This is a trap.
When the first three princes are assassinated, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth begin a civil war, everyone expects Julian to be a puppet or a corpse. Instead, he uses "low-born" tactics: bribing servants with kitchen secrets, creating a spy network from dismissed maids, and exploiting the royal treasury's loopholes (he finds a forgotten debt ledger that could bankrupt the empire). His motto: "A prince who knows the value of a copper coin will never lose a kingdom." Poor Kid I Was Reincarnated As The 7th Prince...
Trash. Yeah. That was me.
So when I opened my eyes to silk curtains, a golden chandelier, and a woman with tears in her eyes calling me "Your Highness," I had one thought: This is a trap