Albert's Masquerade Ball, his role as a Mastermind and trivialisation by the aristocracy
The Masquerade Ball, about half way through the Scandal of the British Empire arc, is a really cool scene that exemplifies the reasons for the necessity of the Moriarty plan in a way that is specifically designed by Albert, with the intention of helping Irene support their cause and inform him of what her stolen papers contain.
As a reflection of the aristocracy
The Masquerde Ball's activity of the evening is a game, where the Lord of Crime 'kills' people by spilling wine on them and the guests must figure out who he is to save the day. This shows how the nobility have trivialised the concept of the Lord of Crime, turning his genuinely threatening acts into a simple game with a quick solution. They see the Lord of Crime as either a 'gentlemanly criminal', a trend, or simply an illusion to scare others. They, since they feel untouchable due to their wealth, ignore the seriousness of the issue and turn it into an evening jaunt.
The general customs of a Masquerade, as explained in the chapters, is to be unidentifiable and unconventional. They are allowed to be rude or controversial here, but only because it comes at no price to their reputations. It accentuates the surface level nature of nobility, with its focus on reputation and social standing over anything else, including empathy.
The event's 'Lord of Crime', Baron Rollinson, doubts the general existence of a real Lord of Crime whilst essentially masquerading as a satirical take of him. His choice to target Albert for just simply being 'rude' in front of him shows that the nobles are extremely insecure at the slightest hint of dissent, and are willing to go to extreme lengths to stifle it (as seen at many points of the series). In this way, Rollinson also acts as a stand-in for any of the nobles the Moriartys' have targeted - adding to another point related to Albert which I will get to later.
When Rollinson, after being found out as the evening's Lord of Crime, dies of a heart attack, the aristocracy simply brush it off and move on as if nothing happened. This not only simulates their general ignorance and detachment from death and its effects, but their detachment from the Lord of Crime. The Ball's satirical take on the Lord of Crime is a way to reveal their genuine apathy to death and those of lower class, constructed by Albert himself.
Albert as the mastermind of this ball/'play'
Albert is clearly shown to have orchestrated this event down to the smallest detail. He is one of the main sponsors of the event, knows who their 'Lord of Crime' is, knows how to provoke him into being targeted so his meeting with Irene can go ahead, and knows how Rollinson is eventually to die. It's also set up to include a noble who is connected to Irene (since her friend died in a fire that Rollinson started to gain insurance money), and acts as a form of 'society in miniature' to show Irene just how in need of change the world is.
Once they have been targeted and 'killed' by Rollinson's 'Lord of Crime', they have their conversation on the balcony floor above the main ballroom. From there, they can see all the people and events happening from above, as if watching a play. The Moriartys continually mention crime as a performance, and this ball is essentially that but for an audience of two (Albert the creator and Irene the spectator) rather than a mass audience. Being above the main ballroom acts a representation of the way Irene and Albert have differing knowledge that makes them see the nobility through a lense that is more critical of and perhaps morally 'above' the culture of victorian aristocracy. They watch the performance unfold as Irene eventually realises not only the power Albert holds as Em and the Lord of Crime, but also the goals he has in mind - goals that she somewhat agrees with, or can be convinced to agree with.
So what point does Albert make with this? Well, in essence, this whole Masquerade - the representation of aristocratic society, the power of the Lord of Crime, the issues in society that need to be fixed - it is all in an effort to get Irene to side with them. Albert sees Irene as a useful asset with not only the papers she possesses, but her own skills and goals in changing society to be less classist too. Albert specifically mentions her successor, Martina Meier (who was murdered for simply being working class and successful in the acting/performance industry), as what pushed Irene into extortion of the rich - and shows her a taste of a more permanent solution to what she has being trying. It is Albert's knowledge of Irene's past and friends that helps him truly win her over, tailoring a situation and noble victim to her experiences.
But the event is also in itself generalisable to any noble who has committed evil acts. Rollinson (as mentioned) could act as representation of any noble, and the method of death (heart attack) is much reminiscent of Chapter 2's Baron Dublin's death. In this way, whilst the plot has many personal relations to Irene, it is also able to be seen as generalisable enough where she can see how it may affect many other of the 'evil nobles' the Moriartys target. She can see the usefulness and possible future targeting of the plan through Albert's 'play'.
So, Albert has created a performance that acts as somewhat of a mini test run of the idea of 'crime as a performance', tailored to one specific person as a recruitment tool. Albert has proved himself to be a mastermind of crime and also persuasion, and they have managed to progress their goal of removing 'rotten nobles' in the process. And it's all executed in such a gripping and interesting way, which I adore.
[I freaking love this scene man. Perhaps one of the best Albert centric plots if not THE best. It's all so interesting in the way it's staged and what it says about society, Albert and also Irene. There was probably more I could mention but it's nearly 11pm and I am tired. I hope to make more of these as I reread the manga from time to time, to talk more about scenes that deserve analysis.This part is Volume 6, or Scandal of the British Empire Act 4-5 specifically.]
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