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

Three days later...

”Well then, we’ll be leaving first,” Nolan said, yawning lazily.

Evalyn, standing beside him, patted his shoulder rather hard and scolded him, ”You’re too lazy, Nolan. Come on, cheer up a bit, okay?”

Nolan shot her an irritated glance but said nothing.

”Please be careful, Brother and Sister Evalyn. It’s a long journey, so I hope you arrive safely,” Elina said, bowing her head slightly. ”And I’m sorry for troubling you.”

Evalyn smiled and waved her right hand. ”It’s fine. All right, we’re leaving now.”

She hooked her arm through Nolan’s right arm and pulled him toward the prepared horse-drawn carriage before stepping inside.

Soon, the carriage began to move, gradually disappearing from view.

Rafine looked dazed as she watched them leave. Suddenly, Elina gently patted her back and said jokingly, ”Do you miss my brother? Don’t worry—he won’t be gone for long. Just relax.”

Rafine’s face turned red, and she quickly looked away.

”What are you talking about? How could I be sad just because that smelly man left?” she snorted, crossing her arms.

Elina merely smiled and shook her head. At that moment, she finally understood her brother’s words—that women often become foolish when they fall in love.

Even someone as smart as Rafine became a little silly.

”I understand. Let’s go in for lunch. The servants have already prepared it,” Elina said, pulling her along.

Rafine said nothing and followed Elina into the mansion.

…

Inside the horse-drawn carriage, Nolan yawned lazily. He hadn’t slept well the night before, leaving him a little drowsy.

”Evalyn, lend me your lap as a pillow,” Nolan said.

Without waiting for her reply, he rested his head on her lap.

Evalyn was startled, but she wasn’t angry. Her face reddened slightly as she pinched Nolan’s cheek and scolded him, ”Can you be a bit more careful in front of me? I am a woman, you know.”

Nolan opened one eye and glanced at her playfully.

I’m sorry. I’ve always acted like this around you, so it carried over.”

Evalyn let out a quiet sigh and gently rubbed his face.

”Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when we reach the harbor,” she whispered.

Nolan blinked faintly before closing his eyes again. Evalyn’s thighs were soft and comfortable beneath his head.

Her scent was sweet and calming, and within moments, he let his guard down and drifted into a deep sleep.

Three hours later...

”M-mmm...” Nolan groaned softly as he slowly opened his heavy eyes.

He stared blankly for a moment before asking weakly, ”Are we there yet?”

Evalyn, who had been reading a book, looked surprised to see him awake.

”Not yet,” she replied, gently combing his hair. ”Go back to sleep. We’ll arrive soon.”

Nolan shifted his head slightly until it brushed against a sensitive spot on Evalyn’s body.

Her face flushed, but she quickly composed herself.

”By the way, Evalyn, did you bring any news from the capital?” Nolan asked lazily.

”News from the capital?” Evalyn looked a little surprised. She closed her book, set it aside, and gently stroked Nolan’s face. ”What do you mean?”

”I mean news about Cedric, Adalen, and Aldric. Have the three of them made any plans or moves?”

”Ah, I see.” Evalyn nodded slightly, stroking her chin. ”As far as I know, no. Aldric is in the southern region, while Cedric is in the north. Only Adalen still resides in the imperial palace. Perhaps they’re wary of the Singularity of Chaos and the recent misfortunes surrounding the palace, so they chose to distance themselves.”

A faint laugh escaped her lips, as if she found the situation amusing.

Nolan rolled his eyes. He was the Singularity of Chaos she was talking about.

Although he despised his three siblings, he wouldn’t kill them without reason. Doing so would be no different from destroying his younger sister’s path to the throne.

”But since you mentioned it, I just remembered something,” Evalyn said, her expression turning serious. ”Tensions in the northern region have risen sharply. The Holy Empire of Valtanir seems to be preparing to seize the Eldrath Mountains directly. It’s still only a rumor, but the information came from my father. You could say it’s quite reliable.”

Nolan was surprised by the news. The Eldrath Mountains stretched across the northern region of the empire.

They served as a natural fortress along the empire’s northern border.

Coincidentally, beyond them lay a vast territory controlled by the Holy Empire of Valtanir.

The Holy Empire had long coveted the Eldrath Mountains. Eldrath was known to contain extraordinary quantities of rare minerals.

Among them was Netherium—the very reason Nolan had gone to the northern continent to obtain it from the Kingdom of Kaldarion.

Unfortunately, the mountains’ location made mining extremely difficult. Worse still, large-scale mining risked damaging the mountain range itself.

As the empire’s northern bulwark, destroying the Eldrath Mountains would be no different from opening a breach for enemy forces.

If Nolan’s calculations were correct, the wealth hidden within those mountains was worth hundreds of billions of Sharn—or perhaps even trillions.

”Does my father know about this?” Nolan asked cautiously.

The conflict with the Holy Empire of Valtanir had lasted for a long time.

Even after his father married Clarisse, Adalen’s mother, the hostility between the two sides had barely changed.

”His Majesty should already be aware of it,” Evalyn replied with a faint smile. ”After all, he is the emperor. His intelligence network is far more sophisticated than that of the Lionheart family.”

Nolan felt her words made sense.

”Do you think the Holy Empire of Valtanir will attack, Nolan?” Evalyn asked.

Nolan fell silent for a moment before replying, ”It’s impossible—at least, not now. The battle for the throne isn’t over, and Adalen, their future pawn, hasn’t fallen. There’s no reason for them to attack. Most likely, this is just a bluff.”

A quiet breath escaped his lips as he closed his eyes again.

War drained a kingdom’s coffers. He was certain Dariel understood that.

If the Holy Empire were to fight the Great Velmora Empire to the death, only one fate awaited them—destruction.

Without the Singularity of Light, it was impossible for the Holy Empire of Valtanir to defeat the Great Velmora Empire.

And as the Singularity of Chaos, Nolan would not remain idle. He would definitely intervene, either to hold him back or even defeat him.

Moreover, the Holy Empire’s political situation was extremely unstable.

If Nolan wasn’t mistaken, a powerful faction threatened the imperial family’s authority—the Church of the Goddess of Light.

It was said that its leader was a Saint whose identity remains a mystery to this day.

That was why Nolan was certain Dariel would not launch an attack in the near future without absolute confidence in victory or a clear justification.

Doing so would be tantamount to suicide…