"Yes ma'am. I'm not sure either but it's not surprising to me, Sith are similar."

"...Mm, are they?"  She really can't help but wonder, knowing certain things about the young woman she calls her grand-niece.

"In the sense that they tend to be disproportionately protective of and inclined to use their lightsabers for how useful they are relative to other possible solutions to their problems, yes ma'am. Not that lightsabers aren't incredibly useful tools."

"Hm.  Well, I suppose we'll have to see how that goes.  Hopefully, Alicia won't be getting into situations where she'll need to stab her problems, but...  No future is certain, and hers less than most."

"I expect it'll be good for her to have the option, yes ma'am."

"Would that my generation could be so sure it wouldn't be.  There is already enough amiss, and as much as Alicia has recently proven a newfound responsibility, it shouldn't be her duty to undertake.  But this, I should not speak much of."

Sometimes, when someone says something like that, they actually want to keep talking, and sometimes staying quiet for a moment is all they need to feel free to.

"...She has taken much onto her shoulders, even as she has tried to give things over, and she will need support.  ...I can but hope she will find it, for I must think of the kingdom before I can think of her."

"Is there anything master Deskyl or I might be able to do to help, ma'am?"

"...Perhaps, but not so as there might be more you could do now, with your circumstances."

"It might be useful for us to keep a goal like that in mind as we get settled here, but of course I'll trust your judgement about the situation, Your Grace."

"...Firstly - don't do that.  Secondly...  All I can think of is - ensuring that she is prepared for anything that may come."

"Yes ma'am. Can you clarify what you'd like me to avoid doing, please?"

"Trusting my judgement.  I could lie to you."

"In general, of course, ma'am. On the topic of your niece in particular I don't think I have enough information about the situation to do anything else, yet."

"...Fair enough."

"...I believe this is where our path parts, but is there anything you'd like to ask of me, in either my personal or professional capacity, before that?"

"No ma'am. I do think it might be useful to me to understand more about what your culture expects from Her Highness in terms of interacting with people of lower station and in particular how you'd like me to interact with those expectations, at some later time."

Oh dear, that might be a troublesome question to navigate.

"In the end, 'follow her lead on that' is what I would recommend you do, no matter what etiquette manuals might have to say on the subject.  Is there...  Some reason you might believe your circumstances merit special consideration?  For - as far as I know of you, your vocation is not unakin to some of my own staff, but...Well.  Alicia did say some things, I suppose."

"...As to the role of - the nobility in general, it is our duty to be stewards to our people, if that helps."

"Droids are quite different from humans, ma'am, and many of the considerations involved in treating human staff properly don't apply to us. But that's mostly in the sense that there are fewer things to consider; I don't expect following her lead to cause me any kind of problems."

"I should say, I expect that proving that to the average Villarosan's satisfaction will be rather an uphill battle, DZ.  There is enough of a history of - created life - having more needs than their creators want, and subsequent consequences..."

"We don't take readily to the idea that any thinking being shouldn't be treated with the same consideration we would want ourselves to be treated with, in the same position."

"Yes ma'am."