Bel is kind of pathetic, but the fact that a
crow demon is the one who bests him was a good choice: members of the genus
Corvus, including crows, are among the more intelligent animals out there, despite the cultural impression of the
avian intellect (not all birds are bird-brains). Since this is about linguist ability, Almond being good at it
is even more apt.
@Khulmach @Pokari
Rather than all of that, there is the distinct possibility that the fact being known would cause people to suspect that Prince Shithead
had been successful, damaging her reputation. So Irene opted to use the crime as leverage instead. (Side Note: the word you're looking for definitely isn't "chauvinist" — I think you're confusing "male chauvinist," which only describes people, with "sexist patriarchy." Moreover, there
are female chauvinist pigs, and they manage to be even worse than the male ones — the hypocrisy of it, you know.)