[ Yes, that was the expected reaction. ]

I don't know. [ He shrugged, looking up. ] Our politics were strongly People's Faction, and we didn't keep slaves. If I were to guess— it was just the easiest of all the First houses to infiltrate. My father only had the one son. So there was plenty of room for him to acquire a new favorite.

He killed my parents very slowly. Poison. Everyone thought it was a wasting disease. [ Did Byerly hate his mother too? ]