"Very irresponsible of them," Lafiel said. Of course, she'd been born to power -- a royal family where any sufficiently determined and skilled member could become Emperor or Empress -- but of a nation whose narrative included the subtle refrain that others would not accept their existence, so any ruler must tend to her people first.

Lafiel understood power often meant privilege, but she didn't equate that with the ability to mess with people. Of course, she'd seen other nobles who were less principled about their vassals. (And those who weren't vassals, if they thought they could get away with it.) She didn't think highly of those nobles either.