As a few more rounds went underway eventually the first intermission occurred. Phillip approached Duke and Duchess Coldwater and whispered something. They nodded and got up from their seats.

“We will be back once intermission ends.” Duke Coldwater rumbled out.

“Where are you going?” Sable asked.

“To meet the families of some of the visitors, enjoy yourselves.” Duchess Coldwater said with a cheerful smile as they exited the view box.

“I’m going to check on Gilles.” Bryson said as he grabbed one of the viewing tablets, “Frost with me.”

“Right.” Lila nodded as she quickly followed behind him into the elevator.

The moment they entered the other elevator and headed in the opposite direction of Bryson’s parents out of earshot Lila began asking questions.

“Okay, what was that?” Lila whispered urgently.

“What do you see?” Bryson asked, showing her the view tablet. It displayed the moment Darts raised his scimitar to strike downwards and as Gilles was about to strike back. Darts had a wide-eyed look on his face.

“Uh, Darts and your brother about to strike one another?” Lila said confused.

“Okay… so it is just me.” Bryson said murmuring to himself.

“What do you see?”

Bryson looked around making sure no one was near them. Once he was sure it was safe his eyes glowed pure white. Staring down at the tablet he made a small grimace. He was sure of it now.

“Magic.” He said as his eyes returned to their normal unnaturally dark brown.

“Magic? From what? Where? How?”

“The shield.” Bryson said tapping on the crest of the shield, “I thought I sensed something earlier. Looks like it was this thing.”

“How? I thought that all the equipment got checked.”

“They are, but this thing is really well hidden, I barely noticed. It wasn’t until he used it during the match that I saw it. It’s like a tiny smudge on a massive window. Hard to see, but once you do, it sticks out.” Bryson said handing it to Lila as the elevator door opened and he continued walking.

“Still, you’ve mentioned to me before that normally you sense magic about as well as a sensor. Wouldn’t a sensor have picked it up?” Lila asked as she looked at the image one more time before closing the tablet.

“When I noticed it the first time, I thought nothing of it. Wasn’t until I did that eye trick that I actually saw. Gilles being my brother was probably able to get it past security without anyone looking too hard at it.” Bryson said as his brow furrowed as he pondered his next step.

“Where are we going anyways?” Lila asked as they headed down the halls.

“To where the competitors are.”

“Are you planning to expose your brother?”

“I honestly have no idea.” Bryson admitted, “I don’t want to embarrass him, but I don’t like the idea of him cheating his way to victory. I just kind of want to see the shield up close for now.”

“That’s quite the pure-hearted choice.”

“Shut up Frost.” Bryson said grumbled.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

After another minute or so of walking the two reached the backstage area where the various competitors waited. Bryson indicated for Lila to wait for him as he searched for his brother.

“Oh, Lord Bryson can I help you?” A crewman who spotted him approached.

“Looking for my brother. Where is he?”

“Ah, he has his own room over there.” He said pointing over to a door.

“Right.” Bryson said as he headed towards the door. Glancing through the small window to the door he noticed that the room was empty.

Good. He thought as he opened the door and slid in. Looking around the room he noticed how well accommodated Gilles was. Especially compared to the others who all had to wait and prepare with one another.

There was a state-of-the-art training dummy that stood in the corner with several other expensive-looking training equipment. Several viewscreens and lavish sofas and chairs were all around. The coffee table was adorned with a platter of various dishes.

The only thing Bryson couldn’t see was where Gilles's equipment was. Does he have them on him? Bryson wondered as he looked around. As he walked around, he spotted a safe hidden behind a corner. Right next to it was the basic training sword Gilles used.

Studying it, it seemed that the safe was big enough to hold the shield. Bryson deduced that the shield was probably in here. Now he just needed to figure out how to open the safe.

As he thought the door behind him opened and Gilles came sauntering in.

“Bry, what are you doing here?” He asked casually.

“Oh, the door was unlocked and I was looking for you. How’s your leg?” Bryson said quickly.

“Hmm, the doc said that it’s fine. That academy kid had me nervous for a moment there.”

“It looked like you had it handled. Father looked impressed.”

Gille raised his brow with interest, “Did he now?”

“Yeah, this is a good place by the way,” Bryson said complimenting the room.

“Oh yeah. Not half bad. Help yourself to some of the food.” Gilles said as he moved past Bryson and opened the safe and pulled out the shield.

“Well, the next round is beginning in three fights, so I’m off.”

“Hey, Gilles can I see that shield? Looked really cool during the fight.” Bryson asked innocently as Gilles placed the shield on his back.

“It’s a wooden shield Bry. Go check the training room or merchandise area for one. I don’t have time to play show and tell. Get out of my room quickly, I need it to prepare.” Gilles said as he quickly walked out of the room. Making sure to leave at an angle which made it difficult for Bryson to have a good look at it.

“That’s not suspicious at all.” Bryson said aloud when the door was closed. He then grabbed himself one of the Hors D'oeuvres and headed out to rejoin Lila.

“Well what did you find?” Lila asked once Bryson was with her again.

“Well, he didn’t make me feel any better.”

“So are you going call him out?”

Bryson had a troubled look on his face, before he could reply a voice called to them.

“Hey! It’s you!”

Bryson turned around to see once more Spencer Khan bounding towards them.

“Khan.” Bryson said nodding his head in recognition.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

“Since it was intermission, I went to see how my brother was doing.”

“Ah right, saw that. How’s his ankle?”

“Apparently he’s fine.”

“That’s a relief.” Spencer said breathing out a sigh, “Oh, uh. How is Viola?” He asked innocently, “Is she doing well?”

Bryson narrowed his eyes at Spencer, “Yes, she is still well after the two hours that passed since you last saw her.”

“Good, good.” Spencer said nodding his head, “Could you tell her that I said hi?”

“I think that is possible.”

“Spencer Khan!” A voice called out, “You’re up!”

“Well, that’s me then.” Spencer Khan said running off, “See you later.”

“Didn’t realize that intermission was done already.” Bryson muttered.

“Let’s go, your family is waiting for you.” Lila said.

“Right.” Bryson said as the two headed back. A few minutes later they exited out of the elevator back to their view booth.

Bryson upon entering the booth found that everyone was staring down at the arena in disbelief.

“What happened?” Bryson asked.

“That adventurer just won.” Nico said.

“Wait already? Who did he fight?”

“One of The Academy students.” Viola said, “I knew he was capable but that was something else.”

“Okay seriously what did I miss?”

“Oh, don’t worry dear, you can watch the recording later.” Duchess Coldwater assured, “That boy will make quite an opponent for Gilles.”

“He might be able to actually take a hit or two. Unlike that other guy.” Viola said.

“Wait what do you mean?” Bryson asked.

“Oh you didn’t hear? That student got extremely injured from that hit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, apparently Gilles hit way harder than we thought. The medic said that it was almost as if they weren’t even bracing for the hit at all. Doctors say he might never compete again.”

Bryson felt a lump in his throat, quickly swallowing he gave a small nod, “I see. Wouldn’t The Academy take issue?” As he sat himself down on a seat with only one thought going through his head.

“He signed the papers. He knew the risks. He should have protected himself better.” Duke Coldwater said coldly.

Bryson only nodded as he sat himself down on a seat with only one thought going through his head. I need to get rid of that shield.