How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
As Alek glared at the newspaper man one last time, an unsettling realization overtook him. He spoke French, English, and Hungarian fluently, and always impressed his tutors in Latin and Greek. But Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg could barely manage the daily language of his own people well enough to buy a newspaper. (13.55)
Now there's a humbling thought. Is Alek fit to rule people whose language he can't even speak?
Quote #8
Dylan rolled his eyes. "You're quite up yourself, aren't you?"
"Pardon me?"
"You think quite highly of yourself," Dylan explained slowly, as if talking to an idiot. "Like you're something special."
Alek looked at the boy, wondering what to say. It was pointless to explain that, in fact, he was something special—the heir to an empire of fifty million souls. Dylan had no way of understanding what that meant. (26.88-91)
Really, Alek? Dylan's already proven multiple times that he's no dummy. It seems to us that Alek's just proving Dylan right: he is rather up himself.
Quote #9
For a boy, Dylan seemed to have had the most extraordinary adventures. For a moment Alek wished he could forget his birthright and become just like him, a common soldier without land or title. (34.22)
Alek should ask Marie Antoinette about her Petit Trianon experience. Playing at being a commoner sounds fun, but it's a bit patronizing, are we right?