The fifth fact is a consequence of the previous ones.

Um, no. Again, I think you may have misunderstood that point there. The point is not that all Countesses can inevitably and inescapably be blackmailed. It is just that a Countess designed a particular way can be blackmailed. The notion of a superior epistemic vantage point is not that there is some way for the Baron to always get it, but that if the Baron happens to have it, the Baron wins.

Could the countess plausibly raise herself to a superior epistemic vantage over the baron, and get out from under his thumb? Alas no.

Again, this just wasn't a conclusion of the workshop. A certain fixed equation occupies a lower epistemic vantage. Nothing was said about being unable to raise yourself up.

Alas no. Once the countess allows herself to use tactics conditional on the baron's actions, the whole set-up falls apart: the two start modelling the other's actions based on their own actions which are based on the other's actions, and so on. The baron can no longer assume that the countess has no influence on his decision, as now she does, so the loop never terminated.

Or the Countess just decides not to pay, unconditional on anything the Baron does. Also, if the Baron ends up in an infinite loop or failing to resolve the way the Baron wants to, that is not really the Countess's problem.

As I did say at the decision workshop, the resolution that seems most likely is "respond to offers, not to threats".