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

”Prince Nolan isn’t here, you say?”

Lyra frowned.

”Where did he go?”

Malverna shrugged.

”I don’t know. I saw him enter the Calvron Forest, and then he just vanished. If you’re curious, go check it out yourself.”

Lyra pressed her lips together. She had already searched the Calvron Forest with her senses earlier, yet she hadn’t detected even the faintest trace of Nolan’s presence.

”Could he have gone even deeper?”

The thought made her frown even more.

The Calvron Forest was an extremely dangerous place, home to countless monsters.

If Nolan had really ventured deeper into the forest, it would be no different from throwing his life away.

”Thanks for the information.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Without another word, she turned and vanished from sight.

Malverna simply smiled at Lyra’s anxious expression, but she had no intention of helping her.

After all, Nolan was already gone...

Gone from this world.

…

Elina and Rafine headed to Isabella’s private grounds. As soon as they arrived, Miya and Maya stepped forward to greet them.

”Welcome, Your Highness. Welcome, Young Lady Rafine.”

Both of them smiled and gave a slight nod.

”Is Mother inside?” Elina asked.

”Yes. I’ll take you to her.”

Maya then led them inside.

Before long, they saw Isabella sitting leisurely in the pavilion at the far end.

When she saw Elina and Rafine, Isabella smiled warmly and gave a slight nod.

”Mother.”

Elina hurried over and wrapped her arms around Isabella in a tight hug.

”I’ve missed you so much. How have you been? Have you been doing well?”

She bombarded Isabella with questions.

Isabella chuckled softly as she gently stroked Elina’s head.

”I’ve missed you too. I’m doing well. How about you?”

She pulled back slightly, then held Elina by the upper arms, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

”You’ve lost weight, my dear. Haven’t you been eating properly?”

Elina giggled.

”No, I’ve been eating just fine. I’ve just been staying up late a lot lately because my workload has increased since Virella entered the industrial market.”

Isabella let out a quiet sigh.

The Elina standing before her had become far more mature than the daughter she remembered.

She was happy to see how much Elina had grown, yet a small part of her couldn’t help feeling a little sad.

Ever since Elina moved to Virella, she rarely came home to visit. Over the past few months, they’d only kept in touch through a handful of letters.

She gave her cheek a gentle pinch, then turned to Rafine.

A warm smile spread across her face as she greeted the young woman.

”Welcome, Rafine. Or should I say... my future daughter-in-law?”

Rafine’s face instantly turned as red as a tomato. It almost looked as if white steam were rising from her head.

”D-Daughter-in-law?”

She hadn’t expected Isabella to call her that.

Elina burst into laughter at Rafine’s reaction. She patted her mother on the shoulder and said with an exasperated sigh, ”Mother, you’re overreacting. Don’t tease Rafine. She’s really shy.”

Isabella chuckled.

”Am I wrong? Aren’t Rafine and Nolan already in a relationship?”

Elina rolled her eyes. Sitting across from Isabella with her legs crossed, she said, ”You’re overthinking it. Your son is completely clueless. I even hinted that he should make a move on Rafine. Do you know what he said?”

She cleared her throat and put on a serious expression, imitating Nolan before speaking in a deeper voice.

”Sorry, I’m not interested in romance right now. My goal is freedom. After you ascend the throne, I’m going to travel the world. I don’t want to hurt Rafine or any other woman.”

”That’s exactly what he said.”

Elina let out a helpless sigh before slumping back in her seat.

Rafine sat beside her, looking calm on the outside. Deep down, however, a wave of sadness washed over her.

She had already heard all of this from Elina before. She knew Nolan was a man who was difficult to win over, but she had no intention of giving up.

Unfortunately, Nolan’s heart was as hard as stone. Sometimes, Rafine couldn’t help but wonder.

”Am I not attractive enough?”

Every time she left her room, she made sure to look her best, hoping Nolan would notice her.

But all she ever got were a few simple compliments. That was all. Nolan never showed any real interest in her.

It left her both frustrated and annoyed.

After all, she was the most beautiful woman in the entire empire.

Countless men dreamed of marrying her.

Yet the man living under the same roof as her showed absolutely no interest.

Because of that, she sometimes wondered if Nolan had some kind of unusual preference or if there was another reason she didn’t know about.

Isabella remained calm after hearing the story. She knew Nolan better than anyone.

That child... how should she put it?

Ever since he was little, Nolan had shown behavior no child his age should have.

Most babies cried every few hours after they were born.

But not Nolan. He only cried for the first few minutes after he was born.

He was never fussy, so Isabella never had to wake up in the middle of the night to soothe him. But what surprised her the most happened when Nolan was only two months old.

Back then, Elina often cried in the middle of the night. Yet just a few minutes later, she would always calm down.

When Isabella went to check on them, she found baby Nolan gently patting Elina on the head, as if he were comforting her.

Isabella still remembered that incident to this day. And after that, there were many more strange and unbelievable things.

When he was only six months old, he could already say a few words and understand what they meant.

By the time he turned one, he could already stand and run as though his motor skills had fully developed.

Calling him a genius wouldn’t have been an exaggeration. Even so, one thing stood out more than anything else—his laziness.

He also never showed any interest in women. That was why Isabella wasn’t surprised that Nolan had completely ignored Rafine.

”I understand your predicament, Rafine. But don’t worry.” Isabella gave her a reassuring smile. ”I’ll talk to him later. He came with you two, didn’t he?”

Elina and Rafine’s expressions immediately turned gloomy. Elina forced a wry smile before answering, ”No, Mother. Brother Nolan… has gone far away.”

”Gone far away?” Isabella narrowed her eyes. ”Where did he go?”

Elina shook her head.

”I don’t know. Two days ago, just as Rafine and I were about to leave for the imperial palace, he told us he was going somewhere far away. He didn’t say where. He only told us, ’Don’t look for me.’”

Isabella’s heart skipped a beat.

”’Don’t look for me,’ you said? Was that all he left behind?”

”That’s right,” Rafine chimed in.

Isabella lowered her head, her expression filled with mixed emotions.

A few minutes later, she regained her composure.

”I understand. I’ll use the resources of the Eastern Empire of Izanagi to find him. He thinks he can just walk away like that? Humph!”

She clenched her right fist.

”I’ll beat him up when I find him.”

Elina and Rafine exchanged glances before smiling helplessly.

”By the way, there’s something I want to ask you two.”

Isabella’s expression turned serious.

”Does what happened to Cedric have anything to do with either of you?”