Ch.511Side Episode – I Suffered All Kinds of Slander

At the very moment Frederick was wandering around town hand-in-hand with Camilla, an emergency meeting was in full swing at the Nostrum family residence.

“…So you’re saying you don’t know where Frederick is?”

As the lady’s voice echoed through the living room, the Treasury Department official stammered a response.

“Y-yes. He didn’t mention where he was going.”

“Did you tell him his youngest sibling was coming?”

“I did. Well, I did, but…”

He trailed off, tucking his neck in like a turtle.

“But what?”

“He said he had somewhere to go.”

The royal lady-in-waiting blurted out with her eyes closed.

“He’s just dressing up the fact that he’s going to meet a woman.”

At his mother’s sigh-like comment, Jerry Nostrum subtly shifted his gaze. As it happened, his eldest sister Adela Nostrum was also rolling her eyes, and their sibling gazes met squarely in midair.

“……”

It had been a month since the second son, who participated in the reverse coup and achieved the dual disgrace of embarrassing both country and family, was expelled from the household.

Though Frederick had been forcibly evicted from the official residence by his mother’s command (which was more powerful than national law—a fact proven by the administrative enforcement of a wife who expelled a nuclear submarine captain), he was still her son after all.

The lady of the Nostrum family was now hoping for her son’s return.

As luck would have it, she’d heard from Defense Ministry officials with access to the palace that the day the third child’s investigation would end coincided with the day the youngest would return from a business trip. Thinking it would be a good day, she had prepared various things.

But what did her wayward son do? Instead of promptly returning home, he disappeared saying he was going to meet some woman!

Ah! Blinded by a woman (or not), putting family on the back burner. It was truly lamentable beyond words.

“Did you all just watch this happen?”

“No, Mom! He disappeared before we could stop him—what were we supposed to do?”

As Adela shifted the blame to Frederick in typical older sister fashion, the lady of the Nostrum family thought to herself:

Ah, they didn’t even try to stop him.

“Sigh. Well done, my daughter…”

They were all the same—the son who ran off to meet a woman while putting his family aside, and the eldest son and daughter who just let their third sibling go. All equally disappointing children.

This is why they say there’s no point in having children.

With a deep sigh that could have sunk the ground, Lady Grace Nostrum clutched her bubbling forehead and barely managed to speak.

“Go find him.”

Bring back my runaway son immediately.

Side Episode – I’ve Been Subjected to All Sorts of Slander

While the eldest son and daughter desperately searched for their brother on their mother’s special orders, the second son of the Nostrum family—who had run off with an outside woman—was freely roaming the capital of Abas.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“No, it’s just that the phone keeps ringing…”

Frederick tilted his head as he looked at his constantly buzzing phone. His family members, who rarely called to check on him, were suddenly calling like mad today.

Jerry and Adela were performing an Indian rain dance with their cutting-edge magical engineering communication devices (companies call them mobile phones), but sadly, their prayers weren’t delivered due to insufficient earnestness. The insolent second son of the Nostrum family had not only switched his phone to silent but even removed the battery altogether.

Camilla, who had been enjoying the luscious vanilla ice cream on crispy waffles, cautiously ventured a comment with a somewhat concerned look.

“Are you sure you don’t need to answer? What if it’s something important?”

“It’s fine. It’s just my brother and sister.”

“Ah!”

She exclaimed as if she’d had an epiphany. Like the ancient Greek exhibitionist who shouted “Eureka!” after having a revelation while bathing.

Biting her disposable spoon, Camilla nodded repeatedly and muttered in a tone of understanding.

“I know what you mean. When my brother and sister call, it’s usually about nothing important. Like asking me to buy pasta on the way home, or telling me to turn off the gas they left on.”

“Siblings must be the same everywhere. That’s how it is for us too. They never answer when you really need them, but they call as soon as they need something.”

“Mm-hmm. So inconsiderate.”

The second son of the Nostrum family and the second daughter of the Lowell family were jointly trash-talking their siblings—quite a spectacle.

If their siblings had seen this, they would have thrown a fit about being slandered. Unfortunately, this was a fact. Most calls and texts from siblings generally contained useless content. It was a kind of karmic retribution.

But this time it was serious.

Their mother had pulled out a cool, heavy mop handle and was swinging it through the air saying, “Ah, it’s been decades since I felt this sensation!”

Of course, it had been at least 20 years since Lady Grace Nostrum had last spanked her four children, but the long-absent rod of justice (home etiquette injector: also available at Daiso) was enough to make the civil servants’ buttocks instinctively clench.

“What should we do, Jerry?”

“Sigh… I don’t know.”

Adela broke out in a cold sweat looking at the unresponsive phone, while Jerry checked his wristwatch, lifting his damp shirt.

The time Ayla was scheduled to arrive was about 2 hours away. If the third child didn’t return within 3 hours at most, who knew what might happen.

“Ugh…”

As the diplomatic official was just stamping his feet anxiously, the Abas Treasury official seemed to make a decision and approached the royal lady-in-waiting, quietly whispering in her ear.

A heartwarming excuse that began with ‘Mother, it seems the third child is bringing his niece today—’

The shocking telegram delivered by the eldest son was enough to flip the royal lady-in-waiting’s composure.

Enraged by her eldest son’s senile nonsense (note that Jerry is in his 30s), Lady Grace Nostrum unleashed a lion’s roar honed as the queen’s chief lady-in-waiting.

“Jerry, get down on the ground right now!”

The weak Treasury official instantly prostrated himself on the floor of the official residence.

Though the eldest son’s tearful sacrifice and groundless slander bought them precious time, the news never reached the person in question.

Because Frederick was too busy enjoying himself with a woman.

He had no time to care whether his brother was being scolded by their mother or his sister was hiding behind the sofa.

“Well then, shall we practice after so long?”

“Yes, let’s!”

*

Surveillance, including tailing and wiretapping, is an essential activity in intelligence agency operations.

And counter-surveillance/counter-intelligence, which responds to enemy surveillance, is an inseparable companion to surveillance activities.

“Counter-surveillance and counter-intelligence are skills that intelligence agencies teach as essential. They protect our areas and units from enemy surveillance and reconnaissance, prevent wiretapping and hacking, and ultimately ensure the safety of intelligence officers.”

Today’s lesson covers the crown jewel of counter-surveillance/counter-intelligence activities:

How to detect and respond to being followed.

I began explaining the basic theory as I walked around the streets with Camilla.

“Tailing and surveillance are the most basic and essential activities that intelligence officers can attempt individually or as a team. That’s why Korean intelligence agencies abbreviate the two as ‘migam’.”

“Migam?”

“Think of it as a kind of acronym. Intelligence agencies use many such abbreviations, by the way. Both Western and Eastern. Especially the CIA and SIS.”

The essence of tailing lies in stealth and observation.

“Since surveillance often involves monitoring a specific target over long periods, tailing requires high concentration and perseverance. Both the tracker and the escapee must constantly focus, assess their surroundings, and locate each other.”

Let me give an example.

We emerged from an alley and returned to the square. I could see the bench where I had been sitting earlier, the station where tourists and passengers were pouring out, and in the distance, the paths Camilla and I had passed through.

I asked her, “What do you see in this space?”

With her hand against her cheek, deep in thought, Camilla eventually began to move her lips.

“There’s nowhere to hide.”

“You observed correctly.”

Except for a fountain, thin street trees, benches, and a few streetlights, there were almost no places to hide in this area.

As Camilla looked around the square, I explained a concept that applies to all tailing operations.

“Basically, in tailing, the tracker needs to hide themselves while only tracking the target’s location. The moment the person being followed notices the tail, the operation goes sideways.”

In that sense, such open spaces are poison for trackers. The first reason is that there’s nowhere to hide.

Of course, there are many other reasons.

“What other reasons are there?”

“Many. Third-party observers, unexpected situations, CCTV…”

No intelligence agency employee is free from worrying about being followed.

Especially intelligence officers like me who travel abroad. That’s why we always prepare for tailing, and these methods are frequently used.

“If you’re concerned about being followed, an intelligence officer has two options. One is to detect the tail yourself, and the other is to ask a colleague to detect it for you. This colleague is what I just called a ‘third-party observer’.”

“You mean someone who checks from a distance whether you’re being followed? I’ve seen that in movies.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Foreign operations by intelligence agencies are mostly conducted in teams. When an intelligence officer goes to the field to meet an informant or visit somewhere, team members wait around the officer’s route to check if anyone is following.

“These observers wait on rooftops, upper floor stairwells, or on the ground. The positions vary depending on the situation, but all areas where observers are deployed share the common characteristic of being ‘around open spaces’.”

Standing on the low steps leading to a bank, Camilla looked around the square and quickly nodded in agreement.

“In an open space like this square with nowhere to hide, someone following you would definitely stand out. So what methods can intelligence officers use to detect tails themselves?”

“There are several methods for that too.”

Whether it’s a colleague assigned to surveillance or an intelligence officer who’s the target of tailing, the principle of noticing a tail is basically simple. The person following you is likely to be the tail.

The key is having the discernment to identify the tail. In other words, you need sharp instincts to survive being followed.

I put on my gloves and began.

“As you know from having done tailing yourself, Camilla, the tracker inevitably has to keep their eyes fixed on the target.”

They need to know where the target is and which direction they’re moving to follow them.

“Detecting a tail starts right there.”

If someone frequently makes eye contact with you or stares at you strangely, the intelligence officer should immediately suspect they’re being followed.

The important thing then is to determine whether that person is really a tail or not.

This is where the intelligence officer’s judgment and skills become extremely important.

“Making intense eye contact with someone, seeing someone following you closely in a road mirror, feeling a strange tingling on the back of your neck—in these situations, an intelligence officer must change direction immediately.”

I pointed to the streets and alleys near the square and continued.

“The best method is to turn corners. If you turn four or more corners and the person you saw earlier appears again, or if the person following you continues to move in the same direction, that bastard is 100% a tail.”

“But to check if someone is following you, don’t you have to look back? Wouldn’t frequently checking behind you raise suspicion?”

“The human field of vision is wider than you imagine. You can check sufficiently with peripheral vision, and you can also identify using road mirrors or side mirrors of cars parked on the roadside.”

By the way, I just used this method. This is how I confirmed Camilla was following me.

As a demonstration, I first sent Camilla into an alley, then followed her pretending to tail her. After circling the alleys a couple of times, Camilla was able to grasp the technique without much difficulty.

Following her into the alley at a run, I adjusted my stride and added an explanation.

“You can check if someone is following you when turning corners like this, but if you take a strange route—that is, a random path completely unrelated to your destination—the tracker is more likely to notice.”

“You mean I should naturally take routes that won’t raise suspicion?”

“Yes. That’s why intelligence officers have a habit of circling about three blocks before heading to their destination, no matter where they’re going.”

I taught all the methods that can be attempted from the perspective of an escapee being followed. Like previous lessons, this training also included some practical exercises.

“If you’re not sure whether you’re being followed, check for followers in open spaces with good visibility, like squares or stations. If you enter a narrow alley, avoid going too deep and only enter alleys you can quickly exit. If you go too deep, you might get surrounded.”

“If you realize you’re being followed, you need to shake them off immediately. You can lure them in and deal with them secretly like I did, but… it’s better to avoid engagement and escape if possible.”

“The best way to shake off a tail is to dive into crowded places. You need to blend into the crowd so others can’t find you. Places crowded with tourists, busy central streets, subway stations, airports, high-rise buildings, and so on… By the way, when entering buildings or stations, check in advance where the exits are and whether there are enough of them. If there are multiple trackers, they might be waiting at different exits when you come out.”

“Personally, I recommend high-rise buildings. You can take an elevator to any floor, then move up and down through various emergency staircases to confuse your trail.”

“What about rural areas or regions like Africa or the Middle East where there are no high-rise buildings?”

“Then you have to use alleys and markets. Just switching between crowded places and alleys a few times makes tracking extremely difficult.”

I took the opportunity to practice both high-rise building and square-alley routes with Camilla.

At first, Camilla confidently followed me, but she lost face when she wandered around the building for over 20 minutes, not realizing I had escaped through the ventilation duct in the 4th floor men’s restroom.

Then she ran into the square chasing after me and dove into the crowd (by the way, I was ordering coffee at a cafe right next to the alley), only to be pushed by office workers pouring out of the subway and scream “Help me!”

The embarrassing mistakes continued, and she was thoroughly outmaneuvered.

Anyway.

Having taught her how to escape from being followed, I now needed to teach her the tracker’s methods—how to pursue someone who’s running away.

“The method of tailing someone is very simple. You just keep following without losing them. However, under no circumstances should you be detected.”

This is exactly why surveillance is considered extremely difficult.

“It’s easy to say, but not being detected is the hardest part. Think about it logically. We’re not the only ones who’ve been trained, right? The other side is also trained intelligence officers.”

“But there must be methods?”

“Well… there are some.”

I explained the basic principles of surveillance and the precautions trackers must keep in mind.

“As I mentioned earlier, intelligence officers are all careful about being followed. Hidden colleagues or bodyguards might be watching and marking anyone who keeps looking at the intelligence officer, or if the target belongs to a counterintelligence agency, they might extract footage from CCTV or dashcams to identify faces. They might also check for tails by turning into alleys and corners… Therefore, trackers must be careful of these risk factors.”

First, don’t stare too obviously.

“This goes without saying, but looking at the target too frequently or for too long is forbidden. Third-party observers might be marking you, and the escapee might notice they’re being followed. So, how should you manage your gaze?”

“You should cover your eyes.”

“I mean, how should you cover them?”

“Hmm… with a hat or sunglasses?”

Correct.

I smiled brightly and took out my mobile phone.

“This doesn’t apply in this neighborhood, but in the 21st century global village, smartphones are essential for modern people. Everyone has their heads buried in these things wherever they go, even while walking.”

Just from this much, Camilla easily deduced the answer. She cupped her hands and slightly lowered her head, as if looking at a smartphone.

“You pretend to look at a smartphone while tailing?”

“That’s exactly it.”

In fact, when 21st century intelligence agencies tail someone, they often move while looking at smartphones. While sunglasses depend on season and climate, smartphones are items that wouldn’t look strange appearing anywhere, anytime.

“In regions or seasons where sunlight isn’t strong, wearing sunglasses while tailing would look suspicious to anyone. But no one suspects someone moving while looking at their smartphone. If you’re also wearing a hat or hood pulled down low, you can perfectly manage your gaze. If you follow someone like that, no one will notice.”

“I see.”

Second, consider the time, place, and occasion.

“Speaking of seasons, clothing and accessories that don’t match the time, place, and situation can actually be detrimental. For instance, what if a white man in his mid-30s in a suit entered a back alley in Myanmar following a Chinese intelligence officer?”

“He’d obviously be a CIA employee.”

“Exactly.”

Third, move in groups.

“As I’ve emphasized repeatedly, tailing someone alone is a very difficult, high-level task. Statistically, the probability of encountering the same person in different locations is nil. That’s why when intelligence agencies tail someone, they move in teams of two or three, and vehicle surveillance also employs two or more vehicles.”

“Are there any precautions when tailing with colleagues?”

“Rotate frequently. At least every 2-3 blocks, have one person drop out and another come in. You need to keep replacing with new personnel to make it difficult for the escapee to notice.”

This was actually a method we used during the joint operation between the Royal Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence Agency on the Mauritanian continent. Intelligence officers disguised as local refugees moved in rotation to tail the target.

Although the operation went awry due to unexpected events involving Ibrahim and the Templar Order.

Excluding such ridiculous accidents, multi-person, three-dimensional surveillance always worked.

It really did.

“When I was being followed by Chinese operatives, they used this method. I was returning to my hotel and only realized it just before entering the entrance.”

“What? What on earth did you do to be followed by Chinese intelligence officers?”

“Oh, it’s just… it happened while working. Don’t worry about it. Those guys specialize in marking all suspicious foreigners anyway.”

Anyway.

After the theoretical explanation, Camilla immediately began practical exercises.

A chase of pursuit and evasion began, and we covered various parts of the capital for nearly two hours.

When she spotted me escaping on a bus, she quickly darted into an alley. I stopped her as she was running straight behind me and cautioned her.

“Wait a moment. I understand the urgency, but when tailing, you shouldn’t run if the target hasn’t turned a corner. That’s like advertising that you’re following them.”

“Oh, was that it?”

“And you need to confirm where the target is entering. What’s the point of rushing into an alley with no significance? Usually, when someone enters a meaningless path like this, they’ve noticed the tail and are trying to kill you, so always be prepared with magic or a gun.”

Crunch—the sound of leaves being crushed under sneakers echoed through the street.

I sighed lightly and turned my head, while Camilla gave an awkward smile and rubbed the back of her neck.

“As I said at the beginning, in tailing, intelligence officers use three of the five senses to track the target: sight, smell, and hearing. But what are you doing stepping on leaves? Even a normal person would check behind them if they heard leaves crunching.”

“Hehe…”

“No matter how dark it is around you, watch where you step. And be careful with smells too.”

“Smells?”

“Usually, both trackers and escapees try to act natural to avoid suspicion. Some intelligence officers deliberately smoke cigarettes, but cigarette smoke can be easily detected from a distance. Even smokers notice other people’s cigarette smell easily, and non-smokers can easily pick up the stench of tobacco. By the way, I once caught a guy running away because of this. His cigarette smell was left on the doorknob.”

“I see.”

“Oh, shall I tell you something interesting? You know those neighborhoods with races that don’t wash well and have strong body odor—India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc. Surprisingly, their intelligence officers sometimes get caught because of body odor when operating in foreign countries. It’s a smell that local intelligence officers don’t have.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“So Camilla, you should wash up too. Use deodorant or—wait, why are you lighting a fire?!”

“Are you saying I smell?!”

“I’m just saying be careful just in case, you crazy serial arsonist!”

She was definitely a beginner, making many mistakes, but Camilla was clearly a promising talent.

She understood the methods I taught her well, and even caught on to and used aspects I hadn’t explained.

“Try to catch me!”

The highlight was when Camilla took on the role of the escapee.

After noticing she was being followed, she entered the square and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.

Later, when the training ended and she arrived at the meeting point, I asked her, “Why did you run in the square?” She replied with a bright smile:

“You said earlier not to run before turning a corner because the other person would notice they’re being followed.”

“And?”

“If I start running in an open space like a square, and someone follows me running, wouldn’t that person be the tracker? That alone is enough to be suspicious, and if they continue to follow even when I change direction, it becomes certain.”

“……”

“What do you think?”

“You’re smart.”

*

After the exciting training in tailing, surveillance, counter-surveillance, and counter-intelligence, we had dinner at a suitable restaurant.

The restaurant overlooking the river felt expensive enough without even opening the menu. The food and scenery were both perfect—the kind of place where anyone would feel incredibly happy dining.

“Is it to your liking?”

“Yes!”

Camilla answered energetically as she savored the steamed mussels and french fries.

The broth, simmered in white wine, had a cool and refreshing flavor with blue cheese that softened its strong aroma. The large pot was filled with well-steamed mussels and clams revealing their soft and chewy flesh. Camilla put a piece of flesh detached from its shell into her mouth and closed her fluttering eyelashes tightly.

“Mmm… this is really delicious.”

“Eat plenty. You’ve worked hard.”

I moistened my throat with wine and muttered. This was the least I could do for Camilla, who had been so busy lately.

Beautiful scenery came through one glass window, and we sat around a table full of delicacies, engaging in various conversations.

I cut the duck meat into small pieces and savored the bursting juices as I began speaking.

“Everyone’s working hard in the field, right?”

“We’re always working hard. You know what kind of region the Mauritanian continent is.”

The group was busy traveling around civil war areas dealing with numerous problems. As is typical in all third-world countries, most issues were difficult for foreigners to intervene in.

After the military rebellion in the Zamrian Federation ultimately failed, the golden children (military) who had been plotting a coup all became good kids, but no one knew how long this calm would last. True peace was always a distant story from the Mauritanian continent.

As it happened, the news I had to deliver was also along those lines.

“Various companies are preparing to enter the local market.”

“Companies?”

“Yes.”

“Which companies are you talking about? Abas?”

“I can’t specify.”

“…That sounds like there are a lot.”

Right after the military government was ousted by the reverse coup, countless intelligence agencies began preparing to dispatch personnel to the Zamrian Federation.

The Royal Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence Agency are doing so, as are other allied and hostile intelligence agencies.

Camilla dipped a french fry in cream and carefully deduced the situation.

“It’s possible that the demand for information about the local area has increased due to the rapidly changing situation, leading to personnel expansion. The problem is…”

That’s not the only reason.

A change in the political situation implies tectonic shifts, which significantly impact each country’s diplomacy and national policies.

And the news that the military in neighboring countries became agitated as soon as they heard about the coup in the Zamrian Federation is a publicly known truth reported in the media.

In other words,

“Depending on what happens to the Zamrian Federation now, the entire Mauritanian continent could change.”

“……”

“The deployment of new personnel isn’t just for expanding information networks, is it?”

A cautious question was posed.

I nodded heavily.

“The birth of a new government is significant in itself. If it can also influence the political situation in neighboring countries, there must be purposes other than information gathering, even if we don’t know what they are now.”

“Should I understand this as a warning to be careful?”

“Yes.”

We agreed to be careful for the time being. The intelligence agencies would do their own thing, but it never hurts to be cautious.

I moistened my lips with wine and exhaled a sigh.

“I’m worried the Zamrian Federation might become a playground for companies. I had enough headaches during my Damascus assignment. Damn it.”

“Syria is a bit of a mess. But let’s not worry too much. There haven’t been any major problems so far, right? The new federal government is also friendly to us.”

“Who wouldn’t look favorably on those who helped drive out the rebels? By the way, where did the Grand Duke go?”

“The professor is still in Zamria. He said he has some work to do… From what I can see, I think he’s finding it a bit difficult to return to the Empire. He’s being cautious.”

For reference, Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, who triggered the double crisis of the embassy raid and reverse coup, was still with the group. The pretext was Camilla’s education, regional stabilization efforts, and personal business, but…

Judging by how she completely ignored her magic crystal ball that was about to burst into flames from excessive contact attempts and avoided diplomats from the Kyen Empire embassy, she simply didn’t want to return to the Empire.

Well, I would have stayed in the field too. How could a civil servant participate in a political change in a foreign country? Really… (Military Intelligence Agency: Bullshit.)

“Sometimes the Grand Duke seems like he’s lost his mind.”

“Don’t slander the professor.”

“It’s not slander, it might be true. He’s a 100-year-old man.”

“Oh? Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

As Camilla began to doubt her master’s mental state amid the continuous slander, Frederick took out the battery he had set aside and inserted it into his phone. While sipping wine waiting for the power to turn on, his eyes widened at the text messages and missed calls displayed on the screen.

“What’s this?”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Why are there so many calls…”

There were 90 text messages and over 40 missed calls. He had turned off his phone to avoid contact from his family members, but in the meantime, his workplace had also tried to reach him.

Sensing disaster, Frederick covered his throbbing forehead with his hand. What was he supposed to do about this?

“Ah…”

Still, he had to check the content. He quickly opened the missed call list and called the contact labeled “Situation Room Chief.”

After a tense moment with sweaty palms, the other party answered before the phone could ring three times.

“Yes, this is Frederick Nostrum—”

-“This is the Situation Room Chief. Major, where are you right now?”

“I’m having dinner outside. What’s the matter?”

-“Never mind that. Return to the official residence immediately. Now!”

Click!

The Situation Room Chief hung up without any further explanation. It was an urgent and curt notification.

Sensing something was wrong, Frederick quickly gathered his belongings and Camilla and left the restaurant. Camilla, who had been enjoying her meal with a blissful expression, had to hastily stuff french fries into her mouth and rush out.

“W-what’s happening all of a sudden?!”

“I don’t know either! They just told me to come back!”

Taxi!

The man in the suit ran out to the street, caught a taxi, and shoved Camilla in. His movements were so urgent that the taxi shook violently when he got in.

The experienced taxi driver assessed the situation and immediately launched into a wild drive. Amid Camilla’s intermittent screams, as if they were on a disco ride, Frederick called his family members staying at the official residence.

-Ring ring ring…

-Ring ring ring…

–Ring… Click!

“Brother Jerry!”

Frederick urgently asked about the situation. What on earth had happened?

Had foreigners invaded? Or was someone in the family sick? What was going on? Why had the company suddenly contacted him?

As the intelligence officer quickly ran mental simulations thinking it was an unusual situation—

-“Uh, um. Fred. You finally called…”

The Treasury official’s answer began to come through sporadically.

-“Th-there’s been a bit of a situation at home. While you were away.”

“What happened? Is someone hurt?”

-“Huh? Uh, no, that’s not it… A guest has arrived.”

“A guest? But why is the company contacting me? And why does your voice sound like that?”

-“Well, you see…”

As Frederick’s puzzled questions were posed,

Jerry Nostrum continued in a somewhat lewd voice.

-“Your girlfriend is here.”

“?”

-“To be precise, your girlfriends…”

“?”

-“Anyway, you should come quickly. They’re guests, after all. Yeah.”

“……”

-“But it would have been nice if you’d told us in advance, if not our parents. I’m not blaming you, but having this many daughters-in-law is a bit…”

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”