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

Chapter 889: Lyra Steps In

”Your Majesty, the trial will begin in one hour.”

Orion stepped out of the shadows and reported respectfully.

Ragan set aside the documents he was reading and stretched his stiff back.

”Is everything ready?”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

”Good.” Ragan nodded in satisfaction. Then, as if remembering something, his expression turned somber.

”By the way, is there any news about Nolan?”

Orion lowered his head and replied calmly, ”Not yet. Prince Nolan hasn’t responded to the letter Your Majesty sent. I’ve already dispatched Lyra, and as planned, she’ll bring Prince Nolan to the imperial palace by force.”

Ragan rubbed his throbbing temple.

Two days ago, Nolan had been ordered to come to the palace to meet him.

However, that damn kid never showed up. Ragan had even asked Elina to persuade him.

Unfortunately, Nolan was as stubborn as ever and refused to come.

Because of that, Ragan had ordered Lyra to bring Nolan back by force today. Once Lyra got involved, that kid wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Just imagining Nolan’s annoyed expression made Ragan smile without realizing it.

”All right. I hope that kid gets here as soon as the trial is over.”

”I hope so too,” Orion replied with a slight nod.

...

Whoosh!

A streak of blue light shot across the sky, racing over countless cities at incredible speed.

People below looked up in surprise. Before they could even react, the blue light had already disappeared into the distance.

A few minutes later, it gradually slowed before coming to a stop above a town on the eastern edge of the region.

Her figure slowly came into view—a beautiful woman wearing an eyepatch.

It was Lyra, one of the Seven Constellation Mages.

As her gaze fell upon the mansion on the edge of town, a faint smile curved her lips.

”Prince Nolan, don’t blame me for being rude. Blame yourself for disobeying His Majesty’s orders.”

She gently landed in the mansion’s courtyard.

The surroundings were quiet, with only a handful of guards and servants on duty.

Without hesitation, Lyra stepped inside. She found herself in a spacious, elegantly furnished living room.

A hint of admiration flashed across her face.

She knew about Virella. The town had once been poor and underdeveloped.

The townspeople had once struggled to survive, and even putting enough food on the table had been difficult.

But now, the town had grown into one of the most prosperous in the eastern region.

It wouldn’t be long before it stood on equal footing with the empire’s major cities.

As Lyra looked around, a maid happened to walk past.

She quickly stopped her.

”Excuse me. Could you tell me where Prince Nolan is?”

The maid froze. The moment she turned and saw Lyra, her face turned deathly pale.

Lyra was just as surprised.

”You...” Lyra’s eyes widened. ”Princess Novaria?”

Novaria’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected to run into Lyra here.

”L-Lyra?” she called nervously. ”W-Why are you here?”

Lyra remained silent for a few seconds before walking over and looking Novaria up and down.

”Your Highness, I should be the one asking that. Why are you here?”

As far as she knew, Novaria was supposed to be in the southern region with Vanessa and Aldric. Seeing her in this mansion was the last thing Lyra had expected.

Novaria lowered her head awkwardly. She knew there was no point in trying to hide the truth from Lyra, so she decided to tell her everything.

”I ran away from the southern region,” she said helplessly.

”Ran away?” Lyra raised an eyebrow. ”Ran away from what?”

”An arranged marriage.”

Novaria then explained everything that had happened.

After hearing the whole story, Lyra’s expression softened with sympathy.

”So that’s what happened...”

She let out a quiet sigh.

”That must’ve been really hard.”

Novaria gave a bitter smile.

At first, it really had been. The journey from the southern region to the eastern region had taken several days, and she’d had to stay on guard the entire time to avoid falling into the wrong hands.

After arriving in Virella, she’d thought she could finally go back to living as the glamorous Second Princess.

Instead, reality hit her hard. She had to work as a maid in this mansion.

If she refused, Nolan and Elina would undoubtedly kick her out.

”By the way, why are you here?” Novaria asked curiously.

Then, as if she had just realized something, her face suddenly turned pale, and she instinctively took a few steps back.

”Wait... Don’t tell me you came to take me back.”

She had been missing for more than two weeks. Her mother must have tried every possible way to find her, but without success.

Now that Lyra had appeared at the mansion, it could only mean one thing—her mother had asked her father for help.

Lyra let out a soft chuckle.

”Don’t worry, I’m not here for you. I’m looking for Prince Nolan. Do you know where he is?”

”Nolan?”

Novaria froze for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. The tension in her body slowly faded.

”He’s in his room. You can go check for yourself,” Novaria replied in a much softer voice.

Lyra nodded and headed toward the room Novaria had pointed out.

Once she arrived, she opened the door and stepped inside.

”Your Highness—”

Before she could finish speaking, Lyra realized the room was empty.

There was no one inside.

”Your Highness?” she called again.

Still, there was no answer.

Lyra closed her eyes and spread her senses throughout the mansion, hoping to find Nolan.

Strangely, she couldn’t sense his presence anywhere.

”He’s not here?”

Her brows furrowed. She expanded her senses to cover the entire town of Virella and most of the Calvron Forest.

To her surprise, Nolan was nowhere to be found.

”How is that possible?”

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

If Nolan had gone into town, she should have been able to find him. Yet she couldn’t sense even the slightest trace of his presence.

”Could he have gone to another city?”

The thought made her expression turn grim.

The Emperor had ordered her to bring Nolan back as soon as the trial ended.

Searching for him across the entire eastern region would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

It would be nothing but a waste of time.

”Are you looking for Nolan?”

A voice suddenly came from behind her.

Lyra’s eyes widened slightly. She quickly turned around.

A beautiful woman stood there, leaning casually against the wall. She had sky-blue eyes and long, pale white hair that flowed down to her hips.

”Who are you?” Lyra asked warily.

Malverna gave a faint smile.

”I am a subordinate of the Singularity of Chaos.”

”A subordinate of the Singularity of Chaos?”

Lyra was stunned.

Memories of the Demon Emperor Zerathos appearing through Cassian’s body resurfaced in her mind.

Back then, she had seen a white-haired woman wearing a mask block Cassian’s sudden attack with ease.

It turned out the woman’s face was breathtakingly beautiful, like a moon goddess descending from the heavens.

Regaining her composure, Lyra looked straight into Malverna’s eyes.

”Do you know where Prince Nolan is?”

Malverna gave a slight nod.

”He’s gone... and he won’t be back anytime soon.”