pitiful, but too far gone to be worthy of much sympathy.