Yes. I mean, clearly Csevet is getting something (indeed, quite a lot) out of being Maia's secretary, I just wanted him to be a little less perfect at it. Even something as small as having one part of the job he didn't do very well - after all, private secretary to the emperor has a very different skill set than courier - or having a pet project that he keeps bringing to Maia's attention. (Aqueducts, Serenity! Aqueducts!) Something to make it seem like there's an actual downside, however small, to Maia's dependency on him.

For a book that contains two major attempts to depose the emperor, the book seems fairly frictionless, and I think it is because, as you say, everyone who isn't evil turns out to be quite nice. And not just nice, but straightforward. The loyal characters all seem to mean what they say and say what they mean.