"And he was planning to strangle Buttercup to start a war with Guilder," Autor points out, scoffing. "There's no doubt in my mind that he'll try to start a war with them in some other way. At least Count Rugen's dead. He was the true villain of the piece. Inigo had to search deep inside himself when he thought he'd lost in order to overcome the Count, and that's the measure of a true climax."