K-Eldest Daughter Possessed a Childcare Novel

After my mother passed away, I was overwhelmed with training and managing the estate. As a result, I didn’t engage in social activities or interact with other nobles.

However, I made an exception for regular meetings with Mostin and Zion.

‘Because they are that important to me.’

Today, I was on my way to Duke Fredo’s residence for our gathering.

As I sat in the moving carriage, leaning my chin on my hand and gazing out the window, I saw three children playing in the central square.

‘One girl and two boys….’

Seeing that combination, I was instantly reminded of the first time I met them.

***

The three sturdy pillars that supported the Empire.

Alton of the North.

Fredo of the West.

Agla of the South.

It was quite a remarkable coincidence that children were born in these three duchies in the same year.

That was me, Belladi Alton.

Mostin Fredo.

And Zion Agla.

I heard that Mostin and Zion, who were from the Fredo and Agla families that frequently interacted, had been friends even before they could walk.

In contrast, our Alton family walked an independent path with little interaction with other houses. Moreover, since I was the only one of a different gender, I spent my early childhood with little connection to them.

Time passed, and when I was about ten years old, an incident occurred.

That year, the school being constructed on the outskirts of the capital under the orders of the late emperor was completed, and the newspapers of the Empire were flooded with articles like these.

“First school for commoners! Finally completed!”

The project, which the late emperor had fought long and hard with the noble council to achieve, was completed in his son’s reign.

To promote this achievement, the emperor held a grand completion ceremony.

Many prominent nobles, as well as members of the imperial family, had to attend the ceremony. My mother stayed at the estate with the still young Meldor, and I attended the ceremony with my father.

‘I met Mostin and Zion there for the first time.’

By then, they were already inseparable friends, barely acknowledging me and busy playing together.

I wasn’t particularly interested in them either, so after a brief greeting, I mingled with the other girls my age.

The ceremony seemed to be going smoothly without any issues. As time passed, the imperial family left first, and when the nobles began to rise to leave one by one…

An incident occurred.

An accident still talked about to this day: the .

A small group of nobles, extremely dissatisfied with the establishment of a school for commoners, planted a bomb in the building.

Fortunately, no one died in this incident. The terrorists, conscious that the situation would become too big if there were noble casualties, planted the bomb only in the annex behind the school.

It was a stroke of luck that the collapsed building was empty, but…

The problem was that we were in the garden of that annex.

Me, Mostin, and Zion.

Our presence in the annex at that time was purely coincidental.

I ended up there chasing a cat, and the two of them reached there looking for a comfortable open space to play.

“This is where we’re going to play, so… can you leave?”

Zion looked at me with blinking golden eyes.

I tilted my head, looking at him.

“Why should I?”

“Well… it’s just that there are two of us, and you’re alone.”

“I’m alone, but you two are the ones interrupting me playing here.”

“… oh, is that so?”

Then Mostin, standing beside him, grinned and said.

“Why don’t you just join us.”

At that moment.

Boom!

I still remembered it vividly.

The deafening explosion that swallowed Mostin’s words and the thick, fierce wind that swept over us.

And the moment I saw the shadow of the collapsing building falling over young Mostin’s face.

“Watch out!”

At that moment, I instinctively hugged Mostin and Zion.

Flash!

Simultaneously, the necklace I was wearing glowed, and a blue shield formed around us.

Children of high-ranking nobles carried jewelry engraved with protective magic just in case. I also wore a necklace my mother had engraved with magic.

On top of the shield formed by my necklace, green and purple shields also appeared. They were Mostin’s and Zion’s.

Though the three layers of shields protected us, they couldn’t completely absorb the vibrations from the collapsing building.

Mostin and Zion curled up in my arms. I kept my eyes on the falling debris.

How much time had passed like that?

Everything fell silent.

“Is it over?”

“Seems like it.”

Mostin and Zion opened their eyes and looked around.

Though there were three layers of shields, the green one had long since shattered.

What now enveloped us was a faint purple magic circle and a sturdy blue one.

“You two need to replace your jewelry.”

At my words, Mostin and Zion looked at their brooches with dejected faces. Their brooches were peridot and amethyst, respectively.

Mostin’s peridot was completely shattered, and Zion’s amethyst was badly cracked.

“What gemstone did you use?”

At Zion’s question, I shook my necklace.

“Diamond.”

Only gemstones could have pure magic engraved on them. And not just any gemstones, but those exposed to natural magic for a very long time.

‘The amethyst on the gun and the sapphire in the greenhouse were also such magical gemstones.’

Magical gemstones were very rare, and among them, diamonds were the rarest, with only three existing, including mine.

True to its reputation, my necklace was unscathed and gleaming. The diamond’s solid protection had shielded us.

Looking at the shield, I spoke.

“You should be grateful. You’re alive because of me.”

The strong diamond, engraved with a magic circle by my mother, who was a top-tier mage, provided immense protection.

Being inside that blue shield felt like being in my mother’s arms. It also gave me a strange sense of superiority over the other two duchies.

Mostin scratched his head awkwardly at my words.

“Yeah. If it weren’t for you, we’d have been in big trouble. Thanks.”

Zion blushed and slightly bowed his head.

“I apologize for earlier. I didn’t mean to pick a fight.”

I nodded at his shy apology.

“I accept. Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Get out? Shouldn’t we wait for the adults to come to our rescue?”

At Mostin’s words, I shook my head.

“If we wait, the shield’s time will run out. No matter how strong it is, it’s not omnipotent.”

Zion agreed with me.

“That makes sense. But…”

He sighed, looking at the debris blocking our way.

“How do we get through all that?”

“You just follow me.”

I said, kicking a piece of the debris nearby.

Crash!

A loud noise echoed as the debris crumbled.

“What are you doing!”

“Are you crazy?!”

Zion and Mostin grabbed my arms in shock. I ignored them and looked up.

“As long as this shield exists, we’re safe no matter what. I already checked the way out when the building collapsed.”

I moved towards the debris again.

“Getting out before the shield disappears is our priority.”

Mostin tightened his grip on my wrist, his brown eyes resolute.

“There might be others trapped here.”

“Are you suggesting we just wait? What if the shield vanishes?”

“No matter what, we can’t endanger others to save ourselves.”

“That’s just your assumption.”

“So is the idea that the adults won’t reach us in time.”

Mostin and I were at an impasse.

Then Zion stepped in.

“Let’s not waste energy arguing. I’ll use magic to check if there are any other living beings nearby.”

The Agla family had produced many mages, and Zion had shown exceptional talent even then.

“You can wait for that, right, Belladi?”

His golden eyes were calm as they looked at me.

It was the first time anyone besides my mother had called me by my name so affectionately.

I felt a strange emotion and slowly nodded.

“… alright.”

As soon as I spoke, Zion knelt and placed his hands on the ground, closing his eyes. Purple magic flowed around him.

After a moment, Zion’s eyes opened.

“There’s no one else around here.”

“Really?”

Mostin asked, and Zion, wiping sweat from his purple hair, nodded with a smile.

“Yes, there seem to be people gathered outside, but there’s no one here.”

“Great!”

Mostin smiled broadly, finally relieved, and looked at me.

“Show us the way! I’ll clear the debris!”

“I can do it.”

“Let me handle this at least!”

“Yeah, Belladi. Let Mostin do it. He’s been training with swords since he was young, so he’s good at this.”

“That’s right! I’m strong!”

The two boys, now rid of their serious expressions, laughed and looked at each other.

I sighed deeply at their words and pointed in one direction.

“Then clear that first. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Got it, leave it to me!”

“Hey, I’ll help too!”

The two eagerly moved in the direction I pointed.

As we moved, debris continued to fall. Each time, the boys flinched but didn’t get discouraged.

Zion and Mostin used their magic and strength effectively to clear the debris. Watching them, I felt a strange envy.

I had no friends like them…

Meanwhile, we got closer to the light.

“We’re almost there.”

“Ugh! But this last stone is really heavy!”

“Oh, it really is!”

The last piece of debris was much larger than the boys themselves. Despite their efforts, it didn’t budge.

Watching them struggle, I stepped forward.

“Move aside, I can’t stand watching this.”

“Are you going to help?”

“I’ll do it myself.”

“But we couldn’t move it together-”

Before Zion finished his sentence.

I swiftly kicked the debris.

Boom!

The massive piece, as big as a mountain, shattered into pieces with a loud noise.