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

The young woman froze for a moment. She turned and saw a tall masked man walking toward her, with a masked woman by his side.

Her heart skipped a beat, and panic flashed across her beautiful face.

But she forced herself to stay calm and refused. ”I’m sorry, I can’t.”

The man and woman looked at each other and smiled.

”Sorry to bother you while you’re busy. Don’t worry, I’m not here to cause trouble. Just finish what you’re doing. I’ll wait for you in that forest.”

The man pointed toward the forest not far from where they were standing.

Without waiting for her reply, he and the woman turned and walked away.

The young woman tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat.

In the end, she swallowed her words and focused on healing the man in front of her.

Even so, the panic and fear on her face hadn’t faded.

***

”Don’t you think that approach was a bit too aggressive?”

The masked woman removed her mask, revealing a flawlessly beautiful face capable of driving any man wild.

The man removed his mask as well, then leaned against one of the tree trunks.

”Pfft! Relax, Malverna. You’re overthinking it,” he said casually, glancing at the young woman in the distance. ”It doesn’t seem like this is the first time someone has come looking for her, and I’m sure she’ll come here later.”

Malverna looked at Nolan’s confident expression and said nothing more.

Since he was so certain, it must be true. After all, Nolan’s predictions had never been wrong.

Two hours later...

Nolan and Malverna were sitting together, talking about various things. Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching.

They both turned at the same time and saw the young woman walking toward them.

Her face showed hesitation and nervousness, but she did her best to hide it.

Nolan and Malverna slowly stood up.

”Are you done?” Nolan asked, brushing the dust off his clothes.

The young woman gave a slight nod.

”Yes, but I’ll continue in two hours. Don’t talk here. Let’s go to my house.”

Malverna was surprised by how cooperative she was. At first, she thought the girl would run away or try something else, but she didn’t.

She was much braver than Malverna had expected.

A short while later, Nolan and Malverna followed her to her house.

The place wasn’t big, but it was clean and tidy. It had a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

The walls were made of fairly good-quality wood. It seemed the young woman—no, calling her a ”young woman” didn’t quite fit. The girl had earned enough money ever since she gained her healing abilities.

”Please have a seat,” the girl said, pointing to a somewhat worn-out sofa.

Nolan and Malverna sat down while the girl prepared tea for them.

Once she was done, she placed two cups on the table and sat across from them.

Her face still showed a hint of doubt and wariness, though she hid it well.

”So,” she began, carefully looking at Nolan and Malverna. ”Who are you two?”

Nolan picked up his teacup and took a sip. The tea tasted average, but he didn’t complain and kept drinking it out of respect for the host.

”Isn’t it a bit rude to ask about our purpose before introducing yourself?” Nolan said with a playful smile.

Melina flinched, realizing her mistake. She quickly lowered her head and apologized.

”I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Seeing her nervous reaction, Nolan immediately got a general sense of what kind of person she was.

”Don’t lower your head to a stranger,” Nolan said, waving a hand. ”I’m Nolan Lorian, and the woman beside me is Malverna. We’re not here with any ill intent, so you don’t need to worry, Melina Erlest.”

Melina wasn’t surprised that Nolan knew her name. Ever since she had gained her healing powers, her name had become well known throughout the kingdom.

”I’m here to confirm something,” Nolan continued. ”Can you tell me how you acquired those healing powers?”

The girl calmed down. Her expression relaxed, as if she had been asked the same question many times before.

She began explaining her powers politely and carefully, without holding anything back.

Nolan and Malverna listened intently.

Five minutes later, Melina finished explaining, and Nolan had a general understanding of her powers.

”So, your powers only work during the day, and they disappear at night?” he asked to confirm.

”That’s right.” Melina nodded slowly.

Nolan fell into deep thought. He had to admit that Melina’s traits matched those of the incarnation of the Goddess of Life.

But strangely, a sense of doubt still lingered in his mind. His instincts told him things weren’t that simple. There had to be a hidden secret behind Melina’s dreams and the powers she had gained.

”I understand.” Nolan took a deep breath before letting it out. ”Have other people come to you and asked the same thing?”

Melina was surprised. She hadn’t expected Nolan to guess what she had been going through.

”Y-Yes. A lot of people have come to see me since I gained my powers,” she replied nervously.

”Did they offer you money, power, and things like that? And in return, did they want you to become their subordinate?” Nolan asked.

Melina was even more surprised by Nolan’s guess.

”Y-Yes! They did offer all of that!” she replied excitedly.

But the next second, she realized her mistake and quickly lowered her head in embarrassment.

She was just a young girl from a remote village. It was difficult for her to hide her emotions in front of others.

”So that’s how it is. I figured as much.”

Nolan wasn’t surprised by her answer. In fact, it would have been stranger if no one had approached Melina with offers of wealth and power.

Healing abilities were sought after by everyone in this world.

Mages could destroy mountains, but they couldn’t repair the damage. Only a few of them possessed healing abilities.

And even those who did rarely reached a high level.

Nolan was certain that if Alicia—the daughter of Marquis Orlan—had still been suffering from the curse, that man would have offered a fortune just to bring Melina to his estate so she could heal the little girl.

After all, the ability to heal was far more valuable than any treasure in this world.

”All right, that’s enough for today.”

Nolan stood up. ”We’ll be going now. Sorry for taking up your time.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away. Malverna was a little confused by his actions, but she said nothing and followed him, leaving Melina sitting there with a puzzled look on her face.