Last of these reviews until the other three volumes arrive. I fear this is the kind of series that you not only binge, but binge reread.
One thing that Rishe observed in the previous volume, that she cannot beat her former masters in a straight up duel in their trade, is played with. Kaine Tully, the man who taught her to be an excellent trader, has challenged her to give him a proper business worth his investing in her. Rishe uses her skills as an apothecary to invent a new product, uses the skills Kaine himself taught her to identify (or rather create) the target market, then uses her original skill set as a future queen to create a way that this market will benefit the people of her new home. Of course, when all this still doesn't work the way she hopes for, she flat out cheats and hits him where it hurts. Hey, she's the future Empress of Galkhein, playing fair is not at all in the books. Of course, Kaine Tully is only half the volume - the other half is the screwed up family dynamics of the Imperial House of Galkhein, starting with the damaged relationship between Arnold and Theodore, his younger brother.
In some ways, Rishe is more like a detective than a princess. She's also a lot like superglue. On the one hand, she considers her husband to be a fathomless mystery she cannot figure out, but she still applies herself to trying to understand him. Arnold plays it close to the chest, so she is always watching him and listening to him, piecing together the clues he does not realize he has left behind to build a better picture of who he is. She's still quite charming and capable, but as many people not named Arnold don't realize, she's also incredibly dangerous. But under all these, it's her desire to live without regrets merging with her wish to prevent Arnold from launching his war against the world that drive the plot. She's gambling that the Arnold who cherishes her freedom and treats her so gently is the man he truly is, while the Emperor who killed her in her sixth life is what circumstances forced him to be.
As manga is a visual medium, I think the art should always be discussed, even if I've done nothing but praise it for the last two reviews. Again, charming, but seeing as this volume is a bit more serious and intense, the chibi insets used to emphasize emotions are less common, as there is less humor. Not to say there is no humor, as Rishe gets in a good mental jibe against Kaine Tully, just that the intensity of the scenes require the more serious "normal" art to best deliver without undermining the story.
I still recommended this series, guys, continue to stick with it!