“Really?”

Mary asked, her face lit up.

“But don’t go around saying that.”

“Do you think I’m a fool, Princess?

“You’re not a fool, but your mouth could cause a great deal of trouble. For example, your life could be worse than a fly’s…”

“That’s never gonna happen.”

“Please bear that in mind.”

Mary nodded obediently at Hazel’s wish, which became serious for a moment.

“I heard that the number of rats suddenly increased and they set a trap in the garden. I’m afraid Titty might get caught.”

“I see. I’ll have to guard her well.”

When Hazel scratched the cat’s neck, Titty stretched and purred.

“So today you are not to go anywhere and you are to stay with me. Understood?”

“Meow.”

As if in answer to Hazel’s words, the cat let out a long cry.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the welcoming ball?”

Mary asked in a disappointed tone, as if her last hope had been blown away.

“Of course not. I’m in pain.”

“…….”

Hazel hugged the cat, pretending not to see Mary was looking at her suspiciously.

“I’m going to take a nap with Titty. Everyone leaves. Don’t look for me for anything.”

Hazel waved, and Mary sighed, then turned and walked out.

As soon as the door closed, Hazel left the cat and lay down on the bed, letting out a long sigh. The mischievous expression on her face had gone cold, and she mumbled.

“Lorette must marry the Grand Duke and become the Grand Duchess.”

Saying the same thing over and over again, as if it was a vow to herself, Hazel closed her eyes as she exhaled deeply.

Only then could a peace agreement between Land and Demophos be reached without undue difficulty. Nothing was more effective in keeping a promise between countries than marriage.

“The Grand Duke wants Lorette.”

“He said he would marry her.”

It was an engagement that was arranged from the beginning, but the man had changed. She remembered the time when she was angry with Grand Duke Sisef for falling in love with Lorette, saying that it was a trick of her stepmother. (Lorette’s mother)

Of course, it wasn’t because of her stepmother. But it wasn’t all a ruse that the Great Duke fell in love with Lorette.

Just as Achilleon’s desire for Hazel, herself, was completely unexpected.

“Of course, I didn’t forget about you, Hazel. Look at the number of proposals that have come your way. You may choose one of them.”

The King said, very much like a father cared about his daughter. But his face was full of joy.

“It’s all far, far away.”

All of the candidates her father had chosen for her marriage lived far from the kingdom of Land. Hazel smiled in astonishment as she stared at her father.

Her father was excited about the daughter of the Queen, who was a thorn in his eyes, was married off to another country far away. So he could send the son of the woman he loves to a high position, the only one that remained…

‘And my father’s son will become King…’ (I guess his mistress, Lorette’s mother, gave birth to another boy.)

The son that Lady Pais had given birth to was still small, but my father’s dream was as good as fulfilled.

“Say hello to your brother, the future King who will lead the kingdom of Land.”

I could never forget the smile that appeared on my father’s face that day. I had never seen him so seriously pleased. He looked as happy as, if not happier than, the day Lorette first came to the palace.

He had never laughed as much as he did the day Hazel rode her first horse, or the day she learned to sing and dance perfectly, or the day she was praised by her composition teacher.

“Since she inherited the blood of the Conces family, it’s natural that she did well.”

The day I tamed a great horse given to me by a foreign country and rode it in front of the king, the king wrinkled his brow in reluctant praise, then added.

“Strong… I cannot describe your strength, like your mother’s.”

So that was the norm, I thought. I lived my life thinking that I had to work harder and be better to get compliments. But my younger brother, even just by being born, monopolized the love of my father, the king. His very existence was love.

Moreover, there was nothing more important than being the only boy in the family. The one that was able to help his mother, Lady Pais, a hidden mistress, Queen.

On the other hand, there was no worries for the princess, the only child of the dead Queen, who was the biggest obstacle, was married away to another far away land.

It was clear that the Duchess of Conces and her followers, who had lost their center of power, would be weakened as well. Even though Hazel was a princess, once she got married, she could not interfere in the internal affairs of her country.

So Hazel chose Achilleon.

On the same day that Lorette and Sisef announced their engagement, Hazel asked,

“Will you marry me?”

It was very easy to seduce the Emperor, who was infatuated with her, because he wanted her, and even that was a fortune she could have.

It didn’t matter whether she was Empress or Princess. As long as she could see Sisef from a distance.

Hazel was reckless at that time. She was obsessed with Sisef in a way that seemed odd now.

It was natural for a princess who married into another country to lose power in her own country, but if that other country was the Demophos Empire, which had swallowed half the continent, it was a different story.

And above all.

She could always see Sisef from the side. At the time, Hazel had put that ahead of the influence she had on her own country. Even if it broke her heart to see the Grand Duke with her half-sister as his wife, it was better than not seeing him forever.

‘Was I on drugs at that time to think such a thing?’

Hazel let out a deep, heavy sigh as she remembered what had passed.

What she had to go through in return for being stupid. All of the memories went through her mind.

‘I would never make such a foolish choice again.’

Now that she had a second chance, Hazel was determined not to make the same mistakes. She tried to organize her thoughts one by one.

She and Achilleon should not meet.

They should not have even started at all.

Fortunately, she had traveled back in time before she had met Achilleon. It was the first time she thought she was lucky to meet him.

As a princess, it wasn’t easy to avoid meeting the guest of honor who visited her country, but it wasn’t impossible.

It was because her father was not happy about Hazel appearing in public on behalf of the dead Queen.

It was for this reason that he asked Lorette to read the welcome speech in place of Hazel in the pretext that Hazel was ill.

Was it for that very reason that she sat with Achilleon that day? She remembered he said how beautiful her smile was and Achilleon kissed her more times than she could count that day.

There were days like that.

She liked the idea of the man who ruled the empire wanting to make love to her, buried beneath her hands and the width of her skirt. Even though she couldn’t get her hands on the man she wanted, Hazel thought she had the greatest power. It was a time when she was conceited that she could use her power to separate the Grand Duke and his wife.

But….

In the end, all that was left was a bloody passion.

“…….”

Hazel slowly closed then opened her eyes again. No matter how many times she repeated the process, the scenery around her did not change. With the second chance she was given, the thoughts of doing her job right filled her mind.

She couldn’t let this kingdom fall into the hands of Lady Pais or her son. However, it was up to the king to decide the next throne.

That was the only inviolable territory that the noble Council and the Senate could not touch. It was unknown how much influence they would have, but in the end, the final approval had to go through the king.

And the people who bought the king’s pleasure the most were Lady Pais and her daughter, Lorette. The prince, who had not yet been born or conceived, was a future that only Hazel knew.

Lady Pais put all her hopes on Lorette, the only one she had for now.

In order to win over the eminent nobles and Hazel, Lady Pais needed to manipulate her daughter as she wished and get what she wanted.

It was the reason why she constantly and regularly sent her daughter, Lorette, to see Hazel. Even if Hazel repeatedly refused and hated it to the point of gnashing her teeth.

The more Hazel showed signs of unfriendliness, the more unhappy the king would be. This put Hazel in an increasingly disadvantageous position in the royal family.

Even though she was the queen’s daughter, she didn’t know what would happen if she upset the King’s daughter.

So she had to make Lorette her ally.

The only thought that filled Hazel’s mind was to separate Lorette from her mother and make sure she was on her side.

It was the anger that Lorette and her mother had to live outside the palace for a while that blinded her father.

It was also a feeling of remorse for having been helpless to do anything for the ones he loved.

So the king was trying to do anything he could to compensate for what he couldn’t do for the mother and daughter.

But only if she can please the king.

“Lorette is your sister. I’m disappointed that you’re being so rough with her.”

“How can she be my sister?”

Slap!

Hazel ran her hand over her cheek where her father had hit her.