Ava Golde asked Kevin Sands:

Why doesn’t Master Benedict like politics? It’s mentioned throughout the series that he can’t stand scheming or political maneuvering of any kind - was the Apothecaries guild like this? How did other apothecaries view Benedict, especially since he didn’t seem to spend much time involved with the guild?

Kevin Sands Politics is a fine place for liars, thieves, and those who wish for power over others—none of which Master Benedict had any patience for in the slightest.

All the guilds were very much the same. They were places where a profession would viciously defend their turf, and at the time, apothecaries, physicians, and surgeons and their three respective guilds were in a big fight with each other. Technically, apothecaries were not supposed to diagnose patients at all, only dispense medicines. Master Benedict, who only cared for people's well-being, had no interest in that sort of squabble, either.

Master Benedict was very highly respected as a master apothecary by the other guild members. You see an example of that when Woodrow Kirby comments that Blackthorn was Christopher's master, which lets him understand how Christopher was so well-educated. But Benedict's prickly nature meant that while he was respected, he wasn't often liked.

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