Yes, the shift between a friend and a vassal and his lord or lady is a complex one. One of my own barone-

[he pauses, looking pained, and takes a sip of wine]

Forgive me. She died very shortly before my arrival to this place. She was a friend I'd known for many years, before I was Duke, as well as a loyal vassal to my duchy.

[Also, yeah, madly in love, couldn't be with one another, tragic deaths, etc.]

Were I at home, we would be preparing her funeral pilgrimage.

[And technically his own, since he had been dying when the fairies showed up, but details...]