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

”Oh? You say the Master has left?”

In her office, Shion was surprised to hear Luna’s words.

”Yes, Sister Shion,” Luna replied, nodding slowly. ”A letter from Master Nolan just arrived. He said he has left. Here is the letter.”

Luna handed her a blue envelope. Shion took it, opened it, and began to read.

A moment later, she let out a long sigh and closed the letter.

He’s really gone. It will be a long time before we can meet again, she muttered sadly.

A few days ago, for the first time in a long while, her master had been visiting her office frequently. Although it was only for Eliza’s sake, Shion still felt happy and cared for.

But now, her master had left for the northern continent, and Shion realized it would be difficult for them to meet again.

”But...” Her sadness faded, replaced by a bright smile. ”As long as I have Eliza in my arms, my master will definitely come back! Hehehe...”

Her gaze fell on Eliza, who was sitting on her lap, eating a bun with great enthusiasm.

Noticing her gaze, Eliza looked up and smiled sweetly, crumbs on her cheeks.

”What’s wrong, Big Sister Shion?” She asked curiously.

Shion’s heart melted at her cuteness. To grow closer to Eliza, she had asked her to call her ”Big Sister” instead of ”Leader,” like everyone else did.

With an expression full of happiness, she gently pinched Eliza’s cheek and said, ”Your big brother has gone to the northern continent. What do you think?”

Eliza was silent for a moment before answering, ”It was bound to happen sooner or later, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

She sighed softly but quickly regained her spirits.

”All I can do is be a good girl and do everything I’m told!”

Her left hand clenched tightly, showing her determination.

Yesterday, her brother had already said goodbye, so Eliza wasn’t too sad. Besides, he had also asked her to obey all the instructions that Shion would give her later.

Since it was his order, Eliza felt it was only natural to obey.

”Good!” Shion smiled brightly at her firm resolve. ”Don’t worry, I’ll help you become famous, just like your brother wanted. Come on, let’s give him a surprise, okay?”

Eliza raised her left hand and cheered, ”Okay!”

Watching their interaction, Luna simply smiled, though her eyes flickered with a hint of jealousy.

Eliza really is lucky to have a brother like Master Nolan...

...

Six days later...

Nolan’s horse-drawn carriage had been traveling nonstop for six days, stopping only for meals and to wash themselves in rivers they found along the way.

Their goal was to reach their destination by the fifteenth day, though everything still depended on the weather.

Winter was approaching, and the temperature in the four main regions of the Great Velmora Empire had begun to drop significantly.

The sea journey ahead would certainly be challenging, as the weather was unlikely to be in their favor.

”Tsk! This journey is so boring,” Nolan muttered, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

He turned to the window on his left, gazing at the endless rows of trees that seemed to change without end.

The port they were heading for was in the northwest of the eastern region—the farthest point of the area, with the lowest population compared to the rest.

The usual route to the eastern region couldn’t be used because the terrain to the northwest was completely impassable.

They had to pass through the Phantom Valley, the Screaming Ravine, and several other areas that were nearly impossible to cross.

Inevitably, their carriage had to take a safer alternative route to the northwest.

The only downside was that it made the journey much longer.

”Pfft!” Sharon giggled at his complaint, then picked up a grape and popped it into Nolan’s mouth.

”Don’t complain like that, my dear brother. This journey is nothing compared to the one across the sea. So be patient,” she said gently.

Nolan chewed the grape and swallowed it.

”You’re right...” he nodded weakly.

”By the way, so you don’t get bored, how about I tell you a famous legend of the sea?” Sharon straightened her posture while sipping her tea.

”Oh? A famous legend of the sea? What is it?” Nolan asked curiously.

The oceans in this world were completely different from those in his previous one.

Most of them remained unexplored, and it was said that countless terrifying monsters lurked in their depths.

As someone who had traveled far and wide, Nolan had seen some of those creatures himself. It could be said that the legends were true.

Compared to them, the sea dragon that once disrupted trade routes in the eastern region seemed insignificant.

The monsters of the deep sea were said to range from one hundred to two hundred meters in height.

Their enormous size made many ships reluctant to venture into the open sea.

Still, that didn’t mean all ships were afraid—some dared to cross and returned safely, though many others vanished without a trace.

As it happened, the route they were about to take lay across the open sea—right where the monsters’ lair was said to be.

”They say that somewhere in the distant ocean, there’s a ghost ship that often attacks merchant ships,” Sharon explained calmly. ”They call it the cursed ship. Any ship that encounters it is doomed to sink or disappear without a trace. The story is quite famous—I’ve heard it many times from my friends at the academy.”

”A ghost ship?” Nolan muttered in surprise. To be honest, it was the first time he had heard such a legend.

He had thought stories like that only existed in his previous world, but apparently, they existed here too.

”Do you know what the ship looks like, or when it usually appears?” he asked.

”Hmmm...” Sharon rubbed her chin, as if trying to recall. ”According to my friends, the ship is dark brown, and it’s shrouded in a faint green aura. Its mainsail is torn, as if slashed by a sword.”

”Oh, right!” Sharon’s eyes widened slightly. ”I also remember that it used to be a pirate ship that sank in that area. Ever since then, it’s said to haunt any ship passing by. It usually appears when the weather turns bad and fog suddenly blankets the sea, covering an area of about five kilometers.”

Nolan pondered her story, and for some reason, it stirred a strange sense of familiarity—something that reminded him of his previous world.

Could it just be my imagination? he thought.

Without them realizing it, the horse-drawn carriage had finally left the dull forest behind and entered a wide, open meadow.

Moonlight bathed the land in a soft glow, while countless stars sparkled across the night sky.

Sharon was captivated by the view and murmured, ”Nolan, do you remember when I first came to the palace?”

Nolan searched his memory and quickly recalled that moment.

”Yes, I remember,” he said. ”You mean the time when you were crying all by yourself?”

Sharon’s expression turned sour. ”Is that all you remember?”

”Pfft! Sorry, I’m just joking,” Nolan chuckled.

When Sharon first arrived at the palace, she had been terrified—like a lost little hamster.

Back then, Nolan had accidentally run into her and invited her to play outside the palace until late at night.

In the end, he got scolded by his father, and his backside turned red from the old man’s punishment.

Sharon’s expression softened as she said, ”That night, you took me outside, and I still remember the sky looked exactly like this.”

She pointed outside, then continued in a nostalgic tone, ”You promised you’d take me to see a sky like that again. But... you never did.”

Nolan felt a bit ashamed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but his father had warned him not to get too close to Sharon.

His father was afraid he might be a bad influence on her—and well, Nolan had been quite the troublemaker back then. He couldn’t deny that.

”Even so...” Sharon turned to him with a gentle look. ”We finally get to see the night sky together again, even if it’s just during a journey. That alone makes me... happy.”

Nolan stared at her sincere expression, momentarily lost for words.

That look reminded him of someone from his past—a person long buried in his heart: his fiancée, Seira.