The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 8

“Princess Setz!”

Luna rushed forward and grabbed Setz, pulling her back.

The sudden appearance of this unexpected intruder caused the “dogfight” to come to an abrupt halt. Of course, even amid the chaos, Raytan continued to slap Bern’s face relentlessly.

“What are you all doing, just standing there? Stop him!” Lillian screamed, and a few of the group rushed to grab Raytan around the waist, finally pulling him off Bern.

Raytan’s eyes, burning with a fiery rage, glared at the group in front of him as if he was ready to kill them all. The fight that had been momentarily paused was on the verge of reigniting.

“Prince, princesses! Please, stop this!” Luna’s voice trembled as she called out.

She had no idea what was going on, but at the very least, she had to prevent the fight from breaking out again. Luna’s gaze shifted to Bern, who was lying on the ground. She knew that Bern was the leader of this group, so to truly end this situation, she had to get Bern out of there first.

Luna cautiously extended her hand toward Bern.

“Bern, let me help you up—ahhh!”

Poor Luna didn’t even get to finish her sentence before she was shoved to the ground. Bern had suddenly sprung up and forcefully pushed her away.

“…….”

Standing tall, Bern glared at Raytan with a murderous gaze, and Raytan returned the look, just as intense. The two of them stared each other down, their eyes like icy daggers. Setz joined in too, standing behind Raytan and glaring at Bern with all her might. We were minding our own business. You were the ones who started this!

“Filthy lowborn scum,” Bern spat out.

He muttered a string of curses about how disgusting they were and how pathetic their existence was. Then he spun on his heel and stormed out of the library. Lillian and the rest of the group, looking stunned, followed him out. Of course, they didn’t leave without one last insult; Lillian spat on the ground, and several others echoed Bern’s foul language as they left.

And just like that, only Raytan, Setz, and Luna remained in the library.

“Princess Setz… what in the world….”

Now that the tension had finally broken, Luna reached out to Setz, her hands trembling. Setz had already been beaten mercilessly by Yerna that morning, and she looked like a mess before this fight even started. Now, her condition was beyond terrible—utterly and completely ruined.

Her hair was a tangled mess, looking like a bundle of straw, and her dress was torn in several places, practically in tatters. Her face, well, there was no need to even describe it—bruised, swollen, and battered.

Her nose was still bleeding, and the wad of cloth she’d stuffed into her nostril was soaked with blood, dripping steadily onto the floor. She looked like a painting gone horribly wrong, with red and blue splotches splattered all over her face.

Luna was in shock, completely overwhelmed by the sight in front of her. She looked like she might faint at any moment, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find words.

“Don’t worry, Luna. I’m really okay. See? I’m perfectly fine,” Setz said, trying to reassure her.

But given her current state, no amount of words could make that claim seem even remotely convincing.

Setz turned her head to look at Raytan. Sure, she looked terrible, but he wasn’t much better off either. Although, to be fair, Setz was definitely in worse shape. Raytan’s face was mostly untouched. Despite being struck many times, only his hands seemed to be stained with blood. He must have managed to dodge most of the hits. I guess he’s pretty good at fighting, Setz thought absently, even in this situation.

Then, suddenly, her eyes met Raytan’s. He stared at her with a blank expression, and Setz stared right back.

Ordinarily, she would have quickly looked away, but not today. Even after watching him beat Bern senseless, she wasn’t afraid of him. In fact, instead of fear, she felt a strange sense of camaraderie with him. So, without realizing it, she gave him a small, awkward smile.

Raytan narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was about to say something. But at that moment, Luna reached out and quickly pulled Setz away.

“…….”

Luna instinctively placed herself in front of Setz, shielding her with a protective stance, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at Raytan. It wasn’t out of malice; it was just a reflexive reaction on her part.

Raytan pressed his lips together tightly again, then turned and started walking away on his own.

“Le-Raytan, Brother…,” Setz murmured softly from behind Luna. The sight of his retreating back, shuffling away, looked strangely forlorn. His hand, smeared with blood, swung slightly in the air, catching Setz’s attention. She remembered that Luna had brought something with her earlier… Setz quickly glanced around, searching the ground.

“Princess…?” Luna called out in confusion.

“Just a moment.”

Ah, there it is. Setz spotted the bandage that had fallen to the floor. She picked it up and hurriedly chased after Raytan, who had become a small figure in the distance.

“Brother!”

Raytan stopped in his tracks at her call. Thanks to that, Setz was able to catch up to him quickly.

“You’re bleeding,” she said, pointing at Raytan’s hand as she came up beside him. Raytan didn’t say anything; he just stared at her in silence. After a brief moment of hesitation, Setz gathered her courage and carefully took hold of his bloodstained right hand.

“If you leave it like this, it might get worse.”

Setz began wrapping the bandage around Raytan’s hand. But there was an unexpected problem—she didn’t actually know how to properly wrap a bandage.

…Is it supposed to go like this, or maybe like that? she wondered. Oh well, I’ll just wrap it up any way I can. She ended up winding the bandage haphazardly, and soon Raytan’s hand looked like the bandaged hand of a mummy straight out of a book.

Raytan seemed to frown slightly, then spoke in a low, even voice.

“…It’s not.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s not my blood,” he clarified.

“Oh.”

Oh, I see. Well, you could’ve said that earlier. Of course, Setz didn’t actually say that out loud. She just nodded in acknowledgment.

“…….”

Raytan’s expression suddenly shifted, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on her face. It took Setz a moment to realize why he was staring—her nose was still bleeding. The wad of cloth stuffed into her nostril had completely failed at its job. Warm blood trickled from her nostril, down over her upper lip, and into her mouth, leaving a salty taste.

“Uh, it’s not like I just got hurt now… I kind of hit my face wrong when Mother was…!”

Setz stopped mid-sentence, realizing too late that she’d just accidentally confessed to something she’d tried to cover up earlier with a lie about oversleeping.

But Raytan didn’t seem particularly surprised. He looked as if he already knew, as if this was no news to him.

“Well, um… anyway, it’s weird that it hasn’t stopped bleeding by now… It really should’ve stopped by now….”

“Clean up your own blood,” Raytan said flatly, his face expressionless.

“Stop worrying about me.”

Why does he have to get annoyed even when someone’s worried about him? Setz’s face briefly showed a pout before she wiped the blood off her nose haphazardly with her sleeve.

“Anyway, Brother, thank you for teaching me Khazakian today. I really mean it,” she said.

“…….”

“Of course, I know I’m probably still far from what you’d expect, but I’ll keep trying my best. Okay?”

Raytan didn’t reply. Instead, he abruptly turned around and started walking away. His pace was so quick this time that Setz didn’t even consider trying to catch up. Is it because his legs are so long? She watched his retreating figure, moving away in wide strides, and then she called out loudly.

“You’ll come to the library again tomorrow, right?!”

Of course, there was no response. But Setz kept shouting anyway.

“Tomorrow—I’ll come early and wait for you!”

After cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice, Setz let out a deep breath.

She wasn’t sure if she had really managed to win his favor, as she’d initially intended, but somehow, she felt a sense of relief. She also couldn’t help but smile a little when she thought of how Bern had gotten what he deserved from Raytan. She’d carried a lot of resentment toward Bern for a long time, so recalling the sight of him getting pummeled brought a strange satisfaction.

And it wasn’t just Raytan who hit him! I bit him too! Even though one of my teeth feels a bit loose now, that’s nothing to worry about. And then…

A small smile tugged at Setz’s lips as she remembered how Raytan had helped her when Bern grabbed her by the collar. Of course, Raytan probably only acted because he was furious at Bern for saying they were alike, but still, it was the first time someone had stood up for her and come to her defense.

Maybe that’s why she felt so happy now. Her goal was to win Raytan’s favor, but somehow, it felt like the opposite had happened.

Well, whatever. I feel great, so that’s what matters.

Setz shrugged her shoulders and made her way back to Luna, walking down the now silent corridor that had been so loud moments ago. Luna was still pale and trembling, muttering, “Princess, oh dear… what on earth happened here….”

I’m fine. I’m really fine, see? Setz tried to reassure her by patting her gently, then asked a question.

“By the way, Luna… do you think Brother will come again tomorrow?”

At that, Luna’s face turned even paler, but Setz didn’t seem bothered at all.

***

It seemed like the incident at the library passed without much fuss.

This was unexpected. Setz wouldn’t have been surprised if Bern, Lillian, and their group had gone straight to their mothers to complain that they were beaten up by “that Raytan,” harboring a grudge. But even as the sun set and night fell, the palace remained quiet.

Luna, who heard about what happened before the fight broke out, said, “Well, the ones who started the fight were the princes and princesses anyway,” suggesting that they might let the matter slide without escalating it.

However, Setz thought differently. She believed that Bern was keeping quiet because he was afraid of anyone finding out that he’d been beaten by Raytan. Bern had a lot of pride, after all.

Bern and Lillian—out of all the emperor’s numerous offspring by his concubines, they were the only siblings who shared both parents. Their mother, Yuria, had been the emperor’s favorite concubine before Lize came into the picture.

Yuria Lilant. Yuria came from the most powerful background among the concubines, with the strongest family connections. That was one of the reasons Bern and Lillian could act so recklessly, like wild horses with no regard for hierarchy.

Although Yuria wasn’t the empress, she behaved as if she were. She looked down on everyone, even the other concubines, and had a superiority complex. Of course, it was understandable—Yuria knew very well that she held the most power among the concubines.

That’s why Yerna, Setz’s mother, didn’t like Yuria at all. She absolutely despised her. But then, Lize entered the palace. And as they say, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” With a common rival in Lize, Yerna and Yuria suddenly seemed to get along, at least on the surface. Although, it was clear that it wasn’t sincere.

After Lize appeared, both Yerna and Yuria ended up losing their favor with the emperor. Still, Yuria was in a better position than Yerna. Why? Because she had Bern. As things stood, Bern was the strongest candidate to inherit the throne—the most likely next emperor.

Bern, who had grown up without lacking anything, despised Raytan and Lize, just like his mother Yuria did. While he couldn’t openly torment Lize because of her favor with the emperor, Raytan was a different story. Despite sharing the same father, Bern and Raytan were as different as heaven and earth. So, Raytan ended up being the target for all the resentment meant for Lize.

Bern usually targeted Raytan, while Lillian mostly tormented Setz. It was as if the siblings each had their own favorite toy to play with.

Just like in the library, Raytan faced endless provocation, beatings, and insults. Setz’s situation wasn’t much different. Lillian would hit her across the face or pull her hair just for making eye contact.

When Setz was younger—before she even turned ten—her depression and selective mutism were largely due to Lillian’s bullying.

The person who stood by Setz during those difficult times was Luna. Yerna didn’t care if her daughter lived or died, so the task of looking after Setz fell entirely on Luna. It was thanks to Luna that Setz’s condition eventually improved. Luna was always kind to Setz, even taking beatings from Yerna in her place at times.

So, when Setz mentioned that she planned to learn Khazakian from Raytan, Luna’s reaction was one of sheer panic.

Luna protested, fiercely opposed to the idea. She warned that if Yerna found out, Setz might get beaten until her arms or legs broke. Setz understood her concerns. However, Setz also knew that in five years, the person who would hold her fate in their hands wasn’t Yerna—it was Raytan.

Setz tried to convince Luna, explaining that she genuinely wanted to learn Khazakian, and that Raytan was quite good at it. She also added that she’d received permission from Lize herself.

The mention of Lize seemed to take Luna by surprise. Setz seized the opportunity to plead again.

“I’ll make sure Mother never finds out. And anyway, the incident today will pass quietly, so no one will know that I’m taking lessons from Raytan.”

Even so, Luna still seemed uneasy. “But what if the princes and princesses come back to the library again?” she asked. Her worry wasn’t unfounded. Even though Bern had been thoroughly beaten by Raytan, he wasn’t the type to back down easily. If anything, Bern’s determination to bully and humiliate Raytan would only drive him to return with his group.

“Then I’ll speak to Lize and ask if she can arrange another place for the lessons,” Setz replied after thinking for a moment.