Romanos Boilas conceived a terrible passion for Konstantinos IX's Alan mistress. Psellos was unable to say if she surrendered herself to him, but she seemed to some extent to respond to his love. This feeling may have contributed to his attempt at rebellion: after his exile he returned more violently in love. Psellos was once scandalised to realise that Konstantinos was aware of the fact. When Psellos and Romanos were escorting the emperor to his mistress, Romanos gazed at her with shameless openness. Konstantinos muttered to Psellos, "You see that Romanos is still in love and nothing that has happened to him has checked him"