"It's worse than we thought," Davina whispered and squeezed Rex's bicep.
"Yes…" Rex nodded. "I reckoned."
In a political setting, being stopped multiple times along the way is a sign of isolation, but the humiliation should still vary depending on the actual title of the isolated person. For instance, in the exact same situation, a Duke would certainly be treated better than a Baron.
No matter what, a Duke is still a Duke.
And the backlash of humiliating a Duke too much would be catastrophic.
One being building resentment from the Duke and those loyal to him, an open wound that'd most likely fester. And the other is that the Duke title itself would lose its luster in the eyes of the other nobles.
If the Emperor could humble a Duke so easily, the rank held no sacred weight.
