The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 120: Suffer alone (1)

"And this is where..."

Hazel couldn’t listen to what Valerie was telling her because of the pain from the shoes she was wearing. She had been hopeful that the tour would go by fast, but Valerie was walking slowly and speaking on everything that she passed by. From the smallest portrait to all the rooms they walked by.

She was at her wits end with the pain and needed the tour to be over with soon.

"Head maid Valerie," Hazel spoke up. "How much longer will the tour be?"

"There is still much more for you to see before we sit with the queen and then we will need to get you ready for dinner later. Are you not feeling well?" Valerie asked, giving Hazel a look over. "It is important that you finish the tour today so we can move on to your lessons tomorrow. If you could just endure it a little longer.."

"Okay," Hazel replied, taking a deep breath after. It felt like her feet were being stabbed, but she would endure it a little longer.

If she complained about this while it was only her first day here, she would bet that it would be brought back up soon. Just a little more she could push herself to endure.

"Wonderful. The next room is where the queen will gather with her friends for tea,’ Valerie said, walking ahead of Hazel to continue the tour. "One day it will be the place you gather with women. You will need to hold parties in the future to build friendships with important women around the kingdom."

Hazel remained in her spot for a moment and then moved her right foot to start off following Valerie. The pain came back right away with the shoe squeezing her foot with each step. Standing still was a short moment of relief as she tried to slip her foot out of the shoe.

Hazel gripped the front of her dress to let her frustration out there. This would not be what had her ready to run back to her room.

’I can do this,’ she cheered herself on.

Over an hour later, Hazel was escorted to a room to have a sit down with the queen to have a proper welcome to the palace. Hazel didn’t care who she was speaking to as long as she got to sit down.

The doors of the room were opened as they approached and it was only Hazel to walk inside. Tabitha was sitting alone at a table already enjoying what was prepared for them to eat and drink.

"Your Majesty," Hazel greeted Tabitha with a curtsy.

Tabitha put her cup down and kept looking out at the view the window had to offer her. "Did you enjoy the tour?"

"I did. The head maid was helpful in explaining what all the rooms were used for, upcoming events and my role in them," Hazel answered.

"Good. She should have instructed you that you will have your lessons tomorrow. Everything you do during those lessons will be reported back to me. It is to know how you are fairing with what you are being taught so don’t think too much about it. I will have nothing to speak to you about since you were one of three to pass the history test without a wrong answer," said Tabitha.

It was proven that Hazel received proper tutoring in her youth after she answered every question thrown her way in the history test during the selection. She had amazed the scholar as he wanted to know who had taught her what she knew.

"Thank you for the compliment," Hazel replied. She moved her left foot as it was uncomfortable to stay still. When would she get to sit?

Tabitha looked away from the opened window to Hazel standing to the right of her. She could tell right away that the dress was a little snug in areas around Hazel’s chest. "The dress looks beautiful on you. The dressmaker surely outdid himself this time, didn’t he?"

"Yes, it is beautiful. May I take my seat now?" Hazel asked.

Tabitha peered down at Hazel moving her feet. "Are the shoes not to your liking?"

"They are a little small for me," Hazel answered honestly.

"I see. I wonder how my son guessed correctly that it wouldn’t fit. Did you see him this morning when you returned?" Tabitha questioned, picking up the cup once again to take a sip of the juice she poured for herself.

"I did not," Hazel lied. The maids didn’t see Tobias therefore she did not see him. She would be a fool to say that he visited her room.

"I see. So it was a lucky guess. You may take a seat, Hazel. It hurts me to see you trembling as you stand. How could the head maid not pay attention to the state you are in and have you seated right away?" Tabitha said, watching as Hazel slowly made her to the chair opposite her on the other side of the table.

Hazel didn’t want Valerie to get in trouble when she was just following orders so she said, "It is my fault for not speaking up and letting it be known that my feet were hurting. She would have helped if she knew."

"I see. Then I hope you start speaking up and don’t depend on others to speak for you," said Tabitha.

Hazel picked up on a bit of hostility in the queen’s words.

"You seem confused," Tabitha said, happy to explain it all to Hazel. "Tobias came to me to make a deal to have your dresses changed in exchange for him doing whatever I needed him to do. He has plenty of lessons to do throughout the day and yet, he had to stop them to come to me for such a request."

"These will be his busiest days as he slowly takes over from his father and small matters like this should not be on his mind. He cannot be distracted now when everyone has their eyes on him. We don’t need the court wondering if he is taking this seriously."

Hazel couldn’t relax even though she was finally sitting. She didn’t mean for Tobias helping her to take him away from his duties. He could have waited until he had no work to mention it to the queen. "I’m sorry," she apologised.

"Why are you apologising? You didn’t meet with the prince yet so it wasn’t like you asked him to come to me. I am merely giving you a heads-up that you should speak up in the future so you don’t distract him. Here, let me pour you something to drink to help you relax," Tabitha said, taking a cup from the tray on the table.

"Am I really allowed to say what is on my mind?" Hazel asked as what the queen told her felt like a trap. If she started to speak up, she might then be told to be silent. "Am I to speak up only when it comes to not distracting Tobias? At other times, should I be silent?"

"You are a smart girl like I said. You should know when to speak and when not to. There is something I told your sister that you must know. Do not fall so deeply in love with my son just yet," Tabitha advised Hazel.