He Was Kind If I Stopped

Chapter 21

“Rayburn, how’s Titty doing?”

Hazel said, watching carefully as the court doctor applied medicine to the cat’s paw and changed the bandages.

The little white cat was crying bitterly as it looked at Mary, who was holding it so that it couldn’t move.

“Fortunately, the wound is healing well. Just apply some more medicine and try not to let it lick it.”

The court doctor finished the treatment with a careful hand.

“Thank you.”

Hazel hugged the cat and smiled. When the cat in her arms began to whimper softly, she gently stroked its neck.

“It won’t have any problems walking again now, will it?”

When she saw its swollen and bleeding paw, Hazel was worried that it would never be able to walk again.

“Yes. Thanks to the fast care, it was able to prevent the foot from necrosis. Thanks to the Princess’s early arrival.”

“I’m glad.”

Hazel sighed, relieved.

“The princess really cares for Titty.”

Mary added, and Hazel could only smile vaguely.

“Thank you, Raburn, for taking care of the cat while you were so busy.”

“I’ll be here whenever you need me, Princess.”

“Okay, then…..”

Hazel was about to say goodbye, but when the court physician seemed hesitant to leave his seat, she looked at him suspiciously. Their eyes met, and the court physician spoke up in a respectful tone.

“Since the Princess is here, I would like to examine the Princess.”

“…….”

“I’ve been worried because you’ve been saying you were resting and refusing to be examined, but I’m glad to see you today. I think I’d like to thank the cat.”

“That’s…”

“May I examine you?”

The court physician said with a smile as if he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“That’s…”

Hazel hesitated for a moment, biding her time. She wasn’t in any real pain, and she was worried that her temporary illness would be discovered as soon as he examined her, but she had no particular reason to refuse.

“…Yes, go ahead.”

Hazel reluctantly agreed.

“I don’t think you’re sick.”

When Rayburn tilted his head after checking her said that, Hazel hastened to make an excuse.

“I had a bad headache the other day, and my heart beat fast and it was difficult to breathe.”

“Was it when you were out looking for the cat?”

“Yes…wasn’t it?”

Hazel answered momentarily and the court physician nodded as if he understood.

“I guess because you were running around.”

“…….”

“Probably had a headache from all the tension of finding the cat, too.”

“Rayburn, it’s…”

“From what I can tell, the princess is in very good health.”

“But for a while, I’ve had nightmares, I haven’t slept, I’ve been screaming, I’ve been throwing things… You know that.”

“Yes. At that time, I thought you were seriously ill.”

“You did?”

“But you’re very well now.”

“That can’t be. I’m very sick right now, and it’s not good.”

Hazel sighed heavily. She was surprised at herself as she spoke, but she only hoped that Raburn wouldn’t know about her performance.

“Physical health and mental health don’t always go hand in hand, for example, if you’re having a bad day, you might not feel well. But it doesn’t mean that my physical health is actually not functioning.”

Rayburn’s every word made her conscience prickle, but Hazel pretended not to know.

“Are you sure?”

Rayburn laughed again at Hazel’s question.

“We’ve had guests at the palace, but the princess hasn’t shown her face, so everyone’s been very curious. Interest is at an all-time high.”

“Me?”

No, it can’t be. Her action was not meant for that. It’s amazing how an action intended to dissuade interest can instead arouse it.

“Why? Lorette is there.”

Hazel thought that if she put Lorette out there instead of herself, people would naturally turn their attention to Lorette. However, she didn’t expect people to focus on herself. The situation was different from what she had intended, and she was confused.

“People show a deeper curiosity about things they can’t see. Since you haven’t shown your face, all people do is spread rumors. Like the Crown Prince of Demophos.”

“…The Crown Prince of Demophos?”

Hazel asked cautiously, and Raburn nodded.

Hazel asked cautiously, and Raven nodded.

“He has been on the battlefield for a while now, so he hasn’t had much interaction with people. Especially when we heard news of victories everywhere he entered, we heard words like he looked like a demon, his whole face was covered in scars, and he had no hair.”

“…….”

“But after the welcome party, those rumors disappeared.”

“Ah.”

Hazel let out a series of exclamations as if she had never heard of it before.

“Is he very different from the rumors?”

“Yes, I think you’ll be surprised when you see him yourself.”

Rayburn said with a twinkle in his eye. Hazel did not know what he meant by that. Probably he meant that the Crown Prince had a very impressive face, everyone should see it once.

“Now’s your chance.”

“What chance?”

“If the Crown Prince leaves, we may not be able to see him. There are numerous rumors that the court ladies go out of their way to wander around the vicinity of the delegation’s quarters, waiting for the Crown Prince to make eye contact with them.”

“I guess he must be very handsome.”

Rayburn nodded fiercely at Hazel’s words.

“So, Princess, why don’t you show your good health to everyone around here? His Majesty is very concerned.”

Rayburn added coyly.

“Don’t tell me my father told you to check on my condition and report back?”

“I’m only loyal to my duty.”

“I’m a patient! Patients come first. If my father ordered you to go and find out if I was using a temporary illness, and you came, I have nothing more to say.”

Hazel shouted with a straight face, and the court physician immediately said with a dainty expression.

“Well, that’s too bad. I was specially asked by the princess to even take care of the cat….”

“Oh, my thoughts were short. I can’t believe I questioned your loyalty.”

“No, Princess. I’m glad you understand my true feelings.”

“You may think I’m faking sickness, but it’s a misunderstanding. I just really don’t want to show my sick physical condition.”

“You look beautiful enough, Princess.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but please go to your father and tell him that I still need to recuperate and that my body is not strong enough. Please.”

“…I understand.”

“Go ahead. I’ll see you at Titty’s next check up.”

Hazel smiled and greeted him, and the court doctor stood up with his house call bag.

As he left the room and the door closed, Hazel immediately turned her attention to the cat.

“Now, I’m going to train you again.”

Titty, wearing the blindfold that Hazel had sewn for her directly, cried out in a frustrated voice, but after a light tap on the buttocks, it soon fell asleep.

“I’m glad it’s safe. It was caught in a trap.”

Hazel said to Mary as she returned to her room.

“I’m very careful when it comes to ventilation. It must have been very scary that day.”

“Yes, it’s better to be cautious than to let something like this happen again.”

Hazel thought about him briefly. As soon as she remembered the Achilleon she had run into in the middle of the night, her heart immediately started beating faster.

“It’s really amazing that Princess found the cat and even set it free.”

“That’s….”

Hazel didn’t release the trap, but she pushed someone into it.

(TL:*I thought Achilleon was caught in the mousetrap by accident, but it sounds like Hazel pushed him and ran away. That’s even funnier and…. bad lol)

In fact, she had met the much-talked-about “Crown Prince,” and it bothered her that he couldn’t exactly say that he had saved Titty, and lied about it.

“It wasn’t me.”

She was trying to buy time to escape, but she did a pretty bad job of it.

Anyway, it was Achilleon who had saved the cat, but instead of thanking him, she pushed him into the mousetrap and took off with the cat.

“Then who did it?”

“I don’t know. A passerby must have helped it.”

“He’s a good man…”

“Good man.”

Hazel sighed as she looked at Mary. If Mary knew what that good person had done to her master, Mary would never be able to say something like that.

“I don’t know why people would think cats are enemies of the eyes. They would even do something like this.”

“Lady Pais?”

Mary nodded furiously at Hazel’s reply.

“There are more cats in the palace, and Lady Pais seems to be getting nervous. She’s afraid they might attack her birds at any moment.”

“Titty isn’t very good at hunting either.”

It really wasn’t. Not only could it not jump high enough, but it was even attacked by birds.

“Titty grew up inside all its life, so it’s different from wild cats. If it meets cats like that, Titty will be busy running away.”

This time, Hazel would definitely protect it. In her last life, Titty was caught and brutally killed by Lady Pais. She said Titty hurt her birds.

When Hazel cried and even went to the king to find justice, Lady Pais showed a long scar on her wrist and complained in tears that the princess’ cat had also hurt her.

‘Not this time.’

Hazel shuddered involuntarily as she remembered what had happened.

‘I will protect this kitten from that wicked woman from harming it again, no matter what it takes.’ Hazel assured her once more.

“That’s true. But…”

“What?”

“Are you sure you’re not going to attend the ceremony?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that?”

Hazel was getting tired of answering the same questions over and over again, so she answered irritably.

“But as the court physician said earlier, everyone wants to see the princess. And the Princess is the representative of Land, the master of this Rose Palace, and everyone wants to see her beauty…”

“Stop it.”

Mary, who had been continuing with her praise, stopped talking immediately, but then she started to speak again with a scowl on her face.

“I don’t quite understand why the person who said that this was an important diplomatic event for which we had to make all possible preparations would suddenly say something like this.”

‘That’s because you don’t know.You don’t know what I’ve been through, what I’m going through now, and you won’t know until you die.’

“And Prince Sisef…you pretended you didn’t know him…and even kicked him out.”

“Can’t I do that?”

“It’s really strange, you know. It’s a very sudden change.”

Hazel averted her gaze and asked,

“How about Lorette?”

“She went boating with Prince Sisef.”

“…Is that so? Sounds fun.”

“That’s all you got to say….”

“Then what?”

Hazel looked at Mary with furrowed brow.

“If you were like before, you would tell me to turn their boat over right now…”

“What!?”

Hazel shouted and grabbed a cushion and threw it.