The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 66

Setz quietly waited for his answer.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Brother?”

“I’m not… sad enough for you to worry.”

“…”

“I don’t… feel sad.”

[I’ve never taught that child how to feel sadness.]

Lize’s voice suddenly echoed in Setz’s mind.

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

“I’ve never been given permission to feel sad.”

[Such a weak son… I don’t need him. Raytan knows that well.]

With those words, Raytan lowered his head. It was as if he already knew everything Lize truly thought of him.

As if that’s why he couldn’t allow himself to feel sadness.

Not that he didn’t feel it.

“Brother, to be honest… I don’t understand. There’s so much I don’t know.”

He raised his head and looked at her. His crimson eyes wavered slightly.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and I don’t know what I can do. But…”

“…”

“I don’t like that you can’t even feel sad.”

She meant it. She had no idea what was happening, but she didn’t want him to look like this. Like she’d said just the other day—

It hurt to see him wear such a broken expression, unable to cry, unable to grieve.

“If you need permission to feel sad… I’ll give it to you.”

“…What?”

“Then it’ll be okay, won’t it?”

Setz stood on her tiptoes and, with some difficulty, wrapped her arms around Raytan, who towered over her.

Her small, pale hands gently patted his broad back. Raytan flinched slightly but didn’t push her away.

“…”

His hands hovered in the air before they slowly came to rest on Setz’s back. He hesitated, then pulled her into a tight embrace, leaving no space between them.

“Setz.”

Raytan’s low voice trembled.

“No matter how much things change… you won’t change, right?”

No matter how much changes, this feeling won’t change.

Setz remembered the letter she had written to him.

“Answer me… Setz.”

Raytan, with his head buried in Setz’s shoulder, spoke as if urging her for a response.

…Will I remain unchanged? Even if everything I know happens exactly the same way? Instead of answering Raytan, Setz asked herself.

But the answer was already clear.

“…Yes.”

She would never forget Raytan’s kindness, his consideration, and his warmth. Even if the future she knew unfolded again, the gratitude she felt toward him… would never fade.

Even if it meant leaving him.

“I will.”

Just as Raytan had embraced her tightly, Setz held him close. And in that moment, she thought to herself.

The only choice I can make now…

Is to leave the palace.

***

A guest arrived late that night.

“It’s truly unfortunate, Prince Raytan.”

In the small reception room of Lize’s now-empty palace, a man’s voice quietly filled the space.

Raytan didn’t respond. He merely stared at the man’s snake-like, deceitful eyes, exposed clearly in the flickering firelight.

“I knew Lady Lize’s health was failing, but I never expected her to pass so suddenly. What a tragic loss.”

“…Thank you for your words,” Raytan replied with a slight, mocking smile.

It was laughable. If this man had truly wanted to express his condolences, he would have come during the day, not at such a late hour.

The transparency of his intentions made Raytan smirk.

“But it’s such a shame. Someone so favored, and yet such a modest funeral. Had she held on just a little longer, she could have enjoyed many privileges—both in life and in death.”

Raytan didn’t answer.

“Or perhaps… things happened out of order.”

“…”

“Maybe Lady Lize’s death itself was meant to secure your path to greatness, Prince. Don’t you think?”

“I always wondered where your daughter got her habit of speaking in riddles. Now I see it’s from you.”

Raytan’s voice was cold as he spoke.

“What is it you want to say, Duran Regent?”

There was no trace of the politeness he had previously shown. His crimson eyes gleamed sharply, and the aura he exuded was icy.

Duran Regent liked men like this.

Men who resembled him.

“Nothing much. But… a deal should be sealed clearly, don’t you think?”

“A deal.”

Raytan chuckled.

“You’ll get the soldiers you need. Whether you want a surplus or just enough, I’ll make sure you have what’s required for your great cause.”

“And?”

“Give me your word. When the coup succeeds…”

“I’ll take Caroline Regent as my Empress, and elevate you to the position of Father of the Nation?”

“Yes.”

Duran Regent smiled in satisfaction.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Prince. But—”

“You’re quite impatient, Duran Regent.”

There was a hint of mockery in Raytan’s low voice.

“Before making a deal, shouldn’t you make sure your priorities are in order first?”

“…”

“Becoming Emperor comes first.”

Raytan’s voice was cold and steady.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know that you’ve been making contingency plans behind my back, just in case?”

Duran Regent bit his lip.

He was a cunning and ruthless man, quick with his calculations. The only reason he was helping Raytan was simple: if the coup succeeded, Raytan could offer him far more than Bern could.

But if the coup failed?

Duran had a plan for that, too.

The first step of the coup was to assassinate the Emperor. Whether it succeeded or failed, the Emperor would die.

Duran had already forged an imperial decree, stating that Raytan’s actions had become suspicious and that he was to be closely monitored.

If the coup failed, that decree would become his lifeline.

He planned to claim that he had known about Raytan’s plot all along and had lent soldiers and gathered information on the Emperor’s orders to trap him.

If the coup went awry, the soldiers he had lent to Raytan would turn their swords against him without hesitation.

And Duran would switch sides to support Bern.

“You’re not the only one with a brain, Duran Regent.”

“…”

“If you wanted a firm promise from me, you should have made sure I could trust you completely. Isn’t that right?”

“…Your Highness.”

“How bold of you, to demand a guarantee that I’ll take your daughter as Empress when you’ve been playing both sides.”

Raytan’s blood-red eyes glared at him with an intensity that could have swallowed him whole.

Anyone else would have been terrified. Anyone else.

“…I was puzzled as to why Caroline, who had no interest in men, suddenly took an interest in you, but now I see the reason.”

But Duran Regent wasn’t just anyone.

“I won’t ask for a definite answer right now. Since Your Highness is already aware of everything, I’ll be honest as well.”

Raytan’s eyes glinted sharply.

“I won’t intervene directly. I’ll simply lend you my soldiers. Do you understand?”

It was a clear statement—he would continue walking the tightrope.

“How unsurprisingly blunt.”

Raytan sneered.

“I don’t need your direct help. Just give me the soldiers, and that’s enough.”

Duran Regent chuckled softly. The prince was even more reckless and audacious than he had anticipated.

But it would work out better this way. Raytan was much better than those inept fools who couldn’t do anything on their own yet sought to become Emperor.

And Duran Regent had nothing to lose.

“Very well. I’ll do as you wish, Your Highness.”

Duran Regent smirked, and Raytan, his face cold and expressionless, looked down at him in silence.

It didn’t matter whether she found a seventy-year-old man or an eighty-year-old man for her.

Soon, everyone would be dead.

Even Yerna.

If Setz stayed in the palace, she would meet the same fate.

Should I tell her to flee?

After all, Yerna was still her birth mother. Even though giving birth to Setz was the only thing she had ever done for her.

“…Mother.”

Yerna’s face reflected in Setz’s empty blue eyes. As always, she was adorned in extravagant clothes and jewels.

If any powerful noble or royal approached her, Yerna would quickly put on her most charming face and offer a polite, thoughtful response.

But she had never once shown Setz that warmth.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever…?”

Setz’s dry lips parted weakly.

“Have you ever loved me, even once?”

Setz already knew the answer. Even if Yerna said, “Yes, I love you,” it would be a lie.

But she wanted to hear the lie.

If Yerna lied, Setz would tell her to run. To somehow get out while she still could.

But Yerna didn’t lie.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”