Prince Nathaniel was a great co-worker with a brilliant mind, and it pained her to manipulate him like this. Nonetheless, Sirona had to remind herself to not let any sentimentality cloud her actions. No matter what happened in the end, Atticus's plans came first. Everything else was second in the grand scheme of things.
While Sirona might not exactly agree with her old friend's methods in attaining his goal, she still respected how headfast and steady he had remained despite everything that had happened. He was a respectable king, and while he may not be the best husband, Sirona admired how he managed to maintain such a great act ever since Daphne arrived at Vramid.
However, Sirona greatly doubted that it was an act as the months passed by. It became clearer and clearer — especially to a woman's intuition — that Atticus had already fallen in love with someone whom he should never have. His adoration for Daphne was only going to complicate things in the long run.
Check out the prequel: The Hidden King's Stolen Wife