Nero looked at Helena with a mix of surprise and appreciation, for multiple reasons. First, he was surprised about how knowledgeable she was. Specifically about how knowledgeable she was regarding secrets regarding the academy.
He could only surmise that maybe larger Noble families, owing to their long history, had accumulated or learned of a number of these secrets and had recorded them in their family for their descendants to learn.
Compared to Gabriel, who was from a big family but could not be considered a core member simply because how unreliable his parents were, Helena clearly enjoyed the care and support one would expect from such a family. She was strong, capable, well informed and even if her personality came off as a little strong, was relatively friendly.
