That night, the Duke sat hunched over his desk and stared blankly at the documents he had to review. He stared at the reports, feeling completely defeated, wondering how this could have happened.

He tried to find something to prove his son's innocence, but the stress brought on by the extra load of work only made him sick. Most of his son's whereabouts and decisions for the past four years were completely unknown.

The Duke angrily slammed his right fist onto the desk. The Beaumon name was gradually becoming the focus of attention in a major scandal. It was very upsetting.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on his office door.

"Yes?" he called. His annoyed tone displayed a hint of anger.

There was a slight pause before the voice on the other side of the door said, "It's Dylan."

He sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry, Dylan. Come in."

The door opened and Dylan stepped into the room. Carrying a tray of snacks and tea, she made her way to his desk.

"Let me bring you refreshments," she said.

"No, thank you. Refreshments aren't necessary at this time."

She mooned at him with her large brown eyes, fluttering her eyelashes, and she sighed heavily. Seeing this, the Duke immediately felt bad for rejecting her offer.

"Don't pout," he reprimanded her lightly. "I changed my mind—tea sounds perfect."

Her glum expression brightened. "Really? Father has been working so hard for brother, so I thought I'd bring something to cheer you up."

She poured him a cup and handed it to him. The Duke reached out for the tea and took several swallows before putting it down on the desk. He was frustrated, tired and thirsty.

"How's it going?" she asked, glancing at the documents on his desk.

Things weren't looking good at all for the Duke. He hung his head down and was overwhelmed by shame. There weren't enough hours in a day for the amount of work he had to do.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She frowned sympathetically. "I didn't know father was struggling this much."

She looked concerned, but he shook his head and reassured her that he was okay. "I'm just trying to clean up the mess your brother made," he explained.

Dylan noticed he had finished his cup of tea. She smiled over at him as she poured him another cup. It wasn't regular tea—Dylan had crushed up sleeping pills and mixed them into the drink. He slowly reached out and picked up the cup, finishing it in a few swallows.

"Father, the Emperor requested to meet with me."

He stiffened, hearing her words. The Duke gritted his teeth and huffed out a panicked laugh that had nothing to do with seeing the humour in the situation. He had lost his heir apparent because of the Crown Prince and now the Emperor was going after his daughter.

'I knew he would be upset, but seeing his reaction up close is quite entertaining.'

"Don't you worry, father," she comforted him. Although they were secretly empty words, the Duke's shoulders relaxed a little after hearing them.

He massaged his forehead and said, "You're a smart girl, Dylan. I trust you know why the Emperor is calling for you."

"You don't need to explain it to me," she said, pouring him another cup of tea. "His Majesty wants to know if I'll support the Crown Prince should I become the heiress presumptive."

He felt a little better knowing his daughter was clever and careful—just like Ruenz. If she didn't take after her biological father, then he would've been doomed. He sighed, sipping the tea.

"Father looks awfully tired," she said while covering her smirk with her hand.

He felt tired and sleepy, not much different than if he had taken a sleeping medicine. "I suppose it's been a while since I..." His voice trailed off as he slumped over his desk and fell asleep.

She rolled her eyes contemptuously and then began to shuffle through the documents at his desk. Dylan needed to make sure the Duke had no way of fighting Axil's charges.

She burnt several documents in the fireplace, and then rearranged the papers the same way she had found them on his desk. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said.

Jessie opened the door and peeked in. "Milady, I brought it."

Dylan grabbed the blanket from Jessie and placed it carefully over the Duke's shoulders. She left a note on his desk detailing how he fell asleep during their conversation yesterday, and how she didn't want to wake him.

"Get rid of this," she instructed, handing the tray to Jessie. The maid took it and then disappeared out the door.

As Dylan watched him sleeping, her heart began to ache. If she loved him or hated him, it was all confusing to her. She never resented the Duke for bringing her here, but she hated him for what he did. The conflicting feelings tore her heart in different directions. She cast him one last look, then shut the door gently behind her when she left.

That night, Dylan's mind was a mess. Was it bad that she didn't feel guilt? The question went round and round in her head as Mina helped her prepare for bed. When she was in her nightgown, she sent her maid away and slumped down in her chair.

'I wonder if I'll ever be able to feel anything other than hatred.'

She didn't feel anything at all when she was drugging the Duke and burning his reports. She didn't feel anything at all when she was deceiving Jessie. She didn't feel anything at all when she was framing Axil. It was almost as if she had become a real villain.

Dylan sighed, and then she looked down at the letter on her lap. The Emperor's attention was not a good thing. If she wanted to disappear, it'd be best to avoid becoming entangled with the Imperial Family any further. She crushed the letter in her hand, her eyes dark and empty.

'I have to be prepared.'

***

The next morning the Duke stirred in his chair, stretched and rubbed his eyes. With an awful effort he woke up and slowly rose. Somebody had placed a blanket over him. Was it Dylan? He found the note she had left for him and smiled at the handwriting. He knew he was blessed to have such a lovely daughter.

Meanwhile, Dylan stared out her bedroom window with a weighted look on her face. She sat patiently while Jessie combed out her long golden hair. Her curls were pulled into a ponytail decorated with leaf-shaped golden hair ornaments.

Her maids had dressed her in a pale pink gown with an open neckline and cap sleeves. It was an elegant dress, and the colour complimented her golden hair.

"You look so beautiful," said Jessie.

Dylan stared at her reflection in the mirror and took a deep breath, feeling the constriction of the corset. She really did look a lot healthier.

'I really don't want to meet His Majesty today.'

"Is that an Imperial carriage?" Mina asked while looking out the window.

The carriage rattled over the pavement of the courtyard and stopped just in front of the mansion doors. A tall man dressed in black stepped out of the carriage and lifted his coat collar against the breeze. The morning rays bathed the tall figure and cast early light on his mass of dark hair.

"Caspian?" Dylan's eyebrows drew together as she looked out the window. "What's he doing here?"

"The Crown Prince!" Jessie gasped. "Why is His Highness here?"

"Without prior notice?" said Mina, sounding genuinely alarmed.

The mansion was in a terrible state due to Axil's upcoming trial in court. They weren't prepared to welcome a guest, yet alone the Crown Prince.

'Cas is Cas, though. I don't think he'd mind.'

"I'll go greet him," Dylan said with a slight smile.



AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I made this chapter a bit longer, what do you think?