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.

“Your Majesty… what happened to your claw?”

“What!?”

With that single phrase, King Edward gasped and visibly showed his panic.

The sudden change in policy by the Straskreide Empire, which had been in a favorable position in the war, to enter into a ceasefire agreement with the Valrois Kingdom was due to King Edward’s health issues. The evidence of this was the brownish color of his claw, with clear white lines appearing on it.

In my previous life, about a year before King Edward’s death, he disappeared from public view and remained bedridden. Even now, King Edward had put on a brave face, but during the three months since I arrived in the Empire, he had only appeared officially at this baptism ceremony. This indicated that his illness was progressing.

However… if this was indeed due to an illness…

In any case, if the hero known as the “Golden Lion King,” Edward of Straskreide, were to disappear, the Empire would be thrown into turmoil, and everything that had been built up would crumble. To prevent this, he had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Kingdom to keep his illness hidden and to prepare for a transition to the next regime within the remaining time.

“When did you realize this? Or perhaps, does the Empire already know about it?”

“The first sign was when the Empire immediately accepted the ceasefire proposal from the Kingdom. My suspicions were confirmed when I met you for the first time. And…”

I hesitated for a moment, glanced around theatrically, took a deep breath, and continued.

“I haven’t reported this to the Empire. Of course, I have no intention of leaking this information in the future.”

King Edward let out a chuckle, raising his shoulders and exhaling dramatically.

“What do you wish for?”

King Edward was indeed quick to understand that I had ulterior motives for requesting this meeting, especially without reporting to the Empire.

“My wish is simple. If things continue as they are, the Empire will eventually be destroyed by the Kingdom after Your Majesty’s passing. I want to prevent that.”

Even though, in my previous life, I only knew that the capital, Londinia, fell and Princess Abigail was executed, I didn’t know for sure if the entire Empire was destroyed. In fact, that woman, Bridget, had her base in the northeastern city of Norwich due to her ongoing power struggle with Princess Abigail at the time, avoiding the capital’s downfall.

“There’s little time, so I’ll be brief. I have two requests for Your Majesty. The first is to clearly establish a neutral position in the power struggle between the two princesses.”

At that moment, King Edward furrowed his brows slightly.

Naturally, he supported Bridget. That was evident from the way he referred to Bridget as the “Goddess’s Representative” and Princess Abigail as the “Guillotine Princess.”

“I didn’t expect you to ask me to support Abigail.”

“I have no such expectations. If I were to ask for that, Your Majesty would likely eliminate me immediately, wouldn’t you?”

“Well…”

King Edward chuckled softly.

If he were to openly support Princess Abigail and seize power, there was a risk of me becoming a puppet of the Empire, or even worse, the Kingdom. He wouldn’t take such a risk.

But for now, this was enough. If King Edward took a neutral stance, it would likely alleviate some of the unjust treatment Princess Abigail had endured.

I would prove that she was the rightful queen and make him regret his choices.

“What’s your second request? Don’t burden me with impossible demands.”

“My second request is not difficult either. Dismiss all the current palace chefs and replace them with new ones. You can leave the selection of the new chefs to Princess Abigail.”

King Edward’s expression vanished, and he lowered his gaze.

It seemed that he had already realized the implications of my request… that I had seen the potential.

“I won’t reveal what I know today if you promise to fulfill these two requests.”

I gently removed the sword pressed against my neck with my right hand and knelt down, placing my hand over my chest and lowering my head.

“Only answer one question. Why do you wish for something that is disadvantageous for the Kingdom?”

“The Kingdom is my enemy.”

For me, there was no other answer. More accurately, the Kingdom was an enemy to both me and Princess Abigail.

“Kuk… The Kingdom is your enemy.”

“It’s only natural. I will never forgive the Valrois Kingdom.”

I told King Edward in a voice lower than a whisper.

I would exact my vengeance on those people, the ones who betrayed me and, most importantly, executed Princess Abigail, without acknowledging her final words.

I would make sure they regretted their choices, to the point where they would realize how wrong their decisions had been.

“I hope you will consider granting these two requests.”

I respectfully bowed and left the room.