The Tyrant’s Beloved Doll - Chapter 9

Luna sighed but eventually agreed, asking Setz to promise a few things.

First, Setz had to have Luna accompany her whenever she went to and from her lessons with Raytan.

Second, if another incident like this happened, she would stop the lessons immediately.

And lastly, the third condition was that Setz should not get too close to Raytan.

The first two conditions made sense to Setz, but the third was a promise she couldn’t make. The whole point of learning Khazakian was to get closer to Raytan and gain his favor! As Setz hesitated, Luna added softly,

“I know how much you want this, Princess, and I can’t stop you… but I still can’t help worrying. Please, promise me that you won’t get closer to him than necessary. I don’t want you to get hurt because of Raytan, no matter what.”

In the end, Setz had no choice but to agree. If she’d said something like, “But the whole point of these lessons is to get closer to him,” Luna might have really fainted on the spot. Only after hearing Setz’s reluctant answer did Luna finally settle her in for the night and leave.

“Sniff.”

Setz, who had been lying in bed, suddenly sat up. It was because of her nosebleed. She thought it was finally stopping, but then it started up again. It seemed she really had taken a hard hit to her nose.

Luna said to hold it like this. Setz pinched the bridge of her nose, frowning because of the cotton stuffed in her nostrils.

At least the good news was that Setz hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. The swelling from where Yerna had hit her was gradually going down, and the throbbing in her head had stopped. If only this nosebleed would finally stop, that would be great. Letting out a sigh, Setz suddenly thought of Raytan.

Raytan, who had fought alone against more than five people at once. And yet somehow, he hadn’t seemed to get hurt at all… As she recalled Raytan, Setz tilted her head in puzzlement.

He fights so well, so why did he always let himself get beaten up before? Was it really because the rage he’d been holding back for so long exploded after Lize’s death?

If Lize doesn’t die, then maybe Raytan won’t stage a coup either?

“Umm….”

Setz’s expression became serious as she got lost in thought. She tried to think it over carefully, but for some reason, she kept seeing those books on things like political theory that she had spotted in the library so vividly in her mind.

“Hmm….”

Leaning back against the headboard, Setz blinked her eyes. To be honest, she wasn’t sure about anything. Even though she’d gone back to the past, she didn’t know how to prevent Yerna from killing Lize… Setz decided to focus on her immediate goal first: to become closer to Raytan. In the end, her thoughts always seemed to come back to that same conclusion.

Her eyelids grew heavier, slowly starting to close. It had been such a long day, full of so many things, and she was utterly exhausted. Her whole body ached all over. As sleepiness gradually overwhelmed her, Setz, half-asleep, murmured to herself.

What if… Brother doesn’t come tomorrow…?

***

All morning long, everything was chaotic.

After waking up, Setz hurried Luna into an earlier-than-usual bath and even ate breakfast. She dressed herself nicely, too. Knowing all too well how terrible she had looked the day before, today she wanted to present herself in a slightly more respectable manner.

However, her nosebleed kept stopping and then starting again. In the end, despite her efforts to look put together, Setz had no choice but to shove a large wad of cotton into her nostrils.

Luna accompanied Setz as far as the west library. Even before they entered, Luna held Setz back and said:

“You didn’t forget what I told you yesterday, did you?” Setz nodded. Luna said she’d wait there until the tutoring session was over. Even though she could have gone elsewhere, Luna insisted on staying put.

Her intentions were twofold. One, she really meant she would wait until it was over, and two, she was clearly standing guard in case yesterday’s incident repeated itself.

Anyway, Setz went into the library alone.

“……”

Setz reached the window and wore a slightly disappointed expression. There was no one there. Raytan was nowhere to be seen. An uneasy thought crossed her mind. Is he really not coming?

Still, she decided to wait a little longer. Setz crouched by the window and stared blankly at the door. Ten minutes passed, then thirty, yet no one showed up.

Looks like he’s really not coming.

Setz’s face darkened. To be honest, Raytan hadn’t been keen on these tutoring sessions from the start. He only showed up yesterday because of Lize. She knew that well enough. But after they fought together yesterday, she hoped there might be a spark of camaraderie, even if just a little. She felt strangely disappointed.

It wouldn’t even take much time…

Setz muttered under her breath. Honestly, both my brother and I don’t have much to do in the palace anyway… Would it kill him to spare a few hours?

She started feeling that this was a bit unfair. What should I do? Should I go back to Lady Lize and ask her for help again? But then, wouldn’t she think I’m being too clingy?

Just as these thoughts ran through her mind, the door suddenly opened.

“……”

Setz shot to her feet and stared at Raytan as he walked towards her.

“Why are you staring at me like an idiot?”

“Oh, I was just… happy to see you.”

Setz said with an awkward smile. It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“How touching. We just saw each other yesterday.”

“That was yesterday, and today is today!”

“……”

“And then there’s tomorrow… which is tomorrow…”

Setz cautiously checked his reaction. Raytan didn’t say anything; he just stared at her before eventually sitting on the windowsill. In his hand was a familiar book.

“Introduction to Khazaki Language.”

Setz saw the title of the book and couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just felt like smiling… But aren’t we going to the desk today?”

“Do it here.”

Raytan answered indifferently.

“Bring that over.”

Setz’s gaze followed Raytan’s direction to a small desk shoved into a corner. She nodded and began to move the desk. It’s always the one who needs it that has to take the initiative.

Setz dragged the desk and chair over to the window and looked at Raytan with bright eyes. Raytan tossed the book he was holding onto the desk.

“From today, we’re starting on writing.”

At those words, Setz remembered what he had said yesterday. Wasn’t he telling me to write ‘I’m a foolish princess’? Despite his unreasonable demand, she had replied, “I’m not very good at writing.”

“You’ve memorized the consonants and vowels, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then, start solving the problems. I’ll check them in a bit.”

“Yes, sir.”

Setz opened the book and gripped her pen tightly. The problems weren’t particularly difficult—more like entry-level, just as the book’s title suggested. This was something she could handle.

“Hurry up,” Raytan commanded, and Setz quickly began solving the problems.

She felt good about it. Yesterday, he had just tossed the book at her without any proper explanation, but today seemed different. Some might mock them, saying they were just fooling around, but to Setz, this felt like real progress.

The entire time Setz worked on the problems, Raytan stared down at her. His gaze was so intense it was a bit uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Setz kept her focus on solving the problems and soon handed the book back to Raytan for grading.

“……”

Raytan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he checked her answers, while Setz smiled broadly. It felt worth it to have learned Khazaki in advance. She hadn’t gotten a single answer wrong.

“Am I good, or what?”

Setz was so excited that she couldn’t help but boast, something she didn’t usually do.

“I studied this all by myself! On my own!”

Raytan didn’t respond. He simply skimmed through the book with an expressionless face. Still, her enthusiasm wasn’t dampened.

“Luna said so, you know. She said I’m actually really smart.”

“……”

“I’m good at other subjects too. Math, science, you name it… One of my old tutors even said he didn’t expect me to be this talented.”

Once she started bragging, it was like she couldn’t stop. Setz went on and on, as if she were a fish finally finding water.

“So, I really put a lot of effort into my studies. It felt nice to be praised and to think that maybe I’m not entirely useless…”

“……”

“And I thought if I was good at something, even my mother might finally praise me.”

As Setz chattered away, a shadow briefly crossed her face. Yes, that was the reason she’d worked so hard on her studies. As a child, she had been so naively earnest, believing that if she could just excel at something, Yerena might finally pay attention to her.

“When I was about fifteen, I think? I kept at it until then. After that, I gave up, but I guess I’m still somewhat capable.”

“…Fifteen?”

“Huh?”

“You’re twelve years old right now.”

Oh no. Setz slapped her hand over her mouth.

“Oh, did I say fifteen? I-I must have hit my head pretty hard yesterday. I’m saying all sorts of weird things.”

She was grasping at straws.

“Sometimes that happens, you know? When you injure your head… you just start saying nonsense… Ah-choo!”

Setz suddenly sneezed, and her expression froze. The unexpected sneeze launched the cotton wad from her nose like a missile, and with it came a burst of blood. From her nose. She looked like a fire-breathing dragon.

The real problem was that the blood sprayed all over Raytan’s stomach.

“Oh, brother…”

First, it had been vomit; now, it was a nosebleed.

“I’m so sorry…”

As a flustered Setz reached out to gently wipe Raytan’s clothes with her sleeve, he flinched slightly.

“…Brother?”

Setz gave him a puzzled look. Raytan’s face had suddenly twisted in pain. It was a face she had never seen before. He looked like someone who was genuinely hurting. Specifically, it seemed to be the spot on his stomach—right around the solar plexus—where Setz’s hand had accidentally brushed against.

It was then that Setz remembered that Berne had kicked Raytan in the solar plexus yesterday.

“Are you hurt? From yesterday?”

“Don’t touch me.”

“You didn’t call for a doctor? What are you going to do if the wound gets worse?”

“I said, don’t touch me!”

Raytan snapped, swatting Setz’s hand away, and then let out a small groan of pain.

Setz had thought he wasn’t hurt at all. Faced with this unexpected situation, she started to feel a strange sense of guilt.

If I hadn’t intervened yesterday, the fight might not have escalated like that. He probably would’ve just taken a few hits and that’d be it. Somehow, Raytan’s injury felt like it was her fault.

“Brother, can’t you let me see it just once?” Setz pleaded with the saddest expression she could muster. “I’m just worried…”

“Worry about your own nosebleed.”

Oh, right. Luckily, Luna had packed a few more cotton wads for her. Setz quickly pulled one out of her bag and stuffed it back up her nose, then looked back at Raytan.

“Or should I call a doctor for you?”

“I said no.”

“But…”

Setz reached out again with a worried look.

“Get that away from me!”

Riiip. Suddenly, there was an awkward tearing sound. The noise was from Raytan’s shirt ripping apart. That wasn’t what she’d meant to do—she had only tried to gently pull on his side. If Raytan hadn’t overreacted and smacked her hand away, this wouldn’t have happened.