Character Analysis
King Ror, as Katsa notes, is:
[…] not drunk on his power. He might never dream of helping a sailor to haul a rope, but he would stand with the sailor interestedly while the sailor hauled the rope, and ask him questions […]. It struck Katsa that here was a thing she'd never encountered: a king who looked at his people, instead of over their heads, a king who saw outside himself. (36.4)
Indeed, it seems that the Lienid people in general are a kinder and more tolerant bunch. In Lienid, Gracelings are honored and free, and in Lienid, a woman can own her own ship. So clearly King Ror is doing something right. But we have to remember, as good a king as he appears to be, his wife made the decision to keep his son's true Grace a secret from him.
Why? As Po explains to Katsa, even though Ror is his father, and even though Ror is a decent king, "I would have been too useful to him. He couldn't have resisted using me—he simply couldn't" (22.24). Which means that even a man of seemingly good character, like Ror, can be tempted into unethical behavior by the lure or power.