The Tyrant's Beloved Doll

Chapters 27-28

Chapter 27: Lise's Palace

Raytan had been a surprisingly meticulous instructor today. Before he left, he even gave Sezh an assignment to practice writing her wrong answers correctly ten times each. Although he did tell her she didn't have to complete the extra assignment if she didn't want to, she readily accepted the challenge anyway.

Luna had worried that the other princes and princesses led by Bern and Lilian would soon visit the West Library again to seek revenge. But when Sezh informed her that Raytan said she would be studying at Lise's palace from now on, Luna finally breathed a sigh of relief and was overjoyed to hear the news. Sezh also was excited and curious about how the tutoring sessions would be conducted over there.

Is there a dedicated study room in Lise's palace?

Aside from changing the venue of their meetings, the fact that Raytan was also giving her homework now showed that he did care more about their interactions and that they were becoming closer when compared to before.

After she returned to her palace, Sezh set about completing all the difficult homework problems he had assigned her as well as the extra assignment to correct her work from earlier. The additional work did give her a bit of a headache, but she truly enjoyed the rewarding sense of accomplishment she felt every time she successfully finished another task.

Moreover, Sezh recalled how Raytan had reacted when she had presented her work to him. Upon realizing that she had answered his questions correctly, he had looked at her as if he was surprised by her growth. She couldn't explain why, but his recognition made her feel strangely happy and validated. Life was mysterious in that way. No one would ever recognize her for what she did, but Raytan did.

Sezh roused early the next morning and readied herself to head over to Lise's palace. She made sure to review yesterday's lessons twice and checked over her homework thrice in preparation for today's meeting. All the while, her nose irritated her. It had been acting up and bleeding again since the morning. Luna surmised that the blood vessels in Sezh's nose might have been weakened from her repeated injuries, so the healing process was taking longer than usual. In the meantime, she plugged her nostrils with more wads of cotton to stem the blood flow.

The thought that she might encounter Lise while sporting such an ungainly appearance somehow bothered Sezh, because she didn't want to seem so unsightly in front of Lise who was always so elegant and beautiful.

"..."

As she arrived at the path leading to Lise's palace, Sezh furtively glanced around to check if the grounds were clear for her to enter. Thinking back on Raytan's instructions from yesterday, she realized that he had never explicitly told her where exactly to meet, only to, "Come to my mother's palace." Fortunately, none of the guards stopped Sezh as she entered the abode. Raytan must have informed the guards in advance to expect her arrival.

But where should I go now?

She stopped in the middle of the palace's main hallway as she deliberated with herself, unable to decide which direction she should proceed toward next. As she worriedly looked from side to side, a familiar and melodic voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Good morning, Princess Sezh."

Sezh turned her head towards the voice's owner.

"Oh, Lady Lise."

The young princess picked up her skirts and curtsied, politely greeting Lise with the same grace she had shown her. Secretly, Sezh had hoped that they wouldn't meet since she didn't want Lise to see her looking so absurd with cotton stuffed up her nose, but there was no helping it now. Sezh's cheeks flushed, and she shut her eyes tightly in embarrassment. As soon as she mustered up the courage to open them again, she took in Lise's appearance but noticed that something was peculiar about her today. While she still looked as radiant as ever, the aura surrounding her felt slightly different from the normally angelic demeanor she carried. Her light purple dress was slightly disheveled, and her face bore some marks of exhaustion. She seemed like she hadn't slept well.