Ratanish seemed like he was being pretty tactical during the ball, showing up with his crew looking like what they are, causing a stir, being polite and dancing with Laudna even though he's a follower of the Raven Queen, being polite to Ashton and only escalating to removing the mask when it was clear Ashton wasn't going to give him anything, and Ratanish clearly knew the duelling rules well because when Ashton didn't escalate again he justified the duel by saying that Ashton's first slap could count as instigation and his slap was in reply
I think he's trying to show that the Paragon's Call are a tough bunch who can help with the situation but that they will work within the rules and aren't violent brutes
I want to know if a duel was always part of the plan, did Ratanish have a plant that was going to pick a fight with him at some point, or is he just taking advantage of this opportunity
It's gonna be fun to see if Ashton can break that polite mask