The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 17

Raytan’s face twisted into a complicated expression as he looked up from the note to meet Setz’s eyes. She looked back at him with a small, gentle smile. Even though her lips were sealed shut, the warmth in her gaze spoke volumes.

What a foolish girl, Raytan thought to himself. No, not foolish exactly, but… still… Here she was, in this ridiculous situation, and all she could think to write was that she wanted to see him again and that she still liked him. It was almost laughable. How could she be so naive, so trusting, when she could hardly take care of herself?

“Do you even realize the state you’re in right now? Or do you know and still act like this… I really can’t figure you out,” Raytan said with a mix of frustration and disbelief.

“Mmph?” Setz tried to respond, her eyes questioning.

“Fine. I’ll meet you tomorrow and the day after that. I’ll keep tutoring you, so just focus on getting better,” Raytan said, letting out a resigned sigh.

Setz’s eyes lit up with joy, even if her situation was a bit awkward. Despite everything, it was clear that Raytan was genuinely concerned about her. Her efforts to win his favor seemed to be paying off. She was so happy, she almost wanted to dance right then and there, though the sealed lips and Raytan’s presence made that impossible.

At that moment, Luna entered the room, carrying the medicine. Raytan gave Setz one last look before speaking.

“See you tomorrow then,” he said.

“Ah, Lord Raytan, are you leaving now?” Luna asked.

“Yes. Make sure you take good care of that fool—uh, I mean, the princess,” Raytan corrected himself awkwardly.

With that, Raytan turned and left the room. Luna watched the door close for a moment before turning back to Setz.

“Princess, it really seems like Lord Raytan cares a lot about you,” Luna said gently.

Right? You see it too, don’t you? Setz’s eyes sparkled with happiness, relieved that even Luna could see Raytan’s concern.

“So, you must get well soon, Your Highness. I’m really worried about you…” Luna said, her voice cracking with emotion as she began to tear up again.

Oh no, not again, Setz thought, feeling guilty. Seeing Luna cry only made her feel worse. Luna continued to sniffle, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

“But I’m sure you’ll recover quickly. You’re strong, Princess. You overcame this once before, and I know you’ll do it again. I promise you’ll be fine. Now, let’s take your medicine and get some rest,” Luna said, gently helping Setz sit up and bringing the bowl of bitter medicine closer.

But then, suddenly, Setz realized something crucial.

“Your Highness?” Luna asked, her face filled with concern.

“Mmph!” Setz tried to protest, her eyes widening in panic.

“Is something wrong? Where do you feel discomfort, Your Highness?” Luna asked frantically.

“Mmph, mmph!” Setz tried to explain in vain.

How am I supposed to drink this medicine when my mouth is sealed shut?!

What am I going to do? Am I supposed to drink it through my nose?!

“Your Highness…” Luna began, but Setz quickly pointed from her tightly closed mouth to the bowl in Luna’s hands.

“…Oh,” Luna finally understood, her face reflecting her realization of the impossible task at hand.

Luna seemed to have finally grasped the gravity of the situation. Her face turned pale, and she looked completely bewildered.

“Wh-what should we do?” she stammered, her eyes darting between Setz and the bowl of medicine.

Setz and Luna stared at each other in confusion, both realizing how absurd the situation had become. This wasn’t some issue caused by psychological stress or a physical ailment—it was something far stranger. The only logical culprit that came to mind was the mysterious man she had met earlier.

Eaton! Setz thought, her frustration growing. This is all because of that strange guy!

She remembered his parting words clearly: “Oh, right. It’s best to keep this a secret. Goodbye.”

As the memory of Eaton’s smug expression came back to her, Setz’s teeth clenched in irritation. This whole ordeal was undoubtedly his doing, some kind of trick to make sure she couldn’t speak about their encounter.

***

Setz ultimately couldn’t take the medicine.

Luna, desperate to help, didn’t give up easily. She tried to pry Setz’s tightly sealed lips open and even attempted to pour the medicine into her mouth with a spoon, but nothing worked. Setz’s mouth remained firmly shut as if sealed by magic.

Then, after a long moment of silent contemplation, Luna uttered a truly terrifying suggestion:

“Princess, what if we tried to pour the medicine in through your nose?”

Luna, that’s not helping! That’s torture! You’re trying to kill me, not cure me! Setz thought, horrified by the idea.

Thankfully, Luna’s soft-hearted nature won out, and she couldn’t bring herself to carry out such a brutal method. Although she muttered about how it would be best if Setz took the medicine and that it was too distressing just to stand by and do nothing, Setz was sure she’d die of suffocation before the medicine had any effect if they tried that.

As the night deepened, Luna showed no intention of leaving. It seemed she planned to stay by Setz’s side all night. Desperate, Setz took to writing again, filling several sheets of paper with heartfelt pleas.

“Luna, I’m so grateful that you’re worried about me, but I really don’t want you to suffer because of it. If you get sick because of me, I’ll feel so guilty I might actually faint… Please, just get some rest and take care of yourself….”

In simpler terms, the message boiled down to this: Just go to sleep!

But Luna was stubborn. She broke into tears again, saying, “How can I possibly sleep soundly when the princess is suffering like this? Please, let me stay by your side. I’m so worried about you…”

It took Setz seven painstakingly written letters to finally convince Luna to leave.

The reason Setz insisted on Luna leaving was simple: she planned to sneak out later that night. As soon as the palace was quiet and everyone was asleep, she would make her way to Eaton.

If Eaton was the one responsible for sealing her mouth, then he should also be able to undo it. In other words, unless she found Eaton, she might have to live the rest of her life with her mouth closed. And Setz was not ready to live a life like that. She’d rather take her chances facing Eaton than slowly waste away in silence.

As the night deepened into the early morning hours, Setz waited until about 3 a.m. to slip out of the palace.

Fortunately, she managed to avoid Luna’s watchful eyes and made her way to Lije’s palace using the hidden shortcut Raytan had shown her. After squeezing through the narrow gap and emerging into a now-familiar corridor, Setz recognized it as the place where Eaton’s room was located.

Setz ran down the hall and knocked on the door as hard as she could.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Come in,” came Eaton’s voice from the other side.

Good, he’s here, Setz thought with relief as she threw the door open. There he was, sitting in his chair, looking as relaxed as ever.

“Good evening, Setz,” Eaton greeted with a smirk.

“….”

“But didn’t you say you usually have your lessons in the morning?” he teased, clearly amused.

Morning, my foot! I’m here because of you! Setz stomped her foot in frustration, glaring at Eaton.

“Mmph! Mmmph!” she grunted in anger.

“Hmm?” Eaton raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“Mmph! Mmmph-mmmph!” Setz tried to make him understand, but Eaton just burst into laughter, looking like he was having the time of his life.

How can someone be so infuriating?! Setz thought, exasperated. She rushed over to Eaton, pointing desperately at her sealed lips, urging him to do something.

“Mmph! Mmph-mmmph! Mmmph-mmmph!” she pleaded.

“Pfft… Ahahaha…!” Eaton laughed even harder, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

“Mmmp!!” Setz’s face turned red with rage. Stop laughing! This isn’t funny!

“Ah, truly… you are… one of the most entertaining people I’ve ever met,” Eaton said, wiping the tears from his eyes as he continued chuckling. Setz, seething with anger, gave him a light smack on the shoulder with her small fist.

“Okay, okay, calm down. No need to get so worked up,” Eaton said, trying to suppress his laughter.

How am I supposed to calm down when you’re acting like this?! Setz fumed internally, glaring at him with all the fury she could muster.

“I’ll fix it, I’ll fix it,” Eaton said, finally suppressing his laughter, though not without a struggle. His ears had turned bright red, clearly showing just how funny he found the situation. Setz’s face twisted into the most annoyed expression she could muster, glaring daggers at him.

“…”

Eaton continued to stifle his chuckles, his eyes still twinkling with amusement, but eventually, he composed himself enough to meet Setz’s gaze.

“You look like you’re cursing me out with your eyes,” he said with a smirk.

“Mmmp!” Setz grunted, clearly agreeing with that sentiment.

“Alright, alright, I’ll undo the spell now,” Eaton said, reaching his hand slowly toward her. As his large hand moved closer to her face, Setz flinched and took a step back. She remembered earlier that morning when he’d conjured fire from his hand.

Is he going to do something to me…? she wondered, her mind racing.

“I’m not going to use fire,” he reassured her.

“…”

“Come on, get closer. I need to lift the spell. Do you want to stay like that forever? Of course, you can if you prefer,” he added with a teasing grin.

Of course, Setz had no intention of living the rest of her life with her mouth glued shut. Reluctantly, she swallowed hard and moved closer to Eaton.

“Hold still,” he said.

Eaton’s large hand gently covered her mouth. For a moment, she felt a warm sensation pass through his touch. Then, he pulled his hand away.

“There you go. See? You’re free now,” Eaton said.

Setz’s mouth opened in shock. She instinctively reached up and touched her lips, feeling the newfound freedom. It really worked! Her lips that had felt like they were glued shut a moment ago were now moving just fine.

“What… What did you do?!” Setz exclaimed.

“What do you mean? I just undid the spell,” Eaton replied nonchalantly.

“Hey, you!” Setz started, pointing accusingly. “You did this to me in the first place, didn’t you?!”

“Come on, call me ‘brother,’ not ‘you,'” Eaton said with a grin.

“‘Brother’? You have got to be kidding me!” Setz snapped.

“You seem quite angry,” Eaton chuckled, clearly enjoying her reaction. Setz opened her mouth to lash out even more, but Eaton quickly cut her off.

“But, Setz, you know this was your fault, right?” he said, his tone suddenly turning serious.

“W-What?” Setz stammered, caught off guard.

“I warned you, didn’t I? I told you it would be best to keep this a secret. Remember?” he said, a sly smile playing on his lips.

Oh right. He did say that… Setz thought, recalling his parting words from earlier: “Oh, right. It’s best to keep this a secret. Goodbye.”

“So you should be thanking me, not getting angry. If it had been anyone else in your position, I would never have undone the spell,” Eaton continued.

“But… but how would I live like that? With my mouth sealed shut?” Setz asked, still in disbelief.

“Well, you would either starve to death or waste away slowly, I suppose,” Eaton said with a casual shrug.

“….”

“But that wouldn’t really be my problem, would it?” he said, smiling that same unsettling smile.

That smile sent a chill down Setz’s spine. How could he say something so heartless, and yet still be smiling so naturally? It was almost as if he didn’t have a shred of empathy.

“Have you finished being mad at me now?” Eaton asked, still grinning as if nothing was amiss.

Setz, despite her frustration and anger, couldn’t find it in herself to stay mad after Eaton’s comments. In a very quiet voice, she responded, “…Yes.”

“Good,” Eaton said, his tone light but with a hint of warning. “Remember, secrets are meant to be kept, not spread around carelessly.”

“…”

“So, who were you trying to tell?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“My brother… Raytan,” Setz admitted reluctantly.

“Ah, that Raytan you mentioned,” Eaton said, nodding thoughtfully.

“Yes.”

“Hmm,” Eaton murmured as he rubbed his chin. “You must really like that brother of yours. You said the same thing when I offered to teach you Khazakian myself—you insisted that you’d rather learn from him.”

“Well… yes,” Setz replied hesitantly.

It wasn’t that she absolutely adored Raytan, but Eaton wasn’t completely wrong either. She didn’t hate Raytan, and she genuinely preferred learning Khazakian from him for her own reasons, even if some of it was to build a better relationship.

“But it doesn’t seem like your brother’s life in the palace is an easy one. Isn’t there a legend about your palace? One that’s been passed down for generations?” Eaton asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“There is… but…,” Setz said, not sure how to continue.

“What exactly does the legend say?” Eaton pressed.

He doesn’t know? Setz thought, narrowing her eyes slightly in surprise. The legend of the palace was common knowledge—something that everyone in the royal family, or even those living in the palace, should be familiar with.

Setz found it odd, but considering how Eaton might seal her mouth shut again if she said the wrong thing, she chose not to show her surprise too openly.

“They say, ‘A monster with hair as black as night and eyes as red as blood will bring ruin to everything,'” Setz recited.

“Hmm,” Eaton responded, nodding slowly.

“That’s probably the one you’re talking about,” Setz added.

“Yes, I see,” Eaton said with a slight chuckle. Then, suddenly changing his expression, he asked another strange question.

“So, do you think your brother could be like that?” he asked.

“What do you mean by that…?” Setz replied, taken aback.

“I mean, your brother fits the description of the monster from the legend, doesn’t he? Even though he’s a member of the royal family, unlike the others in your empire with their blue eyes and blonde hair. Just like you, Setz,” Eaton said, his gaze piercing.

“…”

“What do you think? Do you believe that this Raytan of yours could destroy everything, just like the legend says?” Eaton pressed, his voice calm but intense.

Setz didn’t know how to answer. To be honest, she did believe that it was possible. The future she remembered was proof of that—Raytan leading a coup that would wreak havoc. But there was no guarantee that the future couldn’t be changed. Setz hesitated for a long moment before finally responding.

“I’m not sure,” she said quietly. “But it’s true that my brother’s life in the palace is difficult.”

“I’m sure it is,” Eaton said, nodding in agreement.