After watching for so long, Catherine had finally begun to grasp what was going on, moving past her initial alarm.
Lord Alsace had figured that the other side would not dare truly fall out with them, so he had deliberately put on the act of an outrageously arrogant spoiled brat who cared nothing for the bigger picture.
The most important part of negotiations was the contest of confidence. Whichever side projected greater strength and had more backing would gain the upper hand in the talks that followed.
The two sides had seemed to clash head-on just now, letting their anger rise and the conflict escalate step by step. In reality, both had been using their bargaining chips to target the other's weaknesses.
Black Steward had brought up Congress's decisions, the Ante Empire, and enticing advanced technology. These were all important bargaining chips on his side, things Alsace could not afford to ignore.
In that respect, the Twin Stars, defeated in war and forced to sign an armistice with a powerful enemy looming beside them, were at an absolute disadvantage!
On top of that, the All Things Unity Society had astonishing intelligence-gathering capabilities. From what Black Steward had just said, they had probably already uncovered Congress's strategic intentions in full. That meant the other side knew their bottom line before negotiations had even begun.
So Alsace's negotiating assignment had actually put him on the back foot from the very start!
Yet against all expectations, Alsace had taken a completely different approach. With his arrogant attitude, he had told the other side outright that he would disregard Congress, disregard their interests, and even disregard the prospect of mutual destruction.
Playing the arrogant privileged brat, he had approached the matter as a personal grudge, emphasizing his anger, his determination to retaliate, and the