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

”Don’t move around too much, General Luvistar. Your bandage might come loose.”

A young maid placed a cold towel on Luvistar’s right arm, which was wrapped in a bandage.

Luvistar, lying there helplessly, gave a wry smile.

”Thank you, Nana. I’m sorry for being such a bother.”

Nana smiled sweetly.

”You’re welcome, General. It’s my duty to take care of you!”

She clenched both fists enthusiastically.

Luvistar chuckled softly.

He and Nana were casually chatting when they suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside.

Elina and Rafine walked in, followed by two servants.

Seeing the two of them, Nana immediately bowed and greeted them.

”Welcome, Your Highness and Young Lady Rafine.”

Elina nodded.

She glanced at Luvistar and asked, ”How is General Luvistar? Is he seriously injured?”

Nana straightened up and replied respectfully, ”No, Your Highness. He just has several broken bones, so it’ll take him a while to recover.”

Elina let out a long sigh. She was deeply concerned about what had happened to Luvistar.

After all, he had been one of her most loyal supporters during the early days of her rule over Virella. The town’s safety was also partly thanks to Luvistar, who had trained its soldiers.

”You may go.”

Nana bowed her head and left, followed by the two servants.

Once only the three of them remained in the room, Elina pulled out a chair and sat down.

”How are you feeling, General? Is there anything bothering you?” Elina asked cautiously.

Luvistar smiled gently.

”I’m fine, Your Highness. Thank you for your concern.”

To be honest, ”fine” was a gross understatement given his condition. But he didn’t want to worry Elina any more than he already had.

Elina frowned and was about to say something but quickly held herself back.

”I understand. You don’t need to worry about your duties for the time being. I’ll find someone to replace you. Also, I’ll give you some compensation for what happened to you.”

Luvistar was surprised by her words.

He wasn’t short on money, but Elina’s concern still touched his heart.

”Thank you, Your Highness.”

Elina smiled and gave a slight nod.

”By the way, I’ve already heard the news from Rafine.”

Her expression turned somber.

”The dozen or so soldiers you brought with you… were they eaten?”

As she said the word ”eaten,” a mix of anger and disgust welled up inside her.

Luvistar nodded heavily.

”That’s right, Your Highness. They were devoured by that monster.”

His left hand clenched tightly, causing him to groan in pain.

Elina was startled and reached out to help him, but Luvistar stopped her.

”I’m fine.”

He took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. His expression grew gloomy as he continued.

”Your Highness, I don’t know who sent that man. But one thing is certain—I feel like this is only the beginning. In the future, there’s always a chance that the same enemy, or even someone stronger, could attack you and everyone in this mansion.”

Elina bit her lower lip. She, too, had been thinking about that grim possibility.

But what could she do?

She didn’t have any connections who could help her meet someone that powerful.

Although Malverna was by her side, she felt that wasn’t enough. She needed someone powerful who could work directly for her.

”Do you have any acquaintances, General Luvistar?”

Luvistar paused for a moment before answering hesitantly, ”To be honest, I do.”

”You do?” Elina’s eyes lit up.

Luvistar gave a wry smile.

”Don’t get your hopes up just yet, Your Highness. I do know someone with extraordinary martial arts and swordsmanship skills. However, that person is very reclusive and wants nothing to do with the outside world. I’m not sure you’ll be able to convince him.”

Elina’s happy expression instantly faded like a deflating balloon.

She quickly composed herself and regained her resolve.

”It’s all right, General. Please tell me where this person is. At the very least, I’ll give it a try.”

Luvistar didn’t refuse. Since Elina was so determined, he would help her as much as he could.

”The place is on a remote hill called Kurgar, in the northern region. By the way, the road there is extremely dangerous. I suggest bringing the Singularity of Chaos’s subordinate with you. At least you’ll be much safer that way. Even if that man attacks you—which is unlikely—you won’t get hurt.”

”Is it really that serious?” Rafine asked in surprise.

”Yes, it’s that serious.” Luvistar nodded helplessly. ”That’s why I don’t recommend going there.”

Rafine turned to Elina with a worried expression.

Noticing her worried expression, Elina patted her on the shoulder.

”Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Rafine frowned and let out a long sigh.

”I’ll be rooting for you…”

…

In her office, Elina was busy finishing up some work.

However, her thoughts kept drifting back to her conversation with Luvistar that afternoon.

”Kurgar Hill in the northern region?”

She remained silent for a moment before standing up and walking over to the cabinet on her right.

She opened one of the drawers and took out a brown scroll.

Returning to her seat, she pushed aside the documents on her desk and unfurled the map.

It was an incredibly detailed map of the empire, and it had cost a fortune.

If she wasn’t mistaken, a map like this cost 10,000 Sharn. The price actually made sense, considering how difficult it was to map the Great Velmora Empire. Lives were at stake.

The map was also extremely comprehensive, with precise distance measurements between every city.

Elina turned her gaze toward the northern region and began searching for Kurgar Hill.

”Found it!”

She pointed at a small hill marked simply as ”Kurgar.”

The distance between Kurgar and the capital, Orested, was quite far—around two hundred kilometers.

Traveling there by horse-drawn carriage would take a long time.

”That’s right! How could I have forgotten?”

Elina tapped her forehead.

She suddenly remembered Malverna. With her powers, getting to Kurgar Hill should be easy. They could probably get there in just a few days.

”Malverna, are you there?” Elina called out.

There was no answer. Elina didn’t think much of it since Malverna was often like that.

”Malverna? Are you there? Can you show up? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Still, Malverna didn’t appear, which eventually made Elina a little anxious.

”I just realized that Malverna hasn’t shown up since two days ago. Could she be in trouble?”

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply. However, the next second, she shook her head and dismissed the thought.

”No… that’s impossible! She’s the former Demon Empress. Her power is practically unbeatable—except by the Singularities.”

Knock! Knock!

”Elina, are you in there?”

Novaria’s voice came from behind the door.

Elina was startled before replying, ”I’m in here. Come in.”

The door opened, revealing Novaria in a nightgown.

Elina smiled and greeted her.

”What’s going on, sister?”

Hearing the word ”sister,” Novaria’s heart felt as though an invisible hand had suddenly squeezed it.

She stood there dazed for a moment before composing herself and stepping inside.

”I want to thank you.”

She bowed her head without the slightest hesitation.

”If it weren’t for you, I might have…”

She bit her lower lip, unable to finish her sentence.

Elina waved her hand.

”Don’t worry about it. You’re my sister, after all. It’s only natural that I help you.”

Tears welled up in the corners of Novaria’s eyes.

She felt even more guilty and ashamed of the things she had done in the past.

She quickly wiped her tears, straightened up, and said, ”Elina, I want to ask you a favor!”

Elina was surprised, but she stayed quiet and let her continue.

”Please… please…”

Novaria took a deep breath, bowed her head again, and pleaded, ”Please train me! I want to become like you!”