This was a delicate and subtle political atmosphere. Abellona was telling the truth; she had not set up the seating as a way to rank anyone based on their strength or reputation.
She had done so based on factions. Her motivations had been purely political, setting up the seats in a way that allowed her to affect the political relationship between others.
Why else would she have seated the Royal Academy representatives so far away from Damon and his friend, as well as Lilith Astranova who was still absent for some reason?
Some of the representatives hadn't appeared, opting to stay hidden, but they had still sent someone to keep an eye on things.
This was a purely political move on her part, though perhaps with some personal reasons as well. By bringing Damon so close her excuse was that he was a hero of the Empire.
There was nothing wrong with him sitting next to the princess.
However, the elf princess had completely turned everything on its head.
