I had a random thought. There are quite a lot of parallels between Rozemyne and Maomao.
Each has a quirky monomania. They are highly intelligent. They live in highly status bound societies. They have friends and associates with status from monarch down to skilled commoners. They have been both low and high status at different points in their lives, in ways which are pretty much unheard of. While both are conscious of the risks posed by people of higher status than themselves and try to navigate those risks, they struggle to treat superiors with the deference expected of them. They are blind to status in how they place value on their own friends/acquaintances. In both, romantic feelings are very slow to develop, or possibly (in Maomao's case) non-existent. (Although Myne is a child for much of the story, this still holds when she is old enough that she is expected to have romantic feelings.) Both have a "romantic partner" who initially was a mentor to them. (Although these relationships have rather different dynamics. Maomao/Ferdinand are repressed and Myne/Jinshi outgoing and pushing the relationship.)Any more that I missed?
Anyone want to argue that these parallels are not very strong/important?
