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

Arrogance… that was what they saw in Frey.

The man had actually dared to say those words out loud in front of Seira, the leader of the entire empire.

Everyone looked at Seira, expecting her to get angry, but nothing happened.

She remained calm, even smiling as if she found his words amusing.

”Are you satisfied with my answer?” Nolan asked, glancing at the young minister.

”I-I… am satisfied,” the minister replied sheepishly. ”Thank you, Mr. Frey.”

After the minister stepped back, the throne room fell silent once more. Several ministers who had previously wanted to stir up trouble and humiliate Seira immediately held back.

They realized that Nolan was a ruthless man who was not to be underestimated. Instead of embarrassing Seira, they would only end up humiliating themselves.

Seira chuckled softly and sat up straight.

”I’m sorry, Mr. Frey. I hope my minister didn’t offend you.”

Nolan simply smiled and waved his hand casually.

”It’s all right, Your Majesty.”

Seira nodded in satisfaction before continuing, ”So, what is the purpose of your request for an audience, Mr. Frey? And what exactly is this ’national-scale project’ you mentioned?”

Everyone quickly pricked up their ears. This was a major issue, and they wanted to hear about it firsthand.

Who knew? The information might come in handy for them later.

Nolan took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

”In short, the Blue Moon Trading House and the White Lotus Trading House are launching a massive project. It’s called Project Blue Horizon.”

”Blue Horizon?”

The ministers, Clarisse, Isabella, and even Seira herself were surprised by the name.

It sounded cool and mysterious, instantly making them curious about what kind of project Nolan had in mind.

”As the name suggests, the project aims to build a transportation route called a railroad that will connect all the cities in this empire. The vehicle is called a train. A single train can carry at least two hundred to four hundred people at once.”

”Two hundred to four hundred people?”

Everyone was stunned by his explanation. A horse-drawn carriage could only carry four to six people at most.

So, the idea of carrying two hundred to four hundred people at once sounded like nothing more than a dream or a fairy tale.

Seira’s body trembled when she heard Nolan’s words. She knew about trains.

They were vehicles that looked like giant snakes. She knew this because of those mysterious memories.

What puzzled her was how a man named Frey could have known about them.

Was he a reincarnator just like her?

The more she thought about it, the more terrifying the possibility became.

She recalled the various innovations created by Blue Moon over the past few years: recording devices, financial systems like banks, and many more.

All of these things should have been impossible for people in this world to discover. Yet, the man standing before her had somehow managed to create them.

Seira hurriedly tried to calm her pounding heart. She didn’t dare speculate any further, afraid that Frey might somehow sense her thoughts and become disgusted with her.

”How confident are you in the success of this project?”

Nolan held up five fingers.

”Fifty percent?”

Seira’s eyebrows furrowed.

”Five hundred percent.”

Seira: ”…”

Everyone: ”…”

”F-Five hundred percent?” An elderly minister took a deep breath, unable to contain his amazement. ”Just as expected of the founder of Blue Moon—his confidence is truly extraordinary!”

The other ministers nodded in unison.

Watching from the sidelines, Isabella couldn’t help but smile.

”What an amazing young man,” she murmured.

The project sounded like a pipe dream, but for some reason, Isabella felt certain it would succeed.

She didn’t know where that confidence came from, but her gut told her it would.

”I understand.”

Seira nodded slightly.

”To be honest, your plan is brilliant—almost too good to be true.”

”Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty.”

Nolan bowed his head slightly.

”So, how does it work? Can you explain the mechanism to me and everyone here?”

Building a national-scale project like this would certainly require an enormous amount of funding.

Many parties would also be involved, and everything would have to be discussed in detail to avoid any misunderstandings.

”The mechanism is simple.”

Nolan crossed his arms over his chest.

”The Blue Moon Trading House will finance 60% of the total capital, while the White Lotus Trading House will cover 30%. That makes ninety percent in total. The remaining 10% will be provided by the imperial court. What do you think?”

Everyone’s expressions turned serious.

Ten percent was a small figure. The scale of this national project was enormous.

”Your Majesty, may I speak?”

A middle-aged minister raised his hand.

Seira turned toward him and gave a slight nod.

”Go ahead, Minister Armand.”

Armand clasped his hands toward Seira before stepping forward and looking intently at Nolan.

”Mr. Frey, I apologize for interrupting you, but I’d like to raise an objection.”

”Go ahead.”

Nolan didn’t object.

”Ten percent is far too small. The Imperial Court should receive at least forty percent.”

Hearing this, the other ministers immediately voiced their agreement.

”Minister Armand is right! Ten percent is far too little. Do those two trading houses really want to take such a large slice of the pie for themselves?”

”Please reconsider, Mr. Frey. This is a long-term partnership, after all.”

”…”

Nolan didn’t panic despite being bombarded with complaints from the ministers.

He looked at them one by one before smiling.

”I understand. How about I give you a twenty percent share? But first, I’d like to ask you something. Is the Imperial Court willing to pay more than ten billion Sharn?”

His question instantly silenced everyone in the room.

”T-Ten billion Sharn?” Armand exclaimed in horror.

Ten billion Sharn was an astronomical sum. Even though the empire was wealthy, spending that much money would still require approval from multiple parties.

”That’s right.”

Nolan nodded slightly.

”Ten billion Sharn is the value of the twenty percent share you’re asking for. Are you willing to pay it?”

No one answered.

But Nolan wasn’t finished. He continued to press them.

”Since you want a larger share, you should be prepared to pay a larger portion of the cost, right? Why the silence? Are you willing to pay it?”

His gaze swept over them one by one, but no one dared to meet his eyes. They all lowered their heads in shame.

”Ten billion Sharn?” Seira muttered in surprise. ”Mr. Frey, is it really that expensive?”

Nolan looked at her and nodded frankly.

”It is indeed that expensive, Your Majesty. The distance between the cities is quite vast. We’ve calculated that each route could span anywhere from one hundred to three hundred kilometers. The distance from the capital to the nearest city alone can reach one hundred kilometers. If we calculate the total cost, the first phase alone could cost between sixty and eighty billion Sharn.”

Upon hearing that astronomical figure, everyone took a deep breath in unison.

What did eighty billion Sharn even mean?

With that much money, they could build two medium-sized cities with all the necessary facilities.

And yet, that amount was only enough for the first phase of construction.

”This…”

Seira wanted to say something, but she couldn’t find the right words.

Nolan smiled and asked casually, ”So, what do you think, Your Majesty? Do you accept my offer?”