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

"I'm home!"

Orlan walked in with a smile on his face.

"Father!"

Alicia exclaimed as she ran toward him and hugged his right leg.

Orlan picked her up and pinched her chubby cheek.

"Did you behave while I was gone?"

"Mhmm! I behaved!" Alicia replied proudly.

Orlan chuckled softly and kissed his little girl on the cheek.

"Oh, right. I want to introduce someone to you."

He turned around and pointed at Nolan, who was standing behind him.

"This is Nolan Frey. He'll be your playmate while I'm away."

Alicia looked at Nolan curiously. When she saw his smile, her face turned as red as an apple.

She shyly held out her hand and whispered, "I'm Alicia. Nice to meet you, big brother."

Nolan couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since he'd last seen Alicia.

He remembered her as being frail and thin. But now, she had grown up and looked much healthier than he remembered.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Nolan, and I'll be taking care of you from now on."

As they shook hands, Alicia's face grew even redder. She quickly pulled her hand away and buried her face in Orlan's neck.

"Pfft! It looks like she likes you, Nolan."

Orlan had been worried that Alicia would reject the arrangement, but fortunately, she didn't. She seemed to like Nolan.

Nolan simply smiled without saying a word.

"By the way, my wife is visiting her father. So, it's just me, Alicia, you, and the servants in this house. I'll let her know about you later. For now, I'll show you around. I hope you'll feel at home here."

Nolan gave a slight nod.

He already knew the layout of the house by heart, but he chose not to say anything.

After all, his identity now was Nolan Frey, not Nolan Lorian.

…

The throne room…

Seira sat on the throne with an elegant and dignified air.

The ministers stood on the right side of the stairs, while the queen and concubines stood on the left.

Elina, Cedric, Aldric, and Adalen stood about two meters away from the stairs leading up to the throne.

"I've summoned you all for an important matter," Seira said indifferently. "His Majesty the Emperor has mysteriously fallen ill. For the time being, I will take over the government. Does anyone object?"

Her pink eyes, usually gentle, now looked cold and resolute as they swept over everyone below.

No one answered. Despite their reluctance, leaving the seat of power vacant was not a good idea.

If one of the candidates for the throne were to take it, it would only trigger protests from the other factions.

The best course of action was indeed to let Seira take over.

"Since you're all silent, I'll take that as your consent."

Seira nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm going to address two issues, both of which are critical," she said calmly. "First, Father's condition is very serious. He fell ill from an unknown cause. He's been in a coma and hasn't woken up for a week."

The expressions of the throne candidates changed.

Cedric, in particular, had lost all his sources of information in the capital.

His uncle had been removed from his position as prime minister, while his mother had lost the right to share a room with his father.

As a result, he was completely in the dark about Ragan's condition.

"I've conducted an investigation into the matter," Seira continued. "There are two likely reasons why Father fell into a coma."

She raised her index finger.

"First is exhaustion and severe stress. Father rarely gets enough rest, so his health has been affected. Not to mention that he's already quite old. However…"

Her expression turned somber.

"I'm a bit skeptical about that. Although he rarely rests, he still maintains a proper diet and exercise routine. The chances of this being the cause are quite low. So, I'm leaning more toward the second possibility."

"The second one? What is it?" Adalen asked curiously.

Seira gave a faint smile.

"Isn't it obvious? Poisoning."

Everyone's expressions changed.

"Poisoning!?" Cedric exclaimed in horror. "Are you sure?"

Of all the possibilities, poisoning seemed the least likely.

Ragan was guarded by Constellation Mages. Although they weren't all stationed by his side, there were always at least two or three nearby.

It should have been nearly impossible for Ragan to be poisoned.

"I'm a bit skeptical, Seira," Aldric said, folding his muscular arms as he looked at her seriously. "Security around Father is extremely tight. Even we, his children, aren't allowed to touch his food, let alone the servants. So how could he have been poisoned?"

The others nodded in agreement.

Only Elina remained silent. She was the only one who understood what Seira meant.

"As I said before, both possibilities are still on the table—exhaustion and poisoning. But there's a good chance that both factors played a role."

Seira crossed her legs.

"The court physicians have been working tirelessly to determine the cause, but they haven't found anything. For now, all we can do is wait."

Everyone fell silent. The ministers wanted to voice their thoughts, but they were afraid.

After all, this was about the emperor's safety. If their advice ended up getting him killed, they and their families could be turned into fertilizer on the spot.

"The second issue I'd like to discuss is the battle for the throne."

At those words, the expressions of Aldric, Cedric, and Adalen changed.

Since Ragan had fallen ill, the succession battle would naturally be affected. However, they had no idea what would change.

"I know you must all be curious, right?"

Seira looked at her younger siblings with a meaningful gaze.

Their serious expressions turned into awkward smiles.

"Don't worry. The succession battle will proceed as usual. The only difference is that the timeframe will be shortened. I've decided that the winner will be determined within one year."

Her words were like a bomb dropped in the middle of the room.

Tension gripped everyone.

The battle for the throne normally took three years or more. It had already been one year and nine months since the battle began.

That meant there should have been at least one year and three months left, or even longer.

Shortening the remaining time by several months would undoubtedly affect each prince's plans.

They looked at one another, hatred and hostility burning in their eyes.

It wasn't just the princes. Vanessa, Cassandra, and Clarise also realized how serious things were.

They exchanged glances before quickly looking away.

Only Isabella remained calm and relaxed. To her, the battle for the throne was simply something her daughter had to go through.

Whether Elina won or lost didn't really matter to her. After all, she had the Eastern Empire of Izanagi backing her.

She could simply ask her father to appoint Elina as the new Eastern Emperor.

Seira nodded in satisfaction at their reactions.

This was exactly what she wanted to see. With the pressure now on, the culprits, no matter which side they were on, would reveal themselves sooner or later.

"That concludes the meeting. You may all leave."

Everyone bowed their heads and turned to leave.

However, Clarise and Adalen remained where they were.

Seira raised an eyebrow slightly and asked coldly, "What do you want?"

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