Link frowned slightly, his initial answer being one he probably shouldn't phrase the way his brain wanted to. He wasn't going to do Zelda any good by ripping down her father in public, not without her permission, anyway, and there was still a long-ingrained reflex to not badmouth the king in public.
"Zelda's training back when I first met her had her locked up pretty tightly," he finally said, leaving her father's aggressive and abusive pushing making that training turn into a prison. "Her little free time went into researching the Guardians and the Divine Beasts. She didn't really have a lot of time and space to let that side of her show. Once she warmed up to me, I started seeing a bit of it, but she definitely doesn't feel too trapped by crushing responsibility to let her proverbial hair down anymore."
Which was a good thing, the occasional urge to make throttling motions at her for that smartassery aside. It's about time she had a chance to actually be happy and free.