The sixth prince, who had been executed in the kingdom after being betrayed by the trusted saint, was reincarnated and, in order to seek revenge, became engaged once again to the neighboring kingdom’s “Guillotine Princess.” As a result, he was adored and lived happily.

“And when I was twelve years old, my mother…”

“Oh, I see.”

We were seated on the balcony of the imperial palace, enjoying our conversation.

Hmm… so far, the conversation has been quite safe, without any sensitive topics.

I had thought that she might try to involve me in some way, either as an ally or a pawn, but I wasn’t sure whether she planned to use charm, manipulation like the Saint or Mariette, threats and blackmail, or perhaps a combination of all of these tactics.

Then…

“Actually, when I was a child, I met Prince Gustave.”

“Me…?”

“Yes, do you not remember?”

“Uh, well…”

“Yes, I see.”

Uncharacteristically, Bridget wore a genuinely sad expression. Of course, I couldn’t easily believe her, as it could well be an act.

“Back when I was seven… during the negotiations for that supposed ceasefire agreement…”

“W-Wait a moment. Are you talking about that ceasefire agreement…!?”

“You can’t stop me, Prince Gustave. It’s my turn to talk.”

With a finger on my lips, Bridget smiled gently and began to speak haltingly.

◇

It was… when I first visited Valrois Kingdom, Parthium, and the royal palace for the negotiations of the ceasefire agreement. My older sister and I were accompanied by our father, Emperor Edward, and, in hindsight, it might have been planned that one of the princes, including Prince Gustave, would be engaged to me as a sign of the agreement.

In fact, while the Emperor, ministers, and the adults from our kingdom were negotiating vigorously, there were five princes on the Valrois side as well.

But, as a child, the negotiation room was boring for me. I slipped out of the room unnoticed when the adults weren’t paying attention.

It was my first time in the royal palace, and it was so exciting that I decided to play explorers on my own. However, I got carried away running around, lost track of where the Emperor’s group was, and ended up in unfamiliar areas. Finally, I started crying.

That’s when…

“Um, what’s wrong… here?”

Prince Gustave approached me and spoke.

I tried to explain that I had gotten lost, but I couldn’t articulate my thoughts because I was crying. Prince Gustave wore a troubled expression and took my hand, leading me somewhere.

That place was…

“Wow…”

A field of colorful flowers stretched out as far as the eye could see.

I completely forgot that I had been crying, and my attention was captivated by the beautiful scenery in the palace courtyard.

I’ll never forget Prince Gustave’s slightly proud expression at that moment.

“…After that, Prince Gustave finally calmed me down and took me back to the room where Emperor Edward and the others were.”

“That’s… incredible.”

After finishing her story, Bridget exhaled and blushed, looking at me.

I covered my mouth with my hand, taken aback. To be honest, I remembered this incident.

The girl who appeared in the lonely palace as a lost child.

“…Why does she know about that?”

In truth, this was a very old memory that I had almost forgotten. I had never told anyone about it, so how could she know?

“It’s not possible that… she’s that girl, is it?”

I shook my head, denying the absurd idea. Such a coincidence was highly unlikely. That girl from back then was probably just a noble’s daughter who had come to the palace.

“Anyway, it seems she’s up to something,” I muttered to myself.

During her first life… Bridget would do anything to take down Princess Abigail, no matter what it took. She was willing to go to great lengths to claim everything that belonged to her.

“Ahaha…”

Looking up at the night sky, I let out a deep sigh.

This woman believed that she could leave a mark on me by simply showing some interest. However, if that was her plan, it wouldn’t work so easily.

I couldn’t afford to be distracted by someone like her, especially when I had a clear goal to achieve.

“Someday, she might follow the same path as the Saint, Louis, and Mariette… No, I shouldn’t be the one to do it. That should be Princess Abigail.”

I moved away from the balcony railing where I had been leaning, returning to the venue.

Unaware of the eyes that had been watching every move I made throughout the entire conversation.