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

”Tell me—why did you come here? Did you come at Elina’s request, or not?”

She crossed her legs and took a sip of her tea, her piercing gaze never leaving Nolan.

Nolan didn’t panic. He simply maintained his calm demeanor.

”I didn’t come at the behest of Elina Lorian or anyone else. I came here of my own free will. As for why I’m here, of course, it’s to ask for your help. And that help concerns Elina’s safety.”

”Ask for my help?”

Evalyn laughed at that.

”You’re very confident that I’ll help you.”

”Of course.” Nolan took a sip of his tea and chuckled softly. ”You’ll help, no matter the reason. After all, you’ve already made a promise to someone, haven’t you?”

Evalyn was startled by his words. A vague memory of a conversation suddenly came back to her.

The memory was hazy and unclear, but she could faintly remember making a promise to support Elina and protect her.

Her expression darkened as she asked, ”How do you know about that?”

Nolan leaned back against the sofa and smiled.

”That’s a secret.”

Evalyn rolled her eyes. The man sitting in front of her was seriously annoying. She wanted to punch him, but quickly held herself back.

”Tell me—what does Elina need? And why does this have anything to do with her safety?”

Nolan didn’t answer right away. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the sweet taste of the tea in his cup.

A few moments later, he finally spoke.

”Elina Lorian is going to the battlefield. She’ll be leading the palace’s main forces to the southern region. Freya Lorian will be going as well. Even so, I’m not comfortable with just those two going. I want you to go with them and help them in this war.”

Evalyn was taken aback. She hadn’t known that Elina was going to the battlefield. The imperial palace hadn’t told her anything about it.

”Wait a minute.” She raised her right hand. ”Can you explain everything clearly? Why did Her Majesty Seira give Elina command of the troops?”

Nolan sighed helplessly. He really didn’t feel like explaining everything, but he had no other choice.

”Seira—I mean, Her Majesty Seira—has decided to send troops to the southern region. She—”

Nolan’s explanation lasted for ten minutes.

Evalyn finally understood the situation, and her expression immediately turned serious.

”Is the situation in the southern region really that bad?”

She hadn’t been following the situation in the southern region very closely.

”Far worse than just a crisis. Calling it total chaos might even be an understatement,” Nolan replied indifferently.

Evalyn frowned.

”What exactly is Duke Malvain doing? Why can’t he handle it?”

Duke Malvain held the highest authority in the southern region. Nobles with the titles of marquis, count, and viscount were all under his command.

Although these nobles had some authority of their own, they still had to report to Duke Malvain and obtain his permission for certain important matters.

”Don’t expect too much from someone who prefers to work behind the scenes.”

Nolan’s words caused Evalyn’s expression to change.

”What… did you say?”

Nolan merely smiled without saying a word.

Evalyn wanted to press him to repeat what he’d said, but she held herself back.

”I understand.”

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

”I’ll go to the imperial palace now and ask Her Majesty Seira for permission to join this war,” she said seriously. ”Thank you for telling me.”

Despite her annoyance with Nolan, she knew that without him, she wouldn’t have known about such important news.

”You’re welcome,” Nolan replied casually as he stood up. ”My task is complete. I should get going.”

”Wait!”

Evalyn hurriedly stopped him.

Nolan, who was about to turn away, looked back in surprise.

”What is it?”

Evalyn didn’t answer. Instead, she stood up, walked toward him, and stopped right in front of him.

Evalyn was tall, standing at 1.7 meters. But next to Nolan, who was nearly two meters tall, she looked rather small.

She looked up and gazed into his purple eyes.

”For the past few weeks, I’ve had this strange feeling that I can’t really explain,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. ”It feels like something is missing, but I don’t know what it is. Yet whenever I look at you, that feeling somehow disappears.”

Her expression grew complicated as she reached out and gently touched Nolan’s face.

”Hey, tell me. What’s really happening to me? Why do I feel this way?”

The arrogance and coldness she usually showed were completely gone. She no longer wanted to deny her feelings.

There was something about the man in front of her that gave her an indescribable sense of comfort.

She was afraid that if she kept being stubborn, that strange and uncomfortable feeling would return and trap her in it again.

Nolan calmly gazed into Evalyn’s sad yet hopeful eyes.

’Did the memory erasure not work on her?’ he wondered silently.

But that shouldn’t be possible. The gods’ punishment was cruel and absolute. Only Yllia could still remember him, and that was because she had power that was perhaps equal to the gods, meaning she wasn’t affected by it.

But Evalyn? She wasn’t nearly that strong.

So, what did this mean?

Nolan tried to find an answer, but he couldn’t. Everything was getting stranger, slowly slipping out of his control.

Taking a deep breath, he patted her right shoulder and tried to reassure her.

”I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Maybe you’re just exhausted. Get some rest before you head to the battlefield.”

After saying that, he turned and walked away, leaving Evalyn standing there in a daze.

***

As Nolan walked out through the Lionheart family gate, Obsidia’s voice echoed in his mind.

”Master, why didn’t you tell Evalyn the truth?”

Nolan smiled as he gazed up at the orange sky above.

”Now isn’t the right time. I’m also afraid that if I force the memories erased by the gods back into her mind, the consequences could be dire.”

He didn’t dare take that risk. Evalyn was one of the people he loved, and he couldn’t bear to see her get hurt because of him.

For now, Nolan only dared to reveal his true identity to his subordinates because he could protect them if anything went wrong.

”You’re being too cautious, aren’t you?”

Nolan rolled his eyes in exasperation.

”The gods are beyond anything you can imagine. I’ve seen the power of one of them firsthand. Shaking the entire world or even destroying the sun would be easy for them.”

”That powerful!?” Obsidia was stunned.

”Yes, that powerful.” Nolan gave a slight nod as he walked toward the city center. ”That’s why I don’t want to mess with them. At the very least, I don’t want the people I love to get hurt.”

Obsidia said nothing more, as if she agreed with his words.