Nora Huagen was quite an entrepreneurial woman, from Lex's recollection. Even though he himself had very limited contact with her, she was Cwenhild's mother, so he's heard a lot about Nora from her.
Considering the fact that Lex played a key role in helping Cwenhild win over control of a Minor realm, their relationship wasn't bad. Similarly, when Cwenhild told him stories of her mother, who dared even negotiate marriage and childbirth with the king in exchange for things she wanted, Lex could only admire her.
From a certain point of view, Nora could be looked down on for trading marriage in exchange for resources, but in truth it was not easy to grow strong, especially when there was no one stronger looking out for you. In that case, gaining resources through your own means was completely justified. Besides, she treated Cwenhild well, so she couldn't have been a bad person.
That was not the best thing to judge a person by, but it was enough.