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

”Oh, right, I want to ask you something, Prime Minister Mikazura,” Nolan said with a knowing smile. ”You must know what happened to me, right? Perhaps… what happened on that silver ship?”

Mikazura was briefly surprised by his words. He sipped his tea, smiled faintly, and nodded slowly.

”Yes, I know. How did you find out?”

Before Nolan’s arrival, Mikazura had already gathered plenty of information about him. There were countless rumors painting him as a lazy, useless prince, and so on.

But Mikazura knew it was all just a facade. A child born to that woman could never truly be someone the public would consider worthless.

Still, the rumors were persistent. And Nolan often behaved in ways that seemed to confirm them.

Yet in the past few months—especially since the announcement of the battle for the throne—public opinion had begun to shift.

At that moment, Nolan revealed his true self, making everyone who had mocked or underestimated him rethink their opinions.

On top of that, during Emperor Ragan’s birthday celebration, he had effortlessly subdued Allen, the son of the Duke Ashvale family.

From these events, Mikazura drew a clear conclusion: Nolan was finally showing his true abilities and was no longer pretending.

Of course, he still didn’t understand why. As a prince, Nolan should be acting in the best interest of his empire.

Nolan kept his smile and replied casually, ”It’s obvious. I’m too lazy to explain everything, but one thing’s certain: you must have spies around her. One of them is a maid named Tamari, right?”

His eyes flickered with a sharp, knowing gleam.

Evalyn, who had overheard the conversation, froze.

’Tamari is a spy for Prime Minister Mikazura? How is that possible?’

Her shock was understandable. In Kaede’s earlier account, the two had been her childhood friends.

Both had served as Kaede’s maids since childhood, appointed by the Emperor.

Yet Tamari had secretly been planted by Prime Minister Mikazura—something Evalyn was sure Kaede had no idea about.

”Pfft! Incredible… truly incredible!”

Instead of anger or alarm, Mikazura laughed and clapped his hands.

”Your Highness, you are truly remarkable. That was a secret even the Emperor didn’t know, yet you uncovered it with ease. How did you manage it?” he asked, genuinely curious as he sipped his tea.

He felt no fear that Nolan would expose him. After all, Nolan had no interest in doing so—and by revealing it openly, he made it clear he bore no hostility.

”I discovered it while helping Tamari recover,” Nolan said briefly. ”There was a blue handkerchief in his pocket. Elina had mentioned your identifying marks, and one of them was the blue handkerchief you carried at the party.”

”That’s all?” Mikazura asked, genuinely surprised this time.

”Yes, that’s all,” Nolan replied, nodding slowly.

Of course, he was lying. Despite his power, he was still mortal—not an all-knowing god.

As for Elina supposedly telling him about the handkerchief, that was also a deception.

But he had indeed found a blue handkerchief, and when he read Tamari’s memories, he realized it belonged to Mikazura.

No one could say for sure whether Mikazura had brought the same handkerchief to the party, but his reaction suggested he had.

”So that’s how it is… I understand.” Mikazura nodded in admiration. ”Your Highness, I have underestimated you. You are remarkable—I don’t even know how to properly praise you.”

Now he finally understood why Elina had admitted she was inferior to Nolan.

The young man before him was genuinely terrifying, especially his observational skills, which far surpassed anyone else’s.

”You’re praising me too much,” Nolan said calmly, showing no trace of satisfaction. ”Now, back to the main topic. What are you going to do about Princess Kaede and Prince Ryuusei?”

Frankly, he was too lazy to get involved—and he wasn’t the type to interfere unnecessarily.

But what could he do?

What was done was done. By circumstance, he was already entangled in this matter, so he had no choice but to participate.

As if reading his thoughts, Mikazura smiled. ”Rest assured. Everything is under my control.”

Nolan felt at ease. With Mikazura’s assurance, he didn’t need to intervene personally.

The two continued their conversation, touching on various topics.

Evalyn listened quietly, her gaze full of admiration never leaving Nolan.

The man sitting before her was nothing like the lazy figure she remembered.

’If only he were like this all the time… the throne would surely be his,’ she whispered, unable to hide her frustration.

She knew Nolan was clever and rivaled the other princes, but he had one flaw—his laziness.

As a result, all his potential remained buried and unnoticed by others.

An hour passed quickly. Just as Nolan thought their discussion was over, Mikazura brought up a topic he hadn’t expected.

”Do you know the legend of Hikari no Futago?”

”Hikari no Futago?” Nolan raised an eyebrow. ”Yes, I know it. It’s the legend of twin girls who will change the world. Why do you ask?”

Mikazura smiled faintly. ”Do you think the legend is real?”

Nolan paused, sipping his tea. Then he realized his cup was empty.

As he reached for the teapot, Evalyn poured more first.

Nolan smiled and whispered, ”Thank you.”

She returned the smile, then quickly straightened, eager to hear more.

Taking a slow sip, Nolan finally said, ”I think the legend is real.”

After all, this was a world of fantasy—what was truly impossible here?

Two heroes summoned from another world? That had happened a thousand years ago.

The Demon Emperor and his conquests? Zerathos, the Demon Emperor, was proof enough.

All the fantastical elements that usually exist only in novels were real here. Nolan saw no reason to dismiss the legend.

Mikazura chuckled at his answer. ”You are unique, Prince. Many dismiss the legend as mere nonsense, including the imperial officials. But like you, I believe it.”

”Oh? You believe it too?” Nolan asked, slightly surprised.

He had assumed someone as logical as Mikazura wouldn’t give credence to such a tale.

”Yes, I believe it,” Mikazura said firmly. ”And did you know the so-called ’twins’ in the legend are actually a misconception? Most assume they are twin girls. But that’s not the case.”

He poured tea from the teapot into his cup, took a slow sip, and continued, ”I found an ancient book in the library. It was badly damaged, the ink faded, yet from it I discovered the hidden truth. The legend of Hikari no Futago doesn’t refer to two girls—it refers to a boy and… a girl.”

His eyes gleamed with a faint, mysterious light.