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

Chapter 883: Rumors Spreading Like the Wind

News of Cedric’s arrest spread like wildfire.

In less than six hours after he was taken into custody, almost the entire empire had already heard about it.

People everywhere, especially in the capital, couldn’t stop talking about the news.

”Hey, have you heard?”

”You mean the news about Prince Cedric?”

”Exactly! I heard he was arrested by the Phantom Guard today. You’ve heard it too, right?”

”Yeah, I have. I really didn’t expect something like this to happen. What exactly did he do?”

”I don’t know either. But if the Phantom Guard arrested him, he must have committed a serious crime.”

Similar conversations could be heard throughout the capital.

No one knew why Cedric had been arrested so people started spinning all kinds of crazy theories.

Some claimed he was involved with a heretical cult, while others accused him of all sorts of other crimes.

The rumors spread like wildfire. Under normal circumstances, the imperial palace would have acted immediately to shut down such baseless speculation.

Unfortunately, the palace was currently under lockdown, leaving the rumors to spread unchecked.

...

”What? Cedric was arrested?”

Aldric, who had been sharpening his sword, froze when he heard the news.

Vanessa nodded and walked over to him.

”The news came in just a few minutes ago. According to the rumors, Cedric committed a serious crime. He was arrested by the Phantom Guard in Orested City while meeting with a man named Jakes.”

”Jakes?” Aldric raised an eyebrow. ”If I remember correctly, he’s the richest man in the northern region, isn’t he?”

”That’s right.” Vanessa nodded before sitting beside him. ”The news is spreading like wildfire. I’m sure whoever planned this deliberately leaked it.”

Her expression grew serious.

Anyone capable of setting a trap that cornered Cedric like this was clearly no ordinary person.

She didn’t know who was behind it. It could be Elina or Adalen, but she wasn’t convinced.

At least, in her opinion, neither of them could have come up with such a clever scheme.

That left only one possibility—the real mastermind was hidden within one of those factions.

Aldric was silent, his face growing complicated.

Other than Elina, he saw Cedric as his most dangerous rival. Still, he never thought Cedric would get caught in someone else’s trap so easily.

”So what’s the imperial palace’s response, Mother? Has Father done anything yet?”

”Not yet. The imperial palace is practically at a standstill for the next two days. The timing couldn’t be worse for Cedric and his faction,” Vanessa said with a long sigh.

She didn’t care what happened to Cedric. What worried her was that the mysterious mastermind would eventually target Aldric as well.

If even Cedric had fallen into that person’s trap, there was a good chance Aldric could end up in the same situation.

”So the palace isn’t going to do anything for the next two days?” Aldric narrowed his eyes. ”Mother, don’t you think all of this is a little... too convenient?”

”Too convenient?” Vanessa frowned. ”What do you mean?”

Aldric took a deep breath before explaining his suspicion.

”I mean, the palace just happened to enter a two-day freeze. Then, on the very same day, Cedric got captured by the Phantom Guard. Don’t you think the timing’s a little too perfect?”

Vanessa thought over his words and had to admit they made sense. Still, something about it continued to bother her.

”I’ll ask your uncle to investigate this. Just wait for my update.”

Aldric nodded slowly. Then something came to mind.

”How’s the search for Novaria going?” he asked. ”Have you found her yet?”

Vanessa’s expression immediately darkened, and she shook her head.

”Not yet. But my spies tell me her last known location was in the eastern region.”

”The eastern region?” Aldric’s eyes widened. ”Wait... don’t tell me she went to Elina’s territory?”

Vanessa’s heart raced. That possibility hadn’t even crossed her mind.

”It’s possible.”

She let out a tired sigh and rubbed her temples, which were starting to throb.

”That girl is such a handful. Can’t she just do her duty as a princess?”

Vanessa couldn’t understand why Novaria was so determined to avoid the marriage.

Prince Ethan was the heir to the Great Kingdom of Horland, and once he ascended the throne, Novaria would become its queen.

Countless women would have envied her position. Yet instead of accepting it, Novaria had run away and was doing everything she could to avoid the marriage. The thought alone made Vanessa furious.

She stood up and said coldly, ”I’ll send more people to the eastern region. Elina lives in Virella, right?”

”That’s right. Virella.” Aldric gave a slight nod.

Without another word, Vanessa turned and left, while Aldric remained seated, lost in thought.

”Cedric... are you really going to lose too?”

His expression darkened.

”...If that’s the case, then what a shame.”

...

Nolan showed up at the bar that served as Phantom Chain’s headquarters. He waved at the bartender by the entrance.

The bartender recognized Nolan and immediately let him inside.

When Nolan entered the headquarters, Jorgan was playing cards with a few of his men.

”Playing cards during work hours, huh? Are you guys getting paid to do nothing?”

Nolan’s voice instantly ruined the cheerful atmosphere.

Jorgan looked up at him with an annoyed expression.

”What do you mean, ’getting paid to do nothing,’ Your Highness? We’re on a break, okay? A break!”

He deliberately emphasized the word ”break,” as if trying to provoke him.

The others quickly chimed in.

”Jorgan’s right, Your Highness. We’re not slacking off. We’re just relaxing after a long day’s work.”

”Yeah! Exactly!”

Nolan rolled his eyes. The Phantom Chain members stationed at headquarters barely had anything to do. Their main job was simply to monitor reports sent in by spies across the empire.

Too lazy to argue, Nolan walked over to Jorgan and grabbed him by the collar.

”Come with me. I need to talk to you.”

Jorgan was startled and instinctively tried to pull away, but he couldn’t.

Nolan’s grip was like iron.

His friends could only watch in silence as Nolan dragged Jorgan away.

***

Nolan tossed Jorgan onto the sofa. Although it was soft, the impact still made him wince in pain.

”Ow! Your Highness, you’re really rough!” Jorgan complained as he rubbed the back of his neck.

At the same time, he couldn’t hide his surprise. As the leader of the Phantom Chain, Jorgan was a highly trained fighter. It was no exaggeration to say he could take on a dozen soldiers without suffering a single scratch.

Yet Nolan had effortlessly grabbed him by the collar, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

That could only mean one thing—Nolan was physically stronger than him.

”I don’t like beating around the bush,” Nolan said calmly as he sat on the sofa across from Jorgan. ”I need your help. No negotiations.”

Jorgan: ”...”