Too Lazy to be a Villainess - Chapter 305

Chapter 305: The Shadow She Cast
[Lavinia’s POV — Council Chamber—Later]

The sound of the doors closing behind me was like a verdict.

Every conversation inside the council chamber stopped. Dozens of heads turned—generals in polished armor, nobles draped in silks, ministers with scrolls clutched in nervous hands.

The air was heavy with tension and the sharp, metallic tang of ink and steel. The scent of war.

Papa stood at the far end of the table, his posture relaxed—but his gaze sharp enough to cut marble. Ravick stood behind him, silent as a blade sheathed in shadow.

“Your Highness,” General Arwin, the Commander of the Imperial Forces, bowed stiffly. His salt-and-iron voice filled the chamber. “We were awaiting your presence before beginning.”

I stepped forward, my pace measured. Every sound—the whisper of silk, the sharp rhythm of my heels—fell into the silence like punctuation in a sentence no one dared to interrupt.

“You may begin, General,” I said, taking my place at Papa’s right. “The Meren border report?”

The doors opened again.

Osric entered.

For a heartbeat, the air shifted. His presence was steady—posture perfect, eyes composed — but I could feel the frost in the space between us.

I gave him one brief glance. Nothing more. He bowed and moved to his post at the table’s far side, the golden insignia of his new rank glinting like irony under the light.

General Arwin cleared his throat and unrolled a parchment across the polished table. “At dawn, a patrol from the western line was ambushed. Seventeen soldiers dead. Three missing. The Meren banners were seen retreating across the ridge.”

A murmur rippled through the chamber—outrage, shock, and beneath it all, the subtle thrill of nobles who loved chaos more than peace.

“Was it confirmed?” Osric asked, his tone sharp and formal.

Ravick stepped forward, voice low and gravel-deep. “Confirmed by two scouts. The Merens have breached the treaty line.”

My jaw tightened. “Then it’s not a border dispute.” My voice dropped lower, colder. “It’s provocation.”

“Provocation, yes,” General Arwin said grimly. “But not yet a declaration. They’re testing our patience. They believe the Empire won’t retaliate.”

“They believe wrong!” a noble barked. “We should march tonight!”

Papa’s eyes flicked toward the man—a single glance. The noble’s bravado dissolved instantly, his words dying halfway through his throat.

I leaned forward slightly. “And if we march tonight, unplanned, without knowing the terrain or securing supplies, what happens?”

The man fumbled, color draining from his face. “I—I suppose our soldiers might—”

“Die,” I finished softly.

The word slid through the air like a blade through silk. “They’ll die on a battlefield our enemies chose. And Meren will feast on our arrogance while our people bury their sons.”

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the torches seemed to flicker quieter.

Papa said nothing. But I could feel his gaze on me—proud, testing, sharp.

General Arwin inclined his head. “Wise words, Your Highness. However, inaction is dangerous too. If we hesitate, Meren will see it as weakness.”

He was right. Every word is true. That was the cruel arithmetic of power—every choice demanded blood. The only question was whose.

I met his eyes evenly. “Then we show strength… without starting a war.”

That made the room stir again. Ministers exchanged glances. The air crackled with uncertainty.

“How?” one of them asked cautiously. “You would send an envoy?”

“No.” My voice cut clean through the question. “A warning.”

I turned toward Ravick. “Summon our elite battalions to the northern base—quietly. Let Meren’s spies see them move. Make sure they see the banners of the Elorian Empire marching. Let them think war is already breathing down their borders.”

Ravick’s brow rose slightly, approval flickering in his eyes. “And the message?”

I smiled—faintly, but not kindly. “That the Empire does not need to shout before it strikes.”

Papa’s gaze sharpened, pride ghosting behind his stillness. “And if they still advance, Lavinia?”

I rose from my seat, the chair scraping softly against marble, my gown flaring like gold fire around me.

“Then we burn their borders before they touch ours,” I said. My tone was quiet—too quiet—the kind that made men shiver.

I stepped closer to the table, my hand brushing the edge of the map. “Let Meren learn what mercy costs. They wanted a spark? We will show them how the Empire burns.”

A chill swept through the room.

No one spoke. Not even Papa. But when I looked at him, I saw it—the faintest smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. The look of a man who had just watched his heir step into the throne’s shadow.

I turned my gaze forward, scanning the faces around the table—nobles pale, generals stiff, Osric unreadable—before saying, clear and sharp:

“Prepare for war.”

A collective inhale rippled through the chamber.

“And this time,” I continued, letting the weight of my words settle like iron dust in the air, “I will be the one to lead it.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Then came the gasps—soft, horrified, disbelieving.

Papa’s lips curved higher, pride hidden behind amusement. Ravick’s composure didn’t crack, but his eyes gleamed faintly, like a veteran seeing a storm he’d long missed. Even Sir Haldor—ever still, ever stoic—allowed himself the smallest flicker of a smile.

And Osric—Osric stepped forward, his voice calm, but carrying an undercurrent of alarm.

“Your Highness,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “May I… suggest something?”

I turned toward him slowly. “Speak.”

He straightened, meeting my gaze. “Let me lead the war instead. The Meren people are like snakes. They don’t fight in open daylight—they crawl beneath the ground. They strike when unseen. To risk—”

“Grand Duke Osric.”

My voice sliced through his words, calm and lethal. He stopped instantly.

“Do you believe,” I asked quietly, “that I cannot lead a war?”

His breath hitched. “I—didn’t mean—”

“Then what did you mean?” My tone sharpened, steady and cold. “That a woman cannot lead soldiers? Or that a Crown Princess cannot lead her empire?”

The air thickened. Every noble shifted uncomfortably. He lowered his head, fists clenched at his sides. “That is not what I—”

“Enough.”

I took a step closer, my gown sweeping the floor like liquid gold, my shadow falling across the map spread on the table.

“You are the Grand Duke, yes,” I said, each word deliberate. “You will assist. You will advise. You will protect the supply lines and coordinate reinforcements. But the banner at the front of the army will bear my crest. The command will bear my voice.”

He said nothing. His eyes—once filled with warmth—now flickered between defiance and disbelief.

I didn’t look away.

“I will lead this war,” I declared, my voice rising, not in volume but in power—a slow, relentless crescendo that wrapped the room in its gravity. “And I will kill King of Meren myself.”

The torches guttered once. No one dared breathe.

Papa leaned back, smirking faintly. “It seems the gods are finally entertained again.”

General Arwin bowed low, his voice steady but laced with awe. “Then it shall be done, Your Highness. I will begin preparations for deployment immediately.”

“Good.” I nodded once. “Make sure every battalion knows this: I do not intend to defend our border.” I looked up, my crimson eyes burning through the lamplight. “I intend to erase theirs.”

The room went silent again. Even Osric—proud, noble Osric—looked shaken.

Papa finally stood, his cloak sweeping behind him like a stormcloud. “You all may dismiss.”

Chairs scraped. Boots clicked. Voices murmured. But no one spoke directly to me—not yet. Not while the weight of my words still pressed against their throats.

As the room emptied, I caught Papa’s gaze once more—that dangerous smile of approval that mirrored my own.

He was proud. And I… was ready.

For the first time, I wasn’t standing in his shadow. I was casting one of my own.

When the last of the generals had left, I let the breath I’d been holding slip free — a quiet exhale that sounded too much like relief.

The silence stretched, broken only by the rustle of his cloak.

“You’re doing well, my dear.” Papa’s voice came, smooth as aged steel.

I turned as he approached—slow, deliberate, each step echoing the weight of an empire. He stopped before me, his hand resting on my shoulder, the warmth of it steadying and fierce all at once.

“This war,” he said, eyes glinting with fire and pride, “will prove everything I’ve carved into you. I did not raise a child draped in silk—I raised an Empress forged in steel. If any kingdom dares threaten your people, you do not forgive them, Lavinia… you erase them.”

His thumb brushed against the edge of my collar, a gesture both tender and commanding.

“I want the world to whisper,” he continued softly, “that the Crown Princess of Elorian surpassed the Emperor himself. That she was stronger… and crueler.”

The faintest smile curved his lips—pride gleaming behind the calm. “Show them that mercy is for rulers who fear losing power. You, Lavinia, are the one who makes power fear you.”

I looked up at him, the words sinking into my bones like flame to steel.”I will,” I said quietly, my voice steady. “And I will win this war, Papa.”

For a heartbeat, his gaze softened — gold flickering like candlelight instead of fire.

Then, unexpectedly, he drew me into his arms. No emperor. No heir. Just father and daughter beneath the quiet weight of destiny.

“Then win,” he murmured against my hair. “Win… and keep sending me letters. A king may not show worry, but a father still waits.”

I smiled faintly against his shoulder, my fingers curling into the folds of his cloak.”I’ll write every time the moon changes,” I promised. “You’ll never have to wonder if I’m still breathing.”

He exhaled — a rare, human sound. “Good.”

When he pulled back, his eyes gleamed with the same fierce pride that had built empires and razed kingdoms.

“Go,” he said quietly. “And make the stars remember your name.”

“I’ll make them burn with it.”

As he turned and left the chamber, the torches guttered behind him — and I stood there, alone, surrounded by maps and silence.

But I didn’t feel small. Not anymore. The throne’s shadow no longer loomed over me.

It was mine to cast now.