Severian's a Torturer, Right?

Severian is not new to people being afraid of him. Yet he constantly couches it in terms of like respect or nobility. He says I was a torturer and they've never seen anybody as noble as a torturer in this village. That he's of a higher class than everyone else in the village. The innkeeper is very interested in keeping Severian happy, that's why there might be wine in the room. It does cement again that setting where he is in South America heading north.