The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 40

“Well, if I had to say… combat training?”

“…Me?” Setz’s face was a picture of disbelief, as if she was thinking, “What kind of crazy idea is that?”

“It’s nothing too grand. Of course, your skills will be dreadful, but with such an outstanding teacher, you don’t have to worry,” Raytan said with a straight face, full of shameless confidence. Well, Setz knew he was skilled in combat. After all, before her regression, he’d led a coup.

But she hadn’t expected him to suggest this. Besides, while the library was spacious, it wasn’t exactly the ideal place for learning martial arts.

“What are you waiting for? Stand up,” he said.

Setz hesitated but then slowly got to her feet. Raytan pushed the table and chairs to the corner of the room, clearing some space. He motioned for her to come closer.

“You’re not going to hit me, are you?” she asked nervously.

“Why would I do that?”

“I was just making sure.”

Raytan’s brief reply of “I won’t” seemed to put Setz at ease, and she nodded in understanding.

“Since your ankle isn’t fully healed, today I’ll just teach you the basics,” he said.

“What kind of basics…?” Setz began.

“Just remember one thing: the vital points.”

“Vital points… huh?”

“Kick them in the solar plexus, the philtrum, or between the legs. Especially if your opponent is a man, aim for the groin first. It’s the most effective.”

“The g… groin?”

“I’ll teach you the kicks later. For now, just listen.”

Raytan continued to explain, even demonstrating a few moves, emphasizing how to kick properly to avoid injuring herself.

Setz listened intently because he seemed quite serious about this.

After going on for a while, Raytan then turned his attention to Setz’s hands.

“Make a fist,” he said.

Setz felt a little confused about why but decided to follow his instructions. She clenched her fist as best as she could.

“Open it again,” he ordered.

He didn’t seem satisfied with her attempt. Setz couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion, thinking, Aren’t all fists the same?

“Fold the four fingers inward, starting with the index finger. Then, press your thumb tightly over the index finger,” Raytan explained.

“Like… like this?” Setz tried to follow his instructions, but it still felt awkward and clumsy.

Raytan took her hand and adjusted each of her fingers, showing her the correct way to form a fist.

“Extend it in a straight line. Short and strong, like this,” he said.

With a swift punch aimed at the air, Raytan’s fist cut through with a whooshing sound. It was powerful enough that Setz thought anyone on the receiving end of that punch wouldn’t stand a chance. His fist looked twice the size of hers.

No wonder Brother Berne doesn’t dare to provoke him. It all makes sense now, Setz thought to herself, her mind wandering even in the middle of the lesson.

“Now, you try,” Raytan said.

Setz extended her fist straight ahead. She put in as much effort as she could, but even to her, it seemed a bit lacking.

“…Are you joking right now?” Raytan asked, looking unimpressed.

“No, I’m serious! I really am trying my best,” Setz insisted.

Raytan just looked at her with an expression that could only be described as sheer disappointment.

She hadn’t thought much of it at first, but seeing Raytan react that way made Setz’s blood start to boil.

To be honest, Setz actually thought she was pretty good at fighting.

This strange confidence had started building up a few years back after the “dogfight” incident in the library, and it reached its peak during the sequel, “dogfight 2,” when she and Lilien had gone at each other, pulling each other’s hair.

She was rather proud of her brawling skills, so being dismissed like that by Raytan really irked her! Determined to prove herself, Setz swung her fist with all her might.

…The problem was that, in the process, she ended up landing a solid punch right on Raytan’s face, as he was trying to correct her stance.

“……”

“……”

Silence fell over the library. What have I done? Setz thought, staring at Raytan with a look of shock on her face.

If Setz was shocked, Raytan looked downright flabbergasted. He stood there with a blank expression, and then, as if he couldn’t believe what just happened, he finally opened his mouth.

“…Did you just hit me?” he asked.

“I-I didn’t mean to…”

“But you did.”

“No, I was just trying to show you that I was really putting in the effort…”

“……”

“I swear, I didn’t mean to…”

“…Ha.”

Raytan let out a chuckle, more out of disbelief than anything else. It was an incredulous laugh, but… surprisingly, he didn’t feel bad about it.

“Brother…?” Setz looked at Raytan, worriedly gauging his reaction. She had swung her fist with as much strength as she could muster, so she was worried she might have actually hurt him. She felt a bit guilty too.

But all Raytan did was keep laughing. Setz’s face grew more serious as she wondered if she had somehow hit him hard enough to cause damage, even though she hadn’t aimed for his head.

“Are you laughing because it hurts? It doesn’t actually hurt, right?” she asked, concerned.

Raytan stared at Setz, trying to suppress his laughter as he responded, “It hurts.”

“……”

“It hurts so much I feel like I’m going to die.”

Of course, that was a lie. It didn’t hurt in the slightest; it was barely a tickle. Even if Setz hit him a hundred times with her soft little fists, he wouldn’t feel a thing.

But Raytan found Setz’s reaction so amusing that he couldn’t help but keep up the act.

“I should’ve known since the time you pulled out Lilien’s hair. You must have had some confidence in your abilities,” he teased.

“Th-That’s not what I meant…”

“It hurts so much I can hardly stand. I need to sit down and rest,” he said, pretending to be in agony.

This is bad, Setz thought, completely buying into his lie. She kept nervously watching him, unsure of what to do.

Ignoring her concern, Raytan casually sat down on the windowsill, entirely at ease.

When their eyes met, he made a show of cradling his cheek with his hand, then started muttering as if to himself, but loud enough for Setz to hear.

“Really, it hurts more than I expected,” he said, his voice laced with feigned agony.

“Um…”

Setz, who had been fidgeting nervously, cautiously moved closer to him. She slid onto the wide windowsill next to Raytan and murmured quietly.

“You know, I’m actually kind of… well, I’m pretty good at fighting. My punches are kind of strong… But I didn’t think it would be this bad… I promise I’ll be more careful next time.”

Raytan could tell her apology was sincere, but he was struggling to hold back his laughter. If he laughed now, it would ruin the moment, and he wouldn’t be able to tease her anymore. He used all his willpower to keep his composure.

“Yeah, one more punch from you, and I might not make it,” he said, trying to keep a straight face.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful with my strength from now on,” Setz said earnestly.

“That’s… fine,” Raytan said, his lips twitching as he fought to suppress a smile.

“Let me see where I hit you,” Setz said, reaching out slowly. Her delicate, white hand touched the sharp angles of his cheek, and her face moved closer, almost within reach.

Raytan flinched instinctively. The sunlight reflected off his blue eyes, making them shine brilliantly, and he noticed the flush of pink on her cheeks and lips.

“It doesn’t look swollen…” she said, examining his cheek.

“……”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“……”

“Brother?” Setz asked.

When he didn’t respond, Setz looked up into his eyes. Their gazes met, colliding in the air.

For a brief moment, his red eyes seemed to waver slightly. Setz’s fingers, which had been gently touching his cheek, also trembled ever so faintly.

A strange stillness filled the library, an unfamiliar tension passing between them.

Gone was the chaos from earlier. The large library was now wrapped in an unexplainable silence.

“……”

Setz stared at Raytan with a slightly dazed expression. He, too, looked a bit dazed, his usual sharp eyes now clouded with a hint of something else. Slowly, Raytan raised his hand and tried to cover Setz’s hand as it touched his cheek.

Or at least, that’s what he intended to do. But Setz, snapping back to reality, quickly pulled her hand away in a panic.

“I-I’m sorry!” she stammered.

“……”

“I was just worried that you might be in pain…”

Setz was flustered, stumbling over her words.

“It didn’t hurt more because I touched it, did it? I didn’t mean to… If I’d known, I would’ve held back a bit… But I swear it wasn’t on purpose…”

She was babbling, hardly aware of what she was saying. Why am I so flustered? she thought. And the most baffling thing was the loud pounding of her heart echoing in her ears.

Raytan said nothing, quietly watching Setz with an unreadable expression. His silence was unsettling. If he’d scolded her, she might have felt more at ease. The longer he stayed silent, the more embarrassed she felt.

I mean, it’s just… because I thought you were in pain, Brother…

Setz’s face turned bright red as she kept rambling without any sense.

“…It’s okay,” Raytan finally said.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Raytan responded in a voice even lower and more strained than usual. Then, he looked down at his own hand, which was still hovering in midair.

What was I trying to do just now?

What was I thinking?

“Ah, well, in any case, I’m really glad you’re okay,” Setz said, her flustered chatter breaking through his distracted thoughts. Raytan turned his gaze back to Setz. His eyes then drifted to her golden hair, shining under the sunlight.

“Your hair,” he said.

“What?”

“It’s all tangled up.”

She must have put a lot of effort into throwing that punch. Her long, golden hair, which reached down to her waist, was now a messy tangle, like a heap of straw.

“Wait a second. Luna gave me a hair tie earlier. I should just tie it up,” Setz said as she rummaged through the pocket of her dress and pulled out a worn hair tie.

“Now, how did Luna do this again?”

Since Luna was usually the one who tied her hair, Setz found that no matter how she tried to do it herself, it came out all wrong.

Each time she tried to tie it, the ponytail either pulled too tightly on her scalp or quickly came loose again. Frustrated, Setz kept gathering and re-gathering her hair, but it only seemed to make things worse. Her hair was now a complete mess. Seeing her reflection in the window made her face flush even redder than before.

“Give it here,” Raytan said.

“Huh? Give you what?”

“The hair tie.”

Why does he want that? she thought, puzzled, but handed it over anyway. Raytan took the hair tie from her and then gently grasped her shoulders, turning her around to face away from him.

“Brother, do you even know how to tie hair?” Setz asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think I’ll do better than you,” he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.

If you’re going to help, then just help without making remarks like that, Setz thought, pouting slightly. But she decided to sit quietly and let him do it. And in a way, it was a relief. It was better to have her back turned to Raytan than to sit face-to-face with him while blushing furiously.