Hofreiter, who has a relationship with Natter's wife Adele, confronts Natter after the latter launches a newspaper advertisement linking the suicide of an admirer of Hofreiter's wife to Hofreiter himself. In his tried and tested manner, Hofreiter challenges his vis-a-vis to a duel, but contrary to all etiquette, Natter refuses and exposes Hofreiter's system of vain notions of honor by confronting him with "genuine feeling". Natter: "I am hopelessly in love with my wife. That happens, dear Hofreiter. Nothing helps. That's just the way it is." His revenge is of a different nature, because he gets out of Hofreiter's narcissistic game and disavows his deceptive maneuvers and strategies of shifting blame.
