The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne - Chapter 294

294: Claire Horven 294: Claire Horven “The house is over there, handsome brother!” The little girl pointed ahead, and Nolan turned his head to follow the direction of her finger.

The house was made of wood and stood at the edge of the village, surrounded by dense trees as if it were cut off from the outside world.

It wasn’t very big, but it was enough for one person.

A small courtyard was enclosed by a simple wooden fence, meant to protect the owner from wild beasts.

On the left side was a modest flower garden, alternating with potato plants, tomatoes, and other crops.

Does Claire live here?

Isn’t this too much?

Nolan frowned.

The house was about four hundred meters from the settlement.

For such a small village, this kind of location was definitely dangerous.

What if a wolf or some other beast attacked her?

She could die on the spot without anyone ever knowing.

Still, since Claire was considered a witch and shunned by the villagers, such isolation did make sense.

“Alright, little girl.

Thank you for your help,” Nolan said softly as he reached into his pocket.

He pulled out five chocolate candies and handed them to her.

Overjoyed at receiving more candy, the girl bowed her head and thanked him, “Thank you, handsome brother!” Nolan just smiled as he patted her head.

“Go back now.

Otherwise, the villagers will scold you later.” The little girl didn’t dare argue and quickly ran back to where she had been before.

Nolan glanced at Malverna, and she immediately understood.

Her figure dissolved into particles of light before vanishing completely.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the wooden house.

The wind howled from ahead, brushing his face with a refreshing chill.

Moments later, Nolan reached the door and knocked softly.

Knock!

He waited quietly.

Soon, footsteps approached from inside.

The door opened, followed by the soft voice of a mature woman.

“Who is it?

Do you need my help?” Nolan looked ahead, taken aback by her appearance.

Claire’s face was extraordinarily beautiful-even slightly more so than her sister, Melinda’s.

She stood about 1.6 meters tall, with pale white skin and snow-white hair neatly tied in a half-up, half-down style with side bangs.

She wore a white blindfold, a clear sign of her permanent blindness.

“Umm… hello?

Did you hear me?

Are you the one who delivered my food stock this month?

Or maybe… a villager?” Her hesitant voice snapped Nolan out of his reverie.

He smiled faintly and teased, “You’re far too careless, Lady Claire Horven.

If bad people came to your door, wouldn’t that be dangerous for you?” Upon hearing the unfamiliar voice, Claire was startled.

Her brows furrowed, and she took a step back.

“Who are you?

Do you have a problem with me?” She asked hesitantly.

The voice was clearly that of a young man, but Claire remembered never having interacted with any young men.

After all, her life had always been confined to this wooden house.

“There’s no need to worry.

I didn’t come with any malicious intentions.

Quite the opposite-I want to do business with you,” Nolan said firmly.

Claire’s confusion deepened, but before she could respond, Nolan spoke again.

“Can we go inside first?

It’s a little cold out here.” Claire paused, then chuckled softly.

At first, she had thought this young man might be here to cause trouble or deceive her, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

After all, what kind of thug would politely ask for permission to enter just because they were cold?

Shaking her head, Claire stepped aside.

“Come in.

It’s warmer inside.” Nolan was surprised by her kindness, but the next moment he understood why.

In such a remote place, who would come looking for her anyway?

And with the villagers’ stigma against her, it was no wonder Claire was so lonely that she would let a stranger in without hesitation.

“Really… pitiful…” Nolan muttered under his breath.

Without another word, he stepped inside, and Claire promptly closed the door.

What she didn’t realize was that not long after, two young villagers appeared from behind the bushes.

They exchanged shocked glances.

“Did you see that?

That witch brought a man into her house!” the young man on the right exclaimed.

“I saw her too!

What should we do?

Should we tell the village chief?” “Of course!

We have to report this immediately.

What if her friend is a witch as well, and they’re planning to destroy our village?

Come on, let’s go!” The two quickly scrambled to their feet and ran toward the village.

*** “So, what do you need from me?” Claire asked, sitting on the wooden chair to the right.

Her blind eyes stared straight ahead at Nolan, who sat across from her.

Nolan didn’t answer immediately.

He reached for the glass of water Claire had prepared and drank it slowly.

“Claire Horven-that’s your name, isn’t it?” The question caught Claire off guard.

Her forehead creased in suspicion.

“Do you know me?

What is your purpose in coming here?” “Don’t worry.

As I said before, I have no evil intentions.

On the contrary, I came to help you,” Nolan explained casually.

“Your father, Belfor Horven, is imprisoned on multiple felony charges.

His trial will be held in nine days.

I’m sure you don’t know yet, right?” Claire’s face tightened in shock for a moment, but her expression quickly hardened into cold indifference.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” she replied flatly.

Her demeanor made it clear how much she despised her father.

Nolan noticed immediately and took it for granted.

“Your father’s Red Obsidian Trading House will soon be confiscated for being instrumental in all his crimes,” Nolan continued, leaning back in his chair.

“But that’s not what I came to discuss.

I want to talk about your involvement in this case.” “My involvement?” Claire exclaimed in surprise.

“How could it be?

I never had anything to do with his crimes!” Her voice carried both anger and denial.

It was natural-she was just an exiled blind woman.

There was no way she could have been involved in her father’s crimes.

“Logically, that’s true.

But you don’t know that your father listed you as the true owner of the Red Obsidian Trading House, do you?” The moment Nolan said that, Claire was shaken.

Her face drained of color, and her body trembled violently.

She wanted to deny it, but the words got stuck in her throat.

Ever since childhood, her father had shown her favoritism-going so far as to imprison her in the basement just to hide her existence from the world.

In contrast, his sister, Merlinda, had always been cherished.

Because of this favoritism, Claire had lost hope and never experienced love.

She even doubted whether love truly existed.

If it did, why had she never felt it?

So, when Nolan said her father was using her as a pawn, she couldn’t help but believe him.

“However, don’t worry,” Nolan continued, his voice calm but firm.

“I didn’t come here without reason.

On the contrary, I’m here to help you escape this problem and provide a proper solution.” A faint, meaningful smile played across his lips.