The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne Chapter 1039 A Cruel Mother

"I-Is Seira all right!?"

Clarisse burst through the door and hurried inside, looking worried.

Isabella and the maids, who had been discussing something, were startled by her sudden arrival.

Isabella smiled.

"Seira's fine. She's just exhausted."

Clarisse let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

She walked over to the bed and looked at her daughter lying there.

A cold glint flashed in her eyes before quickly fading away.

"I'm sorry for troubling you, Isabella," Clarisse said with an apologetic smile. "You must have had a hard time looking after her, right?"

Isabella shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. Seira is my daughter too, so it's only natural for me to take care of her when she's sick."

Clarisse simply nodded without saying anything more.

"By the way, since Seira has fallen ill, the throne is technically vacant now, isn't it?"

The sudden question caught Isabella off guard, but she quickly composed herself and nodded.

"That's right. Why do you ask?"

Clarisse smiled faintly as she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.

"We can't just leave the throne empty, can we? After all, an empire can't run without a ruler. So, wouldn't this be the perfect time to appoint someone to take over temporarily?"

Isabella immediately understood what Clarisse was getting at.

The polite smile on her face disappeared, and her expression turned cold.

"What are you getting at?"

Clarisse realized that Isabella had seen through her intentions, so she stopped pretending to be polite.

"Like I said, an empire can't run without a ruler. That's why I want my son, Adalen, to take the throne for the time being."

The room instantly fell silent.

Isabella stared into her eyes before asking, "Is that all you can think about?"

Clarisse flinched.

"What do you mean?"

Isabella glanced at Seira, who was still unconscious.

"His Majesty the Emperor is in a coma. Seira has also fallen ill and is still unconscious. The southern region is in chaos because of the rebels. And yet, all you can think about is putting your son, Adalen, on the throne?" Isabella let out a cold snort. "You're absolutely disgusting, Clarisse."

The way Isabella called her "Sister" and her usual politeness vanished in an instant.

Clarisse's eyes widened at Isabella's harsh words.

"Y-You!"

She pointed at Isabella with a trembling hand.

"How dare you, you lowly wretch, insult me!"

"Lowly wretch?" Isabella let out a cold chuckle. "What makes you think you're any better? All you care about is power and the throne. Has the Holy Empire of Valtanir grown impatient and decided to start a war? Or do you already know your son has no chance of winning, so you've decided to resort to dirty tricks like this?"

Clarisse was left speechless by Isabella's string of insults. She'd completely lost the argument.

Gritting her teeth, she raised her hand and tried to slap Isabella across the face.

But Isabella reacted quickly, catching her hand and gripping her wrist tightly.

"Ouch! Let go of me!" Clarisse cried out in pain.

Isabella shoved her arm away, sending Clarisse stumbling sideways before crashing to the floor.

"Get out of here. Just looking at you makes me sick."

Clarisse rubbed her sore wrist and glared at Isabella. But the moment she met Isabella's murderous gaze, her courage crumbled.

Biting her lip, she got to her feet and stormed out in a fit of rage.

The maids who had witnessed the whole thing could only lower their heads in fear.

Isabella paid them no attention. She took one last look at Seira before turning away.

"Keep an eye on Seira. Don't let anyone in without my permission, not even Clarisse. Understood?"

"U-Understood, Your Grace," the maids replied nervously.

Isabella said nothing more and left the room.

Just as she was about to head back to her residence, a maid hurried over to her, looking panicked.

"M-Madam Isabella, an important guest has arrived!"

Isabella stopped and turned to her.

"Who?"

"I-It's Mr. Frey, the owner of the Blue Moon Trading House!"

Isabella's expression changed the moment she heard his name.

"Mr. Frey?"

She furrowed her brows, wondering what had brought him here.

"Why is he here?"

Then she thought of Seira and quickly realized the likely reason for his visit.

"All right. Please bring him to my residence. I'll speak with him privately."

The maid nodded and hurried off.

After watching her disappear from view, Isabella fell silent, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Did he come here for Seira? If so..."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"He must have feelings for Seira, doesn't he? Interesting..."

…

Nolan headed toward Isabella's residence with two guards accompanying him.

The palace grounds where the queen and concubines lived were generally off-limits to outsiders.

However, as the founder of Blue Moon, Nolan held a special status, so the rules were a bit more relaxed for him.

Besides, Concubine Isabella had personally invited him, so there was no problem with his visit.

"Welcome, Mr. Frey."

Maya and Miya greeted him respectfully.

Seeing them filled Nolan with a mix of longing and sadness.

In the past, they had always greeted him with warm smiles. But things were different now, all because of the gods' punishment.

He pushed his feelings aside and nodded.

"Thank you. Is Concubine Isabella waiting for me inside?"

"That's right. Please follow me," Maya replied.

Nolan followed her inside.

"This place hasn't changed at all. It's just as I remember it," he murmured.

"Huh? Have you been here before, Mr. Frey?"

Maya turned to look at Nolan suspiciously.

Nolan smiled and shook his head.

"No, you must have misheard me."

"Really?"

Three question marks seemed to appear above Maya's head.

Nolan remained silent, ignoring her as he glanced around.

Too embarrassed to ask any more questions, Maya fell silent.

Eventually, they arrived at a medium-sized building at the far end of the grounds. It was Isabella's residence.

To the right of the building stood a small pavilion where Isabella usually spent her leisure time.

Nolan glanced toward the pavilion, and sure enough, Isabella was sitting there, sipping her tea.

Maya approached her and stopped a short distance away before bowing her head.

"I've brought Mr. Frey, my lady."

Isabella set down her teacup and smiled.

"Thank you."

She then turned her gaze toward Nolan.

"Welcome, Mr. Frey. Please, have a seat."

She gestured toward the stone chair directly across from her.

"Thank you."

Nolan smiled and took a seat while Maya went to prepare some tea for him.

"It's good to see you again. I didn't expect you to visit the imperial palace. Have you already heard about what happened to Seira?"

Nolan didn't deny it.

"That's right, Mother—Ahem, I mean, Concubine Isabella."

Isabella blinked in confusion. She could have sworn she'd just heard him call her "Mother."

'Did I mishear him?'