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

Chapter 934: Running Out of Time (What If)

”So, what do you want to tell me?” Nolan asked coldly.

Molina dropped her cheerful, flirty demeanor, replacing it with an indifferent expression.

She turned and looked deeply into Nolan’s eyes.

”The gods have made their decision. In five months, you’ll be forced to return to your home world, along with the punishment you must endure.”

Nolan’s eyes widened at her words.

”Are you serious?”

”Do you think I’m joking?”

Nolan was at a loss for words. He hadn’t expected the gods to act so quickly.

Five months was a short time. He hadn’t done much with Seira yet.

”Let’s be honest, Nolan Lorian. You’re incredibly lucky... truly lucky,” Molina sneered with a cold chuckle. ”If any other being—let alone a god—had made the same mistake as you, their soul would have been obliterated from this universe. But not you. It’s all thanks to the Supreme Goddess’s intervention.”

Nolan fell silent, lowering his head. She had mentioned the ”Supreme Goddess” several times now.

He desperately wanted to know who this Supreme Goddess really was.

Why was she helping him through every hardship he faced?

”Anyway, I’m only here to tell you about this. I don’t care about your reaction or how frustrated you are about having to return to your home world.”

After saying that, she turned around and disappeared from view, leaving Nolan standing there with a dazed expression.

***

”What’s wrong? Why do you look so dazed?”

Seira stepped forward and stopped in front of him before gently stroking his face.

Nolan smiled and shook his head.

”It’s nothing.”

Seira puffed out her cheeks. She knew Nolan very well. Whenever he lied, his eyebrows would furrow slightly.

However, she didn’t have the heart to press him, so she didn’t ask any further.

”If there’s a problem, please tell me, okay? We’re a couple. It’s only natural for us to share our joys and sorrows.”

She hugged him and buried her face against his broad chest.

Nolan remained silent, gently stroking her head with affection.

...

A month had passed since Carl and Leyna’s wedding. Nolan continued with his daily life as usual.

He went to the company to finish his work, came home, slept, and met up with Seira for dates and other activities.

The Frey family business was going through a period of extremely rapid growth.

The warship, railroad, and aircraft businesses, which had previously lagged behind, began to accelerate thanks to a series of strategic arrangements made by Nolan.

The high-ranking government officials who were aware of this were clearly pleased.

These three projects were part of the nation’s strategic initiatives. For years, the Frey family had been slow to make progress on them.

In fact, some parties had even begun pressuring the government to take the projects away from the Frey family and hand them over to a more capable family.

Fortunately, Nolan’s actions prevented the situation from escalating further.

Aside from focusing on these three projects, Nolan also prepared another major plan titled ”The Strategy for the Next Hundred Years.”

Knowing that he would eventually return to his original world, he deliberately wrote the plan for Alice to use in the future.

After all, Alice was the second heir whom Mey and Arden had prepared to take over after Nolan fell into a two-year coma.

This time, his departure in four months would cause his existence to disappear completely.

So, he wanted to at least help Alice deal with any difficulties she might face in the future.

Nolan also made sure to eliminate the cockroaches and parasites that had been eating away at the Frey family’s companies.

In fact, aside from Arden, Nolan’s grandfather, Martin Frey, had two other sons. Both had sons and daughters of their own, all of whom worked in the family business.

Naturally, his actions faced opposition from many people, especially the executives.

But Nolan didn’t care. He was now the head of the Frey family and its largest shareholder.

His decisions were absolute and final. Besides, his cousins were indeed useless.

They constantly exploited the Frey family’s influence to get whatever they wanted.

It wasn’t uncommon for the problems they caused to drag the Frey family into legal trouble, which their enemies would then exploit.

”I heard you kicked out Carla, Renhart, and Trigas. Is that true?”

In the dining room, Arden stared intently at Nolan across the table.

The atmosphere was tense.

Mey, sitting beside Arden, remained silent as she looked at Nolan curiously.

Nolan, who was feeding Alice, calmly nodded.

”Yes, I did. Is there a problem?”

Arden narrowed his eyes, paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

”What you’ve done has gone too far, Nolan. Your two uncles complained to me. They said you’ve been acting too authoritarian at the company. The executives don’t like your attitude either.”

He massaged his aching temples.

”Even your supporters think your actions are too impulsive. Honestly, what happened to you? Why have you changed so much?”

He remembered very clearly that, just a month ago, Nolan wasn’t like this. His leadership style at the company had been gentle yet firm. That was why so many people respected and liked him.

But now, he had changed so drastically that Arden could barely recognize the Nolan he knew.

Nolan remained calm as he wiped the soy sauce from Alice’s cheek.

”Father, what’s my status now?”

Arden was taken aback.

”You’re the head of the Frey family.”

”Right. I’m the head of the Frey family.” Nolan nodded in agreement. ”I’m doing what I think is right. Is that wrong?”

Arden fell silent. It took him a few seconds to recover from his shock.

”I know. It’s just that your approach is too authoritarian. I’m worried—”

”I’m not authoritarian,” Nolan cut in coldly. ”I’m just doing things my own way. And you know what, Father?”

Nolan wiped his dirty hands with a tissue. His purple eyes stared intently at Arden across the table.

”When I first took over the company, you left behind a lot of problems. Nepotism, corruption, and collusion were rampant within the Frey family’s parent company. I know you wanted to become a great leader like Grandfather, but your methods and decisions were wrong... completely wrong!”

Arden turned pale, clearly not expecting Nolan to lecture him like this.

Before he could say anything, Nolan continued.

”Of my grandfather’s three sons, you were the only one considered somewhat decent. My first and second uncles were scum. That’s why Grandfather didn’t leave them an inheritance. Their children are no different—completely useless. I’m just doing what I believe is right. So I’ll ask you again, Father. Am I wrong?”

This time, Arden was truly at a loss for words. Shame overwhelmed him, but at the same time, he felt guilty.

Ever since he was a child, Nolan had lacked a father’s love. Arden knew that... he had always known it.

But because of work, he had neglected his son and missed many of the most important moments in his life.

”Maybe... maybe this is my comeuppance,” he muttered with a long sigh.

He waved his hand and stood up.

”You guys go ahead and finish your meal. I need to rest.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away.

Mey looked worried and was about to follow him, but Nolan quickly stopped her.

”Leave him alone, Mother. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Mey turned toward Nolan curiously.

Nolan took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

”Mother, in four months... I’m going to marry Seira.”