Chapter 8

***

“Sorry for being late, I really tried not to be, but...”

Sez paused as she couldn’t come up with a proper excuse. She couldn’t just tell him the truth that she was beaten by her mother. Sez rolled her eyes for a moment before deciding to go with the most common excuse.

“I overslept.”

“Overslept?”

Rayton let out a wry laugh, almost speechless.

“By the way you look right now, you must have some bad sleeping habits. Oversleep one more time and it might kill you.”

Sez realized much too late that she only cared about showing up here and had given no thought to how awful she looked.

‘I thought it was just some swollen cheeks and a minor nosebleed? Yeah, my mother went further than usual, but I shouldn’t look that different...’

Sez turned her sights to the window next.

The clean window showed Sez just how monstrous her face looked. Her cheeks were swollen, and her nose too. Actually, her whole face was swollen...

As if that wasn’t bad enough, blood stained the areas around her mouth and a nasty bruise was forming on her forehead. It looked like she got it when she was slammed against the bed pole. It wouldn’t take a professional to know how horribly she was beaten. Even Sez was a little surprised as she never had been beaten like this before.

“I-I can study. Really!”

Sez stuttered. She was worried that Rayton might use this as an excuse to escape their study session.

"My head is still intact... it doesn’t even hurt that much! So, you don't have to worry...”

"Worried?" Rayton ridiculed her. "Do I look worried to you?"

Sez pouted her lips.

'Why you’d bring it up then? You could’ve just pretended like you didn’t see anything... unless all you want to do is embarrass me...’

She didn’t say that out loud though. Sez, while glancing around, found the books piled up in front of the window. These weren’t the same books that sent a chill down her spine a few days ago.

<Introduction to Kazarkish>

<Understanding Kazarkish>

<Kazarkish for Beginners>

Sez made a mental note – even Rayton couldn’t refuse his own mother.

“...”

Rayton glanced at Sez, who looked as if she was walking on eggshells, and stood up from his seat. He walked down the hallway by himself, over to where the desk was. Sez had to hurry to keep up with her taller brother.

Rayton sat down and Sez gently dragged a chair next to him.

‘Should I sit next to him? ...I should, right?’

Thankfully, Rayton didn’t push it away. Sez sighed in relief and climbed up the chair. Unfortunately, the chair was too high. Her short height in comparison to an average 12-year-old didn’t help either.

“Aargh.”

Sez lost her balance and fell from the chair. She once again realized how things are stacked against someone short. Sez managed to climb her way up the blasted chair, not realizing Rayton was staring at her like she was an idiot.

“W-where should we start? Brother?”

Sez smiled awkwardly with a quill in her hand. Rayton countered her smile with an annoyed expression yet again.

***

To Sez’s surprise, Rayton really did tutor her. Sez could only assume Lisette talked some sense into him. To be honest, Sez wouldn’t have been surprised if Rayton only made a half-hearted effort to teach her. That still didn’t mean he was nice, however.

She never experienced such arbitrary tutoring. Rayton immediately threw intermediate-level problems in her face. It looked like he was planning to screw her over with difficult problems and say, "I can’t teach idiots like you".

The fortunate thing was that Sez could speak Kazarkish to an extent. Of course, Rayton didn't know that yet. Sez keeping up with his tutoring didn’t seem to be in his original plan. If one thing was sure, it was that Rayton’s grand scheme was all in vain.

‘I didn't know learning Kazarkish would be this helpful.’

Learning Kazarkish again wasn’t bad, but her real purpose was to get closer to Rayton, and if possible, win his favor. Sez glanced at Rayton from time to time as she solved problems. Rayton was reading another book today as well.

‘He must be quite a bookworm.'

Sez's eyes turned to the book in Rayton's hands.

<Wizards of Den Helder>

The book he was reading today seemed rather modest.

‘It’s a little strange, however, wizards out of the blue? He didn't seem too interested in magic, though. And last time he was reading a book called Monarchism... What was the meaning of it? Does it have any at all?’

Sez tilted her head and blatantly stared at Rayton. She’d never admired Rayton’s face this close-up.

‘He looks good!’

That was Sez’s first impression. Rayton was indeed handsome. He reminded Sez of a classic statue she once saw in Yerna’s collection.

What really made her curious was that Rayton didn’t resemble the emperor even the tiniest bit. He didn’t look like Lisette either. Sure, Sez could see a glimpse of her in Rayton, but his face was too cold and callous to be comparable with Lisette's.

Well, either way, he was handsome.

If it wasn't for his black hair and red eyes, no, if he wasn’t a royal, he might’ve been living a much better life than this.

On top of that, he was tall, and he seemed to be smart judging by his fluent Kazarkish skills.

He also must’ve been talented in his martial skills as well, given that he’d somehow pulled off that coup…

Had it not been for the legend, Rayton would have lived a pleasant life, stealing and crushing the hearts of many noble ladies.

Sez's gaze drifted back to the book in Rayton's hands again.

‘Come to think of it, who prophesied the legend? It was said to be a renowned mage…’

“What are you looking at?”

Sez jumped at Rayton’s sudden question.

“Piss off if you don’t want to do it. I don’t want to, either.”

“No! Nothing... I’m sorry.”

That good-looking face was wasted on his character. She couldn’t even talk back as she was too scared. Sez just clenched her lips and clutched at her quill.

‘It’s not Kazarkish that I want... it’s merely an excuse. How long should I sit here and solve problems for? What's the difference between this and studying alone in my quarters? And, well, I looked at you because I have eyes... were these mean words really necessary?’

Sez pouted, murmuring things that she could not dare to say. Suddenly, Rayton frowned and looked at Sez before spitting out something totally unexpected.

“I am an idiot princess who doesn’t know how to do anything.”

“...What?”

“Write that down. In Kazarkish.”

Sez looked up at him like he was a madman. It was her most sincere expression since they met. Rayton didn’t care and continued to be snarky.

“I taught you for hours so you should be able to do it, right?”

“I-I’m not good at writing, though...”

“This is the bare minimum. Piss off if you can’t do it. Just stay in your hellhole and read... whatever trash you like.”

What a dead end. While she wasn't a total stranger to Kazarkish, she wasn't confident when it came to writing. It was embarrassing, to say the least, being forced to write such a sentence.

And what, idiot princess? She never expected that Rayton would be this much of a twisted jerk. She seriously thought about vaulting over the wall and running away, it would probably be much easier than earning his favor.

"Did I stutter?!"

Rayton pressed on. The tip of the Sez’s was hanging in the air, the ink slowly dripping.

‘What should I do?’

A sudden voice blared from behind them at that exact moment.

"I heard the west library was no better than a warehouse."

Sez lifted her head and looked back, puzzled.

"And they were right. Rats dwell in here, not one but two."

It was the half-brother and sister she hated the most.

'Ah, that damned bitch is here too.'

The damned bitch was Lilien, who had slapped Sez just for meeting her eyes. The boy who spat out those spiteful words was Bern, and he was the one who enjoyed bullying Rayton the most.

Sez saw the disgust and hatred on their faces. She shifted her eyes only to see Rayton's face had stiffened.

"Kazarkish, eh?"

Bern glanced at books on the table and laughed wryly. A few moments later, he threw one at Rayton. Sez gasped in panic as the book was heading in a straight line toward Rayton's forehead as if guided by the devil.

"What, do you want to run away? To where the filthy wench you call your mama was bred?"

A drop of blood fell from the thin cut on Rayton’s forehead.