The Fate of the King and the Duke:

Anuwat-san blinked with his mouth wide open.

“W-W-What?” he asked.

“Yes, father,” Mamoru said. “I am your son.” The “king” shook his head.

“It’s a lie!” he cried. “I am your real son!” The poor old man looked back and forth between them.

“What? But… But…” he said. His wife and daughters looked at him.

“That is really our brother, Mamoru,” Malee said as she pointed to the real Mamoru. “Those men are frauds!”

“No!” the “king” cried. “They have been deceived, father! Don’t believe this later! He’s just trying to take your money!” I could see the cockiness drain from his face. Suddenly, I couldn’t help but to join in.

“Oh, like what you’re doing to him now?” I asked aloud. The “king” and “duke” desperately shook their heads.

“No!” the “duke” cried.

“Hitomi!” the “king” gasped. “How could you say should a thing after all that we went through together?” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Spare me your crap,” I said. “We only met you this morning!” My eyes turned to the people watching us. I’m pretty sure that some of them don’t buy this phony one bit. Most of them look just as confused as the father here. The “king” tried to laugh it off.

“There you go again, Hitomi!” he called. He turned to everyone watching us. “She always does this when she’s upset with me over something petty!” he said to them. I threw up my hands in the air.

“Petty?” I asked. “You’re the ones who dragged my friend and me into your stupid scam. You flagged us at sea and dragged us all over Thailand.” The audience gasped. The “king” looked stunned.

“Hitomi-chan!” he gasped. “I can’t believe you!”

“I can’t believe we put up with you this long!” I said. The audience began to see the truth for themselves.

“But, how can we be sure that you’re not in on this supposed scheme too?” the “duke” challenged. I put my hands on my hips.

“What could I stand to gain from this family?” I asked. “You’d take the money for yourselves and dispose of us when you were finished, am I right?” The “king” put up his hands at me.

“Why would you assume that?” he asked. He turned to Anuwat-san. “Father!” he wailed. “You believe me, don’t you?” The old man looked so lost at the fraud.

“I… I… I… I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know who to believe.” He turned to his wife. “Dear, what should I do?” His wife gave him a calm look.

“Well,” she said. “What is one thing you remember about your son?” The old man took a moment to think about it.

“I remember that Mamoru had a birthmark on his lower back to the left,” he said. I clapped my hands together.

“There you go!” I said. “We just have to see which one has the birthmark. Whoever has it is the real Mamoru.” Mamoru and the “king” looked uneasy about that. I smirked at the latter. Oh yeah, bastard. You are going down.

“Come on!” the “king” said. “All of that is not necessary, is it?” The real Mamoru nodded.

“Very well,” he said. He rolled up his shirt and turned around. Everyone stared at the upside down bunny-shaped birthmark on his lower back. The old man leaned in really close. I watched as he narrowed his eyes for a better look. He stepped back with his jaw wide open.

“My son!” he gasped. The “king” shook his head.

“It’s a fake!” the conman yelled. “He painted it on!” The old man’s wife licked her thumb and wiped the mark.

“It’s not coming off,” she said. The “king” began to sweat as he fought to keep up his brave face. I turned around to him.

“Oh?” I asked. “Show us your birthmark!” All eyes fell upon him. The “king” backed up like a cornered hunting dog. The “duke” searched for a place to run away. I smirked at him from this point on. Okay mighty king, what will you do now? The “king” himself looked for an escape.

“Wow!” he said. “Would you look at the time?” Those crooks tried to make a break for it.

“Wait! What’s the rush?” the old man’s wife asked. The “king” and “duke” really panicked now.

“Get them!” an old lady yelled in the crowd. I grabbed onto Sappoto-san’s arm.

“Let’s get out of here while we can,” I whispered. She nodded at me. We dashed into the house, grabbed our purses, and got out of there as fast as we could.

I don’t know what happened to that “king” and “duke.” Yet, I did hear that they were tarred and feathered and paraded down the streets in a cage with a sign saying “fraud” on the locked door. That must have been pretty funny to see. Serves them right.