The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne

”So, is it really necessary to be this close?”

Inside the horse-drawn carriage, Nolan glanced at Seira, who was clutching his right arm tightly.

Ever since they left, the woman had been clinging to him, making him uncomfortable.

However, if he pushed her away, Seira would surely resort to unexpected measures, which would only overwhelm him.

Seira rested her cheek on his shoulder and said casually, ”Why? Don’t you like being close to me? Do you know how many noble children dream of this?”

She glanced at Nolan with a meaningful look.

Hearing that, Nolan was left speechless and sank into thought.

What Seira said made sense. One shouldn’t be fooled by the impression that she had no admirers—in reality, she did.

In fact, there were so many that they even outnumbered Rafine’s.

That wasn’t surprising. Seira was incredibly beautiful and possessed a unique charm.

She was strong, yet always calm and gentle with everyone—except those she despised.

She was also intelligent and highly cunning. Even Nolan, who considered himself smart, was sometimes overwhelmed by her.

Even so, they were still siblings, so Nolan found nothing special in her words.

In the end, he chose to remain silent and let her do as she pleased.

The horse-drawn carriage continued on its way until they finally arrived at the city center.

The streets were not crowded. On the contrary, they were rather quiet.

That was because winter was growing harsher, with snow falling far heavier than usual.

As soon as they got off, the cold air greeted them, making Seira shiver.

Although she was wearing a coat, it didn’t help much.

”If you can’t handle it, we can wait until the weather calms down. How about that?” Nolan offered.

Seira shook her head. ”No need. We have to finish this quickly so I can relax. Don’t think you’re the only one who wants to be lazy—I do too.”

”Pfft!” Nolan chuckled softly. ”Alright. Let’s go and finish this quickly.”

He clasped her right palm, and in that instant, the cold that had left Seira weak vanished.

Seira was surprised and stared at Nolan’s grip with wonder.

”Nolan...” She was about to say something, but he promptly covered her mouth with his index finger.

”Sshh. Let’s go. Don’t linger.”

Seira swallowed the words stuck in her throat and nodded weakly.

”Come on, let’s go.”

She didn’t understand how her brother could do such a thing. But one thing was certain—she felt deeply touched and immediately hugged his arm.

The two of them walked along the quiet two-lane street, heading toward a large decoration shop on the left side of the road.

Upon arriving, they were greeted by one of the staff.

”Welcome, Princess Seira and Prince Nolan,” he said respectfully. ”Mr. Rafael has been informed of your arrival. He is waiting for you.”

Seira gave a small nod and, under the staff’s guidance, went with Nolan to meet Rafael.

They stopped in front of a door, and Seira opened it without hesitation.

Inside sat a middle-aged man, about forty-six years old.

His gray hair was neatly combed back, and his expression remained calm and indifferent, as if no problem could trouble him.

Noticing the office door open, he turned and saw Seira and Nolan enter.

”Welcome, Princess Seira and Prince Nolan,” he said politely as he rose to his feet. ”Please, have a seat.”

Without a word, they sat down on the sofa opposite him.

Rafael ordered the staff who had escorted them to brew two cups of tea, then sat back down as well.

”His Majesty the Emperor has informed me of your arrival,” Rafael began bluntly. ”You will be in charge of decorating the capital. Is that correct?”

He looked at Seira and Nolan with a calm gaze. For some reason, Nolan sensed a hidden meaning behind it, but he remained silent.

After all, he was only accompanying Seira and didn’t need to do anything.

”Yes, that’s right,” Seira confirmed. ”You have been entrusted by my father to provide the decoration materials. Have you prepared them?”

Rafael and his shop had handled palace commissions for over a decade.

Not only New Year’s decorations, but also the imperial anniversary and her father’s birthday.

So, she saw no need to beat around the bush and chose to get straight to the point.

Rafael’s expression remained calm as he replied, ”Everything is ready, but...”

His words trailed off, immediately irritating Seira.

”What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” she asked coldly.

Rafael shook his head. ”No, it’s not that. It’s just that Prince Aldric said the southern region was short on decorative materials and requested them a few days before the palace did. So, I can’t provide them to you, Princess.”

He let out a small sigh, regret evident on his face.

Seira’s expression darkened. She straightened her posture and reprimanded him, ”Do you understand what this means? The palace has worked with you for decades. How could you prioritize outsiders over us?”

Although Aldric was a member of the imperial family, he was acting on behalf of the southern region. In that sense, he was indeed an outsider.

”I apologize, Princess.” Rafael gave a wry smile and explained carefully, ”It’s not that I don’t want to prioritize the palace, but this matter is complicated. My shop has built a strong reputation among outsiders. If I were to cancel the southern region’s order unilaterally, wouldn’t that ruin it? So, I truly have no choice.”

He lowered his head, his expression strained, as if cornered by circumstance.

Seira felt a surge of anger. But in the next moment, she composed herself and chose not to press him further.

”All right. I understand.”

With that, she stood up and turned to Nolan.

”Let’s go.”

Nolan nodded, stood up as well, and left with her.

Rafael raised his head once more, watching their retreating figures with a meaningful look.

***

”He’s really annoying,” Nolan said with dissatisfaction.

He glanced at his sister to gauge her reaction. Surprisingly, Seira remained calm and indifferent, as if she didn’t care at all.

”Sister, aren’t you angry?” he asked, feigning confusion.

Seira smiled faintly and replied, ”Why should I be angry? This was clearly planned by Aldric. You realized that too, didn’t you?”

She looked at Nolan meaningfully. He fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.

”Yes, I realized it,” Nolan admitted honestly. ”Aldric was targeting you—no, he was targeting me. It seems he really hates the fact that I managed to deal with the problem in the northern continent.”

In truth, he wasn’t surprised that Seira had seen through it.

As he had said before, his sister was smart, clever, and cunning.

If Cedric had ten points of intelligence, then Seira had fifteen, which showed just how remarkable she was.

”You’re right. That’s a logical conclusion,” Seira agreed. ”So, do you have any ideas, Nolan?”