KDPCD 26

Chapter 26

“There is no law to prevent a princess from having a monopoly. However, there is a law that can prevent the emperor from having one. If I become emperor, I will put an end to all monopolies and grant everyone the freedom to purchase whatever they want.”

There had never been a princess in history like Princess Gririca, who personally developed technology and ran businesses. Consequently, there were no laws specifically designed to restrain princesses either.

Princess Gririca had simply taken advantage of that loophole in the law.

Furthermore, the princess understood the vanity of the nobles far too well. In addition to restricting the purchase of her inventions, she came up with another scheme to expand her influence.

She decided to use the enormous amount of money she had earned through magical engineering to create a new craze among the nobility.

That was the imperial family’s “Winter Ball” mentioned on the invitation.

‘It must have caused an incredible sensation.’

During winter, everyone usually stayed cooped up inside their homes, waiting impatiently for spring to arrive.

But a ball in the middle of winter?

The princess installed enormous heating facilities in the imperial ballroom. Then she invited only members of her faction and held a different kind of ball every day.

The nobles invited to these balls could enjoy flowers and autumn foliage that would normally be impossible to see in winter—or rather, they could admire snow and ice sculptures inside a ballroom maintained at a comfortable temperature.

The nobles belonging to the princess’s faction who enjoyed the Winter Ball began boasting about it incessantly. On top of that, some nobles who received the princess’s permission started various businesses, putting out products related to the Winter Ball.

‘The nobles supporting the princess are enjoying a convenient lifestyle thanks to magical engineering inventions, attending beautiful parties, and even making money.’

The nobles who were left out could not stand the feeling that they were falling behind.

In the end, one noble after another from the opposing faction took Princess Gririca’s hand.

Agla in the south, which had little need for heating facilities, continued supporting the crown prince until the very end. But when even Fredo in the west, which had previously remained neutral, switched to Princess Gririca’s side, they had no choice but to follow the prevailing trend.

In the end, she succeeded in becoming the first woman on the continent to ascend to the imperial throne.

‘To commemorate that, the imperial family held the Winter Ball every year.’

In particular, the Alton family had been the first family to support Gririca because we had helped spread heating facilities throughout the north. So the Winter Ball was also a rather special occasion for our family.

‘But Father is in the north, so he probably won’t be able to attend.’

Normally, even if he were in the north, he would have been expected to return via teleportation to attend the event.

However, Father was currently too occupied with taking care of Nesia to even think about returning to the capital.

‘Fortunately, as far as the public is concerned, he went there to investigate a gemstone mine.’

Even though magical engineering inventions had advanced, magical gemstones were still precious treasures.

No matter how remarkable an invention was, it was ultimately just a tool that made everyday life more convenient. The magic that could generate a protective barrier in midair and save my life still belonged to gemstones.

Therefore, developing magical gemstone mines remained an extremely important matter even now.

The imperial family would understand Father’s absence.

“It’s been a long time since I attended a ball. I’ll need a new dress, so invite some designers to the mansion.”

“Yes, Lady Bellady.”

I said that to the maid and put the invitation away.

I had been absent from high society while focusing on caring for Mother, her funeral, and my training. Normally, I actually enjoyed attending balls quite a lot.

‘I wonder how high society has changed in the meantime.’

As the only duke’s daughter in the empire, I had been one of the central figures in high society.

Since I had been completely absent from social events, I was rather curious about what changes had taken place in the ever-changing social scene.

The first day of the Winter Ball arrived quickly.

Balls were usually held at night, but the Winter Ball was traditionally held starting in the afternoon. As if to match the occasion, snow was falling heavily outside.

I stepped down from the carriage, carefully fastening my newly tailored velvet dress and coat.

The moment I got out, someone opened an umbrella to shield me from the snow.

Thinking it was a waiting servant, I turned my head, only to find Sion standing beside me, dressed impeccably.

“Thanks, Sion.”

“Hello, Bellady.”

“But why are you holding the umbrella?”

I glanced behind him.

The servant whose umbrella Sion had stolen was standing there, looking completely flustered.

“Why do you keep taking over things other people are supposed to do?”

“Just… because I felt like it?”

As he said that, he pressed his shoulder against mine.

Standing side by side like this, I suddenly realized that Sion had grown taller than me.

I had a feeling that from now on, unless I wore shoes with a decent heel, we wouldn’t be able to keep our eyes at roughly the same level.

‘Sion has such a pretty face, a well-proportioned body, and a nice personality. And now he’s going to be tall, too.’

It wasn’t just because he was my friend and I was flattering him.

Sion really was an exceptionally handsome guy.

Feeling strangely proud of him, I nodded, only for someone to suddenly throw an arm around our shoulders.

“Wow, it’s snowing like crazy!”

It was Mostin, wearing his usual cheerful smile.

“It’s cold! Let’s hurry inside the ballroom!”

Mostin fussed as he squeezed beneath the umbrella.

Before we knew it, the three of us were huddled together under a single umbrella.

I moved Sion, who was holding the umbrella, into the middle and shrugged.

“At least you two dressed according to the plan, huh?”

I could see the clothes Sion and Mostin were wearing beneath their coats.

The dress code for the three of us today was deep wine-colored velvet.

Mostin had suggested the dress code.

He loved having a sense of belonging and preferred doing everything together as a group of three. He had also been the one to suggest that we meet in front of the ballroom and enter together today.

Mostin looked pleased as he admired the three of us dressed up together.

“I knew we’d all look great.”

“We do all have a certain presence.”

“I’m honored to hear you say that, Sion.”

“Indeed, Bellady. By the way, Sion’s admirers are going to go crazy again today.”

We chatted as we entered the imperial building where the ballroom was located.

The building was warm from the entrance.

We handed our coats and umbrella over to the imperial maids and headed toward the doors. The waiting attendants politely greeted us before opening the ballroom doors wide.

Beyond the opening doors was a winter wonderland of white, perfectly suited to the season. The curtains covering the enormous terraces had all been drawn aside, providing an excellent view of the snow falling outside.

As soon as we entered, the attention of the nobles chatting in small groups turned toward us.

I smiled leisurely and picked up a glass filled with champagne from a servant’s tray.

“Come to think of it, where’s your younger brother?”

Mostin, who had also picked up a glass of champagne, tilted his head.

I took a small sip before answering.

“I increased the amount of magic lessons he’s taking these days, and he became completely absorbed in them. He said he couldn’t come because he had to study.”

Sion spoke up as well.

“He’s skipping the Winter Ball for that?”

“It’s fine for Meldor to miss it since I’m here. Father allowed it, too.”

I was quite pleased with the fact that Meldor had become more obedient.

If he continued focusing solely on magic like this, it would make it much easier for me to increase my influence.

I chuckled to myself at the thought when a group of people approached me.

“Lady Bellady!”

“It’s been so long!”

They were young noblewomen from families with whom I frequently interacted.

I smiled lightly at their greetings.

“It’s wonderful to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch lately. I also apologize for not being able to reply to each of your letters individually.”

“Not at all. It’s not as though we don’t understand your circumstances, Lady Bellady.”

“Exactly. I’m just so happy to see you in person again!”

The young ladies surrounded me and led me toward the sofa where they had been sitting.

I exchanged a glance with Mostin and Sion before following them.

As soon as I sat down on the sofa, the young ladies gathered around me and began talking.

“How have you been?”

“Your dress looks absolutely beautiful on you today.”

“It looks like you coordinated your outfits with the young masters! The three of you have such a close friendship. It makes me happy just to see it!”

I maintained my smile as I listened attentively to them.

For the record, I was overwhelmingly popular among girls around my age.

There were already many young nobles who admired the trio consisting of me, Mostin, and Sion, and each of us also had our own individual fan base.

First, Mostin.

Mostin was particularly well-liked by nobles who were somewhat older.

Perhaps it was because he had a bright and approachable smile that Sion and I lacked, which seemed to appeal greatly to adults.

Even now, Mostin was happily chatting with several nobles who were old enough to be his grandparents.

And then there was Sion.

Sion…

I subtly shifted my gaze toward where Sion was standing.

The others followed my movement and turned their heads as well.

Then they nodded.

“As expected, Young Master Agla is incredibly popular.”

“I’ve never seen anyone in high society who is so popular with both men and women.”

“My mother says that he’s even more popular than the Duchess of Agla was when she was active in high society.”

Just as they said, there was a huge crowd gathered around Sion.

Most of them were around our age, and every single one was staring at Sion with flushed faces.

It was all because Sion looked exactly like the Duchess of Agla, who was said to be the most innocent and beautiful woman in the entire empire.

‘He must be called the most beautiful person in high society because of that face.’

And with his gentle, warm personality, there was simply no way anyone could dislike Sion.

There was a group that had attached themselves firmly to Sion and constantly tried to talk to him…

“Young Master Agla, please accept this. I embroidered this handkerchief for you while thinking of you all night.”

“Lord Sion, I heard that you like magic, so we turned an entire floor of our mansion into a magic laboratory. Please come and visit us.”

“I made this perfume while thinking of you, Lord Sion. Please use only this perfume from now on. All right?”

They were the ‘extreme followers of Sion.’

They were Sion’s most devoted fans, people who engaged in fierce competition with one another just to get close to him.

Kind-hearted Sion seemed troubled, but he smiled and responded to each of them one by one.

‘That guy really makes his life unnecessarily exhausting.’

If it were me, I would have ignored all of them.

For example, Sion’s followers had once approached me in the past.