I have my own theory about the Schnee family, or rather, the Gele family: they are old Mantle Royalty. Maybe it's just me, but for Nicholas to allow his daughter to marry an obvious snake must mean Jacques could do something Nicholas himself could not. not to mention that for her to marry some nobody when her father's company was up and coming doesn't make a lot of sense: Jacques having some influence already seems appropriate, especially in the context of an "arranged" marriage.



as for Jacques himself, for him to be such a control freak seems to imply he knows what it's like to LOSE power and control: coming from a collapsing royal house fits the bill, especially with his comments about Mantle itself in V4.