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

Harad returned, holding the black card carefully in his hand. He handed it to Nolan with a courteous bow.

”Here you go, young master. Please board the ship.”

Evalyn glanced at the black card, then at Nolan, a hint of surprise and meaning in her look.

Nolan took the card and slipped it into his pocket.

”Thank you. By the way, I’m curious about something,” Nolan said, pulling two gold coins from his pocket and offering them to Harad. ”You mentioned earlier a special guest from the Eastern Empire of Izanagi. Can you tell me who it is?”

The guest Harad referred to must be someone of very high status.

Nolan wasn’t sure if the person belonged to the first rank of nobility or a lower one.

But in his mind, the guest was likely from one of the three major first-rank families—Ashikaga, Inuzuka, or Takeda.

If he was right, this journey would probably be… interesting.

Harad’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of the coins. He recognized them as a bribe to reveal the identity of the special guest on the silver ship.

”I’m sorry, Young Master. I can’t tell you. It’s a secret that must not be revealed to anyone,” he said awkwardly, gently pushing Nolan’s hand away.

Nolan wasn’t surprised by the reaction. In fact, the more Harad resisted, the stronger his suspicion grew.

”Are you sure?”

Without hesitation, Nolan placed two more gold coins into Harad’s palm.

”Just whisper it. That way, no one will know you told me. I swear I won’t tell anyone,” he teased.

Gulp!

Harad swallowed hard. This time, his resolve to refuse Nolan had truly hit rock bottom.

Four gold coins… worth thirty thousand Sharn. That was an enormous sum for him.

Yet, as someone entrusted with a duty, he knew he shouldn’t reveal the identity of this special guest.

But weighing immediate profit against duty, he chose profit.

To hell with duty—the money in front of him was far too tempting.

Without hesitation, he accepted the four gold coins and slipped them into his pocket.

”Ahem! Actually, I didn’t want to say this. But since you’re being so insistent, I have no choice.”

He pressed the bridge of his glasses, pretending to sigh deeply.

Evalyn, who had been silent until now, glanced at Nolan with an admiring smile.

’This man really knows how to play with hearts,’ she whispered.

”Then tell us,” Nolan urged, leaning forward.

Evalyn leaned forward too. Harad cleared his throat softly before whispering, ”That person is the Princess of the Eastern Empire of Izanagi—Princess Kaede Taira. She snuck into the Great Velmora Empire for a vacation, but the Eastern Emperor found out and ordered her to return today. That’s why we deployed this silver ship.”

Nolan and Evalyn exchanged instinctive looks of surprise.

At first, they had suspected the identity of the special guest, but they never expected it to be the princess of the Eastern Empire of Izanagi, famed for her beauty: Kaede Taira.

Taira was the family name of one of the most powerful clans in the Eastern Empire of Izanagi.

Before the era of the Demon Emperor Zerathos, the Eastern Empire had been the true ruler of the continent, gradually weakening until it controlled only the eastern region.

”All right, I understand. Thank you for the information,” Nolan said contentedly, patting his shoulder.

Harad nodded enthusiastically. ”You’re welcome, Young Master.”

He felt no regrets about accepting the four gold coins. Judging by the people before him, they were clearly high-ranking individuals in disguise.

But he didn’t want to know more than necessary. For someone like him, staying silent was the key to a long life.

After exchanging a few more words, Nolan and Evalyn stepped onto the ship.

Several other guests had also boarded, but their obvious wealth only made Nolan and Evalyn stand out more.

Inside, a breathtaking sight awaited them. The ship’s interior resembled a lavish palace hall, with a plush red carpet soft underfoot.

”Welcome, passengers,” a female attendant greeted them politely. ”May I see your tickets?”

Nolan and Evalyn reached into their pockets and handed her the gold tickets.

Before they boarded, Harad handed over the two golden tickets as proof of payment.

The woman received them with a smile. ”Follow me, sir and ma’am.”

She turned and walked ahead, and Nolan and Evalyn didn’t hesitate to follow.

Soon, an extraordinarily beautiful woman appeared from the corridor.

Behind her came two maids and three soldiers, fully armed in greenish-gold armor.

Her long black hair cascaded down her back, and gold earrings and bracelets added to her elegance and charm.

The new guests were taken aback by her sudden appearance, but the ship’s attendants quickly escorted them to their rooms.

Then the woman paused. Her gaze drifted to Nolan as he rounded the right-hand corner.

”Hmm? Black hair?” Her eyes widened slightly.

***

”Rooms one hundred and one and one hundred and two are yours, sir and ma’am. Please get some rest. Breakfast and lunch will be delivered, and for dinner, you may go to the restaurant that’s been prepared. But if you’d rather eat in your room, just inform the attendant.”

After giving those instructions, the attendant bowed once more before leaving.

”In that case, I’ll head to my room to sleep first,” Nolan said. His expression suddenly turned mischievous as he added, jokingly, ”If you miss me, I don’t mind letting you sleep in my room.”

Evalyn’s face flushed bright red. ”You bastard!”

She lunged to punch him in the stomach, but Nolan had already slipped into his room and locked the door.

”Hah… hah…” Evalyn panted, still red-faced. ”You stinky man…”

Despite her irritation, she felt intensely embarrassed. After all, Nolan’s words had been a bit over the line.

Shoving those thoughts aside, she stepped into her room.

…

”Oh? The princess has been found, you say? Where is she now?”

A man in a white robe glanced at the man seated before him. He was handsome, with a calm, composed expression.

”His Majesty the Eastern Emperor has traced her to the Great Velmora Empire. She should be on her way home now,” he replied.

”I see…” The man in the white robe nodded slightly, as if processing the information. ”So, what’s your plan? Move now? It’s not every day you can shake the Taira clan.”

The handsome man was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly.

”I don’t need to act. That man, however, will make the first move…”

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