The contact makes her smile - and for her cheeks to take on a slightly pink color. She's never comforted anyone like this or been comforted like this before. The sensation of his fingers around hers is... nice. A small smile tugs at her lips in spite of her best efforts to suppress it.

"Because it's my burden to bear," she answers softly. "If they know anything and the people who hold the leash of those first men were to find out, they'd be in terrible danger. I want them to live long, happy lives, to enjoy the freedoms and privileges I worked so hard to get for them. The less they know about how I got it for them, or about the things I do when I'm not working for the family business, the better." Ignorant people can't divulge secrets they don't know and can live in unadulterated bliss.