He Was Kind If I Stopped

“Princess, you have to get up now.”

Hazel’s eyelids lifted slowly as a voice gently called her.

“Princess.”

Hazel turned her head to look at the voice calling her again from outside the curtains that hung over her bed. Behind the curtain, she could see the maids moving back and forth, irritably waiting for her.

“Stop calling me. I’m up.”

The maids laughed at Hazel’s words.

“I’ll open the windows.”

Mary, the maid in charge, came over and opened the windows, letting in a bright light.

“How are you feeling today?”

Hazel looked around the room in a daze while Mary babbled, checking on her condition.

Everything was familiar: the bed, the soft bedding, the walls adorned with her favorite paintings.

‘It’s not a dream, is it?’

She murmured inwardly. It just wasn’t today.

Every time she woke up in the morning, Hazel would think about it repeatedly. Maybe tomorrow when she wakes up, everything will be back to the old days.

The days she lost her first love at the hands of her husband, her sister died, and she lived each day unable to die to protect her country.

Every night, she could not sleep because of such anxiety. When she finally slept, she was afraid of waking up because then all of this might have been a dream and disappeared.

But such a thing did not happen. Everything had previously returned to the days when she was not the Empress of Demophos but the Royal Princess of Land.

The magical crown had granted her wish. Time had turned back just as she hoped. She was able to come back before all the horrible nightmares started.

‘It’s not so bad.’

Hazel mumbled absentmindedly, looking at the ceiling, and Mary said with a deliberately cheerful laugh.

“Oh, good, I’m glad. We still have some time to get ready, but we must hurry. So you won’t be late.”

Mary took the cushion and propped Hazel up on her back, giving her a light squeeze on the shoulder.

“Get ready? Ready for what?”

Hazel, who was still half asleep, asked back in a subdued voice.

“Oh, my God, princess. Today is the day that we have guests from the Empire. The Crown Prince is coming to sign the peace agreement.”

“Ah, that day.”

Hazel murmured casually. It was a day she would never forget, because even the day before she couldn’t sleep and struggled with the fear that tomorrow would be ‘that day.’

An unforgettable day.

Today was the day that Achilleon and Sisef would visit the Land kingdom together. Unlike Sisef, who often stopped by the kingdom as a delegation, this was Crown Prince Achilleon’s first official visit. That showed how important this peace agreement was for both countries.

“The first thing to do is to take a bath filled with the finest rose petals and choose a dress. I’ve selected many dresses by color. I also picked out all the jewelry.”

Mary pointed to a line of maids with colorful dresses, shoes, and jewelry. Their expressions were quite serious, as if they were going to a battlefield.

“Why is it so serious? Is the empire going to attack us?”

“Even the princess is joking.”

Mary laughed like a lark bird and tried to keep Hazel in a good mood.

“What about Lorette?”

“Princess Lorette got everything done early. That’s why we have to get ready as soon as possible.”

Mary said wistfully.

“From what I’ve heard, Princess Lorette would wear a green dress.”

“Why green?”

Mary winced at the words of the maid standing next to her, then answered with a puzzled look on her face.

“Why, it’s the color of the princess’s eyes! To choose a dress that is the same color as her older sister’s eyes, it really is the worst…”

Mary finally closed in on the conversation.

“Anyway, it’d be better to choose something other than green. Our princess has fair skin and smooth hair, and her beautiful eyes would look good in any color.”

“I thank you for the compliment. I’ll never forget it.”

Hazel replied indifferently and went to lie down, but Mary raised her up and said,

“Princess, you have to be ready soon. We’re running out of time.”

“Why?”

Mary and the maids were dumbfounded by Hazel’s question.

“We have important visitors from the Empire, and of course the eldest princess should stand out.”

“What does that mean?”

“What?”

“People only look at Lorette.”

It was always Lorette this and Lorette that.

One day, an angelic girl suddenly appeared in the palace, captivating people, including her father, the king, at first sight.

Her weakness of being the daughter of a maid of honor was no problem for her half-sister. Lorette warmed everyone’s heart with her nice face and bright smile.

“And I’m crazy, aren’t I?”

The maids hastily sucked in their breaths as the words threw them nonchalantly.

“You were ill for some time. But you’re not crazy, Princess.”

One day, princess Hazel woke up from a nightmare, screamed and fainted repeatedly. Then, after a week or so, her condition improved a lot, but after that she became extremely quiet.

The princess rarely went out. Originally, she was irritated at being confined to her room, but suddenly she locked herself inside the room for quite some time.This led to frequent rumors in the court that Princess Hazel was insane.

“That’s why you should show them that you’re healthy, Princess.”

“It’s too much trouble.”

Hazel quickly shook off Mary’s hand and plunged back into her bedding.

“I’m in pain.”

“What?”

At the same time, the maids looked at each other with surprise.

“What did you say?”

“It hurts.”

“…….”

“I don’t think my father would like me to come out.”

“It’s not true. He must have been very worried.”

“But why did he never come to visit?”

“He is probably very busy with the upcoming agreement with the Empire.”

“When Lorette caught a cold, he even postponed the official meeting to rush over.”

“But Princess….”

Mary bit her lip in frustration as she was busy trying hard to find an excuse, but she seemed to be having a difficult time.

“I’m sure His Majesty loves and cares about you very much.

“I guess you’re right.”

Hazel sighed and nodded.

Her mother, Queen Martina, went wild when she found out that her maid of honor was pregnant. Eventually, the maid escaped the Queen and gave birth to Lorette, who had to live outside the palace to avoid the strict eyes of the Queen.

Princess Lorette, who grew up with the commoners, was able to return to the palace after the death of the Queen.The opposition from her family was nothing compared to the time when the Queen was alive. Back then, the king had no choice but to listen to the Queen, the daughter of a powerful family.

After the Queen’s death, Hazel took over and helped with the household chores in and out of the court in place of her mother. Sometimes she even met with ministers and handled important matters on behalf of her father, the king.

Hazel was the flower of the Land kingdom.

It was only when Princess Lorette came back that Hazel’s position began to be threatened.

“I’d rather just stay here than go out in public and embarrass myself, even though I’m not insane.”

“But the role of the princess is….”

“Lorette will do it.”

Hazel added, pulling the blanket over her head.

“She’ll do it better than me.”

The angelic smile on Lorette’s face would be perfect for winning people’s hearts.

“Are you serious, Princess?”

“Of course I am.”

Hazel nodded furiously as she looked out from under the covers.

“Please tell her to do everything. From reading the congratulatory message to going to greet people. Don’t bother me. I’m resting. I’m a patient.”

All the maids became troubled as Hazel’s hand came out of the blanket, waving and expressing the obvious refusal.

“Even Prince Sisef is coming?”

“…….”

For a moment, a silence came over the room. Mary looked quite nervous after saying it, but she looked at Hazel, waiting for her to respond to the name she mentioned as her last resort.

“Why does it matter?”

“Huh, but the prince…..”

“He’s coming to see Lorette…”

The numb tone of the Princess’s voice continued again, and each of the maids looked at each other with surprise. It was the first time Hazel had ever reacted this way.

“That’s not true. Since he heard that the princess was ill, he already requested to see you several times.”

“I’m sure he did.”

Hazel said curtly.

“But I won’t see him.”

When Hazel still refused, Mary asked cautiously.

“Are you okay, Princess?”

“No, I’m tired. Everyone gets out. Don’t wake me until lunchtime.”

Hazel had no intention of stepping out of this room until after today.

She didn’t want to see anyone, especially Achilleon, who was now the Crown Prince, and Sisef, the Prince. She did not want to see those brothers again.

“Princess…”

Hazel avoided Mary and said firmly.

“I’m going to sleep.”

“…….”

After a while, she heard the maids retreating, and Hazel sighed and closed her eyes. She wished the day would pass like this. But the peace did not last very long.

Mary opened the door again and walked in.

“Princess.”

“I said I was going to rest.”

“It’s … Princess Lorette is here.”