K-Eldest Daughter Possessed a Childcare Novel

– How close is Lady Alton with Lord Zion?

– Could it be… are there talks of an engagement?

– Surely not. Wouldn’t a union between the North and South cause too much of a stir among the nobility?

They were clearly trying to test me.

Of course, they quickly backed off at just a glance from me.

I shrugged slightly at Zion’s smile.

‘Well, if Zion had been like me, we probably wouldn’t have become this close.’

I was well aware that my personality and aura could be pretty intense. If he had been similar to me, we would’ve been like two magnets with the same poles, busy pushing each other away.

‘In that regard, it’s a good thing Mostin is from a different breed than me.’

While lost in thought, the young lady sitting to my right looked at me with bright eyes.

“Lady Belladi! Will you be attending gatherings more often now? Our family has recently redecorated the tea party room, and I would love to invite you.”

Her words made everyone eagerly await my response. I smiled warmly and nodded.

“Sure. I was just thinking of getting back into social activities. An invitation from the Tula family as the first step? It’s an honor.”

The young ladies clapped and cheered at my answer. Especially the young lady of Tula County, who seemed ecstatic to invite me.

The admiration in the eyes of the young ladies was evident. I could be quite harsh with those who crossed the line, but I was kind to those who expressed goodwill while maintaining proper boundaries.

As I caught up with the young ladies around me, who I hadn’t seen in a while, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze from afar.

I looked up to find the source of that gaze. Soon, I locked eyes with a group who didn’t bother to hide their hostility toward me.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.’

I stared at the one at the center of the group. She glared at me with even more intensity but couldn’t hold my gaze for long and looked away.

‘If she’s going to avert her gaze so quickly, why does she bother picking fights every time we meet?’

In truth, that woman herself wasn’t particularly noteworthy. But the one manipulating her from behind was a different story.

I looked at her and spoke slowly.

“I wonder how Her Highness the Crown Princess has been faring.”

That woman was a cousin of the crown princess, who had married the crown prince in a lavish ceremony several years ago.

And the crown princess was the one pulling her cousin’s strings in an attempt to control the social circles.

Upon hearing my words, the young ladies, who had been chattering away, paused briefly. They covered their mouths with their fans and spoke softly.

“Well, if one side isn’t present, the other side is bound to gain the upper hand.”

“But now that Lady Belladi is here, the balance of the social scene will be restored.”

They then shared the latest news about the crown princess. I listened carefully, deep in thought.

The crown princess and her cousin weren’t major figures in the original story. But outside the original plot, I had been keeping an eye on her for some time.

The reason was simple.

‘The crown princess sees me as a thorn in her side.’

The social scene had originally been under the crown princess’s control, and her hobby was manipulating young ladies to her whims.

After becoming a member of the Imperial Family, she seemed to restrain herself for the sake of dignity, but…

‘That didn’t last long.’

She continued to maintain her influence by using her cousin as her frontwoman.

Then, someone emerged like a comet, capturing everyone’s attention.

‘And that someone was me.’

At the time, I wanted to compensate for the neglect I felt from my family by gaining validation elsewhere. So, after my debutante, I became very active in the social circles.

Coincidentally, some young ladies who were growing tired of the crown princess’s excessive meddling and her cousin’s arrogance were looking for new leadership.

I actively welcomed them into my circle, allowing me to naturally expand my influence.

‘Thus, the social scene became divided between the crown princess and me.’

The crown princess, realizing this shift too late, tried to seek help from the noble ladies.

But the older generation, who had been seasoned in the social scene for years, found the division among the younger crowd rather amusing to watch.

In the end, the crown princess, who once reigned supreme, saw her influence swiftly divided between the two of us.

The young ladies who were well aware of this situation began speaking up.

“Last time, Her Highness the Crown Princess invited us to tea.”

“Yes, it was quite a delightful gathering.”

“It would have been even better with Lady Belladi there…”

“Do you think Her Highness will send you an invitation too?”

At this final question, I raised an eyebrow.

“I look forward to that moment.”

The young ladies laughed merrily at my remark. Though I said it politely for appearances’ sake, we all knew the truth.

The crown princess would never invite me.

‘She must have tried to win over the young ladies I’m close to during my absence.’

I casually glanced over the faces of the young ladies around me.

They were all right by my side, without a single one missing.

‘So, it seems she hasn’t managed to recruit anyone.’

Well, considering that everyone here acknowledged me as the true leader, how could she have succeeded in recruiting them?

As they said, strike while the iron was hot. I extended my greatest kindness to those who had distanced themselves from the crown princess and sought refuge with me.

Especially those young ladies who were ousted from society simply because they had annoyed the crown princess. I helped them in many ways so they could reintegrate into society.

During that process, I intentionally sought the assistance of other young ladies as well.

‘As a result, not only did I boost my own image, but a strong camaraderie was formed among the young ladies.’

That camaraderie shone even more in moments like these.

It was a pleasant feeling to know that my people had remained by my side even while I was somewhat neglectful.

As if to demonstrate to the crown princess’s group, I clinked my champagne glass against the glasses of the young ladies. At that moment, the crown princess’s cousin, who had been holding a fan, frowned and retreated from the scene.

I smiled victoriously and took a sip of champagne.

‘Honestly, there’s no real reason for there to be bad blood between me and the crown princess.’

After all, the Imperial Family and the Alton Duchy maintained a harmonious relationship.

So, this was purely a personal matter between individuals.

Come to think of it, the crown princess once invited me to tea. It was shortly after my debut in society.

-Join me, Lady Alton. In return, I shall appoint you as my chief lady-in-waiting.”

The crown princess had proposed arrogantly.

At that time, I was someone who had no intention of bowing to anyone except my family.

-How amusing. To ask the only princess of the empire to become a lady-in-waiting, when you yourself possess no imperial blood…

Even after I responded like that, she couldn’t punish me. After all, as , her rank wasn’t much higher than mine, since she was neither empress nor imperial princess.

I could still vividly recall the twisted expression on her face upon hearing my answer.

From that very first conversation, a deep rift formed between us, making any chance of us getting along exceedingly slim.

‘She’s upset because my presence diminishes her standing… but what can I do? These young ladies prefer me over her.’

I smiled contentedly. The atmosphere of the party continued to grow lively.

While I was casually deepening my bonds with them, one of the young ladies brought up an interesting topic.

“Come to think of it, did you hear? Prince Killian, who had gone to study abroad in the Magala Empire, has returned.”

It was Elosha Bergman, the distinguished daughter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who made this remark.

Hearing an unexpected name, everyone widened their eyes and looked at her.

“My goodness, His Highness Prince Killian?”

“Has he really returned?”

As the ladies chattered excitedly, Elosha nodded earnestly.

“I heard it from my father, so it’s certain!”

“But why has it been so quiet in society?”

“Exactly, why haven’t we heard about this?”

“This is the first news I’ve heard about the prince since I was very young!”

The atmosphere became even more buzzing.

The young ladies began earnestly discussing Prince Killian.

“He studied abroad for so long, didn’t he? He even held his coming-of-age ceremony in the Magala Empire.”

“Why didn’t he return earlier?”

“Lady Bergman, didn’t your father mention anything else?”

“Well… um, not really…”

Elosha hesitated as if saying more would be difficult.

I glanced at her for a moment before smiling kindly.

“I’m curious too, Lady Elosha. Tell us more.”

As I spoke, I gently smoothed her stray hair, causing Elosha’s face to flush red.

“Well, come to think of it…”

She glanced around cautiously before lowering her voice.

“There were rumors that His Highness Prince Killian had many women during his time in the Magala Empire… even when he left, it wasn’t just one or two women who came to see him off. Among them were even the twin princesses of the empire…!”

“My word.”

“Is that true?”

“Apparently, Crown Prince Cedric has been trying to keep the news of Prince Killian’s return under wraps, but Prince Killian doesn’t seem to care and was already out this morning.”

Everyone frowned at Elosha’s words.

“Goodness, I remember him being quite dashing when we were younger…”

“Well, a lot of time has passed.”

“Crown Prince Cedric and His Majesty must be quite concerned.”

“In any case, it seems like he doesn’t intend to attend the winter banquet since he went out this morning.”

I quietly listened to their conversation and slowly tilted my head.

‘Killian Allerman Deckerdil…’

The second prince, who left to study abroad in the Magala Empire at a young age and never returned. Naturally, I had no connection with him.

Yet, for some reason, I found myself intrigued by him.

‘In the original story, Prince Killian never studied abroad.’

I could easily overlook William’s role as a spy since that happened long before the original story began.

But Prince Killian was different.

Why did he study abroad? Why did he act so differently from the original storyline?

To be honest, I had forgotten about him due to being preoccupied with many tasks over the past six months. But hearing his name now brought forth new questions.

As I pondered over the ladies’ chatter, someone approached me.

“It’s been a while, Belladi.”

I shook off my complicated thoughts and turned to see who had spoken.