Gregor was a diplomat from Estana. He claimed so in spite of showing no proof. Given the fact that he attempted to sway Kamil’s mind into defecting, he may have indeed been a diplomat. Killing him was likely going to cause issues with the Estana crown. However, he had a good justification for doing so because Gregor asked him to defect.

Cezary, after being told what exactly went down, claimed that they would need to write up an incident report to clear up any misunderstandings. He said that Kamil would need to report this incident directly to the king so that, if Estana raises any issues with the kingdom, the kingdom would have proper responses. Any misunderstandings could lead to an actual conflict.

“Perhaps, that is what they are aiming for, misunderstandings,” He added.

Therefore, he wrote up an incident report for him after Kamil recounted what happened. The incident report basically stated that Gregor attempted to coax him to defect after insulting the crown. Under such a circumstance, killing him could have been justified.

“You shouldn’t have killed him, Milord…” Cezary told Kamil while he was finishing up the incident report.

“What’s done is done. We now need to make sure that there is no further harm coming our way,” Kamil replied. He had absolutely no regret whatsoever for killing him.

They did find Gregor’s remains from the huge crater which was created on the edge of the town, which quickly became some sort of tourist attraction for the locals to visit. According to Cezary, the crater was going to become a small lake because it was deep enough that underground water was creeping into it.

image [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/7262/ewOWrv.jpg]

Anyway, his left hand and right leg were found. Those were pretty indisputable proof that he was in fact killed. If there was anything that displeased him, it was that he would have loved to have asked him some questions. But the reality was that he was unlikely to answer anything.

Once the letter was crafted, Cezary recommended to take Avina with him.

“She is Flora’s maid though?”

“Well, your wife’s is yours, no? You should bring only a maid on this occasion, and I don’t see anyone better than her. You are welcome to take someone else, but the maid should be combat capable just in case.”

The only combat capable maid was Avina indeed. Wiara could possibly be disguised as a maid as well. but she was just too new for a task like this, which was a roundabout way of saying that she could not be trusted yet.

Upon arriving in Keviel, he headed to the royal castle immediately and informed the gate guards to request an audience with the king. He was advised by Cezary to finish it up ASAP and get out of the capital. He was doing just that. Once received, he and Avina were led in to find the king already present. He was apparently seeing someone else who was -

“Lord Flissing?” He whispered.

The audience chamber was a place he was familiar with since it had been the focal point of royal parties. It was basically a large rectangular hall with a pair of stairs at the end where the king would step down to meet his subjects.

“Please wait here for a moment,” said the guard. The distance between him and the king was too far to hear what either would say, but Kamil was able to eavesdrop on some of their exchanges, thanks to wind elementals carrying their voices for him. Apparently, Lord Flissing was filing a complaint regarding the princess while reporting her infidelity.

Already? That’s fast.

He didn’t think the princess would fall for it this fast. As he eavesdropped them for longer, he found out several shocking facts. The princess apparently slept with three guys and was currently pregnant. The father was one of those three guys but didn’t know who exactly. As he facepalmed, Avina beamed an amused look at him.

“Is something wrong, Milord?”

“Nothing. I love facepalming. That’s all.”

The king was arguing back that Daniel could also be the father which Baptiste retorted by stating that his son and the princess had not been on speaking terms for months and, therefore, had not shared the bed for equally long. The king was becoming more livid as he ran out of defenses he could make, and Baptiste was hammering the final nail on the coffin by demanding a formal divorce. Their exchanges became clearly more animated with the king eventually dashing out of the scene with searing anger, which meant that he wasn’t going to meet the king any time soon. The guard looked dumbfounded by the turn of events.

“My apologies, Lord Fenchel, the king is, errr, unavailable,” he said while looking clearly apologetic.

“It’s not your fault. Shall we come back tomorrow? The matter is quite urgent. It’s regarding national security.”

“I shall inform the king.”

“Lord Fenchel?” Baptiste looked quite surprised to run into him. He was making his way out and ran into him naturally. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Lord Flissing.” Kamil gave him a curt nod. They were close enough that formal greetings were no longer necessary.

“I assume you are here to seek an audience with the king…,” He trailed off while glancing back where the throne was. “Well, he is unavailable at the moment. Would you like to stay at my manor for the time being?”

They’d need to stay a night at least. They were going to stay in the airship since it had private rooms and even a kitchen. He had no reason to refuse the invitation, however.

“If that’s fine with you -”

He interjected gleefully, “Come on. We are a family. Let us go.”

Once they arrived at the Flissing manor within Keviel, Baptiste asked what Kamil was here for. He answered earnestly about Gregor and how he ended up killing him with a hurricane arrow.

“Gregor, eh.” Baptiste stared at his cup of tea for a moment before taking a sip.

“I assume you knew him.”

“Not really. He was the king’s advisor. Why would I need to talk to his advisor? I knew his face, and that was about how deep the relationship was. He was really crafty, though.”

“He wanted me to defect to Estana, so I ended up killing him.”

“Capturing him might have been better,” He said what Cezary also said to him. “Simply because the dead doesn’t really leave evidence. But, in your case though, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

If any other noble killed him, they might have questioned his motive behind the murder. Apparently, Gregor had a lot of enemies. However, for Kamil, his motive couldn’t be questioned simply because he would have not known him. He was someone from before Kamil’s time. On paper, he killed Gregor because of his dark motive of wanting Kamil to defect.

“Anyway,” Kamil decided to change the subject. “I assume the plan went well?”

“I didn’t need to do much. The woman went out of her way to seek out men on her own. I am starting to think that she may not be right in the head to begin with. For the lack of better words I wish to use, I will simply say she is completely out of control.”

Shaking head dismissively, Kamil took a sip of tea and wondered aloud, “I do wonder just what kind of upbringing she must have had to turn out like that.”

“In general, kings are in charge of looking after sons. Queens are in charge of looking after daughters. I assume the queen raised her. I am not sure it’s her fault since the first princess is doing fine. At least, we are not hearing anything about her, are we?”

“Who did the first princess marry?”

“The grandson of Constant Egra, the lord of Altzell.”

They’d be related, but their blood would have been deviated enough not to matter. The two Egra families had no connection to each other over a hundred years before they were reunified.

“So…, what’s going to happen now to Daniel?”

“The king will be forced to grant my request for a divorce, but I suppose he will take his sweet time. No matter, we are going ahead with getting him a mistress. We are down to just two women, and I’ve told him that the decision will be entirely on him. We won’t meddle in.”

“Good to hear that, sir. He does badly need his break. By the way, out of pure curiosity, what is the princess doing now?”

“Who cares? I let her be. She could be sleeping with more men for all I care.”

“Didn’t you say she is pregnant though?”

“I did. She didn’t believe the doctor however.”

“Is she for real?” He blurted.

“Oh, she is real,” Baptiste snickered. “I’ve seen some spoiled women in my life, and she is right up there.”

He simply could not fathom whatever was going on in the woman’s head. She was a princess and may have been spoiled, but no sane woman would go out of her way to get impregnated by a strange man. What would be the logic behind such actions, he wondered.

The next day, he was able to get a chance to meet the king in person. He was in the same audience chamber as before. Kneeling down about ten meters from him, he presented a rolled scroll which a guard took and presented to the king. Unblinding it, he quickly skimmed through the scroll.

“Gregor?! And he is dead?”

He sounded really surprised.

“Bested by my own hands, sire,” Kamil added.

“Gregor is dead?!”

Karsten didn’t seem to believe what he read initially.

“Sire, he attempted to sway my mind and defect to Estana. I attempted to capture him, but he wasn’t coming quietly.”

Obviously, he lied. Frowning, Karsten read the letter more thoroughly the second time.

“Gregor was working with Estana…?” He said weakly, still unable to believe what he read.

“I understand that he was your former advisor?”

“Indeed, he was… I would question your motive for ending him normally, but you wouldn’t have any personal grudge against him. I will have to trust your words that he wasn’t willing to surrender.” Then he stroked his chin carefully. “On your report, it says he wanted you to defect. What did he offer to you?”

“A much better fief,” He replied curtly.

Karsten studied him carefully. “Do you want a better fief?”

“No, sire. I am happy where I am.”

He didn’t lie; He was happy with Laufeld. It was his town, built from ground up. Very few lords could say that. Meanwhile, in Karsten’s perspective, if one of his vassals was offered a much better land by his enemy, he would need to offer the vassal in question something to keep him happy. The only issue here was the validity of his report. In his mind, Kamil could have very well made up this report to get himself a reward. He would need some proof that it was indeed Gregor. Conveniently, a guard rushed in and delivered a letter to him.

“It’s from Lord Weber, my liege,” said the guard on his knee.

“From Aaron…?” He quickly read the letter, and his face softened at once. “I see. Lord Fenchel, I apologize for doubting you.”

Still kneeling, Kamil inquired, “If you don’t mind asking, what does the letter say?”

“Lord Weber has sent me a report that Gregor visited him a while ago, trying to get him as a middle man to coax you into defecting. Obviously, he refused. It looks like Gregor was left with no choice but to confront you in person as the last resort.”

Then he tossed the letter toward Kamil which landed half way between them. Kamil had very little connections to anyone because he was too young. Normally, for something like defecting, someone close to him should have been selected as a middleman, but Gregor could find out who Kamil was close to simply because there was none. This made his job extraordinarily hard to a point that he had no choice but to approach him personally.

“My apologies for doubting you, Lord Fenchel. And I thank you for making the report in person. It makes me happy that I have such faithful vassals.”

Now that Kamil’s claim was backed up by Aaron, Karsten no longer had a reason to doubt him. “You do deserve a reward, but I am uncertain what to give you. In fact, I have a favor to ask.”

Oh?

That was a strange turn of event.

“It is about the second princess. I am sure that you are already aware of what’s been happening due to your connection with the Flissing.”

“Yes.” He felt there was no reason to lie.

“I am going to need to send her into exile, but the location has not been an easy pick. I’ve been thinking of exiling her to Laufeld.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

What?

Kamil was completely taken by the sudden turn of events.

“My liege, Laufeld has nothing, sire. Why would you need to -” He paused as if he answered his own question. The town had nothing, nothing indeed. When someone was sent into an exile, they were always sent to remote regions. If he was looking for somewhere close but still remote, he’d have two choices. One was Rokk. The other would be Laufeld.

I don’t want that bitch in Laufeld.

“Sire, Laufield is lacking in basic defenses. It doesn’t even have walls at the moment. We just do not have the leeway; We cannot protect the princess.”

Rokk didn’t have walls, either. The king stoked his chin, looking slightly troubled. He had no idea what the king was planning to do with her. Sending her into exile sounded like the correct move, but nothing was straightforward when it came to royalty. After doubling down that Laufeld was not the proper place to send someone like a princess into exile, he excused himself. As per Cezary’s instruction, he planned to depart right after but only after sending an invitation for Daniel to visit the town.

“A change of scenery can’t be bad for the lad. We are also building an airship, so I will make sure to send him your way when able,” was what Baptiste said in response.

On their way back on an airship, Kamil asked Avina about her opinion on the princess.

“What would you do if your daughter did such things?”

Then he informed her that the king planned to exile her.

“Send her in exile and get rid of her later,” was her answer. Her voice was cold as if she didn’t have any ounce of patience for someone who had completely lost her way. “Perhaps, the king wants to send her to Laufeld to get rid of her more easily. Plenty of excuses to be made in a rather chaotic town like ours.”

She had a point indeed. If that was the criteria, Laufeld would be better than Rokk, yes.

“If she is indeed pregnant with a stranger’s child, mark my words. Neither the mother nor the baby will see the light of the day. Thankfully for her, a pregnant woman is really easy to kill.”

She sounded like she was greatly offended by the princess’ actions and was taking it personally. He wondered whether he’d get rid of his own daughter if she ended up acting the way the princess did. Honestly, he wasn’t sure. He’d want to find out why she was acting like that in the first place. Either way, he wasn’t really his business, and he had his plate full already.

Just a few days after arriving back home, Daniel arrived in Laufeld via an airship. After being freed of his menacing wife, he was given a reprieve.

“It is good to be here,” He remarked as he walked down from the airship, flanked by four maids, who were very likely combat capable. It was a sudden and unannounced visit. Therefore, it took some moments for Kamil to find out about his sudden visit. When he rushed out to greet him, Daniel had already taken a walk around the town and was in awe of what’s been done to it.

“This place is very unorthodox, Lord Fenchel,” He said to Kamil who was fast approaching him. Wiara was with him.

“Lord Flissing, welcome to Laufeld. You are looking better.”

He wasn’t making that up. Daniel did look better.

“I should be. I am at last free of the witch.”

The witch being the princess of course.

“Princess my arse,” He blurted. With no one to keep him in check, it looked like he was finally showing his true colors.

“Let us go to my manor,” Kamil suggested but he refused.

“I’d like to take a look around more. This place seems really interesting. When I was told that you were building a city inside of a mountain, I was highly skeptical of it.”

“You can certainly take a look around, but please let us go to my manor first. Your sister is waiting.”

Very reluctantly, he agreed. After being flabbergasted by the fact that Kamil’s manor was being built into a mountain, he met with his sister, Flora, at which point they had Macomaco tea together.

“I see that the Flissing has finally constructed an airship,” Kamil remarked.

“We are building a second one right now. We are already a bit late in the race, no?”

There wasn’t a race to begin with, but he was correct that the Flissing was behind the wave. The faster they normalized using airships, the better. The traditional method of traveling on foot was swiftly dying off. Once anyone tasted how convenient traveling via airship was, he wasn’t going back. Interestingly, Daniel asked for wine, but they had none which shocked him. Then he went on to explore the mine and the cave. Basically, the dude was busy all day long. At the moment, the crystal cave was progressively turning into a small village of its own. Walls and ceilings were already reinforced, and houses were being constructed inside. Already a few were living there while Cezary was experimenting with numerous stuff to make sure that an underground settlement was doable for the long term.

The next day, Daniel was once again taking a walk around town but with Kamil. When they entered the central market, his eyes were immediately fixed on someone, a girl to be exact.

“She is … beautiful,” He remarked with his eyes fixed on her. He was looking at Esther who was tending her market stall.

“Esther…?” Kamil narrowed his eyes while noticing that Daniel was smitten.

That … could complicate matters.

At one time, he did consider her to be his partner. As a potential mistress, there was nothing wrong at all with her. She was Edmund’s illegitimate daughter. She was fourteen at the moment and was turning into a real beauty. Even Kamil was attracted to her at one point years back. He no longer had any feelings for her now since there was Flora.

“That is Esther, the merchant’s Julian’s girl,” He told Daniel who wanted to approach her. He didn’t seem to care about her social standing.

“Esther? That is a nice name. Is she taken?”

“I don’t believe so.”

Truth be told, becoming Daniel’s mistress could very well be her best chance at a comfortable life.

“I’d like to entertain the possibility of having her as my mistress,” He declared.

“I will summon Julian the merchant then. Do you want me to call him right now?”

“Yes, right now.” He kept looking back at her as they made their way to the manor. Esther was actually too busy at the stall to have noticed his stares.

Once they were back at the manor, Julian appeared before them shortly later. He kneeled down before them who were seated by a table.

“I’ve answered your call.”

Kamil introduced Daniel to him. “Julian, this is Daniel Flissing, the heir to the Flissing.”

“I am honored by your presence, your grace,” Julian responded with extreme formality.

“Julian, Daniel here would like to inquire about the possibility of having Esther as his mistress.”

His face stiffened, and he gave his answer promptly.

“I respectively decline the offer.”

“May I ask why?” It was Daniel who spoke.

“She does not wish to leave Laufeld, Lord Flissing,” Julian replied. Kamil vaguely recalled her telling him once that she did not have a place to belong. That was years ago when they were still in Lux. If she did eventually find a place to belong, then it was also her choice to fully make it hers. Of course, that was if Julian was telling them the truth.

Kamil said, “Julian, I respect your opinion. However, this is about her future. I want her to say in her own words that she is going to refuse. If so, then, I will not press this any further.”

Daniel looked like he had an issue with that but knew it wasn’t his place to speak at the moment. As the lord of Laufeld, everyone in the town was his subjects. Daniel would certainly have no right.

“Very well. I shall bring her right here right now. Please excuse me.”

He walked out once having declared so. Kamil had a hunch that he may have been lying to keep her, but it looked like he may have been wrong.

“I didn’t think the offer would be refused,” Daniel confessed while sighing. For him, Dido had been his whole world where the folks there worshiped the house Flissing. Rejection wasn’t something he was quite used to in truth. If he expressed a desire to have a woman as his mistress in Dido, the offer would have likely been accepted without a fuss indeed. Either way, it didn’t take long for Julian to enter with Esther. Both of them kneeled down in front of them, facing down.

Clearing throat, Kamil explained the situation to Esther.

“To sum it up, Lord Daniel Flissing here has chosen you to be his mistress. I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter.”

“I refuse,” She replied flatly. Daniel looked shocked.

“Esther, may I ask why? I don’t think you are ever going to get a better marriage offer than this,” Kamil said.

“Perhaps, you are right, but I would rather have better control over my life than just rot as a mistress,” She explained earnestly.

He nodded along. She wasn’t wrong. While it was true that the deal was good, becoming a mistress meant shutting up for the rest of her life and living a secluded life. If she had a sheltered life, she may have accepted such a life, but she tasted freedom and the outside. It would be very hard to go back to being just a girl in a manor.

“Julian, I have an idea,” He said.

“Yes?”

“How about a part-time mistress?”

Everyone in the room was like, “What?”

“Allow me to explain. Esther could become Daniel’s mistress only when he is here in Laufeld. With the airship, traveling back and forth won’t take much of anyone's time.”

He went on to elaborate that Esther will have freedom while Daniel was away. She would be obliged to serve him while he visits her.

“What do I gain from this?” She questioned, clearly unhappy with the strange arrangement.

“An ability to have a family,” He replied, “Without the need to have a husband. Any children born between you two will be yours by default. Lord Daniel, do you agree on this part?”

Children from a mistress were rarely acknowledged anyway.

“I wish to retain my right to take a son if I have no other son,” He replied back with a suggestion.

Kamil nodded along. “Reasonable. Esther?”

“I … don’t have an issue with that.”

As weird as the whole arrangement was, it managed to cover both people’s desires. For Daniel, he would get the woman he desired. A mistress who didn’t stay in the Flissing manor was actually better if the first wife was a jealous type. For Esther, she would be able to pursue her career as a merchant and still have almost full control over her life. Should any children be born from their relationship, she would take care of them and possibly let them inherit the business later on.

“What an interesting proposal,” Julian said with a smile. “I have no problem with this. He had a dilemma about her future husband. This was literally a matrilineal marriage with Daniel retaining his right to take a son from her, should the need arise. In his mind, this was possibly the best deal she was ever going to find herself.

“If Julian doesn’t see a problem, then I don’t, either,” Esther said.

Kamil looked at Daniel. “Lord Flissing? It’s down to you now.”

Folding arms, he contemplated the deal. Of all women he encountered so far, Esther was the prettiest in his mind. Others weren’t even close. He looked at her once more, her flaming hair was reflecting light here and there, making it look as if her hair was sparkling. He badly wanted to caress her hair and wanted to smell them. He didn’t know how old she exactly was but she looked to be old enough for a marriage.

“Excuse me, but I forgot to ask her age.”

“I am fourteen,” She replied curtly.

“Do you know who your parents are?” Julian and Esther looked nothing alike. Thus, it was understood without any explanation that they were not related by blood. Meanwhile, Esther froze at once upon the question. It was a routine question. He’d want to avoid inbreeding. Of course, there was virtually no chance of such occurring here, but it was always better to be safe than sorry down the line.

“I can answer if you’d like, Esther,” Kamil said to which she nodded weakly while curling her lips in resentment.

“Lord Daniel, her father is Edmund Fenchel.”

“What?” Blurting, he looked dumbfounded. “Are you serious?”

Why should I lie about something like that?

“She has been let go. I am sure you know what it means.”

Daughters from a mistress were often let go. Daniel knew exactly what it meant. Meanwhile, Julian showed no reaction as if he was already aware.

“Then I have no issue with her lineage and am willing to sign a contract.”

He would not call Edmund his father-in-law since she was an illegitimate child and was even let go. Once the decision was made, Nestor was called to write up a draft mistress contract. After Kamil told him the conditions of the contract, he wrote it down and presented it to Daniel and Julian. The contract stated that Daniel Flissing and Esther would enter a mutual relationship. The latter would swear to remain faithful in exchange for any financial support if requested. Additionally, any children born from them would fall under Esther’s family tree with an exception where Daniel may bring a son into the Flissing tree. She was not obligated to serve him outside of Laufeld and would not stay at the Flissing manor. In the end, both of them put down their signatures at the bottom. A draft contract wasn’t a legally binding one. It was more of a clear signal of intent. Daniel would take this draft contract to Dido and write up a formal contract based on it.

“With this, I’d like to build a small manor for myself in Laufeld. Do you agree, Lord Fenchel?” With the rolled up contract in his hand, he asked Kamil.

He would indeed need a place to stay with Esther in Laufeld. It would be maintained by maids from Dido.

“I have no problem with that. Do you want me to build for you or are you going to build one yourself?”

“I am going to send my own carpenters and masons if you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine.”

Ours are already busy as fuck anyway.

Julian and Esther were dismissed soon after, and Daniel departed Laufeld for Dido as well. He was eager to finish up the contract so that he can be with her ASAP.

On that night, Kamil was on his bed.

Never in a million years have I thought that Esther would end up becoming Daniel’s mistress.

He chuckled upon the thought. At one point of his life, he was encouraged to take Esther for himself. He did also like her due to her beauty. Did he still have feelings for her? Negative. He had none.

I like Flora. She and I get along fine.

Cezary had walled off their room in half, meaning they no longer shared the same bedroom. Still, it was easy to enter each other’s bedroom because there was a door in the middle. They had indeed shared the bed several times although they hadn’t had an actual intercourse yet. She had allowed him to touch her breast in the bed, and that was as far as he went with her.

I really wish her boobs were bigger.

He lamented internally. Fionara never had impressive assets, either. Sulking, he tried to sleep. However, he sensed a presence in the vicinity. Wind elementals were giving him a warning that someone was nearby.

“Who’s there?”

“Impressive.” A voice came out of seemingly nowhere. But Kamil was able to locate the source of the voice. It was coming from a ventilation duct. Apparently, it was big enough for a man to crawl inside if he was slander enough.

“I know where you are. Unless you wish to die, come out.”

There was no reaction.

“So be it.”

He pointed his index finger at the ventilation duct and cast a wind arrow spell. A small dart, glimmering in green, appeared out of nowhere and flew directly into the ventilation, making a curve just as it entered. A groan was heard, and a man covered in dark clothes rolled out. He was bleeding from his shoulder. He fired another dart which struck the man’s thigh. This time, the man resisted letting out a painful grunt.

“You must be from Estana, am I correct?”

Even his face was covered fully, bar eyes. The man looked like a literal ninja. He refused to elaborate while trying to seize bleeding from his thigh.

“Fine, so be it. Die.” The way Kamil said it, there was no hesitation whatsoever. Realizing that he wasn’t just threatening, the man quickly spoke aloud.

“W, wait! Yes, I am from Estana. I carry a message from my liege.”

“I have no business with your king. Kindly leave me alone.”

“He would like to request an audience. Man to man, ten days from now at the border.”

“Like I said, I have no business with your king. Speak to my king.”

“He’d just like to purchase the schematic for the airship and just exchange a few casual words. Going through the official channel will be too much work.”

Kamil retorted, “Go through the official channel. That is my stance. Our nations are not at war. You don’t need to cause fictions unless it is what you want.”

“Fine, fine, you win.” The man stood up and had his hands in the air. “I will leave quietly if you let me.”

They were in pitch black darkness. The only light source was Kamil’s glimmering eyes, which was providing him with night vision. The man seemed to be able to see in the darkness as well.

“Fine. Do tell your king that I will not fall for tricks. I am willing to sell the schematic as long as you go through the official channel.”

The man sighed visibly. “You make it harder, Lord Fenchel.”

“No,” He retorted. “You are the one who’s making it harder. I know what you are trying to do. Now, leave before I end you right here right now.”

About ten glimmering darts appeared around Kamil which startled the man. They were all pointing at him.

“V, very well. Please excuse me…” With a grunt, the man had to endure pain as he dragged himself into the ventilation duct and made his way out. It wasn’t going to be easy with this wounded leg, but that was better than dying, probably. Now, making a mental note that the ventilation ducts needed to be secured, he was a bit troubled in what Estana was trying to do. In his mind, they had two objectives. One was unsettling him with rewards. The other was that they were trying to make him look like he was scheming behind everyone’s back. By constantly sending someone to communicate, whether successful or not, such acts could easily be misunderstood as a sign of discontent because, on the surface, he was communicating with someone from Estana.

“I’ve got to do something about them. If not, sooner or later, something will go awry…,” He whispered to himself.