The elders were truly stunned by Leonel's words. Their first assumption was that Leonel didn't understand what he was talking about, lacking in too much experience to see what the problem was.
Take, for example, two individuals of vastly different standings, one of which was a man of average class and fit well amongst the common people, and the second of which was a noble existence, an Emperor or King, even.
Would the man of average class be able to make a deal of equal with the King? According to the rules of society, they would be, by their very nature, two existences of vastly different worths. Making a deal of equals first necessitated being equals in the first place.
A King could order a man of average class to do as he pleased, the vice versa would ever be true.
