Chapter 300: Turnabout in The Arena

Royal Knights Academy’s Arena — Northern Office

Inside the arena was a single spacious space, often called the Northern Office, accessible both from inside and outside the arena. It contained a simple, long, wooden table. Several cushioned chairs and a nice open window for some breeze and light.

The office was normally used by tournament judges to compare notes, settle disputes, and argue over decisions that everyone involved insisted were completely obvious.

The mage instructors also occasionally used it as an impromptu classroom.

Today, however, it felt much more like a courtroom.

“As you can see,” a calm voice began, “this is the cup the volunteer student brought from the eastern prep room.”

The speaker was a middle-aged academy official, standing before the table. He carefully lifted the cup the volunteer had brought in, holding it by the rim.

“This cup contains water, but it also contains traces of a performance-enhancing substance. It was easy enough to identify, and after conducting the necessary tests, I can confirm that the substance is indeed present.”

I sat quietly at the far end of the table, both hands resting tightly in my lap. My attention, however, wasn't on the cup. It was on the student sitting several seats away from me.

The volunteer who gave me the water in the first place.

He looked calm, but his heart was still contrasting sharply with his expression.

This kid…

He probably went to the officials as soon as I exited the gates. I could only speculate what he said to them or what proof he had given them, but I was certain. He was trying to frame me for drinking whatever it was that was in that cup.

I was relieved that I didn’t drink a single drop. But… would that be enough to convince everyone that I was innocent?

“Hmm.” The unimpressed sound came from the woman sitting at the opposite end of the table. She wore a disheveled dark purple robe, with her light brown hair let down in a messy style.

Despite how she looked, she was actually one of the directors of the academy. The Director of Arcane Studies, Aella. In other words, the person responsible for overseeing the mage classes and curriculum.

She had been brought here rather quickly after the match was postponed, apparently because she happened to be the nearest director available.

Judging by the way she was currently sitting with her cheek resting against one hand, however, being here seemed to be the last thing she wanted to do.

“So, the cup has drugs, huh?” she said lazily. “So what? Just disqualify the student there and be done with it.”

Wait what?!

“But, Director! This concerns far more than the tournament!” the official stated. “This drug is prohibited in Setus, and the fact that one of our own students was using it in our noble tournament is enough grounds for a proper investigation! This concerns the noble name of the Royal Knights directly!“

“Hmm, I just want to get it over with though…” she whispered, mostly to herself. But then, she slowly straightened up and leaned back onto her chair.

“Well, if you're going to make this into such a serious matter, shouldn't we at least clarify why that student there was brought here in the first place?”

“I believe I can answer that, Director,” the volunteer said, raising his hand.

Director Aella looked at him, then she waved her fingers, gesturing for him to continue.

The volunteer student rose up and cleared his throat.

His heartbeat, I noticed that they were still nervous, but much calmer than it was before. It seemed he already knew what to say.

“When Sir Feyt entered the preparation room, I noticed he had a cup with him,” he began calmly. “At first, I didn't think much of it. But then I remembered the rule. Students aren't allowed to bring food or drinks into the preparation room. I even told him that, but he was adamant that he got permission for it.”

I gritted my teeth as I tried to calm myself.

He was lying as naturally as breathing. And the worst part was that his face remained perfectly composed while he did it. If I hadn't been able to hear his heartbeat, I might have thought he genuinely believed every word coming out of his mouth.

He glanced briefly at the cup on the table. “Not long after that, a maid entered the prep room.”

“A maid?” Director Aella parroted.

The volunteer student nodded. “Yes, and I believe it was Lady Carine’s personal maid.”

He’s talking about Leila.

“She entered the room, and it seemed that Sir Feyt was nervous around her presence. But after a moment, he had drunk the water, and the maid left.”

So he really did think I drank the water.

“I didn't want to cause trouble,” the volunteer said. “So I kept the matter to myself and allowed him to finish preparing for his match. However, once he exited the gates to his match, I decided that the cup was curious enough to warrant an investigation.”

The official beside him nodded.

“The cup was brought to us shortly afterward,” he confirmed. “We performed a preliminary test immediately and detected a suspicious substance.”

“The forbidden drug?” Director Aella asked.

“Yes.”

Director Aella's lazy expression slowly turned into a solemn one as she looked down at the cup.

Then, she turned her attention to me.

“So… you have anything to say?”

Everything he said is a lie!!

I wanted to scream that out loud. I really did. But I knew I couldn’t just say anything recklessly here. I had no physical evidence besides my own memory, and the volunteer had conveniently brought the cup with him. There was no doubt that the drug really was in it, either.

If I simply denied everything without proving anything, it would just become my word against his.

I took a slow breath, deciding to just… take it slow.

“I didn't drink anything prior to the match,” I said, as calmly as I could. “On top of that, the one who brought that water into the room wasn’t me. It was him.” I pointed at the volunteer.

Aella sighed. “That's a very different story from the one we just heard. Which one am I supposed to trust here?”

“Actually,” the volunteer interrupted. “I read about this drug once, and it said that the drug has obvious side effects for those who consume it.”

I looked toward him.

What?

“Indeed, the substance in that cup has very noticeable effects,” the official chimed in. “Anyone who consumes it will develop muscle twitching, sudden sweating, and persistent hiccups within minutes.”

Oh?

The volunteer nodded. “It has been several minutes since Sir Feyt had consumed the water. It should be happening right about now.”

Hah!

I couldn’t help but laugh, internally, of course.

This volunteer, he just made it easy for me.

Instantly, all three of them turned their attention toward me.

I sat there calmly, wearing a neutral expression. I had nothing to worry about, since, after all.

Those side effects wouldn’t be happening.

They stared at me with great intensity, except maybe for Director Aella, who seemed to be just staring at me half asleep.

A few seconds passed, then a few more.

The official looked at my hands, then my eyes, trying to look for anything out of place. He slowly looked back at the volunteer.

The volunteer, meanwhile, continued staring at me as though sheer willpower might somehow force the symptoms to appear.

Eventually, Aella sighed.

“Yeah, he seems fine to me.”

“W-What?!” the volunteer blurted out. “That’s impossible!”

Almost instantly, his heart rate jumped up to metal drum levels. His face contorted into pure disbelief, shattering the image of calm he and his Talent tried hard to keep up.

Alright. Time to turn the tables!!

I placed both of my hands on the table as I leaned forward.

“The reason I have no symptoms is simple. It’s because I didn’t drink anything!”

“B-But—Ehem!” The volunteer shook his head, perhaps to quickly wear his calm expression again. “But I clearly saw you drink it. In fact, you had drunk it in front of the maid as well.”

“But did I?”

The volunteer leaned back on his chair ever so slightly, taken aback.

“The thing is, I was suspicious of the water from the beginning. The volunteer was acting rather suspiciously, and he handed me that water out of nowhere. So, when Lady Carine’s maid arrived at the prep room…” I flashed a confident smile. “She helped me make it look as though I drank the water.”

The official's eyes widened in surprise.

Director Aella looked like she finally woke up for the first time of the day.

And the volunteer, even though he looked perfectly calm…

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Ahh, what a sweet rhythm to hear.

Whatever calmness he had had shattered away. He clearly thought he saw me drink the whole thing, which is why he banked on the symptoms showing up.

Too bad for him, Leila had played her role perfectly.

Maybe a little too perfectly, but hey, it worked!

But then, as I waited for the official to start questioning the volunteer instead of me… I heard something.

His heartbeat… it was starting to calm down. His eyes widened for just a moment, before narrowing back down.

Did he… realize something?

“That is one theory, sure,” he said, his tone infuriatingly polite. “But… who is to say Sir Feyt isn’t simply lying to save his own skin?”

You’re the one lying, you smug little—!

“Consider this scenario,” the volunteer continued. “There is a very real chance that the reason Sir Feyt chose not to drink the water… was because Lady Carine’s maid unexpectedly entered the room. He became too nervous to consume a prohibited substance right in front of an eyewitness, panicked, and poured the contents of the cup elsewhere.”

The official stroked his chin, nodding along. “Hmm. Yes… that is entirely plausible.” ℯℯ𝘭.

Are you kidding me?! How does that make any sense?!

And this official… Is he biased or something?!

The volunteer seemed to sense that the tide was back in his favor, since he immediately leaned forward with a “calm” smile.

“Besides, Lady Carine’s personal maid isn’t even present in the room to corroborate Sir Feyt’s claim. And bringing either her or Lady Carine here will take too long.”

The official nodded. “Indeed, the match has already been postponed for long enough as it is. If we drag out this investigation any further just to bring them here, the entire schedule for today

will be ruined.”

“Hmmmm…” Director Aella seemed to be in deep thought. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at me. “So, anything you want to add?”

I was sitting there, silent. I didn’t answer the director as my mind was caught on one particular thing.

Why was he so sure that Carine and Leila would take too long to get here?

Getting to the office from the spectator stands wouldn’t take more than a minute or two. What part of that would ‘take too long’?

That is, unless, he thinks Carine is somewhere far away? Somewhere outside the arena, perhaps?

Right after asking myself that question… several dots just connected inside my mind.

The two sabotage attempts on the both of me…

They were connected.