PrePub - Ascendance of a Bookworm

That is certainly true, but being given an unreasonable order like that without hearing the reason for it would have been bound to cause friction, especially when the recipient of the order is already stressed out and frustrated over another archnoble family making a series of unreasonable demands to him. People cann make strange decisions, when put under a lot of pressure and/or stress, so if he can be trusted to keep his mouth shut, letting him in on the truth seems like a good move.

Then again, the whole thing is supposed to become official in less than a year anyway, so the risk of accidental leaks is probably not that high. And with Elvira being either among, or being the single most powerful woman in Ehrenfest, he'd be a fool to make her his enemy by pulling some stunt with the information intentionally.