Just because Ves could treat the rules as air, didn't mean he should degenerate into a lawless hoodlum of a mech designer. Rules were useful to keep him on the right track. Even he had to admit that the MTA largely got things right.
The mech industry would have looked a lot more ugly if the regulating influence of the MTA hadn't come and tamed the worst impulses of mech designers and mech pilots.
However, the realization that Ves had just made pointed out that he'd benefit more if he acted like a hypocrite. It benefited him if his competitors needed to adhere to the rules and principles espoused by the MTA while he retained the freedom to pick and choose when they suited him or not. As long as he didn't get caught, he could do anything he wanted!
"And that's the other pitfall I have to be careful of if I violate the rules."