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.

“Princess Abigail, she’ll be pleased to hear about this.”

After finishing my training, taking a bath, and changing my clothes, I let a smile cross my face as I thought of her. While my original plan to bring Glen to our side had fallen through, I had still gained the allegiance of the kingdom’s mightiest warrior, the impregnable “Unconquered.”

In a sense, General Cyrus was even more important than Glen. Although Sir Glen was one of the people closest to King Edward and held the responsibility for guarding the royal palace, General Cyrus had control over the entire military of the kingdom. With King Edward deciding to play both sides in the succession battle, General Cyrus’ influence was bound to increase.

“Now… she’s probably in meetings with the nobles again today.”

The succession battle had heated up, leading Princess Abigail to have even more meetings with supporters on top of her regular duties. The same went for Bridget. At this point, the two sisters rarely crossed paths unless it was an official event.

However…

“Even with King Edward still in good health, openly contesting the succession like this can’t be sitting well with him.”

I muttered to myself, wearing a wry smile. Although my request had contributed to this situation, King Edward had made the opportunistic declaration of neutrality during the baptism ceremony himself. He might be enjoying the situation from afar.

Speaking of requests, there was another one… The complete replacement of the palace chefs had been promptly executed. Princess Abigail had personally selected the new chefs, ensuring that there would be no questionable individuals among them for some time.

Of course, there might still be attempts to corrupt the chefs sooner or later. However, I had arranged for Princess Abigail to have someone constantly monitor their actions. This should make it easier to uncover any wrongdoing.

You might already know this, but there’s a high probability that someone had been poisoning King Edward’s meals. As for who was responsible…

“…”

Standing alone in the palace corridor, I noticed Claire, Princess Abigail’s handmaiden, gazing at me.

“Claire, what brings you here?”

I asked calmly, making it clear that I was aware of her presence. It was unusual for Princess Abigail’s personal handmaiden to be away from her side while she was engaged in official duties or meetings with nobles.

So… the purpose of her visit must involve me.

“May I have a moment of your time?”

Marian, the handmaiden in question, was currently multitasking as a handmaiden while also attending to reports for the kingdom. As she wasn’t by my side at the moment, I decided to play along to learn her true intentions.

“Alright. So…?”

“What brings us here.”

Claire led me to a small storage shed on the edge of a garden, away from the main palace. I looked around and, as a precaution, placed my hand on my waist.

In my first life, after surviving assassination attempts and the like, I had always carried a gladius with a blade length of fifty centimeters for self-defense. I was on guard since Claire had been part of my past life’s troubles. I couldn’t help but be cautious.

“By bringing me here, what do you hope to achieve?”

“It’s quite simple. You are not suitable for Princess Abigail.”

Huh… Even our dialogue matches up with that of my past life.

“Well, then, can you explain what kind of man is ‘suitable’ for Princess Abigail? Just saying ‘not suitable’ doesn’t really give me any…”

“You don’t need to think about such matters.”

Claire suddenly lunged forward, thrusting her knife towards my throat. In my first life, she hadn’t directly attacked me like this, but this seemed to be her typical modus operandi.

However…

“Is your family, the Corbeau family, a lineage of assassins?”

“Stay quiet.”

Claire held the knife at my throat and whispered in a low voice. It appeared that my previous comment had struck a nerve. Well, her recent actions had already indicated as much.

“But, making a move like this… Are you sure? If you eliminate me here, not only you but the Corbeau family itself could vanish. Of course, your brother too.”

“Don’t worry. If that time comes, I will handle it as an unfortunate accident… But, if you break off your engagement with Princess Abigail and leave the kingdom, I won’t lay a finger on you… No, I’ll even guarantee your safety as long as you remain in the kingdom.”

“Hmm…”

Anyway, it was clear that she was hell-bent on tearing Princess Abigail and me apart. However, I didn’t need to be cautious in this case.

“Just one thing. Can you tell me your… or rather, your family’s real motives? I mean, surely it’s not just that you dislike me?”

Not only Claire, but it seemed that Glen, too, was trying to eliminate me. While being the sixth prince of the Valois Kingdom was certainly a reason, I couldn’t help but feel that there was more to

it. There seemed to be some hidden agenda.

“…You.”

“Hmm?”

“As long as you’re not around, she can be saved.”