Believe me, I'd have preferred that we do the much more sensible 2/2/2 spread rather than 2/0/4 spread, but last turn the social turn options were way too good. Getting-to-know-you actions were in competition with "finding out what the fuck was going on with the conspiracy," "meeting the leaders of our expedition," "t-posing on the colleges," and "getting input on the Marienburg not-a-war." We had no chance. This turn, there's nothing particularly special or time-sensitive in the list of possibilities, so romance has the chance to get off the ground. Once we've checked out all six, then we can focus our efforts and return to a more sane balance of our time.
I agree it's awkward on a narrative level, but also, like... these characters aren't necessarily going to wait for us to get to them. The nobles are under pressure to get hitched. And it would really bum people out to lose by default: I mean, it sucks to lose a vote, but losing by default, because you took too long to even check in on them and that character got sniped, really creates bad feels.
