The retainer is often a bit stiff, a bit stern, a bit too dedicated to duty. He's not likeable. He isn't remembered with bright colors in a blaze of glory. But he does his job, and the Prince would have failed a hundred times without him, even if no one ever notices.

I think that's a perfectly comprehensible set of reasons for liking a character; although it does make me wonder why he does it. (And for the record, I love the House of Catiline; out of the immense cast of the first book, my favorite character is Gibeon.)