Half a year after Nate was brought to the Johnston Ducal House, Amelia enrolled in the aristocratic academy. Melissa was never returned to the ducal house, and Nate felt relieved that she was able to safely enroll in the empire’s aristocratic academy.

Amelia believes Nate to be the illegitimate child of a border count and her second cousin. When she first saw the investigation report, her initial impression was of Noah, so in her mind, Nate refers to the border count’s illegitimate son, who is the same age as him, as Noah. According to the report, Noah grew up with his mother at the border count’s estate and went missing after losing her at the age of nine. Nate prays that the real Noah hasn’t enrolled in the same aristocratic academy as Amelia.

Amelia never mentions the burn scar on Nate’s forehead. While Nate is relieved that Amelia doesn’t associate the scar with a fire, he also feels pathetic for overestimating her and being unnecessarily afraid of her.

If they had investigated in Lawton, they would have discovered that Nate had burns on his face and hands when he first arrived. However, with just that one investigation report on Noah, Amelia seems to consider Nate nothing more than a trivial figure who happens to share her face.

Nate easily forgot about Melissa and the people of Lawton, glad to be working in the Johnston Ducal House in the capital rather than the rural town of Lawton. He was happy about the raise in salary and, though he knew Amelia’s true nasty personality, he decided to stay silent out of fear. He played the role of a cold, foolish man, serving as a servant in the Johnston Ducal House.

For the first six months in the capital, Nate was constantly observed wherever he went. Recently, however, it seemed they had deemed him no threat, as the surveillance from the servants and maids had disappeared.

No one in the Johnston Ducal House ever mentions Melissa. Back in Lawton, Melissa had trained daily in magical manipulation to return to the ducal house, yet Amelia doesn’t seem to care that she doesn’t undergo the same training. Amelia regularly curries favor with Duke Johnston and Melissa’s grandmother, and the current Johnston Ducal House revolves around her.

Nate couldn’t bring himself to like anything about the Johnston Ducal House.

Whenever he thought of Melissa, Nate felt crushed by guilt for having hurt her by coming to the capital with Amelia.

After Amelia left for the aristocratic academy, Nate found himself with more freedom and time to move around without being watched. He secretly wrote letters to Melissa, always keeping one in his chest pocket, ready to send whenever the opportunity arose. The letters were always crumpled from being carried around.

While working as a servant, Nate spent his days thinking about how to expose Amelia’s crimes and true nature.

Josh, who could lighten the mood even in serious situations, Rose, who was surprisingly sharp, and Melissa, who was good at summarizing opinions—Nate often thought that if the three of them were here, they might come up with a good solution or constructive advice. But he couldn’t involve his loved ones in a plan that involved killing someone. He had decided to do this alone, without telling anyone, not even his aunt. After much deliberation, he realized he had no choice but to push forward on his own.

Nate’s plan was to investigate the burned-down Viscount Mills’ estate for any evidence, analyze the large water-dispensing magical tool that had coincidentally broken during the fire, and use recording and confession magical tools to force Amelia to admit her crimes. Alone, Nate could only think of these methods.

There were two types of recording and confession magical tools: a simple version and a formal version that could be used as evidence. The simple recording tool cost one month of Nate’s salary at the Johnston Ducal House, while the formal version cost about a year’s salary. As for the confession tool, the simple version cost two years’ worth of salary, and the formal, evidence-grade version cost five years’ worth. Both tools were single-use and couldn’t be reused.

Since they were too expensive for Nate to afford, Amelia would never suspect that a commoner like him would possess such tools. That was his advantage.

Nate decided to save as much money as possible and aim to purchase a formal confession tool by the time he graduated from the magic academy. He planned to use the tool on Amelia in front of the king and other royals during the graduation ceremony six years later.

If Amelia confessed, it would lead to an investigation of the Mills estate and an analysis of the magical tools, resulting in her punishment. Once that happened, Nate would search for his mother’s remains, build a proper grave, and give her a proper burial. Then, he would go to Melissa in the empire.

Initially, Nate had wanted to burn Amelia to death, just like his mother. But now, he wished to live openly with Melissa rather than becoming an outcast by killing Amelia. Melissa’s existence had inspired Nate to seek a method of revenge that didn’t require him to dirty his hands.

After setting his goal, Nate began saving money by cutting expenses to the limit. He still couldn’t understand why Amelia wanted to keep him by her side.

Amelia had managed to maintain a friendly relationship with Christopher, one of Melissa’s former fiancé candidates, while secretly deepening her ties with Prince Eldred. She flattered the queen and searched for the hidden third prince. When Nate heard about the third prince, he realized that Amelia’s comment about him being “different from what she expected” when she kidnapped him in the carriage likely meant she had expected him to be the third prince.

When Amelia wasn’t putting on her act of being a good person, she relied on another servant, occasionally showing a weak side and asking for favors. That servant never hid his delight whenever Amelia depended on him.

How could a woman who killed someone at the age of nine have the capacity to love or fall in love?

Nate spat these words in his heart whenever he saw Amelia spending time with the princes or her servant. He believed Amelia’s dependence on her servant was just an act.

Three years after Nate began working at the Johnston Ducal House, in early autumn, half a year before Nate and Amelia were to enroll in the magic academy, Nate was ordered by Amelia to investigate a certain count’s daughter.

Amelia suspected that any woman with even the slightest hint of a troubled past might be the third prince in disguise. Her curiosity was so strong that she even read restricted books in the royal library, learning that past royals had owned magical tools capable of changing one’s gender, much like those found in fairy tales.

The count’s daughter Nate was investigating was the child of a mistress and had worked as a commoner until enrolling in the aristocratic academy. Today, Nate visited the café where she had worked.

As Nate left the café and headed toward the ducal house’s servant carriage, he was suddenly pulled into a narrow alley by an arm. At the same time, a person who looked exactly like Nate emerged from the side and walked down the path Nate had been on, boarding the ducal house’s carriage as if nothing had happened.

With his mouth covered, Nate could only watch as the ducal house’s carriage drove away. He was then forcibly pushed into another carriage. The carriage bore no crest and looked like an ordinary shared carriage, but its interior was as luxurious as the one used by the head of the Johnston Ducal House.

“Sorry for the rough treatment.”

Inside the carriage sat a handsome man with refined features. Nate had seen him from a distance when he accompanied Amelia to the royal palace. He was the king’s younger brother, in his mid-twenties and still unmarried. Amelia had referred to him as the “ambush,” saying, “Once this is settled, it’s just the ambush left,” and regarded him as a formidable opponent to face after her engagement to the crown prince.

Nate hurriedly knelt and bowed his head.

“I am Cornelius, the king’s younger brother. Nate, could you raise your head? The person who boarded the ducal house’s carriage just now is a royal agent using a magical tool to mimic your appearance. He should be able to fool that poisonous woman’s eyes. Tomorrow, we’ll switch you back in the same way, so don’t worry.”

Nate was confused by the sudden turn of events and couldn’t fathom why the king’s brother had come to see him. He found himself thinking about irrelevant things, like how the royals seemed to have magical tools for everything, even ones that could transform someone into a specific person.

“Did I surprise you? The truth is, my brother and I are struggling with the queen and her family. Recently, thanks to that poisonous woman’s schemes, we’ve been at a disadvantage. I thought we might be able to turn the tables by teaming up with you.”

The “poisonous woman” was undoubtedly Amelia. Nate’s heart raced with a mix of fear, excitement, and anticipation, wondering how the prince had sensed his desire for revenge.

“Could you lift your bangs and show me your face? I already checked with the magical tool that mimicked you earlier, but just to be sure.”

Nate, his hands trembling with nervousness, lifted his bangs and looked at the prince.

“Yes, you really do have the same face as that poisonous woman. Sonia—your mother—was killed by Amelia Johnston, no, she wasn’t a Johnston yet at the time, Amelia Mills, right?”

Sonia was Nate’s mother’s name. Shocked that the prince knew, Nate nodded silently, like a broken doll.

Nate hadn’t told his aunt about Amelia. He couldn’t bring himself to tell his aunt, who regretted that her sister had become the mistress of a man she didn’t love, that the daughter of that man had killed her sister.

Melissa knew about Nate’s severe burns, his hatred for nobles, and his desire to achieve something at the empire’s magic academy. If Melissa had spoken to his aunt, she would have discovered that Nate and Amelia were half-siblings, and that the deaths of Amelia’s parents, Nate’s burns, and his mother’s death had all happened around the same time.

It must have been Melissa.

“You know my brother is hiding the son of his concubine, right? The third prince you’ve been desperately searching for is now on good terms with Miss Melissa. He heard from her about her plan to become a pianist in the empire.”

Hearing that Melissa had revealed her plan to become a pianist to the third prince, Nate felt a pang of jealousy but forced it down.

If the third prince was on good terms with Melissa, it seemed he had enrolled in the empire’s aristocratic academy. Nate remembered being disappointed when he secretly peeked at a report Amelia had obtained about the empire’s aristocratic academy, which contained little useful information about Melissa’s school life.

“My nephew, after hearing Melissa’s hidden plan, told her that as a royal, he would sign her application so she could enter the competition immediately. He even promised to sign for her every year if she didn’t win the Apollon Award this year, revealing his status as a prince without consulting me or my brother.”

For Melissa to apply to the Telfort International Music Competition at the age of 15, she needed the signature of either Duke Johnston or a royal from her own country. She had decided to wait until next year, when she would become a commoner, but with a royal’s signature, she could apply without hesitation.

“That’s great…”

Nate, forgetting his own situation for a moment, spoke without the prince’s permission, relieved by the good news about Melissa.

“You two really care for each other. When Melissa found out that my nephew was a prince of our country, she asked him to help you instead of signing her competition application.”

Overwhelmed with joy and longing for Melissa, tears welled up in Nate’s eyes.

“When I saw the poisonous woman’s name in my nephew’s letter, I was shocked. I had even forgotten that Melissa was the poisonous woman’s stepsister and Chris’s former fiancé candidate. In my nephew’s letter, she was just a cute pianist named Mel.

So, depending on your story, we might be able to get rid of the queen, Eldred, and the poisonous woman all at once.

We’re really at a disadvantage right now, so we’re letting them have their way for now, but it’s time to start fighting back. My brother has been nagging me to get moving…

Now, let’s hear about Sonia and the fire at the Mills estate.”

The prince urged Nate to speak. Nate, impressed by how well the name “ambush” suited Amelia, recounted everything from eavesdropping on his mother and aunt’s conversation, to the encounter at the liquor store, the handmade hairpin, the blue flames similar to flambe’s, and Amelia laughing as she watched the burning estate.

Nate, excited by the miracle of gaining a powerful ally after struggling alone, found himself speaking more fluently than usual.

“I see. It was a series of coincidences that led you to this knowledge. That poisonous woman probably has no idea she’s been exposed.

The investigation at the time concluded that the fire was caused by Viscount Mills’s careless smoking and a malfunctioning water-dispensing magical tool. Fortunately, the Mills estate has remained untouched under royal jurisdiction since the fire. We’ll investigate it.

Can I also take the magical tool you risked your burns to retrieve? After you return to the ducal house tomorrow, I’ll send one of my agents to collect it.”

Nate took out the magical tool from a small pouch he wore around his neck. Carrying it with him had allowed him to bring it even on the day Amelia suddenly took him away. He still carried it around, uneasy about leaving it in the ducal house’s dormitory.

“Here it is.”

“I’m surprised you carried it with you. It looks simple enough that we might be able to modify it. We’ll need to analyze not only the tool itself but also the magical traces.”

Magical tools leave traces of magic after use. Even commoners without magical power leave unique traces, so it’s likely that even a young child’s magical traces would remain.

“Nate, this might be the only chance we have to talk, so I’ll tell you directly. I can’t take your story at face value, so until we verify it, consider it unconfirmed.

My nephew, who we sent to the empire, has to return home and enroll in Wainwright’s magic academy because of the queen and the poisonous woman. It seems the poisonous woman, frustrated at not finding the third prince, has shifted her focus to making Eldred the crown prince. She had the queen submit a new education proposal for the magic academy.

That servant of the poisonous woman, the one who isn’t you, was a former royal agent in training. During his training, the poisonous woman took him, and that’s what’s allowed her to maneuver so effectively. It’s truly shameful and regrettable.

My brother asked the queen to promise not to harm my nephew in exchange for making Eldred the crown prince.

After hearing your story, I’ve decided to pretend to give in and promise to make Eldred the crown prince. I’m sure Eldred and the poisonous woman will get engaged soon. If it comes out that he’s engaged to a murderer who killed at the age of nine, Eldred will never become crown prince.”

Nate’s revenge had escalated beyond his control, becoming entangled in the issue of royal succession. Even if Prince Eldred were removed, Prince Christopher would still remain, but the prince seemed confident that he could handle him alone.

“Nate, there’s one important task I need you to do, but other than that, we’ll handle the rest. I said you’d return tomorrow, but I think we can change that. You don’t need to go back to the Johnston Ducal House anymore.

Depending on the report from the Mills estate and the analysis of this magical tool, I feel there’s no lie in your story.

We’ll have a royal agent impersonate you using the magical tool that changes appearance, and they’ll extract information from the poisonous woman. Later, the agent might come to ask you questions to better impersonate you, so please answer them.

That poisonous woman is just a child who grew up too fast. There’s something unsettling about the mismatch between her appearance and her inner self. There’s no need to be particularly afraid of her.”

Seeing Nate’s bewildered expression, the prince added that Amelia wasn’t something to fear. Nate wasn’t so much afraid of Amelia as he was struggling to process the sudden turn of events. He nodded, hiding his confusion.

“Is there anything you want to ask me?”

Feeling it was presumptuous but seizing the opportunity, Nate asked the question that had been bothering him.

“Why does Amelia want to keep me by her side?”

“Hmm… I don’t want to think like that poisonous woman, but I think I understand a little.

That poisonous woman is someone who can only love herself.

She’s manipulated the first and second princes, as well as several other men who have feelings for her, but she hasn’t used her body. At most, she’s kissed them. Even though she knows using her body would make things easier, she doesn’t do it, which suggests she has an aversion to such contact.

If she ever has to have a child, she probably thinks it would be more bearable with someone who looks just like her, like you.

She might think she can deceive the real father with drugs or alcohol. What would she do if she found out you’re her half-brother? Knowing her, she probably wouldn’t care.

Also, as a woman, it’s difficult to move the country. Like the current queen, she can only use her position as a child’s guardian. If she’s going to have a child, she’d probably prefer one who looks just like her.

This is just speculation, but I think I’m not far off.”

The prince smiled wryly as he spoke. Nate couldn’t fully understand, but the phrase “someone who can only love herself” resonated with him, and he found himself strangely convinced.

Amelia would never stand a chance against someone like the prince, who had been trained in various royal knowledge from a young age and had access to generations of special magical tools. The confession tool Nate had planned to save up for six years to buy was something the prince could use as easily as water.

Realizing that the king allowed his younger brother to wield such royal privileges, Nate understood that the king likely saw the prince as his successor.

The battle between the “poisonous woman” and the “ambush” seemed destined to end in the ambush’s victory. The lingering fear Nate had felt when he saw Amelia smiling as she watched the burning estate began to fade.