Kill the Light

4 - Regroup

After the horrible ordeal at the police station, I became more aware of the second prince.

Last night, I did some research on the second prince and saw a clean slate. He had no record of any misconduct, absolutely nothing.

He was one pretentious prick, that's for sure. Even if he really did something illegal in the past, he would've covered it up, seeing that he had the chief of police in the palm of his hand.

According to the internet, Prince Dylan Beckwith is the only son of the current Empress Lysandra. He is only a year older than me, which means that he's in his sophomore year. He's also engaged to Lady Elara Brown, the daughter of a Marquess.

Those were the only note-worthy information that I managed to dig up on the internet.

In short, I found nothing.
That's the sole reason why I'm eyeing the second prince right now in the school canteen.

I was sitting on the corner so that I would go unnoticed as I observed him from the sidelines. So far, he seemed...normal.

He was just laughing with his friends as they talked about who knows what.

What kept me up last night were the burning questions that have been going around in my head.

Why would the second prince try to cover up the death of a baron's daughter? What does it have to do with him? Did he possibly kill Lady Sasha himself?

I stayed up all night, but I just couldn't figure out the connection with so little that I knew. I had to investigate the second prince myself if I wanted to uncover his secrets.

As I looked at Prince Dylan from afar, I couldn't help but notice his handsome features.

Just like the crown prince, he had red eyes, a symbol of the imperial family. He had a clean and chiseled jaw.

Even his nose looked perfect.

He had short, jet-black hair that was neatly slicked back. His neat school uniform had no creases nor stains.

He seemed like a perfect person, too perfect that it makes you doubt.

"Hey, so what happened yesterday?" Lloyd's voice cut through the din, catching me off guard.

My initial surprise morphed into irritation as he positioned himself, obstructing my view of the prince. I peered up at him, mustering a pout.

"I'd rather not discuss it," I murmured, feigning a melancholic expression.

It wasn't entirely untrue. The last thing I wanted was to entangle Lloyd in my perilous predicament. Besides, divulging any details could risk invoking the wrath of the second prince for breaching my vow of secrecy.

"Is it really that bad?" Lloyd's voice softened as he settled into a seat beside me.

I responded with a silent nod. With a rustle, he retrieved something from his bag.

After a moment's search, he produced a bar of chocolate, prompting an excited exclamation from me.

"Chocolate!" I exclaimed, reaching out for it, but he withdrew it just out of reach.

"Who said it was for you?" Lloyd's eyebrow arched as he tore off a chunk and devoured it before my eyes.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, crossing my arms in mock indignation.

"Eating chocolate for lunch?" I queried, hoping to dissuade him from devouring the entire bar himself.

"Yep!" Lloyd's reply was lighthearted, unfazed by my attempt at persuasion.