I have a higher recommendation than her husband's. (Item required)

Hmph. I was perfectly prepared for this. Her husband was one thing, but I knew how to produce the direction of an authority she'd never question... that severe father-in-law of hers, Ushiromiya Kinzo. Are you sure you want to make a big deal about this, Natsuhi...? After all, I have a letter right here, sealed by the head of the Ushiromiya family-

Natsuhi had a strong reaction, but not the one I expected. Her face went white as a sheet, and she bolted from her chair to inspect it. "This is... Where did you get this, Mr. Player?"

... I just told you. After I spoke with your husband, he had me meet with Ushiromiya Kinzo, who prepared this letter to ensure his daughter's proper education-

"I find that highly unlikely!" Natsuhi declared, looking at me now with a twisted expression I couldn't understand. "Father is far too unwell to be handling these sorts of affairs personally. Jessica, we're going to talk to your father right now! Mr. Player, come along too!"

Eh?

I ended up following that pair to where Krauss was, ordering the servants to prepare for the boat by the dock. When Natsuhi showed it to him, he temporarily had the same reaction, before more shrewdly fixing his face. "Mr. Player... You and I had no such meeting. I'm going to need you to explain this to me right away, before-"

Oh.

There it was, a boat full of Jessica's cousins, aunts, and uncles. Natsuhi and Krauss made an effort to greet them as though everything was normal, but Jessica let slip that Krauss had arranged a strange tutor for her... Then I was introducing myself awkwardly to all of the cousins, and Maria found out I had a strange letter... Then, when she saw the seal, she became convinced it was a letter from Beatrice and wanted everyone to read it. That was how all of the aunts and the uncles found out, because she wouldn't shut up. Then I was surrounded by Rudolf, Eva, Hideyoshi, and Rosa, each of them badgering me to know how I'd managed to get this letter, if it was authentic, what did it say, etc....

All the while I reassured them that, yes, it was from Kinzo, and no, you absolutely can't open it, under his direct orders. After all... it was blank! I couldn't make a letter like that with anything written in it, and this whole mess would get even more ridiculous if anyone opened it and confirmed it was blank. They'd probably tie me up and send me on a raft out to the ocean.

"Mr. Player!!" Eva snapped at me, pointing her folding fan in my direction. "Let's set aside the matter of what nonsense this says about disciplining Jessica. You're saying you actually received this from Father?!"

"Is there any need to even be interrogating the poor guy?" Rudolf asked, seeming to understand this wasn't going anywhere. "Let's just go ask Dad ourselves if the two spoke."

"Th-that's quite impossible!" Natsuhi shouted to be heard. "Father is resting before the conference, and has demanded not to be disturbed for any reason! Do you really think something like a small dispute over Jessica's education is important enough to interrupt his crucial rest?!"

"Natsuhi, it's not about her education," Kyrie interjected herself in the conversation. "What I've heard is that Mr. Player lied to you about having received that letter after a conversation with your husband. Either he is lying, or your husband is. I think that in order to continue with the conference in good faith, we need to clear the air here."

That whole crowd of people began to shift towards the mansion, in spite of Krauss and Natsuhi trying to dig in their heels. Jessica looked more miserable than anybody, becoming the subject of an interrogation she knew nothing about.

Ah... and now, every character in the story had forgotten about me and left. To my great frustration, it had actually started to get dark.

I didn't seem to be entirely alone, however. Had a servant stayed behind? I felt the air stir behind me...

Ah. It's the Golden Witch. And she looks pissed.

"Human... Welcome to Rokkenjima. I am the Golden Witch, Beatrice."

I felt like this witch wasn't doing enough to keep up the grand demeanor normally associated with her appearing. It was hard to ignore the vein pulsing in her forehead and the way she was chomping on that pipe so hard... Greetings, Lady Beatrice. I am, uh, H. I. Player-

"Player, you are not a piece in my upcoming game. I would appreciate it if you didn't throw around letters with the authority of the Ushiromiya headship so lightly, understand? You've made a total mess of my first move in this round...! It was going to completely stump that foolish Battler! Now I'm going to have to rework it from scratch...! Kiii!!" That undignified witch stomped on the beach, biting at her sleeve. "Damn you, Playerrr! You understand what happens when you're playing chess and some rude kid puts a <Monopoly> piece on the board, riiight?! It'll be confusing for everyone if I don't remove it immediately...!"

Ah. Right. Sorry.

...

The next morning, my corpse was found on the beach. Many other fantastic things happened, including other murders, and it didn't seem anyone much cared anymore if Kinzo had indeed hired some foreign-looking man to teach Jessica how to behave better. Sigh.