He's My Real Brother, Duke

I could hear the healers talking in my ear. 

“Bell’s usual behavior is certainly the same as that of the person who ate the Mortina liquid. He became more talkative than usual, and as brave as his heart beats wildly.”

Bazel interjected obnoxiously and said, “It must have been to harm the successor of the silver fox family. Aren’t you human?”

As he spoke, Bazel wiped the sweat from his brow and flapped his shirt as if it were terribly hot.

Seeing his uniform thrown aside by the chair he was sitting on, I raised myself.

“You’re absolutely right.”

It was time to make my move. 

I rose from the stands and took a step closer to the hall.

I would never have done it normally, but after thinking about catching the guy who ruined our family, my courage doubled.

Furthermore, I clenched my fists tightly and pulled out another small artifact I kept hidden in the sleeve under my wrist.

“This is a recording artifact that Lord Ricardo gave me, and the best part about it is—” 

“…”

“It’s…, and it’s the latest version with video recording.”

I held in my hand the Recording Image Sphere Artifact that Ricardo had given me in the past. 

It might not be magical, but it was capable of simple playback. Soon, a screen appeared on the sphere.

— ‘The potion that gives courage is not a Mortina liquid.’

— ‘Well, then?’

— ‘It doesn’t even smell, does it?’

Bell’s eyes widened as seen inside the sphere.

— ‘It’s a placebo effect. It’s the only thing that’s given you courage so far.’

— ‘… So I’m already a brave person?’

— ‘Yes, Bell is a brave man by nature.’

— ‘Then, did I do it myself to have the courage to get close to my father?’

— ‘Yes!’

A sweet voice that everyone loved echoed across the stage.

Even the cackling laughter at my firm answer belonged to the imperturbable Bell. 

But Bazel looked at me again with a sharp frown.

“It’s a recording artifact, of course, it can be manipulated.”

“Yes, it is, but I have one more piece of evidence.”

I came closer to Bazel, who was standing in the center of the Colosseum.

Sweat was dripping from his forehead, as if he felt very hot during the swordsmanship competition. 

A condition that didn’t seem normal at first glance. 

I glared at him and opened my lips to speak.

It was only a matter of time before the whole truth would be revealed.

“Sir Bazel, you must feel very hot.”

As I closed the gap, there was less than a meter between us. 

I gazed at his rigid figure, sweating profusely, as if he were some kind of villain.

He doesn’t know, but I saw it. That his greenish hair was glowing.

“Let me ask you again,” Astel said. 

“…”

As he spoke, his green hair began to turn blue, slowly, from the roots. 

I turned to him as if pointing a finger. 

“So you’re the sword master, Bazel?” 

His face broke out in beads of sweat, and slowly his features began to change.

His azure hair and the slightest hint of sword marks under his eyes were now visible. 

‘At last, my potion is working.’

In fact, I had previously sprayed potions on the Meili herb near the Sword Training Center.

Although the appearance or aroma of the herb does not change, it was a potion that changed the effect of the herb itself.

The efficacy of the Meili herb slowly faded and changed to cause a fever.

When Bazel’s true appearance was clearly revealed, everyone in the Colosseum screamed.

To his dismay, Bazel blinked, seemingly unaware of the revelation.

“Why do you ask such an obvious thing, Miss Astel? Is this some sort of stalling tactic?”

There was no mirror and nothing to reflect oneself.

He didn’t seem to notice that his appearance had changed or that people were muttering to themselves.

I answered slowly, “No, I’m not stalling.”

Now it was my turn to exact revenge.  I winked at Sally, who was behind me.

At my request, Sally shouted loudly, pointing to the bounty posters Jenny had plastered all over the Coliseum grounds in advance.

“What Sir Bazel? Aren’t you Yvor, the famous thief?”

People’s words drew the audience’s attention to the surrounding posters.

Even without the posters, many people recognized his face, as he was such a famous criminal. 

“He’s really Yvor!”

“… Isn’t he a fraud who’s been caught stealing from people’s houses a hundred times?” 

“How can such a bum be in the Duke’s castle?”

Later, Bazel hurriedly touched his face and pressed the sword mark with his fingertips.

His teeth gritted as he said, “… Oh my, this is crazy. Why the hell…!”

That remark alone seemed to have admitted that he was the wanted criminal.

A situation that was virtually identical to standing naked with everyone pointing fingers at him.

The knights who had stayed with Bazel turned vicious in his betrayal. 

“Did he use a transformation potion?” 

“No, what…”

“And you’re going around accusing others?”

He faltered, looking around, but no one could help him.

Unfortunately, this Colosseum wasn’t a magical place.

Besides, even though the Duke was away for a while, the place was packed with knights and wizards.

The way out was completely blocked. Bazel bit his lip hard. 

Since what he has done has not yet been revealed, he must find a way to overcome this situation somehow.

But I had no intention of offering him a way out. I took a step toward him and spoke.

“It’s not just that.”

I went on with a serious tone.

“It wasn’t me who tried to endanger Bell’s life, it was that Bazel, the criminal Yvor.” 

The crowd fell silent, then continued to whisper to themselves.

It was clear to everyone that Bazel’s face was a fake, and I had won the day.

Talking in front of many people, I was still trembling, nervous to the point of my vision blurring white, but I had to say what I had to say.

I unveiled the journal I had prepared in advance of Lord Retro’s search for Yvor.

“Lord Retro, the guard of the Duchy’s Castle, has sent me the log of his search for Yvor.”

“That…”

“That criminal, Yvor’s most recent theft, was in Pangfania Mansion, where he left his mark.” 

Yvor had done more than just steal, he had left his mark as if to taunt the Northern Guards.

It was already well known that he had ransacked the Pangfania Mansion.

Astel nailed him firmly.

“The most extraordinary thing that has gone missing from the Pangfania mansion is the ‘mortina liquid’.”

“The mark he left at the Pangfania mansion should have the same flow of mana as the author’s if you want to check it out.” 

Blocked from the exit, Yvor glared at me. I stared back, my gaze penetrating his gaze. 

Don’t worry, I still have one bullet left.

“And there’s one more thing.” 

This was a fact that I just realized as soon as Bell had fallen.

“… What?”

“Strangely, Bell always smelled of Meili herbs. Because his teacher, Bazel, always grew Meili herbs near the training center.”

I turned to Bazel, who had returned to his perfect Yvor form, and spoke to him at the sight of the knights coming in to arrest him.

“Freshly picked Meili Herb is the most important ingredient in the Transformation Potion, and it’s not harmful to the body, so Belle may have eaten it out of curiosity.”

Bazel, who had seen through all of this, gritted his teeth and glared at me. 

“But when the Mortina liquid is combined with the Meili herb, it kills a person within a few months, which is why it’s known as the ‘silent killing potion‘.”

The murmurs grew louder.

The head of the silver fox family strode toward me, his pure white hair fluttering. 

He faced me with his blazing red eyes.

“So the swordsmanship teacher my son trusted and followed, tried to kill him?”

I answered politely, “Yes. I think that’s right.”

Bazel’s eyes grew murderous as if they would tear me to pieces, but he was unable to act. 

Because the knight held his arms firmly, I headed toward the inside of the hall where he had sat earlier.

And snuck up to his uniform.

I quickly pocketed the medal and waved it in front of the knights. 

“Here, take the criminal’s clothing, too!”

He, too, would keep a valuable medal artifact by his side at all times, but not as much as Sam.

He would always be afraid of the precious ‘medal artifact’, but not as much as Sam.

Therefore, I guessed that if the Colosseum Stadium gets too hot, or he sweats a lot, he would take off the outerwear of the uniform with the artifact for a while.

And my guess was spot on. 

‘I hope Bazel won’t go on a rampage now.’

And it was that moment. I heard a terrifying voice that froze all the knights in their tracks.

“Are you crazy?”

A voice that made even my smile stiffen and my head snap up.