The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 5

Maybe it was because of his long legs or large steps, but Raytan walked incredibly fast. Trying to keep pace with him was exhausting, especially with her unsettled stomach. Still, she didn’t have the courage to say, “Brother, could you slow down a bit?” so she just silently gagged to herself while trudging along.

Before long, they arrived in front of Setz’s quarters. Setz fidgeted with the gift she had prepared. If I had known this would happen, I should have just asked Lady Lize to give it to him… But there was no time to regret it now. She had to hand it over before her stomach got any worse. Glancing nervously, Setz carefully called out to Raytan.

“Brother, just a moment….”

“….”

“Ra-Raytan, brother!”

Raytan suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Setz, who had fallen behind. His red eyes glowed like a beast’s in the darkness, making Setz feel a bit intimidated, but she gathered her courage.

“Thank you for escorting me. I really enjoyed the dinner. And, um, I have this….”

Setz took out a small jewelry box from her pocket and opened the lid. Inside was a ruby, no larger than the tip of a finger, nestled in the box. Unable to call for a merchant, she had chosen the most valuable gem among her belongings as a gift.

She had made the decision with a heavy heart. She didn’t know much about life outside the palace, but she figured that selling a gem like this would be enough to live on for a few months. But for now, she felt it was more important to win over his favor to survive, so she had no choice. The high-quality ruby sparkled brilliantly, shining as red as Raytan’s eyes. It wasn’t a bad gift, considering.

“It’s a birthday gift. I thought it looked a lot like your eyes….”

“….”

“I-I know it’s not much, but… it’s the best thing I have to offer….”

“….”

“Brother, I…!”

Before Setz could even finish speaking, Raytan reached out, snatched the jewelry box from her hand… and without even giving it a proper look, he threw it away.

Setz’s wide blue eyes followed the box as it tumbled to the ground. She could do nothing but stare blankly at the floor, her face frozen in shock.

“….”

Setz let out a gasp. It was because of Raytan’s sudden grip on her collar. She looked up at him, her face filled with fear. His cold red eyes gazed down at her with a chilling disdain, the same look he had when he had mercilessly cut her down before.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, you worthless brat,” Raytan spat out.

“Ugh….”

“But you better get this straight—I have no intention of getting close to someone like you.”

“Wh-why… why….”

Setz stuttered, her voice trembling. Raytan didn’t answer at first but suddenly yanked her head closer with his other hand. It hurt—a lot. So much that tears welled up in Setz’s eyes.

“Blonde hair, blue eyes. All the people in this palace look the same like they’re all inbred bastards.”

“R-Raytan, brother….”

“I know exactly how the royal scum thinks of us. And you’re no different, are you? So why? Why even bother?”

“….”

“I hate people like you. More than you could ever hate me. To the point where I want to kill you all!”

Is that really my fault? What did I ever do to him to deserve this…? We’re both just wretched beings, treated like trash…

Of course, Setz didn’t dare say any of this out loud. She wasn’t ready to die just yet.

“Filthy things,” Raytan muttered as he roughly let go of Setz’s collar, shaking his hand off as if he’d touched something repulsive. Setz staggered back, gasping for breath.

“Get lost.”

But then…

I think I’m really going to throw up…

Losing her balance, Setz’s head fell right into the space just below Raytan’s chest. And then…

“…Ugh.”

“What?”

“Bleeaagh!”

It happened in an instant. The vomit that Setz had been desperately holding down came gushing out like a waterfall. As she stared at Raytan’s clothes, now soaked and steaming from the mess, only one thought crossed Setz’s mind.

I’m done for.

“….”

“….”

A chilling silence settled between the two of them. Setz slowly raised her head and glanced up at Raytan.

Raytan didn’t move an inch. He looked like someone who couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened. Maybe he was too stunned, or perhaps it was a mix of both…

Not knowing what else to do, Setz nervously started to wipe off the mess on Raytan’s clothes with her sleeve. Of course, it didn’t help at all—in fact, it made things even worse. This is really bad. With a face as pale as a sheet, Setz stammered out in a shaky voice.

“I-I’m so… so sorry….”

“….”

“This is not… what I meant to do—”

But then, Raytan suddenly shoved Setz away.

“Kyaa!”

Setz screamed as she fell backward, and Raytan glared at her as if he wanted to kill her. Is he going to kill me now? Just because I threw up on him? Setz was so terrified that even her fingers were trembling. But Raytan neither killed her nor hit her. Instead, he muttered something that sounded like “damn it” or “stupid girl,” and then he just walked away by himself.

“….”

Setz remained frozen, watching Raytan’s back until he disappeared into the distance. Or rather, she couldn’t move. She was too scared that he might suddenly turn around and come running back at her. But when Raytan finally vanished, Setz let out a long breath of relief.

“I-I almost died.”

To be honest, she was surprised. She had expected him to hit her. Frankly, she wouldn’t have been shocked if he’d slapped her a couple of times. Well, it was a relief, but… it seemed like her original goal of winning his favor had definitely gone out the window.

…No, it’s okay. There will be another chance. Setz tried to comfort herself with that thought.

At least throwing up had eased her stomach. She picked up the jewelry box and the ruby that had rolled across the floor and stood up. The tension left her all at once, making her feel utterly exhausted. All she wanted now was to go back, take a shower, and change out of her soiled clothes. Although she was worried that Raytan might back out of teaching her Khazakian, she decided to leave that worry for tomorrow.

***

Luna examined Setz thoroughly when she returned to her quarters, checking her from every angle. Then she exclaimed, “Princess! Something definitely happened to you! Oh my, just look at how pale you are!”

Setz tried her best to explain. She insisted it was just an upset stomach, that Raytan hadn’t done anything to her. In fact, she added, he had even escorted her all the way back to her quarters. Technically, that wasn’t a lie. Luna seemed stunned by this unexpected statement, staring at Setz with wide eyes for quite some time.

“Really, nothing happened, right?” Luna asked again, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Then, noticing the jewelry box in Setz’s hand, she tilted her head curiously. Setz brushed it off, saying that since it was a birthday gift, she felt it was too insignificant and decided to bring it back with her.

Setz thought that explanation would be enough to reassure Luna, but Luna continued to look at her as if she were a fugitive on the run. Then she asked another question: did anyone else show up at the gathering? Other than Raytan, Lize, and Setz, the only other person who had appeared was Osun, and that was just to relay a message from the Emperor.

“So it was the same again this year,” Luna said, clicking her tongue in disapproval. It turned out that the Emperor always summoned Lize to his quarters on Raytan’s birthday. He didn’t usually bother, except on this specific day, and for two main reasons: first, because he didn’t want to see Raytan in person, and second, because he disapproved of Lize hosting a birthday party for him.

When Luna mentioned that even the small, lackluster birthday party, where Setz was the only guest, had only started a few years ago, Setz couldn’t help but feel that Raytan was even more pitiful than she was.

Luna’s face grew more worried when she heard that Osun had been there. When Setz asked why, Luna explained that Osun was close to Setz’s biological mother, Yerna. But then again, was there anyone in this palace who wasn’t close to her mother?

Luna was fretting about the possibility of Yerna finding out that Setz had attended Raytan’s birthday party, but Setz didn’t think much of it. Of course, if Yerna found out, Setz would get beaten like a dog in the street. In the past, she might have trembled in fear at the thought, but not anymore. Now, she wasn’t afraid. It was just a beating, after all, nothing she couldn’t endure.

What Setz didn’t know, however, was that this time it wouldn’t be just a few blows—it would be a beating as brutal as a dog being kicked in the street.

***

Yerna showed up early in the morning.

“You wretched girl!”

Smack. Setz, who was groggily getting out of bed, was knocked back onto it by the force of the slap. Her cheek stung.

“How dare you disrespect me—how dare you go to celebrate that scoundrel Raytan’s birthday?!”

Yerna’s hand grabbed Setz’s shining blonde hair in an instant. She was yanked by the hair, thrown aside, rolled off the bed, and landed on the floor.

“Lady Yerna!”

Luna rushed into the room, her face pale with shock. She cautiously stepped between Yerna and Setz, who was still cradling her stinging cheek.

“Please, calm down… please….”

Setz looked up at Luna’s back, shielding her from Yerna. In her past life, at this age, Setz had been terrified of Yerna’s violence. Luna had always protected her in situations like this. But things were different now. After all, she had died and come back to life!

Of course, getting hit wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t unbearable either. Setz was used to being beaten, after all.

“Luna! You’re just as much to blame, you worthless thing!”

Yerna slapped Luna this time. Setz frowned. She didn’t mind being hit herself, but she didn’t want Luna to suffer because of her. Just as Luna had done for her before, Setz positioned herself in front of Luna, protecting her.

“Mother, I’m the one at fault… please punish me and not Luna—!”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence because Yerna’s kick landed mercilessly in her stomach. Setz let out a choked gasp, clutching her midsection. Yerna, showing no pity for her daughter, glared down at Setz with a fury in her eyes that made her look like an enraged beast.

“As if Lize wasn’t already disrespecting me enough, now you’re joining her in mocking me!”

Yerna’s rage was clearly fueled by Setz’s association with “that cursed Lize” and “that damned Raytan.” It was obvious—Yerna had always hated them, and she didn’t care much for Setz either. From her perspective, the sight of those detestable people banding together must have felt like a slap in the face. It was understandable that she felt betrayed.

Yerna was a woman of great ambition, and her ambitions were matched by her insecurities. The Emperor favored Lize, the “vulgar woman,” who bore him a son, while Yerna only managed to give birth to a daughter. If the Emperor had even visited Yerna a few times a year, she might not have treated Setz like dirt.

Although Yerna had entered the palace before Lize, she never received much attention from the Emperor, which meant she couldn’t bear his child for many years. When Yerna finally did get pregnant, it was considered nothing short of a miracle.

Several years after entering the palace, for the first time since their wedding night, Yerna had managed to catch the Emperor in a drunken state, and that’s when she conceived. The child she bore was a daughter.

“Still, isn’t a princess better than a cursed son? Daughters aren’t so bad, really. Marry them off to a good family, and they can be quite useful,” some people would occasionally offer words of consolation.

But upon hearing such comments, Yerna would lash out at Setz even more fiercely, calling her all sorts of names for not being visibly pretty, for her lack of sociability, and for her clumsy speech.

Of course, these criticisms were largely due to the abuse Setz had suffered. Yerna’s mistreatment had stunted Setz’s growth, and when she was younger, she even developed social anxiety, depression, and selective mutism. In Yerna’s eyes, Setz was just a “useless, incompetent girl.”

Someone once said that when a person’s ambitions exceed what reality allows, they are consumed by rage and seek someone to take it out on. For Yerna, that someone was her own daughter, Setz.

“I thought you were holed up in the palace reading books, but now I hear you’ve been making eyes at that wretch Raytan?!”

But I’m only twelve years old… isn’t that a little too young to be “making eyes” at anyone? Setz thought absurdly, even in the midst of her pain.

“And of all places, at Lize’s palace, with that scoundrel Raytan!”

“Mother, I—I’m sorry…”

“If anyone finds out you’re associating with Raytan, it’ll come back to bite me too! You foolish girl!”

Ah, so that’s what this was all about. Setz thought to herself. Yerna wasn’t entirely wrong. The Emperor didn’t like Raytan, and anyone close to him would inevitably draw suspicion. Given that she already struggled to gain even a glance of favor from the Emperor, it wasn’t surprising that Yerna was terrified of falling out of his favor entirely.

“I… I didn’t think that far ahead. I was just lonely, being in the palace all by myself…”

“If you’re bored, why don’t you just keep staring at your books like you always do!”

It was clear that no excuse would satisfy Yerna. In situations like this, the best strategy was simply to take the beating in silence. Trying to say anything might only make her angrier and lead to a worse punishment. Years of experience had taught Setz that well.

Setz endured the merciless beating, tears streaming down her face. Of course, those tears were just an act. Luna, however, looked utterly distressed, clenching her teeth and getting up to try to stop Yerna. But Setz reached out and firmly grabbed the hem of Luna’s dress.

“….”

Their eyes met in the air, and Setz mouthed the words silently:

“Don’t. I’m okay.”

Luna’s eyes went wide with shock, but Setz remained still, taking the blows from Yerna in silence.

“If you ever do something like this again, I’ll break your legs, you hear me?!”

This threat was Yerna’s usual refrain. In other words, it meant the beating was almost over. When Setz lifted her head slightly, she saw Yerna, her hair disheveled and panting, glaring down at her. As Setz looked at her mother, she thought, She’ll probably leave now that she’s exhausted…

“Ahhhh!”

Setz screamed as Yerna grabbed her hair again. Was she not done yet? Did she still intend to hit her? Setz was caught off guard and confused when suddenly…

Her face slammed into the bedpost.

“No, Princess!!”

Setz heard Luna’s scream as she dazedly raised her head. Drip, drip, drip… She felt a thick substance trickling from her nose. It was blood. Her nose was bleeding heavily.

“….”

Yerna seemed a bit taken aback herself as if she hadn’t meant to go that far. But of course, she wasn’t the type to apologize or offer comfort. Yerna shot a last furious glare at both Luna, who was now pale with shock, and Setz, who sat there stunned, before storming out of the room.

“Good, now you won’t be able to leave the palace in that state! You brought this on yourself!” she spat out as she left.

“P-Princess…,” Luna’s voice was trembling with emotion. Setz didn’t answer; she just stared blankly at the blood soaking into the carpet. Yerna was right—there was no way she could leave the palace looking like this. But today, she had to meet Raytan. It was the first day he was supposed to teach her Khazakian.

“Princess, let me call for the doctor right away…”

“Is Mother gone?”

“…What?”

“She’s really gone, right?”

Luna seemed to think Setz was asking out of fear, so she quickly got up and went to check the hallway.

“Yes, she’s gone. So please, relax and let’s get you to bed… Princess?”

Luna’s eyes widened in surprise as she saw Setz suddenly tearing the hem of her own dress. Setz rolled up the fabric and stuffed it roughly into her nostrils to stop the bleeding.

“Luna, I’m just going out for a little while,” Setz said.

“Princess! What do you mean by that?! Didn’t you hear what Lady Yerna said?!”

Luna’s face had turned so pale that she looked like she might faint at any moment. Setz felt a bit guilty for making Luna worry so much for two days in a row, but she knew there was no other choice. After quickly tidying up her disheveled hair, Setz took Luna’s hands in hers and spoke in a calm, steady voice.

“I’m really fine, Luna. You don’t need to worry. This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?”

“Princess…?”

“And thank you, truly. But next time, please don’t try to shield me like that. I can handle getting hit, but I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“….”

“It’s almost noon, so Mother has probably gone to her tea time. That means no one will come looking for me until at least the afternoon. I promise I’ll be back before evening.”

With those words, Setz said, “I’ll be back, Luna,” and then rushed out of the room. Left behind, Luna stood there with a dazed expression, unsure of what to make of it all. Is this really the Princess I know? she wondered.

But where on earth is she planning to go…

As Luna sat there in stunned silence, her mouth fell open. It suddenly hit her that Setz hadn’t told her where she was going.