Her friendliness, her awkwardness at the start, and now how she composed herself almost too carefully spoke of considerable polish. Alicorns were royalty, were they? Then he chose the correct form. However-

"Forgive me. Perhaps I should have called you Empress rather than 'Miss', even if your demesne is still missing. As for your assessment, well..."

He shrugged a shoulder. "...I find it rather gauche to wear a symbol so willy-nilly atop my head, myself. The cigar, in this case, is truly just a cigar."