Apologies for my late correspondence this week. Things have been a bit slow, but I have a couple of leaks for you. The first is a transcript of an interview between a Directory scribe and the warden of the girl contracted to marriage with the enigmatic little heir of House Cymbelline. After the situation last week I requested as many reports as they could release to me concerning the family. It’s been a steady stream since and there are a lot of interesting bits in this thickening folder. What I’m sharing here is the more recent, as well as the first thing of substance I’ve come across concerning this particular member of the House.

[RECORDER’S NOTES]

Rosalind Faust has requested to file an objection to the marital contract between her niece, Zilya Faust, and Alexander Cymbelline of House Cymbelline. Faust is currently the legal warden of the girl but was not at the time of the contract’s drawing. Recorder’s speech is designated as REC, with guest designation marked as RF.

REC: The following is the official interview of Mam Rosalind Faust concerning formal objection to the marital contract drawn between Alexander Cymbelline and Zilya Faust on the grounds of generalized degeneracy. Do you confirm, Mam. Faust?

RF: I do.

REC: How did you arrive at your conclusion of degenerate activity on the part of Mar. Cymbelline?

RF: With the closing date being less than a year away, my peers recommended the employment of a private detective to avoid any last-minute surprises. This is common among such peers.

REC: What did the detective report?

RF: The detective found that Mar. Cymbelline rarely leaves his estate except for Wednesdays at noon when he takes an estate car to a private establishment registered as The Red Dress. Once there he meets with a woman named Matilda. This woman is an employee of this establishment who specializes in what the establishment refers to as "Made-to-Order abuse," I have brought copies of the photography taken by the detective.

[RECORDER’S NOTES]

RF hands me an envelope containing thirty-two photographs. This recorder has attached them to the file and summarizes their compositions thus:

Twenty-two of these photographs displays the address stated by RF with Cymbelline’s full face as he entered and exited the building. Four photos show the other guests and staff of this enterprise around the front entrance. Seven display Alexander Cymbelline on a third-floor balcony where he partakes of tobacco with a woman estimated roughly six feet with unstyled red hair. Alexander is confirmably naked to the waist. The woman wears a black trench coat with exposed undergarments beneath.

REC: Who is the woman in these photographs?

RF: That is supposed to be the Matilda that I mentioned earlier. There are fewer of her because the detective was directed to focus on my niece’s betrothed.

REC: What aspects of these activities cause you to doubt the marital contract's productivity?

RF: The detective made inquiries about the woman’s specialized trade. The details indicate that Mar Cymbelline if of a type of patron who enjoys having his … legacy stepped on with eccentric footwear.

REC: Is there evidence of his involvement with such activity?

RF: The detective reports have been included with my paperwork.

[RECORDER’S NOTES]

This recorder confirms the inclusion of the stated document as the third document of the file.

REC: Do you have photographic evidence of such activity?

RF: No. How could I? The nature of such a business is particularly private.

REC: The details of the complaint do warrant cause for Directory concern, however, the images only show that Mar Cymbelline visits this building and converses with an individual in it. The evidence here is notable, but not quite enough to warrant the severing of a Union Contract, of which you are not an originating signee. As yet, I can put this to file and keep it open to addition until the time of the closing date.

RF: And what might I obtain that will spare my niece what will obviously be an awkward and fruitless marriage?

REC: Physical evidence of the compromising activity, or a report of virility taken from Mar Cymbelline by a Directory assigned meditician.

RF: A report of virility would require the consent and cooperation of Mar. Cymbelline, I presume?

REC: Yes, Mar Cymbelline would have to be the one to set the appointment. There have in the past been cases when neither party was contented by the contract and the male will schedule such a test out of self-interest. Of course, you may still file your own request. Many contracted families accommodate one another’s pre-closing requests as a gesture of good faith.

RF: Alright then, I’d like to have a request sent.

The last page of the transcript is just the usual recorder conclusion note. A couple of points of interest here. The address of the establishment frequented by young Alexander has been redacted, which is not typical. In my attempt to track down some record of it I learned that the recorder had been terminated for a breach of conduct. I could have guessed as much. It was that helpful bit about virility testing that was offered to Mam. Faust. The information was not incorrect, but Directory business is strictly meant to be kept Directory business. Much of the Directory’s perceived power is an illusion built by the withholding of information.

Back to the redaction, it’s unusual because my status should have granted me the original copy, and the only time I see redacted copies are when a person or place is currently being utilized in a private operation. Meaning that it’s very likely that the Directory has found a means for compromising the facility, likely to use it as a honeypot for delicate information. This fits very coincidentally with a recent communication I received. The Directory has always been the most nervous about the Highlands, with the Old Families there so resource-rich. Recently there’s been a noticeable uptick in the number of communications sent out concerning this area with an increasing hostility of tone. Take that as you will, and please stay where you’re safe. Without further delay…

AIRTEL TO [redacted]

RE: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

HIGHLANDS HATE GROUPS

For maximum effectiveness of the counterintelligence projects, and to prevent wasted effort, long-range goals are being set. They are summarized here.

1. To prevent any coalition of Old Family individuals who possess land parcels in the Highlands. In unity there is strength; a truism no less valid for all its triteness. An effective coalition of landholders in the Highlands could mark the beginning of a true regressive revolution molded by the ambitions of the Old Family System.

2. To prevent the rise of a “messiah” who could unify and mobilize regional social movements. Antony Lancaster might have become such a messiah figure; he is the martyr of his movement today. Josef Bourbon is less of a threat due to his age, but if his progeny were to take an interest in his causes they could quickly outscale our own resources. Charles Dion is a very likely threat in this should he ever abandon his shield as a “satirist”. He has the necessary charisma and his unauthorized up jumping to the Highlands has granted him far too much allure.

3. To prevent violence on the part of regional independence groups. Particularly those who already are, or come to be, in the Highlands. This is of primary importance, and is, of course, a goal in our investigative activities; it should also be the goal of the counter-intelligence program. Through this program, it should be possible to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them before they are allowed to escalate their causes.

4. To prevent militant community groups and leaders from gaining respectability. This is done by discrediting them to three separate segments of the population and it must be handled tactically. Groups and individuals must first be discredited to the responsible and docile among the Old Family estates, the bulk of these being those in the Midlands. Second, they must be discredited to the commons, both the responsible communities and the traditionalists who often hold a kind of sympathy for the Old Family way due to selective nostalgia. Third, problem groups must be discredited in the eyes of Old Family estates that have been flagged as high-risk or are already suspected of some degree of radicalization. They would be the first supporters of a successful movement and many of them are well resourced. This last group requires an entirely different approach to discrediting than the previous two. Publicity about violent civil acts and provocative statements merely enhance the appeal of dangerous figures for this last group; it adds respectability in a different, and entirely unacceptable, way.

5. A final goal should be to prevent the long-range growth of militant Old Family organizations, especially among the younger sets. Specific tactics to prevent these groups from converting higher energy populations must be developed.

[CONCLUDED]