The Tyrant's Beloved Doll

Chapters 23-24

Chapter 23: Yulia, Lise, And Yerena

The fiasco in the West Library surprisingly passed without further incident. No one had made a fuss about it.

Sezh had been absolutely certain that retribution was headed her way. She told herself she wouldn't be surprised if Bern, Lilian, and their minions told their mothers that they had been beaten by Raytan and that Sezh had joined in on the fight.

But there had been no retaliation from Bern and Lili's faction, and the Imperial Palace was peaceful even at night. Luna heard Sezh's account of the situation before the fight and said, "Well, the princes and princess were the ones who started the fight, anyway."

She meant to imply that the princes and princesses likely did not want to admit responsibility for causing trouble in the West Library, but Sezh believed that they had a different motivation for keeping quiet. In her opinion, Bern was trying to keep the incident in the dark because he was afraid that others would come to know how Raytan had handily trounced him.

Bern was a prideful man. The same could have been said about Lili, who was as arrogant as her brother.

Out of all the numerous children amongst the emperor's concubines, Bern and Lilian were the only true brother and sister pair of siblings. Their biological mother was a woman named Yulia, and she had been the emperor's favorite companion before Lise arrived.

Yulia Leylan.

She commanded the most respect out of all the concubines. Her influence and status were the only reasons why Bern and Lilian were allowed to run amok without anyone to check their movements or hold them back. Though Yulia was not the empress, that did not stop her from acting as if she herself wore the crown.

With a haughty gaze, she often looked down on and ignored anyone she deemed unworthy of her time. She was well aware of the fact that she held the greatest power amongst the concubines and often used it to her advantage. Because of this, Yerena, who was ambitious herself, hated Yulia as well. In fact, she used to despise her with every fiber of her being.

But then, one day, Lise was brought into the Imperial Palace as the emperor's newest concubine. There was an often repeated saying which said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Now that they had a common adversary between them, Yulia and Yerena agreed to a truce and maintained a seemingly good relationship on the outside as if nothing had ever happened between them.

Of course, that was not true at all.

After Lise made her appearance, not only Yerena but Yulia also turned into cold rice in the emperor's eyes.

Yulia's situation, however, was far better than Yerena's since she had Bern, a son. And, as things were currently, Bern was the most powerful and likely candidate to claim the throne and become the next emperor.

Like mother, like son. Bern, who had grown up his entire life without ever knowing want or regret, also hated Raytan and Lise. But since Lise was still loved by the emperor, Bern was unable to harass her directly. Raytan, on the other hand, was an exception.

Even though they shared the same father, Bern and Raytan were like heaven and earth to one another. Their situations were so remarkably different in so many ways, including how much protection they received. As a result, Raytan not only suffered from his status as a cursed child but also received the ire of those who hated Lise. By default, he became the one to take the anger and the blame for any transgressions the concubines alleged against Lise.

While Bern preferred to harass Raytan, Lilian mostly opted to pick on Sezh. Each of Yulia's children had their own, favorite toys.

Raytan was often beaten, cursed, and treated similarly to how he had been during the events leading up to the fight in the West Library. Meanwhile, Sezh's situation did not differ greatly from his. Lilian often yanked Sezh's hair and struck her across the face just for daring to meet her eyes.