The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 27

“…Are you mocking me?” Raytan’s face remained neutral, but Setz felt a chill run down her spine. She knew without asking how much trouble Raytan had gone through because of his eye color.

Desperate to recover the situation, Setz quickly added, “But I really do like your eye color, Brother.”

She threw in a compliment, practically pleading now.

“I mean, I said it last time too, didn’t I? That your eyes are beautiful. They look just like rubies,” she said, desperately hoping to smooth things over.

Even though it was partly flattery, it wasn’t entirely a lie. Setting aside the legends surrounding them, Raytan’s eyes were indeed quite beautiful. They were far lovelier than the common blue eyes that filled the palace. When they sparkled in the sunlight, they truly looked like rubies, and in the evening glow, they had a fairy-like quality. Although their cold intensity couldn’t be ignored, if one looked past the fear, his eyes were undeniably mesmerizing.

“……”

But Raytan said nothing. He simply stared at the necklace in his hand for a long moment, and then, to Setz’s amazement, he slipped it into his pocket.

“Are you actually accepting it?” Setz asked, her voice brimming with hope.

“Isn’t that why you gave it to me?” Raytan replied, his tone calm.

At his response, Setz’s lips stretched into a wide smile, unable to hide her delight. She beamed brightly, then let out a small “Ah!” as she rummaged through her bag again.

“I have one more thing!”

This time, she pulled out a small jewelry box. Raytan’s expression turned wary as he opened it.

Inside was a bracelet, adorned with a thumb-sized emerald, though its design was rather crude.

“That one’s for Lady Lize. I mean, she’s done so much for me, but I haven’t been able to give her anything in return.”

“……”

“Of course, it can’t compare to the jewels Lady Lize already has, but it’s the best I can offer,” Setz said, her voice softening.

“Enough. Open your book,” Raytan said as he took the jewelry box in his hand.

“I’ll make sure she gets it.”

“Okay!” Setz replied, her face lighting up with relief. She’d been feeling guilty about how much she owed Lize, and while the gift might seem trivial compared to the extravagant treasures Lize already owned, Setz believed that Lize would appreciate the sincerity behind it more than its value.

And the fact that Raytan had accepted her necklace so willingly made her genuinely happy. After all, last time he had thrown the gemstone right back in her face.

Even though she was a little tired, Setz thought to herself, I’m glad I made it after all.

With that thought, she turned her attention back to her studies and began solving problems with great focus.

“……”

Raytan’s crimson eyes reflected Setz’s determined face. Setz was a peculiar girl. No matter how cold or harsh his words were, she kept coming back, undeterred. At first, he thought she was simply foolish, maybe a little dim-witted. Like an idiot—really, a complete idiot. But even so…

She was the only one in this palace who ever spoke to him like this.

The only person who would get angry on his behalf when others spoke ill of him, who would jump into fights for him without being asked when he was cornered… was this one foolish girl.

Setz, unaware that Raytan was staring at her, continued diligently solving the problems in front of her. And Raytan, without a word, gently ran his fingers over the necklace now tucked in his pocket.

***

“Please wait a moment, Lord Raytan,” said Mari, bowing respectfully. Raytan gave a slight nod in response, saying nothing, and then gently ran his fingers over the jewelry box that Setz had given him.

Moments later, the door opened, and maids carrying an armful of dresses and jewels walked out. Raytan watched them pass with a neutral expression before finally stepping inside the room.

“Mother,” he said, bowing respectfully as he greeted her. Lize, seated on the bed, looked exhausted. Although she never seemed particularly healthy, today she appeared even more fatigued.

“Mother, how are you feeling…?”

“I’m fine,” Lize replied.

“It’s just that the preparations for the Founding Festival are exhausting, with all the fittings for the gowns.”

The Founding Festival of Denhelder was one of the grandest events. It was among the few occasions celebrated extensively by the royal family. When the festival began, all the royals and nobles gathered at the palace, and the Emperor always had Lize by his side. She was adorned in the most extravagant dresses and adorned with the rarest jewels, her beauty put on display as a reflection of the Emperor’s glory.

Throughout the festival, Lize had but one role—to be a doll. The most beautiful doll in the world, a pitiful puppet meant to elevate the Emperor’s status.

“So, you said you had something for me,” Lize prompted.

“Yes,” Raytan replied as he approached Lize and handed her the jewelry box Setz had given him.

“And what is this?”

“Princess Setz asked me to deliver it to you,” he said.

Lize took the box slowly and opened the lid to reveal a roughly-made bracelet set with an emerald.

“She said she feels indebted to you and wanted to express her sincerity in some small way,” Raytan explained.

“Is that so?” Lize murmured.

Her pale, slender fingers picked up the bracelet. She held it up between her thumb and forefinger, staring at it with an impassive expression.

And then, without hesitation, she let it fall to the floor.

“A worthless trinket,” she said coldly.

The fractured emerald caught the reflection of Raytan’s crimson eyes.

“While Yerna drapes herself in the finest jewels, her daughter offers this pitiful token as her sign of gratitude. How unfortunate,” Lize continued.

“……”

“This is the standing of Princess Setz, Raytan.”

Raytan said nothing.

“Not only is she poorly regarded, but she also has no allies in the palace. She must feel completely alone, with no one to confide in and nowhere to turn. And because of all her wounds, she’ll lock her heart away and never reveal her true feelings to anyone. But, Raytan, winning the favor of such a person is the easiest thing in the world. Once the wall around a broken heart has crumbled, it’s hard to build it up again. The first step is the hardest, but after that, it’s simple.”

Lize’s smile was cold and calculating.

“Stay by the princess’s side, just as you are now. It will surely benefit you one day. If Yerna dies and Princess Setz manages to gather the nobles who once sided with Yerna, she could become a powerful ally.”

“But Mother, Princess Setz doesn’t seem to have that kind of…,” Raytan began, trailing off. Maybe not now, but in time… Setz would no longer hold any affection for him. She had already said as much—that she planned to leave this palace once she came of age.

“They say a duckling considers the first thing it sees to be its mother,” Lize said.

“……”

“It’s the same with people. They become blindly devoted to the first person who shows them kindness.”

Raytan bit his lip and looked at Lize.

Mother, are you talking about me right now? Or are you talking about Princess Setz? Do you realize that I’m no different from her? These unspoken words buzzed in Raytan’s mind, filling him with turmoil.

“But you must never do the same,” Lize said in a chilling tone.

“You are different. You must never give your heart to Princess Setz. Always remember this, Raytan: Princess Setz is no different from the others. And when her usefulness ends, she must be discarded just like them.”

“……”

“Now I must rest. You should go,” Lize said, not even sparing a glance at her son as she lay back down on the bed.

Raytan stood still for a moment, then bent down to pick up the discarded bracelet that lay on the floor like a piece of trash.

“Rest well,” he said softly.

As the door closed behind him, Lize was left alone once more.

Staring up at the ceiling, Lize blinked slowly.

Her gaze eventually drifted to the closed window. She felt tired—exhausted from trying on dozens of dresses, putting them on and taking them off, draping herself in countless jewels she didn’t care for… It all seemed so meaningless, draining her energy.

And yet, her mind was clear. It was as if the days of suffering from nightmares had been nothing but lies. For the first time in a long while, her thoughts were sharp and focused.

At some point, Lize began to dream constantly. It must have started after she began taking that dreadful drug. Nightmares plagued her relentlessly, almost every day. She was haunted by visions of her mother, engulfed in flames and writhing in agony, by strange, grotesque creatures with no clear identity, and by the sight of her lover—a broken figure, no longer even recognizable as a human being.

What kind of nightmare would torment her tonight? Lize’s eyes were empty, devoid of light.

“……”

Her gaze drifted toward the closed window. Yet, something felt off. She was certain she had dreamt of something last night as well. So why was she alright today? Why couldn’t she remember anything at all?

[It’s just a dream. When you wake up, when you open your eyes again, you won’t remember a thing…]

She thought she could hear a faint voice echoing from somewhere. But, just as Eaton had said, Lize could recall nothing, not even whose voice it might have been.

Slowly, Lize closed her eyes once more.

***

A cold night breeze flowed in through the wide-open window beside the bed. Luna would surely worry and insist that she’d catch a cold, but in Setz’s current mood, she didn’t care. Even if she caught a cold a hundred times over, it wouldn’t matter at all.

Setz sat at the window, leaning on the sill, quietly laughing to herself. To anyone watching, she might have looked completely mad. But what could she do? She was just in such a good mood.

She thought about Raytan, who had silently accepted her gift. She had been uncertain for so long, but now she felt almost sure of it. Her relationship with Raytan had definitely made some progress.

“I wish time would pass faster,” Setz whispered to herself. In all her years of living in the palace, she had never looked forward to the next day as much as she did now. Everything seemed to be going well. Not only had her relationship with Raytan improved, but since the last confrontation, even Lilien and Bern hadn’t dared to bother them. It seemed Rize’s threat to speak directly to the Emperor had genuinely scared them more than she’d expected.

Setz’s proficiency in Kazakh also improved day by day. Secretly, she harbored a grand dream: that one day, when she finally left the palace, she would cross the sea to the Iont Empire.

She had never been there, so she wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but Luna had told her that the Iont Empire was a hub of vibrant commerce and active trade. Setz thought that with her knowledge of both Antoan (the language spoken in Denhelder) and Kazakh (used in Iont and nearby regions), she would never go hungry.

Of course, there were still many unresolved issues. First and foremost was the closest threat looming in the future: Luna’s death. Luna had died in a tragic accident on her way back home. Setz was determined to find a way to keep Luna tied to her side, at least until that time passed, so she could prevent that from happening.

Then there was Rize’s death. Setz hadn’t yet come up with a plan for that. If her memory served her right, Rize died from poison—specifically, poisoned wine sent by Yerna. She vaguely remembered the details.

But unfortunately, the Emperor never learned that Yerna was the one who killed Rize. Setz knew that much. If the truth had come to light, Yerna would have met a gruesome fate, but she remained safe until Raytan’s eventual coup.

It wasn’t entirely implausible. After all, Yerna had her ways of manipulating the nobles, whether overtly or covertly, and every one of the Emperor’s other consorts despised Rize. No one was there to protect her; Rize was a thorn in everyone’s side, and they all would have turned a blind eye to her demise.

They likely did everything they could to ensure Yerna’s crime stayed hidden or that Rize’s death was quietly swept under the rug. Yerna, frivolous as she seemed, was meticulous when it came to matters of interest, and she held enough leverage over noble families to keep them in check. Even if they betrayed her, Yerna wouldn’t have gone down alone.

Of course, all those people eventually met their end at Raytan’s hands.

“If I can prevent Lady Rize’s death, maybe Brother won’t stage his coup,” Setz pondered, imagining a future where Raytan didn’t resort to rebellion.

But then again, I’m planning to leave the palace… In that case, wouldn’t Brother end up all alone again?

Setz’s face turned bitter without her realizing it.

“You look like you have something weighing on your mind,” came a sudden voice.

“Ahh!” Setz screamed in surprise, startled by the unexpected voice. She turned around but saw no one—no person, not even a shadow. Was I just hearing things? Or was it a ghost?