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

Elina and Rafine cautiously made their way through the mansion.

”Why is it so quiet?” Rafine asked hesitantly.

Elina remained silent because she didn’t know what was going on either. Malverna had said she would deal with the enemy who attacked them earlier.

But now, the mansion was completely silent. The guards were nowhere to be seen.

Her heart began to race as a sense of danger washed over her.

”Be careful. It seems the situation is more serious than we thought,” Elina whispered.

Rafine nodded slightly and moved closer to Elina until their bodies were touching.

The mansion was pitch-black, with all the lights turned off. Elina tried to turn them on, but nothing happened.

”Are the lights broken? Or is the magic core damaged?”

The mansion used magic stones to power the lights and the water heaters.

Since the lights wouldn’t turn on, the most likely explanation was that the magic stones serving as the core had been damaged.

As they ventured deeper into the mansion, a scream suddenly rang out from the kitchen.

”Kyaa! Help me!”

Elina and Rafine froze. They exchanged horrified glances.

”That’s Novaria’s voice!”

Without a second thought, they both sprinted toward the kitchen with all their might.

***

”Argh!”

Novaria groaned in pain as Kruch grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground.

”Gyahahaha!” Kruch burst into laughter. ”So my hunch was right. You’re that virgin woman!”

His eyes burned with lust as he stared at Novaria, who grimaced in pain.

”And you have noble blood, too. Are you a member of the imperial family?”

Novaria’s face went pale. She tried to break free from his grip, but she couldn’t. Her breathing grew weaker, and her vision began to blur.

”Don’t want to answer, huh? You’re quite the snob, young lady,” Kruch snorted irritably. ”But that’s fine. Today, you’ll be my meal. Hehehe…”

He licked his upper lip.

”I can’t wait to taste your blood and flesh. My power is sure to increase dramatically… Gyahahaha!”

His grip tightened as black light began to flow from his claws into Novaria’s body.

Excruciating pain tore through her entire body. Novaria wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

Her bones felt as though they were being crushed, while her flesh and muscles seemed to be torn apart.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

”Am I going to… die?”

Memories of her past slowly surfaced in her mind.

She was the second princess of the Great Velmora Empire. Because of her status, everyone had no choice but to respect her.

Her arrogant and cold demeanor also made them fear her.

Did she care?

Of course not.

It was only natural for the weak to respect those above them.

But after becoming a servant in this mansion, she began to realize just how foolish she had been.

The ”second princess” title she had once been so proud of was nothing more than an empty title.

Elina, the younger sister she had always looked down on, was far more talented and capable than she was.

At only nineteen, Elina had already built a strong power base in the eastern region.

She had even become a leader loved by the people of Virella.

Even Aldric, Cedric, and Adalen were wary of her.

And Novaria?

She had never accomplished anything in her entire life. She was nothing more than a spoiled and useless woman.

Only now did she realize that, out of all her brothers and sisters, she might just be the most useless of them all.

Even Nolan, whom she had once considered useless trash, had far surpassed her. At the very least, Nolan had the potential to accomplish something despite his laziness.

”Mother…” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. ”I’m sorry… I couldn’t become a useful child you could be proud of, like Aldric. If only… if only I had another chance, I would definitely try my hardest to become someone you could be proud of.”

She closed her eyes and accepted her fate, which was already hanging by a thread.

But suddenly…

Whoosh!

An arrow pierced Kruch’s right eye.

”Argh!”

The man roared in pain, and his grip on Novaria’s neck loosened.

As the pressure around her neck suddenly disappeared, Novaria was startled.

However, she didn’t hesitate. She immediately took advantage of the opportunity and kicked Kruch in the body.

Bang!

Kruch was sent stumbling backward, finally releasing Novaria.

Novaria fell to the ground, her body feeling weak.

”Novaria!”

Elina’s loud voice rang out from behind her.

Novaria turned toward her and, without hesitation, ran forward with all the strength she had left.

”A-Are you okay?”

Elina caught Novaria just as she was about to fall.

Novaria gasped for breath and shook her head.

”I’m… I’m okay. Thank you… Thank you for saving me!” she said, choking back tears.

She hugged Elina tightly. She had never done anything like this before. But she had nearly died just now, and the fear still left her body weak.

Elina gently stroked her back, trying to calm her down.

Meanwhile, Rafine stood behind her with her bow in hand, glaring intently at Kruch.

”Elina, I feel like there’s something strange about him.”

Elina looked up and followed her gaze toward Kruch.

Kruch was still groaning in pain as he clutched his eye, which had been pierced by an arrow.

”You bastards! How dare you… How dare you hurt Kruch!?”

Boom!

A pitch-black light erupted from his body. At the same time, the furniture in the kitchen was violently hurled in every direction.

Elina hurriedly shielded Novaria, but a chair slammed into her back, causing her to groan in pain.

”Elina!”

Rafine was about to rush to her aid, but Elina quickly stopped her.

”I’m fine! Quick… take Novaria away from here!”

”B-But—”

”No buts!”

Seeing the serious look on Elina’s face, Rafine knew there was no point in arguing.

She crouched beside Novaria, wrapped her right arm around her, and helped her to her feet.

”Be patient, Your Highness. I’ll take you to the bunker.”

She then helped the limping Novaria out of the kitchen.

Kruch grew even angrier when he saw this. Novaria was his prey. No one was allowed to take her away from him!

He crouched down and lunged toward Rafine and Novaria.

”Do you think I’ll just let you get away with this?”

Clang!

Elina appeared in front of him and parried his sharp claws with her sword.

The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the room.

Kruch glared at Elina with hatred. He was about to attack her again, but Elina was faster.

She knocked his claws aside with her sword, lowered her body, spun around, and kicked him in the chin.

Caught off guard, Kruch was sent flying backward. However, he quickly regained his balance and landed several steps away.

Rubbing his aching chin, his eyes turned red as overwhelming rage surged through him.

”You hurt Kruch… Kruch will never forgive you!”

Elina narrowed her eyes and raised her sword.

Her expression turned serious as she muttered, ”This monster is truly terrifying…”