The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne Chapter 1031 The Traitor

"What… did you say?"

Nolan stiffened at those words.

"What do you mean?" he asked seriously.

Chloe turned her face away from him. Even so, they were still only a short distance apart. Nolan could even smell her sweet, intoxicating breath.

"Like I said earlier, there's a traitor among the Seven Constellation Mages."

"That's not what I meant." Nolan shook his head. "I mean, who is the traitor? And how did that person betray the empire?"

Chloe chuckled softly at his anxious expression.

"This information is top-secret. So, how are you going to pay me?" she asked playfully.

Nolan clicked his tongue in frustration. But he couldn't blame Chloe. The information was indeed invaluable.

Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his right arm around Chloe's waist and said, "All right, I'll grant your wish. Tell me—what do you want?"

Chloe's eyes lit up at that. She brought her lips close to Nolan's ear and whispered something.

Nolan's calm expression changed when he heard it.

"That's all. What do you think?" Chloe blinked innocently.

Nolan was at a loss for words. He wanted to refuse, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"All right."

He let out a long sigh.

"I'll do it."

"Yay!"

Chloe raised her hands excitedly.

She cupped his cheeks and looked deeply into Nolan's eyes.

"It's a promise, okay? Don't go back on it. Got it?"

Her tone turned cold and firm.

Nolan rolled his eyes but didn't argue.

"Don't worry. I'm the kind of person who keeps his promises."

"Glad to hear it."

Chloe regained her smile and giggled softly.

"All right, I'll tell you."

She rested her face against Nolan's broad chest, then pressed her index finger against his right chest and traced a small circle.

"I found an ancient archive in the library a month ago. It lists all the criminals from the past and present," she explained casually. "They're all criminals who came from the Falling Star Academy. But before that, I want to make sure you know that all the Constellation Mages in the Great Velmora Empire come from this academy, right?"

Nolan nodded slightly.

"I already knew that."

The Falling Star Academy had very close ties to the Great Velmora Empire. Many of its graduates went on to work for the empire. Some of them were even Celestial Mages, such as Orion, Cassiopeia, Draco, and Phoenix.

The academy's graduates also worked closely with the empire's nobles. It was safe to say that the academy and the empire had a very close relationship.

That relationship was also one of the reasons the Holy Empire of Valtanir thought twice about attacking the empire.

After all, they would surely face hostility from the Falling Star Academy as well if they dared to attack the empire.

Chloe smiled faintly and closed her eyes.

"In the archive, I saw one name that caught my attention. It was Orgun, a high-achieving student who reached the Celestial stage at the age of thirty-five," she said calmly. "Unfortunately, he ended up committing a truly serious crime."

Her voice turned cold.

"He killed a fellow student during a mission and returned as if he hadn't done anything wrong. Even after he was found out, he played dumb, pretending he hadn't done it. The deans eventually sentenced him to several years in prison. I witnessed it firsthand at the time. After all, I was the head of the Falling Star Academy."

She adjusted her sitting position before continuing. This time, her voice sounded cold.

"Instead of repenting, he became even more reckless. He not only harmed the students who came to feed him but also killed one of the deans. His crimes had become completely out of control. Finally, I made the decision to sentence him to death. But…"

Her eyes narrowed coldly.

"He managed to escape. He also leaked all the core information about the Falling Star Academy to the Tower of Silence. Fortunately, Sylvia isn't a malicious person, so I was able to handle it, though at a rather high cost."

A sigh escaped her lips.

Recalling that incident, she felt annoyed. She had been forced to humble herself before Sylvia, her sworn enemy.

But she had no choice. Otherwise, those secrets could have spread everywhere, which would have seriously harmed the Falling Star Academy.

Nolan said nothing from start to finish, simply letting Chloe finish her story.

"And you know what? Upon closer inspection, Orgun's face turned out to be very similar to one of the Constellation Mages of the Great Velmora Empire."

"Who?" Nolan's eyes narrowed sharply.

Chloe didn't answer. Instead, she snapped her fingers, and a slightly dusty black book appeared in the palm of her right hand.

She opened it and turned the pages one by one. When she reached the hundredth page, she stopped and turned the page.

"Look—this is the guy. I'm sure you know him."

Nolan studied the man's face intently. He had short red hair and an annoyingly arrogant expression.

His heart immediately began racing.

"Isn't that… Draco!?"

…

"Everyone, stop!"

Elina raised her right hand.

Tens of thousands of soldiers stopped simultaneously.

"What's going on, Elina?" Evalyn asked.

Elina didn't answer. She narrowed her eyes and turned to her right, where a three-meter-high mound of earth stood, topped by a row of broad-trunked trees.

"Don't hide like a coward. Come out."

No one answered. Only the chirping of birds and the wind rustling through the trees could be heard.

"Do I have to repeat myself? Or are you ready to die?"

Just after she said that, laughter came from among the trees.

"Hahaha! Amazing! Truly amazing! I underestimated you, Your Highness."

A man casually walked out from behind the trees without a trace of fear. He was dressed simply, like a farmer, and his red hair fell to his shoulders.

"Who are you?" Elina asked coldly.

Freya and Evalyn immediately became alert. At the same time, they glanced at Elina curiously.

They hadn't sensed the man's presence at all, yet Elina had. It made no sense whatsoever.

"Who am I?" The man chuckled. "Are you curious? If so, let me ask you a basic question first."

He walked down the mound and stepped into the middle of the road before turning to face Elina and the others.

Standing in front of tens of thousands of soldiers, he didn't seem afraid at all.

"I won't introduce myself unless you answer my question."

Elina drew her sword and pointed it at him.

"I don't care what you're trying to do, but since you're bold enough to appear before us without fear, you must have come to cause trouble, right?"

The man laughed again and shook his head.

"Your Highness, you're very clever! No wonder those people consider you a threat."

He clapped his hands and smiled broadly.

"All right, no need to hide anymore, my brothers. Come out…"