They show respect and even love for him. The author makes this servitude seem like the natural and right way for everyone to live. Most of the billions of people from a hundred planets showed this love and respect and humility for their Emperor, as if having a ruler was a necessary thing that beings have always had, have wanted, always will have and could not exist without. It shows the private life of this Emperor and tells us what a magnificent and nice guy he is. This book shows another man just as devoted, to his cause.
Most spy stories make it seem natural for spies to have devotion to their government leaders.
In war stories the heros' usually show devotion to their country or their cause. The serfs certainly didn't start the wars centuries ago. The feelings of being Free have been totally erased from our species memory. We have no racial recall of what a Free Being feels. This book shows the Emperor making decisions, with advice from his specialists and the cooperation of his sub-leaders, that effect one hundred planets and all their inhabitants.