Commentary
- Discussion of an unknown immortal plotting against Elliot back in part 4 of Sister 3
- Voltaire vows to "not attempt to have Elliot killed"
One can fairly argue that the maids should be able to break that vow without it being on Voltaire's head. They are acting autonomously, and Elliot was in the middle of what might have been a failed sneak attack.
(Incidentally, never assume a magical construct needs their eyes to see you.)
One can also fairly argue that one bears responsibility for what their autonomous summoned constructs do in their absence, and I suspect this argument would be stronger.
We don't have autonomous summoned constructs, but imagine if you bought the world's angriest badger (I'm sure there's a way to measure that) and left it unattended in a public park. You might not control the subsequent actions of said badger, but it's your fault it was there in the first place.
Regardless of either argument, much like when a company decides a new confusing user interface is much better, actually, what we think is irrelevant. The maids were designed to work this way, and work this way they do.
However, what Voltaire thinks might actually be relevant to whether the vow would be "broken." By this, I mean his honest perspective (no spin possible) would likely determine whether he faced the consequences of a broken vow. This doesn't change how the maids behave, but it does go some way to explain why they behave that way. Other immortals with their own vows and their own senses of personal responsibility probably appreciate the reduced likelihood of their maids breaking vows on their behalf.
Seriously, a lot about the maids make more sense if you consider them from the perspective of immortals who aren't huge jerks. Voltaire is using them in ways not covered by the warranty.
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