Something I appreciate in Ares (as I reread The Abandoned City arc of Lessa) is that as an antagonist he's not particularly showy, at least in earlier chapters.
He is classy, yes, he always makes sure that appearance wise he is neat yet he doesn't stay humble both appearance and behavior wise (I always found it interesting that his hair is much longer compared to his old self, both signifying a change in status and perhaps it being a nod to Dark Lessa).
After all he is playing the role of a savior, a leader, and considering his backstory the closest model he has to that is those who abused him or... well... Lessa. A god. And for whatever its worth he's bassicaly convinved himself that he is just that, only better, smarter. Not like Lessa who was blind to what was happening around him, no. Yet he still adopts Lessa's manner of speaking calmly, never really addressing people as they are but rather as what they seem to him—inferior beings.
He doesn't threaten Raynold immediately with a speech full of vengeance, he sits down to explain to him what Lessa is to him, after all he is a higher being than Raynold even if he is seated below him. Because to Ares, Raynold is misguided, like all the other ants. He doesn't only treat power like something to be drunk of, he wields it the way he thinks a god would.
The way he thinks Lessa should have.