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

Chapter 846: Returning to the Elf Forest

”Arranged marriage?” Aldric asked in surprise. ”When? And who arranged it?”

Novaria let out a long sigh before answering, ”Mother arranged it. She said I’m old enough to get married.”

Aldric fell silent for a moment. He wasn’t surprised their mother had finally decided to do this.

After all, Novaria was already at the age to get married.

”Who is he?”

Novaria bit her lower lip and replied weakly, ”He’s Prince Ethan of the Great Kingdom of Horland on the Western Continent. Brother...”

She gripped Aldric’s arm tightly and pleaded, ”Can you help me? I want to refuse him. I don’t want to get married.”

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Her greatest fear had finally come true—marriage.

She had always known that, sooner or later, she would end up in an arranged marriage.

Still, she refused to accept it. She wanted to be free, not bound by those rigid rules.

Unfortunately, as a princess, that dream could never come true.

Yet she still clung to the faint hope that she could escape this arranged marriage.

And the only person who could help her was none other than her older brother, Aldric.

”This...” Aldric was at a loss for words. There was nothing he could do, especially since their mother had already made the decision.

Seeing his hesitation, fear welled up inside Novaria. The hand clutching his arm began to tremble.

”B-Brother, why are you so quiet? Don’t tell me... Don’t tell me you can’t?”

Aldric looked at her frightened face and gave a weak nod.

”That’s right... I can’t. Just give up on running away. It’s... impossible.”

Those words felt like a knife piercing Novaria’s chest. Her breathing grew heavy, and her eyes reddened.

”No, I won’t!” she shouted.

She jumped to her feet and stomped them repeatedly.

”No wedding! I don’t want to get married!”

After shouting that, she ran out of the room.

Aldric stood frozen, watching her storm out. A few seconds later, he snapped out of it and was about to chase after her, but stopped himself.

For now, it was better to let her calm down and clear her head first.

***

”No, I don’t want to get married!”

In her room, Novaria buried herself under her blanket and cried.

Marriage terrified her.

She had seen what it did to her mother. On the surface, her parents looked like a happy couple, but she knew the truth. There was no love between them.

More than once, she had caught her mother crying alone in the middle of the night. She never knew the reason, but seeing it again and again left a deep scar on her heart.

To Novaria, marriage was nothing more than a prison. A place where happiness slowly disappeared, leaving only pain.

”No... I can’t just stay here!” she muttered, clenching her fists as tears rolled down her cheeks.

”If no one will help me, then I’ll run away! Yeah... I’ll run away!”

Her eyes filled with determination.

She wasn’t going to let anyone decide her future.

...

Whoosh!

Nolan appeared right in front of the Elven Forest. Looking up, he saw the seemingly endless forest stretching as far as the eye could see.

”Elven Forest... I’m back,” he murmured.

It had been over a year since he left this place, yet nothing had changed.

Luna, standing beside him, looked excited. No matter how enjoyable the capital was, home was still the best place to return to.

Of course, she had no intention of staying in the Elven Forest permanently. After growing accustomed to life in Solvaria’s capital, it would be difficult to readjust to the quiet, monotonous life here.

Still, coming back every now and then wasn’t a bad thing.

”Let’s go inside, Singularity of Chaos!” Luna said enthusiastically.

Nolan nodded, and the two of them walked into the forest.

***

Seria was sitting cross-legged on a tree trunk when a beam of light suddenly appeared beside her.

Yllia emerged, dressed in a green gown. Her calm demeanor, combined with an air of grace, made her look truly beautiful.

”We have guests. Go welcome them.”

Seria slowly opened her eyes and looked into the distance. Her blank expression instantly turned into a bright smile.

”Luna... she’s back!” she said excitedly.

Without another word, she vanished from where she was.

Seeing her childish behavior, Yllia simply smiled and shook her head.

Her gaze then shifted toward the direction Nolan and Luna were coming from.

”Singularity of Chaos... We finally meet again,” she murmured with a faint smile. ”You’ve come because of that question, haven’t you? So you’ve finally realized it too...”

***

Nolan and Luna were walking while chatting casually when a gust of wind suddenly swept past them.

Both of them were startled as Seria appeared in front of them and immediately pulled Luna into a tight hug.

”You’re finally back, my dear! Do you have any idea how long Grandma has been waiting for you to come home?”

”Ugh...” Luna choked out, patting Seria’s shoulder in an attempt to make her let go.

But Seria was too overjoyed to notice.

Nolan shook his head and warned, ”If you keep hugging her like that, your granddaughter is going to die, you silly woman.”

Seria froze for a moment before quickly letting Luna go. Sure enough, the girl’s face was as red as a tomato, and she was gasping for air with her head lowered.

”I-I’m sorry, Luna! I didn’t mean to!” she exclaimed in a panic.

Luna waved her hand.

”It’s okay, Grandma,” she replied softly. ”I’m fine.”

Seria didn’t dare take any chances and immediately checked Luna over. After making sure she was all right, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She patted Luna on the head and asked affectionately, ”How have you been? And why are you only coming back now? Didn’t you promise to come back every three months?”

Although she tried to hide it, there was still a hint of annoyance in her voice.

”I’m sorry, Grandma. I didn’t have time,” Luna replied sheepishly. ”I’ve been really busy with work, so I haven’t had any free time.”

Seria looked dissatisfied. Placing her hands on her hips, she protested, ”Did that woman named Shion give you too much work? If she did, how about I beat her up for you?”

Nolan: ”...”

That woman hadn’t changed one bit. She was still as stubborn as a rock.

”G-Grandma, what are you saying?” Luna panicked and hurriedly waved her hands. ”Sister Shion is really kind to me. She takes great care of me too. Anyway, she’s the best after Grandma and Mom! So please, don’t hurt her.”

As she said that, she glanced nervously at Nolan.

The Singularity of Chaos seemed to know Shion. If he told her what Grandma had just said, it would be awkward for Luna to face Shion later.

Luna didn’t want that to happen. Besides, Shion really was kind to her, and the work Luna mentioned earlier was something she had volunteered to do.

Seeing the determination in Luna’s eyes, Seria said nothing more and reluctantly nodded.

”All right. I was just joking.”

She patted Luna on the head before turning her sharp gaze toward the Singularity of Chaos.

”So,” she said coldly. ”Why are you here?”

Nolan: ”...”