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

Cedric stiffened at those words.

"W-What did you say?"

The Crescent Moon Swordsman glanced at him with a flat expression.

"I said I'd give the reward to Princess Elina. Are you deaf?"

Cedric's face darkened. He clenched his teeth and growled angrily.

"What do you mean!?"

He could no longer hold back his anger.

"I'm the one who brought her back! You're the one who should grant my wish, not her!"

He pointed at Elina, clearly dissatisfied.

He couldn't understand why the Crescent Moon Swordsman was siding with Elina. It made absolutely no sense.

The Crescent Moon Swordsman remained calm despite his accusation.

"Prince Cedric, I respect you both as an individual and as a person. I must admit, you are a very talented and remarkable young man."

That praise made Cedric tremble. For some reason, his gut told him that the old man in front of him wasn't truly praising him. There was another meaning behind his words.

And sure enough, the Crescent Moon Swordsman's next words hit him hard.

"Unfortunately, Princess Elina has already completed the task I assigned her."

Cedric jolted, his breath coming in short gasps.

"W-What… do you mean?" he asked, his voice trembling.

He pointed at Velissa beside him and shouted, "Your granddaughter is right here! Right in front of your eyes! Are you blind!?"

"C-Cedric, control your anger!"

Margaretta hurried to calm him down, but her efforts were in vain. Cedric could no longer keep his emotions under control.

Cedric felt like the old man was simply toying with him.

This time, however, it wasn't the Crescent Moon Swordsman who spoke.

It was Elina.

"Cedric, you really are stupid."

Her gloomy expression had vanished, replaced by an infuriatingly mocking smile.

"You attacked my mansion three days ago. To be honest, I was a little surprised by that. However, I'm sure you never imagined that I had already predicted everything, did you?"

Thump!

Cedric's heart raced as various possibilities flashed through his mind.

Seeing his reaction, Elina's smile widened, making her look somewhat frightening.

"Velissa, come out," she called.

Clack!

The wooden door behind her slowly opened, revealing Velissa in a beautiful blue gown.

"Y-You…"

Cedric's eyes widened in shock.

"How is that possible!? Weren't you right beside me!?"

He turned toward the Velissa standing next to him.

Margaretta and the soldiers behind her were equally stunned. They rubbed their eyes as if trying to make sure they weren't seeing things.

"Surprised?" Elina chuckled softly. "Cedric, oh, my dear brother, you're truly foolish… so very foolish."

Her words felt like a knife piercing through his heart.

But he still couldn't understand.

How could there be two Velissas here?

"All right, I'll explain it to you," Elina said casually, folding her arms across her chest. "The truth is, I already knew about the attack you carried out three days ago."

Cedric held his breath. He knew it… Elina must have figured it out.

But how had she found out?

He had absolutely no idea. Cedric was certain he had made sure there was no way Elina could have known about the attack.

Elina laughed and waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't look at me like that, Cedric. That's not like you, the so-called unbeatable genius."

Cedric gritted his teeth in anger. But more than anything, he felt humiliated.

Elina had truly managed to make a fool of him.

"Cut the nonsense," he snapped coldly. "Tell me… what's really going on?"

Elina stopped laughing, and her expression turned indifferent.

"The one your subordinates kidnapped wasn't Velissa. She was a stand-in."

Just as Elina said that, Velissa, who was standing next to Cedric, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Cedric, I didn't expect you to be this stupid… So stupid!"

Cedric turned toward her in horror. Velissa's face slowly transformed, revealing an appearance he had never expected to see.

"Y-You… Novaria!?"

Novaria laughed again and gave him a playful smile.

"Surprised?"

She walked over to Elina and stood beside her. Folding her arms haughtily, she taunted him.

"Yes, I am Novaria. The real Velissa is over there."

She pointed at Velissa, who was still standing in front of the wooden door.

"From the very beginning, you never caught her. You caught me instead."

She giggled as she looked at Cedric with a teasing gaze.

"How was my acting? Cool, right?"

Cedric and Margaretta stood there with blank expressions.

"So all this time… I've been tricked by both of them?"

An overwhelming sense of shame gnawed at him from within.

He never imagined that he would one day be humiliated like this.

His face flushed, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

"Elina… Novaria…" he growled through gritted teeth. "How dare you two deceive me and toy with me!?"

He roared furiously before giving the order.

"Everyone, capture them!"

The soldiers immediately raised their weapons and were about to charge forward, but Elina's troops didn't even flinch.

They quickly stepped forward and blocked Cedric's soldiers.

Elina watched the scene calmly.

From the very beginning, she had known things would eventually come to this.

After all, the northern region was Cedric's power base.

"Why are you just standing there!?"

Cedric grew even more furious when he saw his soldiers standing around like fools.

"Hurry up and capture them!"

The soldiers didn't dare disobey and were about to attack when they suddenly realized they couldn't move.

"W-What's happening!? Why can't I move my body!?" one of them shouted.

The others were in the same situation. They tried to move, but their bodies wouldn't respond.

"Cedric Lorian, I respect you because you are a prince of the empire. But your arrogant actions have truly gone too far."

The Crescent Moon Swordsman's cold voice echoed in all directions.

Everyone turned toward the man who had previously seemed weak and helpless.

Now, he had transformed into a figure radiating a majestic and terrifying aura.

Just looking at him was enough to make their eyes ache.

"Crescent Moon Swordsman…"

Cedric was furious and wanted to say something, but Margaretta quickly stopped him.

"Don't be reckless, Cedric. We're backed into a corner. If you insist, we'll die right here," she said seriously.

Her intuition told her that the Crescent Moon Swordsman wasn't messing around this time. One wrong move, and their lives would be on the line.

Margaretta had lived her entire life relying on her ability to see into the future.

But even without that power, her instincts had helped her reach her current position.

Cedric was reluctant to back down. Rage burned inside him like embers that would never die unless he killed Elina right then and there.

This was his second defeat at Elina's hands.

He couldn't accept it… he just couldn't!

Suddenly, he remembered Reinhard.

A crazy smile slowly spread across his face.

"Right… How could I have forgotten about him!? Hahaha!"

Elina raised an eyebrow at his laughter. Then, realizing what Cedric was thinking, she laughed along with him.

"Do you think that dragon will help you?"

Cedric's laughter suddenly stopped.

"Y-You…"

"Surprised I know?" Elina gave him a teasing smile. "Unfortunately, Cedric… unfortunately…"

She shook her head mockingly.

"He's already been killed by the Singularity of Chaos's subordinate."

Cedric's face paled.

"I-Impossible!"

"Impossible? Pfft! Fine, let's say I'm talking nonsense. Now, I'll ask you this. Where is he?"

Cedric froze.

Yes, that's right…

Where was Reinhard now?

According to their agreement, he was supposed to return to Cedric's side and work for him.

But he hadn't seen Reinhard at all for quite some time.

Margaretta, who was standing beside him, felt an overwhelming sense of fear.

"Elina really is a formidable opponent…"

Apart from Cedric, Elina had been the one with the best chance of winning the battle for the throne.

Unfortunately, back then, Margaretta hadn't chosen her. She had chosen Cedric instead.

What she hadn't expected was that, in just one year, the gap between Elina and Cedric would become so enormous.

"We have to come up with a plan…"

With that in mind, she pulled Cedric back and ordered, "Lower your weapons. Retreat now!"

The soldiers didn't dare disobey and immediately withdrew from the area.

Elina did nothing. She simply watched them leave with a calm expression.

"Your second defeat, huh?" she chuckled softly. "Cedric, you're much weaker than I thought. How pathetic…"

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