The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 20

Setz was so engrossed in the flowers that she didn’t notice Lilien approaching from afar.

“You filthy wretch!”

“Ahh!”

With a thud, Setz tumbled to the ground as Lilien’s kick landed on her side. She stared up at Lilien in shock.

“Do you even know where you are right now?!”

Well, isn’t it obvious? Near Lady Lize’s palace… Setz thought, confused. Not because she was kicked—she was used to that—but because Lilien had appeared out of nowhere without warning.

“Trying to get the emperor’s attention, are you? How ridiculous.”

No, the ridiculous one here isn’t you, it’s me, thought Setz, blinking in a daze as she suddenly understood why Lilien was making such a fuss about the emperor.

Lize’s palace was located deep within the royal grounds, near the emperor’s residence and office. It was an area most people didn’t usually frequent. Lilien, too, rarely ventured this way. But with her sharp eyes, Lilien had recognized Setz from a distance, crouching and smiling idiotically among the flowers.

It seemed like Lilien had severely misunderstood the situation. Since the area was so close to the emperor’s quarters, she must have thought Setz was plotting to catch the emperor’s eye.

“Sister, I wasn’t trying to—”

Slap! Setz’s head jerked to the side. Lilien, with a disgusted expression, spat out, “How dare you talk back?”

You asked, didn’t you…? You nasty woman… If she were still the twelve-year-old Setz, she might have bowed her head and apologized. But the seventeen-year-old Setz, who had gone through so much, was different.

What a horrible woman, Setz grumbled inwardly. She didn’t voice her thoughts, though. She just wished Lilien would leave her alone. That was all she wanted right now.

But what was up with someone who usually sleeps in every day showing up here at this hour?

“How laughable,” Lilien sneered. “No matter how hard you try to get His Majesty’s attention, he doesn’t even look your way. Why don’t you just strip naked and walk around? Maybe then you’d finally get some attention.”

“I’m not doing this to get attention…” Setz protested softly.

“Not that it would make any difference,” Lilien continued, ignoring Setz’s words. “Do you know that His Majesty sometimes forgets you even exist?”

“……”

“Just earlier during breakfast, he referred to me as his youngest daughter, Lilien.”

Ah, so that’s why she’s here now, even though she’d usually still be sleeping. Sometimes the emperor would have meals or tea time with Bern and Lilien. While he favored Lize among his concubines, Lize’s son was Raytan. Hence, the emperor clearly preferred Bern and Lilien over his other children.

So what? Honestly, Setz didn’t care. She had grown used to the emperor’s indifference long ago, just like she had become accustomed to Yerna’s violence. So Lilien’s boastful words didn’t bother her in the least. Let her brag if she wanted to…

Lilien, dissatisfied with Setz’s lack of reaction, continued her taunting.

“Or were you spying on people, planning to play matchmaker like your mother?”

The word “matchmaker” was a term often used disparagingly by those who disliked Yerna.

Yerna’s family wasn’t particularly powerful. It was just another noble house, nothing special. The reason Yerna was able to enter the palace was entirely thanks to her father—Setz’s grandfather.

Back when Rowane III had just ascended to the throne, the nobles were all scrambling to have their daughters married off as empresses or concubines. Yerna’s father was no different.

He was a man of ambition who poured all his money into bribes to get Yerna into the palace, no matter what it took. In the end, his gamble paid off, and Yerna became one of the emperor’s many concubines. Whether she was favored or not was another matter entirely.

Yerna inherited her father’s ambitious nature. Once she became a concubine, she quickly realized how insignificant her family was compared to the other noble houses. She knew that, as things stood, her status would never amount to much.

Without any attention from the emperor, her chances were slim. So, Yerna’s first strategy was to win over as many people within the palace as possible. She chose the role of a “matchmaker,” just as Lilien had said.

For a daughter from an insignificant family like Yerna’s, integrating into the higher echelons of nobility was no easy task. In most circumstances, it would have been outright impossible.

But Yerna had one crucial advantage—her status as one of the emperor’s concubines, and that position became her sole weapon.

Though she struggled at first, Yerna eventually succeeded in making connections with noble families. She cultivated relationships and went out of her way to support them. Over time, her influence in the social circles grew significantly. Once she had built a solid network, she began actively arranging marriages between noble families.

Forging alliances and intertwining connections between families was the most powerful method for nobles to expand and solidify their influence, and Yerna placed herself right at the center of it all.

When these marriages were successfully arranged, the noble families often gave Yerna gifts as tokens of gratitude—precious jewels or rare artworks. Yerna meticulously collected these items, growing both her wealth and her network. She was so adept at this that it was said if you knew Yerna, you knew everyone in the palace.

Moreover, the couples Yerna brought together almost never ended in disaster, unlike most noble marriages. Because of this, her reputation grew with each passing day.

The influential network of powerful families that Yerna painstakingly built proved to be an enormous asset to her.

Yerna’s connections within the palace were strong, and her allies were favorable toward her. As a result, even when she did things that weren’t entirely above board—such as eliminating concubines from lower-status families—they would cover for her actions.

Yerna was also cleverer than she appeared, and when she engaged in such schemes, she did so discreetly, ensuring that the emperor never caught wind of them. In a way, she was indeed a formidable woman.

Of course, people like Lilien continued to dismiss her as nothing more than a vulgar matchmaker.

“You’re just like your mother, aren’t you?” Lilien sneered. “Not even capable of catching the emperor’s attention, just as low-class as she is.”

“……”

“I mean, what else would you expect? You’re just the daughter of a matchmaker,” she added with a mocking laugh.

But there was something Lilien didn’t understand: Setz wasn’t particularly affected by Lilien’s insults toward Yerna.

Not that the words were easy to hear, of course. Setz wished Lilien would just drop it and move on, but Lilien kept muttering her taunts.

So much talking.

After that chaotic “dogfight” in the library a few days ago, Setz found herself feeling a strange sense of confidence. Anyone could see that she and Raytan had come out on top that day.

And before she realized it, Setz, who had never dared to talk back before, responded with something she never thought she would say.

“Then maybe you should ask my mother to find a match for you as well…”

“What?”

“Since you recognize her skills, I’m sure she’d find you a suitable husband.”

“Do you think I’m the same as you lot?!” Lilien’s voice dripped with indignation.

Ugh, that ridiculous pride of hers… Setz thought to herself. But just as she was inwardly muttering, Lilien suddenly grabbed her hair.

“Ow!”

“You wretched girl! How dare you talk back!”

“Let go of me!”

“Hanging around with that Raytan has really made you lose all sense of respect, hasn’t it?!”

Why is she suddenly bringing up Raytan now? Setz thought, bewildered. It seemed Lilien still held a grudge over that library incident.

“You’re all the same, like a bunch of miserable pests!”

Setz thought to herself that if Raytan were here right now, he might actually beat Lilien up for saying that.

“As long as scum like you are hanging around the palace, people like us keep suffering!”

“What? When have I ever—”

“You ruined my day just by existing in my sight!” Lilien yelled, shaking Setz’s head violently.

“Die! Just die already! You and that cursed boy!”

Setz could only brace herself against Lilien’s furious grip, wishing this torment would come to an end.

It was always like this. She hadn’t done anything wrong—she hadn’t done anything at all. All Setz did was breathe and watch her surroundings cautiously. Yet, they treated her like she was a pest, hitting and insulting her just for being there, just for being in their sight.

A surge of anger welled up inside her.

Clenching her lips tightly, Setz pushed Lilien with all her strength.

“Ahhh!”

This time, it was Lilien who stumbled and fell onto the dirt.

“Why should we have to die?! We didn’t do anything wrong!” Setz shouted.

“You miserable wretch!” Lilien was like a spring—she bounced up immediately and grabbed Setz by the collar. Losing her balance, Setz fell backward.

Lilien climbed on top of Setz and began slapping her face mercilessly. Unbelievable. If Yerna was a schemer, then Lilien was nothing short of a thug. It was absurd. No matter how hard Setz struggled, she couldn’t fight back. No matter how old Setz felt on the inside—whether she was seventeen or twenty-seven—right now, Lilien was both bigger and stronger than she was.

“So that disgusting scum is giving you confidence now, huh, you lowly girl?”

“Let go of me! Stop it!” Setz yelled.

“You and Raytan will end up the same way! The moment my brother becomes emperor, the first thing he’ll do is get rid of the both of you!”

“Disgusting and filthy, you say?!”

Setz shouted in rage, louder than ever before. She was furious for many reasons. Lilien’s constant stream of insults was infuriating, but what enraged her most was the way she called Raytan “disgusting and filthy.” It hurt more than any insult against Yerna.

Sure, Raytan might be… difficult at times. But at least Raytan never treated Setz like this, never beat her up. In fact, lately, he’d even been looking out for her—yesterday, today…

“I think you and Bern are the ones who are disgusting!” Setz shouted back, unable to hold back anymore.

“Raytan is way better than you, Lilien! The only thing you have over him is your blonde hair and blue eyes!”

“What did you say?!”

Lilien’s face twisted with rage, and she started hitting Setz with her fists instead of her palms. Setz briefly regretted not listening to Luna’s advice, but she had no intention of apologizing or backing down. She’d been hit before—what was one more beating? That was how she thought of it.

But then, suddenly, a large hand gripped Lilien’s collar, yanking her away from Setz.

***

Lize was not feeling well again today.

Mari had said, “At least it’s not too serious yet.” Yet? Raytan let out a hollow laugh.

Lize lay on the bed, her eyes closed, looking so fragile that she seemed like she might disappear at any moment. It was impossible to tell whether she was actually sleeping or if she had fainted and was unconscious.

Raytan carefully placed his fingers near Lize’s nose, and only after confirming that she was still breathing—just as Mari had said—did he finally feel a sense of relief, although he bit his lip in frustration.

How long must this go on?

How much longer do we have to endure this?

Raytan knew all too well. He was not ignorant of the fact that his mother had been enduring, struggling with all her might for everything, and that she would continue to hold on in the future. Lize lived for a single purpose. She clung to life to achieve that purpose. Raytan understood his mother’s resolve.

Yet, sometimes Raytan found it all unbearably exhausting. Sometimes he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Watching Lize push herself to the limit, fighting with every ounce of her strength, and knowing that despite understanding everything, he was powerless to do anything to save her—it was suffocating.

Raytan stood by Lize’s side for a long while, staring at her, before finally leaving the room. He left a message with Mari: “Call me immediately when my mother wakes up, no matter when that might be.”

Raytan then went to the library and picked up the book Setz had asked for: The Magicians of the Denhelder Empire.

He couldn’t quite understand why Setz suddenly wanted to read this book. Even though Raytan himself enjoyed reading, he found this particular book incredibly dull.

Though he hadn’t read it for entertainment, it also didn’t contain the information he was looking for. Since he’d already finished it, he didn’t mind lending it to Setz.

Lost in these thoughts, he stepped outside the palace and glanced around.

“We didn’t do anything wrong! Why do we have to die?!”

A piercing scream rang in his ears. The voice was all too familiar. Raytan knew that there was only one person in the palace who would say something like that. His eyes followed the sound, and he saw Setz pinned to the ground, being mercilessly beaten by Lilien.

“You miserable brat!” Lilien yelled.

Lilien was once again attacking Setz without holding back, spewing insults and striking Setz’s small face with all her strength. It was a familiar scene. Raytan had witnessed Lilien tormenting Setz like this many times before.