Loyalty pays, but you pay for it.
Becoming loyal guarantees special treatment, but it often requires a long process of paying in and self-abnegation/abasement in return.
The fealty of the knight (structured with obligations) or the love of a parent (unearned, irrational gift) is different: loyalty can be gained or lost, becoming fickle and transactional, but it is based on a subjective interpretation of the value you have put in versus the return you are given.
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