The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne Chapter 423: A Question That Came Too Late

"Princess Elina, I hope you can win the battle for the throne."

"Yes, I hope so too. Just a reminder, several Marquis families in the northern region have begun to show their support for Prince Cedric."

"Oh, I’ve heard that as well."

Surrounded by the heads of noble families, Elina listened calmly to everything they said.

This kind of party was actually an opportunity to gain support and gather important information from her allies.

That way, she could learn things she didn’t know before.

Rafine stood quietly beside her.

She served as Nolan’s maid, but since that slly man wasn’t here, she had to accompany Elina wherever she went.

"Sorry to interrupt. May I speak with the princess for a mont?"

Upon hearing this, the nobles around Elina were startled.

They turned their heads and realized the speaker was the pri minister of the Eastern Empire of Izanagi—Mikazura.

"P-Pri Minister Mikazura?" one of them exclaid.

The others were just as shocked, not expecting him to be here.

However, they didn’t dare refuse his request and quickly bowed to Elina before stepping aside.

Rafine was about to leave, thinking the pri minister wanted to speak with Elina in private.

But Elina gently pulled her hand to stop her.

"Do you need sothing from , Pri Minister Mikazura?" Elina asked politely, though her tone remained cold and indifferent.

She knew the man before her well—he was the most famous pri minister on the eastern continent.

His intelligence and his prowess as a war strategist were like rumors that had spread throughout the continent.

What she didn’t expect was that such a great figure would co looking for her, and naturally she felt both curious and wary.

Sensing the caution in her eyes, Mikazura smiled and opened his hand fan, covering half of his face.

"Don’t be too serious, Your Highness. I didn’t co here to hurt you," he said politely. "I simply wanted to greet you. Do you trust ?"

His eyes sparkled playfully, increasing Elina’s wariness.

"Trust? Sorry, I don’t trust you," Elina replied coldly.

This ti, she didn’t show any friendliness at all. To anyone else, her words could almost be considered offensive toward Mikazura and the Eastern Empire of Izanagi.

However, she wasn’t afraid in the slightest. After all, she was in the Great Velmora Empire.

Besides, there were no official diplomatic relations between the two empires, so she didn’t need to flatter Mikazura.

Most importantly, she believed that soone as smart as Mikazura wouldn’t take offense at her attitude.

After all, she wasn’t actually being rude or trying to embarrass him.

"Pfft! Your Highness, you’re really fierce," Mikazura chuckled softly.

Rafine felt extrely annoyed. This man was very cunning, and his thoughts were hard to read—just like Pri Minister Roswell and Nolan.

Dealing with people like them was troubleso and irritating.

"All right, I won’t play around anymore." Mikazura’s expression instantly turned serious, as if his earlier casual deanor had never existed. "I ca to ask you one thing—how did you obtain the legendary Shinketsu dagger?"

The atmosphere tightened at once. The nearby guests imdiately stopped their conversations.

Naturally, they turned toward Elina, Rafine, and Mikazura, who were staring at one another.

"What’s going on? Is there a conflict between Princess Elina and Pri Minister Mikazura?" one of the nobles asked hesitantly.

The others fell silent, trying to understand the situation. Suddenly, a man gasped and spoke slightly louder than he intended, "I rember—the Shinketsu dagger that Her Highness gifted to His Majesty the Emperor is a national treasure of the Eastern Empire of Izanagi. Could it be that the pri minister is here to demand it back?"

Hearing that, many of them widened their eyes in shock.

The gifting of the legendary Shinketsu dagger was still fresh in everyone’s mory—especially for those who had attended the emperor’s previous birthday banquet.

After all, the dagger was famous and had been lost for hundreds of years.

Strangely, it had ended up in Elina’s hands.

When they thought about it carefully, it didn’t make any sense at all.

The Shinketsu dagger? Roswell narrowed his eyes.

He finally understood why Mikazura had approached Elina.

Apparently, he intended to demand accountability for the dagger.

"Hahaha! Elina is really done for this ti." Cedric’s laughter carried a playful tone.

He hadn’t expected sothing like this to happen.

Offending the Eastern Empire of Izanagi was tantamount to suicide, and Elina had done it knowingly.

What else could she be but foolish?

"The Shinketsu dagger? This is a very serious matter." Orlan’s expression grew solemn.

In truth, he had been worried about this for a long ti.

However, since no delegate from the Eastern Empire of Izanagi had appeared for months, he assud they would no longer pursue the issue.

As it turned out, he was wrong—they finally took action.

Not only Orlan, but also Gustav, Alvaron, Rudy, and several other noble family heads who supported Elina imdiately grew tense.

They wanted to help Elina handle this matter, but they knew that stepping in now would only cause the problem to escalate.

Inevitably, they had to wait for Elina to try resolving it on her own first.

Only when she was truly cornered would they step in to help.

anwhile, Elina remained calm in the face of Mikazura’s question.

She looked at him indifferently and replied, "I bought it from the Blue Moon Trading House."

The mont he gave her the dagger, her brother had told her to answer with exactly what she just said.

She didn’t expect the question to co up again months later, which made her admire her brother even more.

"The Blue Moon Trading House?" Mikazura’s expression darkened.

If Elina had answered that she got it from soone or found it by accident, Mikazura could have used certain thods to pressure her.

However, because Elina ntioned Blue Moon, he couldn’t use those thods and ended up at a disadvantage.

The Blue Moon Trading House was the largest trading company in the Great Velmora Empire.

They had also expanded into the Eastern Empire of Izanagi.

Although they weren’t yet as dominant as they were in the Great Velmora Empire, they were already showing signs of reaching that level in the Eastern Empire of Izanagi.

In any case, they were incredibly innovative, and thanks to their inventions, the lives of the people in the Eastern Empire of Izanagi had beco easier.

Composing himself, Mikazura’s gaze turned indifferent as he asked again, "If you knew it was our imperial treasure, why did you still buy it?"

Elina smiled faintly and replied, "I’m sorry; I actually didn’t know it was a dagger belonging to the Eastern Empire of Izanagi. If I had known, I wouldn’t have used it. And don’t forget, that dagger is now in my father’s hands—the emperor. If you want to take it, just ask him. I no longer have any rights over that item."

She wasn’t lying—in fact, she truly didn’t know how valuable the dagger was.

Her brother had casually handed it to her at the ti, as if it were nothing more than trash.

So, she couldn’t be blad at all.

Hearing Elina ntion the emperor’s na, Mikazura realized he had lost.

Just then, he felt a sharp gaze from the end of the hall.

When he turned in that direction, his eyes widened in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

"That..."