The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 64

“…”

“I’m really sorry, but… I was worried about you, Lady Lize. That’s why I came.”

She couldn’t tell Lize everything Yerna had said. This was the best she could do.

“I’m truly sorry for causing you trouble…”

“Why?”

“…Pardon?”

“Why are you worried about me, Princess?”

Setz looked startled by the sudden question.

“Well… because I like you, Lady Lize…”

“…”

“And if something happens to you, my brother would be very sad… I don’t want—”

Setz froze mid-sentence. Lize had suddenly burst out laughing.

She laughed as if she found it genuinely amusing. Setz had never seen her laugh like this before.

“I’ve thought this for a while, but Princess Setz, you’re truly an amusing person.”

“Lady Lize…?”

“Maybe that’s why Raytan feels the same way.”

Amused by someone who can’t even take care of herself but still worries about others. Lize chuckled.

“And I never taught that child how to feel sadness.”

Her laughter vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold expression as if her face had turned to ice.

“He only listens to me, so he wouldn’t feel an emotion I never taught him.”

Setz stared blankly. That couldn’t be true. She still vividly remembered Raytan’s face, muttering about the smell of blood.

“I have no need for such a weak son. Raytan knows that well.”

“…”

“So, stop with those foolish concerns.”

Today, Lize seemed like a different person. Everything about her was unfamiliar. The crazed laughter, the icy expression… Setz couldn’t find the words to respond and simply stared, before snapping back to reality.

First, I need to take the poisoned liquor that Mother gave her.

“What kind of liquor did my mother give you?”

There were several bottles on the floor. She couldn’t tell which one was the poison.

“I know this might sound strange, but… I really have to take it with me. So, please…”

Lize looked at the flustered Setz for a moment, then picked up a blue bottle from the floor and handed it to her.

Setz quickly took it. Through the pungent smell, she saw the red wine sloshing inside.

“Is that enough now?”

Lize asked with a calm expression, and Setz nodded.

“Yes, yes… I’m sorry for troubling you so late…”

It was done. Setz clutched the bottle tightly and bowed to Lize. She couldn’t burden someone so ill any further; it was time to leave.

“I’ll be going now. Please rest well, Lady Lize.”

There was no reply. Setz gave her one last look before turning to leave.

“Princess.”

At the soft call, Setz turned around.

“Come closer.”

Closer, even closer. Lize’s unusual request made Setz hesitate, but she walked toward her.

“Princess, shall I tell you… a secret?”

“A secret…?”

“Yes. If you’ll allow it, Princess.”

Setz hesitated, then nodded.

Lize’s frail, skeletal hand lightly grasped Setz’s neck and pulled her closer.

Then, in a low voice, Lize whispered something into Setz’s ear.

“…”

Setz’s wide blue eyes, filled with shock, met Lize’s gleaming emerald eyes in midair.

“You should go now.”

Lize spoke softly.

“L-Lady Lize…?”

What did I just hear? Setz looked dazed.

“I’m tired. I think I should rest now.”

The firmness in Lize’s voice left Setz with no room to ask anything further. All she could do was tighten her grip on the bottle she was holding.

“Please, be careful on your way.”

Lize said once more. Setz had no choice but to turn and leave.

The sound of her footsteps slowly faded, and Lize was left completely alone.

Engulfed in the silence, Lize picked up the black bottle and poured the liquor into a new glass.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she drank.

***

Lize’s bedroom was quiet.

Everything looked the same as usual—the window bathed in moonlight, the neatly arranged bedding.

Everything, except for Lize, who had collapsed onto the floor like a rag doll.

“…Mother.”

There was no response. Raytan slowly bent down. His trembling hand reached out.

“Ray…tan.”

Lize lifted her head and looked at her son, freezing Raytan’s hand in midair.

She was smiling.

Even as she lay dying.

It was the first time Raytan had ever seen her smile like that. He had never seen her genuinely joyful before.

This was the first time.

And it would also be the last.

“Help me… sit up.”

Raytan carefully supported Lize, but he couldn’t even lay her down on the bed. All he could do was help her sit, leaning against the edge of the mattress.

“Everything… is done now.”

“…”

“The only thing left… is your part.”

“I… understand.”

“The Emperor will die soon. Remember… before Bern takes the throne…”

“I know that, too.”

Raytan’s face twisted slightly. Even as she was dying, all she could think of was revenge. There was no trace of any other emotions.

No regrets about life, no sorrow, no longing. And… no feelings for her son.

Perhaps it was only natural. Lize had lived her entire life for this moment.

“All this time… I’ve constantly wondered,” Lize said with a low laugh. “Why, with this body that should have died long ago, I’ve held on so tenaciously.”

“There was only one answer.”

“…What is it? That answer.”

“God’s… will.”

“…”

“He gave me the strength… to carry out my revenge. Even with this wretched body.”

Raytan remained silent.

“The moment I saw you… I knew. Everything had been predestined. Everything is God’s…”

Lize couldn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she let out a groan. Cough. With a dry cough, bright red blood spurted out.

Baron Aint, General Haydn, and countless others.

The scent of Lize’s blood, just like theirs, splattered warmly across Raytan’s face.

“Kh… Kkgh…”

Lize clutched her chest, gasping for breath. Her insides were burning, and her blood was boiling as if it were on fire. She could barely breathe, and the pain, indescribable, finally began to dull.

But for Lize, even that was a blessing.

Because now, everything was truly coming to an end.

“…Mother.”

Raytan’s face was twisted in anguish as he looked at Lize. He kept calling out to her. Mother. Mother.

“Raytan.”

Her cold hand reached up to caress Raytan’s face.

Then that hand weakly tugged at the hem of his shirt.

With a soft sound, the buttons of his black shirt scattered as it fell open slightly. Lize’s gaze shifted to Raytan’s left shoulder.

Her bloodied lips curved into a faint smile.

“Ray… tan.”

Lize rested her forehead against his left shoulder, breathing heavily with great difficulty.

“I’m listening. Please, say something.”

Raytan responded with a somber expression, hoping for any words. Not as a tool, but person to person.

As a mother, to her son.

“Remember… clearly. Always remember. Those who oppressed us. The ones who dragged me here and violated me.”

“…”

“And… look at me now…”

Her emerald eyes gleamed fiercely. It wasn’t from the moonlight streaming in through the window, nor was it from any lingering attachment to life.

It was purely madness.

“Even after drinking poison and striking your stomach countless times, you didn’t die… because it was for this moment…”

Lize’s hand slipped weakly. Her head fell forward.

Raytan reached out with trembling hands to hold his mother’s shoulders.

Suddenly, blood gushed to the floor with a sickening sound, and the overwhelming scent of blood filled the room.

But Lize, with the last of her strength, grabbed Raytan’s wrist tightly.

“Don’t…”

She raised her head to look at him. Her face was ashen, her breath faint as though it could stop at any moment, yet she still finished her final words.

“Disappoint… me.”

Her sharp nails dug into Raytan’s wrist.

“Even in death… I will be watching… everything.”

And that was the end.

Lize slumped in Raytan’s arms, motionless.

The hand that had gripped his wrist so tightly fell limply to the floor. Blood began to bead and drip from the nail marks she had left behind.

Raytan reached out, lifted Lize, and rose from his spot.

Her body, as light as a feather, little more than skin and bones, was gently laid on the bed. Raytan covered her with a blanket, though she would no longer feel the cold, and wiped the blood from her lips.

She looked as though she had simply fallen asleep.

“…Mother.”

Raytan’s voice was low and heavy.

“You can finally… rest now.”