KDPCD 27

Chapter 27

—How close are you to Young Master Sion, Lady Alton?

—By any chance…… are you two considering an engagement?

—Surely not. I feel like a union between the North and the South would cause far too great a stir in aristocratic society.

They were probing me like this, trying to figure out my relationship with Sion.

Of course, they quickly backed down and ran away at just one look from me.

I slightly shrugged my shoulders as I watched Sion smile.

‘Come to think of it, if Sion had been similar to me, we probably wouldn’t have become this close.’

I knew quite well that my personality and presence were rather strong. If he had been the same type of person as me, we would have been too busy pushing each other away like the same poles of a magnet.

‘In that sense, it’s a relief that Mostin is a completely different sort from me, too.’

I was lost in thought for a moment when the young lady sitting to my right looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“Lady Belladi! Are you going to start attending social gatherings regularly from now on? Our family recently redecorated our tea party room, and I’d love to invite you, Lady Belladi.”

At her words, everyone waited for my answer with anticipation.

I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes. I was just thinking of starting my social activities again. To begin with an invitation from the Tula family is an honor for me.”

At my answer, the young ladies clapped their hands and rejoiced. The young lady of Count Tula’s family, who had invited me, was especially delighted.

There was unmistakable admiration in the eyes of the young ladies looking at me.

I was merciless toward those who annoyed me, but I was also quite kind to those who respected my boundaries while showing me genuine affection.

As I caught up with the young ladies gathered around me after not seeing them for such a long time, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze from afar.

I raised my head and searched for the source of that gaze.

Soon, my eyes met those of a group that was openly glaring at me with hostility.

‘That woman is here too. It’s been a while.’

I looked at the woman standing at the center of the group.

She glared at me even more intensely, but she soon gave up and averted her eyes.

‘If you’re going to look away first, why do you pick a fight with me every time we meet?’

In truth, the woman herself wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

But the person behind her was another matter entirely.

I slowly opened my mouth while looking at her.

“I wonder how Her Highness the Crown Princess has been doing all this time.”

That woman was the cousin of the Crown Princess, who had held a lavish wedding ceremony with the Crown Prince several years ago.

And the Crown Princess was the sort of person who used her cousin as a puppet while attempting to control high society.

At my words, the young ladies who had been chatting animatedly suddenly stopped moving.

They lightly covered their mouths with their fans as they spoke.

“Without one side, I suppose the other side was bound to gain the upper hand.”

“Still, now that Lady Belladi has returned, the balance of high society will be restored.”

The young ladies then proceeded to tell me the latest news about the Crown Princess.

I listened carefully to their stories while falling deep into thought.

That woman and the Crown Princess had never been particularly important characters in the original novel.

But putting the original story aside, I had been keeping an eye on the Crown Princess for quite some time.

The reason was simple.

‘Because the Crown Princess considers me a thorn in her side.’

The Crown Princess had originally dominated high society, and her favorite pastime had been manipulating young ladies according to her own tastes.

After becoming a member of the imperial family, she seemed to restrain herself from doing so for the sake of maintaining her dignity……

‘But that didn’t last very long.’

She had tried to maintain her influence by putting that cousin of hers forward as her proxy.

And then, there was someone who appeared like a comet, capturing everyone’s attention.

‘That person was me.’

Back then, I had wanted to receive compensation from the outside world for all the time I had spent being neglected by my family.

So, after my debutante, I actively participated in high society.

As luck would have it, some young ladies had been feeling burdened by the Crown Princess’s excessive interference and her cousin’s arrogance, and they were looking for a new leader.

I actively welcomed such people into my circle.

Thanks to that, I was naturally able to expand my influence.

‘And that was how high society became divided into two factions: mine and the Crown Princess’s.’

The Crown Princess realized this situation rather late and tried to ask the noble ladies for help.

However, those ladies, who had spent years navigating high society, were enjoying the division among the younger generation far too much to interfere.

In the end, the Crown Princess, who had once reigned as the queen of high society, suddenly found her influence split between herself and me.

The young ladies who knew this entire process inside and out began speaking one after another.

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

“That’s right. We had such a wonderful time there.”

“It would have been even better if Lady Belladi had been with us……”

“I’m sure Her Highness the Crown Princess will send an invitation to Lady Belladi as well, won’t she?”

At the last question, I raised one eyebrow.

“I’m looking forward to that moment as well.”

The young ladies burst into giggles at my response.

Since this was a formal occasion, I had answered that way, but all of us knew the truth.

The Crown Princess would never invite me.

‘It seems she tried to win over the young ladies close to me while I was away.’

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

Every single one of them was still firmly gathered around me.

‘It seems she couldn’t win over even one of them.’

Well, everyone here genuinely acknowledged me as their leader. How could the Crown Princess possibly succeed in winning them over?

They say you should row while the tide is in.

I had shown my utmost favor to the people who had escaped from the Crown Princess and joined my side.

Especially the young ladies who had been expelled from high society simply because they had gotten on the Crown Princess’s nerves.

I had helped them in various ways so they could return to high society.

During that process, I had even deliberately borrowed the strength of other young ladies.

‘Thanks to that, I protected my image while also creating a strong sense of camaraderie among the young ladies.’

That camaraderie shone brightest at moments like this.

Knowing that my people had stayed by my side even while I had been neglecting them felt rather pleasant.

As if to make a show of it to the Crown Princess’s faction, I clinked my champagne glass against the glasses of the young ladies.

At that moment, the Crown Princess’s cousin, who was holding a fan, frowned and left the area.

I took a sip of champagne with the smile of a victor.

‘Honestly, there’s no reason for the Crown Princess and me to have such a bad relationship.’

The Imperial Family and House Alton maintained a smooth relationship, after all.

Therefore, this was purely a personal matter between two individuals.

Come to think of it, there had been exactly one time when the Crown Princess had invited me to tea.

It was back when I had just debuted in high society.

—Come under my wing, Lady Alton. In return, I will appoint you as my chief lady-in-waiting.

The Crown Princess had invited me and made the offer in an arrogant tone.

For the record, at the time, I was a girl who had no intention of bowing her head to anyone except my family.

—How amusing. You’re telling the only duchess in the Empire to become a lady-in-waiting? Even though you don’t have a drop of imperial blood in you……

Even after I answered her like that, she couldn’t punish me.

The position of “Crown Princess,” neither Empress nor Princess, was roughly equal to mine.

I could still vividly remember the Crown Princess’s distorted expression after hearing my answer.

From our very first conversation, a deep rift had formed between us.

Thanks to that, the possibility of the Crown Princess and me ever getting along had become extremely remote.

‘She may be unhappy that my appearance reduced her standing…… but what can I do? These young ladies say they like me more than they like her.’

I smiled with satisfaction.

The atmosphere of the banquet continued to grow warmer.

As I leisurely strengthened my friendships with them, one of the young ladies brought up an interesting topic.

“Come to think of it, have you heard? His Highness Killian, who went to the Magala Empire to study, has returned this time.”

The one who brought it up was Elosha Bergman, the beloved daughter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

At the unexpected name, everyone looked at her with wide eyes.

“Oh my goodness, His Highness Killian?”

“Is it really true that he has returned?”

At the young ladies’ excitement, Elosha nodded enthusiastically.

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

“My goodness, but why is high society so quiet about it?”

“I know, right?”

“I haven’t heard anything about His Highness since I was very young!”

The atmosphere became even more boisterous.

The young ladies began discussing the Second Prince, Killian, in earnest.

“His studies abroad lasted such a long time, didn’t they? He even held his coming-of-age ceremony in the Magala Empire.”

“Why on earth didn’t he return?”

“Did Marquis Bergman tell you anything else?”

“Hmm…… I’m not really sure about that……”

Elosha seemed reluctant to go any further and gave a vague answer.

I looked at her for a moment before smiling kindly.

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

As I spoke, I gently fixed a stray strand of her hair.

Elosha’s face immediately turned bright red.

“W-Well, come to think of it……”

She stopped there, glanced around cautiously, and then lowered her voice.

“I heard that His Highness Killian had quite a reputation with women in the Magala Empire…… Apparently, when he returned this time, there were more than a few women who came to see him off. And they say the Empire’s twin princesses were there, too……!”

“My goodness.”

“Is that really true?”

“Apparently, that’s why His Highness the Crown Prince tried to keep His Highness Killian’s return quiet. But His Highness Killian doesn’t seem to care at all. I heard he went out this morning.”

At Elosha’s words, everyone frowned.

“My goodness. I remember him being such a wonderful person when he was young……”

“Well, it has been a long time.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Emperor must be extremely worried.”

“By the way, if he went out first thing this morning, I suppose that means he doesn’t intend to attend the winter banquet today.”

I quietly listened to them and slowly tilted my head.

‘Killian Allerman Deckardil……’

The Second Prince who had gone to study in the Magala Empire at a young age and had never returned home even once.

Naturally, he was someone with whom I had absolutely no connection.

And yet, I couldn’t help but find him rather concerning.

‘Because Prince Killian never went abroad to study in the original novel.’

William being a spy was something that had happened long before the original story began, so I could understand that.

But Prince Killian was different.

Why had he gone abroad to study?

How had he ended up doing something completely different from what happened in the original novel?

To be honest, I had been so busy over the past six months that I had forgotten about his existence.

But now that I had heard his name again, all sorts of questions began to arise.

As I was lost in thought while listening to the young ladies, someone approached me.

“Long time no see, Belladi.”

I cleared my complicated thoughts and looked toward the owner of the voice.