The question is how he says "I appreciate this strategic alliance" without massively accelerating the romantic timeline. It's not that he definitely doesn't want to marry her, because she's either smart enough to have magic or a sorceress, has her own county, and is backing him on major political issues, but not only does he doesn't actually know her yet but she's Chelish, and if there's one thing his bookstore conversation taught him it's that even the sanest-looking Chelish people are secretly bizarre somehow. And the fundamental difficulty is that offering to serve as your champion in a duel is (a) something that you do for your allies when you're fifth circle and they aren't and has no particular implications in that context, the metaphorically fifth circle Feliu has done it for him many times, and (b) very, very romantic in the context in which a woman is attracted to a man.

 "I explained the rules of dueling to her," he says, "since apparently they don't know them in the forest. The rest was her decision." 

"One imagines that in the forest as much as out of it one doesn't make it to third circle with no ability to notice one is outmatched. So I am grateful that she was, in fact, outmatched." 

"One does need to stand up for one's allies," he says, which is the sort of thing that can be read as a veiled threat instead of 'it was thanks for backing me so hard on the Reconquering Molthune committee', so he'll try for a friendly and nonthreatening smile and hope that Molthuni Chelish Noble translates into Asmodean Chelish Noble without problems.

She has absolutely no idea what he's going for - is he claiming they're allies? What does he think that means? Is he saying that she owes him a favor? She knows that! The smile's a good sign, at least.

Men are supposed to be fundamentally mysterious. They usually aren't but possibly only because she can usually read their minds.

Probably she should acknowledge the favor and slightly escalate the flirting but not be too outrageous while they're still all assembled doing constitution-things. Hopefully Cheliax and Molthune have the same standards here.

"Naturally. Just tell me where you plan to conquer next, and I'll be there."

Oh no, she took that as escalating flirting instead of modestly disclaiming that he'd do it for any of his allies and now he can't get out of it.

"I'm glad to hear it."

And then... "Regarding slavery," he says.

"Mmmhmm?" Molthune has slavery so he might be against but probably not in the deranged Andoran way.

"Foreign relations would be greatly simplified," he says, "in Andoran and, given our recent reputation, at large, if a way could be found to bring it to an end without bloodshed." Labor is necessary, but the smartest Abadaran he knows is of the opinion that forced labor is unnecessary, and while he's personally skeptical about mining and conscription he suspects in most contexts she's right, and when a Good thing is probably efficient you should just do it; cases like that don't normally come along much.

Ah, see, that's perfectly reasonable. "I have no slaves and suppose we ought to be rid of the whole institution," she says. "I'm just worried the committee is going to make a hash of it and try to push through something that makes it as messy as possible."

"I wouldn't be surprised," he says. "Perhaps the committee should be expanded, to make up for the departed members?" Perhaps they should pack the committee with enough sensible moderates, or at least people who are moderate and sensible on this one topic, on the committee to get something passed that neither gets anyone executed nor causes the harvest to fail?

"I was inclined to push for all its members to be replaced - the slavers for being obviously the wrong people to negotiate abolition sensibly, the freed slaves for being in favor of a policy where they get to kill lots of people - but I don't want to wade in now." The Archdukes and such are commenting now; there's a risk of stepping on the wrong toes.

"Mmm. Reasonable, but removing all the slaves might send the wrong message?" Cut the crazy one responsible for the crazy proposals and the sensible ones will see that they will be free, they just won't get to kill anyone, and then everything will settle down. "But I do understand. We'll have to see what the situation ends up looking like." He is willing to bribe and/or threaten one archduchess in a very weak position into not symbolically opposing a measure she couldn't get passed, but he is absolutely not going to pick a fight with Blanxart and Carlota, both people he is largely inclined to sympathize with anyway, and he doesn't blame Eulalia for keeping her head down under the circumstances.

"Probably some of the freed slaves are more reasonable than others. I also suspect the strix is a - force away from common sense and moderation, on that committee. She certainly is on forests."

"I would not be surprised," he agrees. "I don't share any committees with her myself."

"Did they do things like this in Molthune?"

"Not on any scale," he says. "A few city governments, but that's guildmasters." Molthune has a chain of command, and uses it.

It can be hard to tell sometimes which parts of this are what not-Asmodeanism is supposed to be like and which parts are just standing witness to a dangerous power struggle between the archmage and the Queen. That is, she thinks, too personal a confession for this stage of their acquaintance. "Having fun?"