After the dinner party, the invited guests climbed into their carriages one after the other and left the Count Salzberg residence.
　You'll be able to see this from the window of his office on the second floor of the mansion, and Ryoma, who was watching from the window of his office, smiled with satisfaction and turned his gaze backwards.
　It was a dimly lit room.
　The only light would be from the candelabra on the desk and the moonlight coming in through the window.
''For now, I suppose that's the end of the first act.
Yes, everything will be exactly as we want it to be and they'll have to choose. I think it is a very good way to put pressure on them to entertain us with items that they would never be able to get their hands on. Especially the way they served the fish was a sight to behold. After seeing that, many of the nobles would understand the financial power that Liangzhen-sama possesses, whether they like it or not.
　Laura, who was waiting in the corner of the room, gave a small nod to that question.
''Well. Direct threats can be counterproductive depending on the opponent. That's exactly what is evident from the foolish end of General Arleberg.......
The woman who had risen to the rank of general through her own hard work and brilliance had lost her husband and beloved daughter in the worst possible way through malicious adultery.
　As a result, her mind was transformed from a virtuous god of war to a vengeful demon.
　So much so that she couldn't help but lay her hands on General Arlebeke and his family, the source of this change.
　The advantages and disadvantages of the act of direct intimidation.
　It is precisely because he knew this that he put pressure on the aristocrats by imitating the stunt supposedly performed by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, a gourmet and shrewd diplomat of Napoleon's time, by dropping a fish dish in front of his guests that he had spent a lot of money to get from distant places and then showing it to them.
(Targeting your family is not a bad move if you don't care about reason, humanity, and reputation when it's revealed to the people around you.......However, if used incorrectly, it can be a deadly drug that can not only kill you, but also your family.
　That's Ryoma's untrue intentions.
　However, this is not something that can be said about Elena, who actually lost her family.
　That's exactly why I can't put a rift between Ryoma and Elena by carelessly saying something.
　Nevertheless, it can't be said that targeting the family of someone who is in the way is not a bad choice.
　No, it might even be the best deterrent because it's unreasonable, ignoring morality and everything else.
　At the very least, Ryoma does not deny the effectiveness of blackmail.
　It would be an overused development for a movie or manga villain to take the main character's family or lover hostage.
　However, being used up is not a bad thing.
　It's because it's an effective method, so it's an overused method.
　Of course, it can't be said that this is the method you want to choose, but if you judge it necessary, Ryoma won't hesitate to do so.
(However, no matter how effective a method is, it's useless if you can't use it appropriately.
　In that sense, the actions of the late Hodram Arlebek, the man who is now deceased, are lousy.
　Certainly, slaughtering Elena's husband and exposing his head, kidnapping his daughter and forcing her to step down from the general's position is not so bad for an eye opener.
　It doesn't matter now, for better or worse, that she sold her kidnapped daughter to a slaver, or that the slaver left Elena's daughter to die in cold blood.
(At that time, there was certainly no other way for Hodram Arlevec to take the generalship of Roselia. Elena and that man were too different actors.)
　What should matter is the point of what General Arleberg wanted and wanted and whether he took the appropriate action to get it.
'Is it the point that Ryouma-sama declares General Arleberg to be foolish in that he kept Lady Elena alive?
Well, to put it simply, yes...
　In the event that you're not a good person, you're going to be able to get the best out of it.
　To put it simply, he's a scum of the earth.
　However, that is only as far as his humanity is concerned.
　In terms of pure ability alone, there isn't that much difference between Elena and Hodram.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with the company.
　It is true that people have a very low opinion of Hodram Arlebeck due to the abomination he showed during the last civil war and their dissatisfaction with his years of intransigence, but it's hard to conclude that he was incompetent.
　However, it is one thing to be able to work for a company and another thing to be able to be worthy of the position.
　From that point of view, it is certain that General Arlevlevec was by all appearances not capable of standing on top of others, and the people around him also saw it that way.
　Besides, Elena and Arlebek weren't that far apart in age.
　At the time when Elena was considering retirement, it would mean that Hodram would have to think about retiring as well.
　It would be quite impossible for Arlebek to take over the general's position as a replacement.
　From that point of view, it's not a bad idea to give up on regular means and try to get rid of Elena, and it's not a bad idea to go after the family as a means to do so.
　However, even though it is a glory that he wanted even though he was prepared to get his own hands dirty, Arlebelk misjudged the last claw.
''At the very least, if you killed your husband and daughter, then you should also take care of Elena-san when the time is right.
　The biggest problem Ryoma feels.
　It's the roots of resentment left behind.
　If you're going to use your family as a story to force them to retire, you don't have to actually attack them.
　What makes threats effective is the fear of a possible future in which something important might be hurt and taken away from you.
　Conversely, if something important is actually hurt and taken away from you, all that remains is anger and hatred.
　Killing her husband may be effective in the sense of giving him credibility, but it will certainly cause Elena to resent him.
　It's a very high risk.
　On top of that, kidnapping her daughter and not returning her to Elena would be the worst kind of bad move you could make.
　Not to mention, considering the relationships at the time, it's self-evident that Hodram Arleberg would be the most likely suspect, even without evidence.
　If that was the case, he should have been able to predict the future when he would turn on himself at some point.
(In fact, the whole story was revealed by the slaver, one of the perpetrators...)
You don't think General Arleberg understood that?
　At Laura's question, Ryoma slowly shook his head.
Well, now I can only speculate based on the results, but that was more on the side of jealousy and resentment towards Elena-san, who was from a commoner's class but became the general of Roselia, than it was a threat. The reason he didn't kill Elena is not because he was afraid of her fame and popularity, but rather because he was pleased to see her devastated by the loss of her family.
　Of course, it would be a risk to physically eliminate Elena.
　But if anything, rather than fearing that risk, Arlebek's sticky, dark hatred that it's boring to kill someone you hate for free is visible.
　However, considering the nature of the means of intimidation, it is truly a fool's errand.
It's a good idea to be careful about how you proceed when you're in a powerful and proud group like this one. ...and that makes tonight's dinner party a good one.
　You can't possibly complain about the fact that you were treated with unimaginable hospitality at the dinner party of the Baron Mikoshiba family, whom you despised as an upstart.
(So far so good........the rest.......)
　The dinner party certainly ended successfully.
　But this day has not yet come to an end.　

　Laura gave a small nod at those words and left the room.
　The moon peeked out from between the clouds and a blue-white light shone through the window into the room.
　It was as if it was pointing the way to Ryoma.