Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 315

Chapter 315: Dawn of the Blood Crown

[Lavinia’s POV — Black Wall Fortress—At Dawn]

CRUNCH—!!

SLASH—!!

CRUSH—!!

Those were the only sounds that breathed inside the Black Wall as dawn broke—metal against bone, bone against ground, and the wet finality of bodies hitting stone.

The sun had barely risen, thin gold stretching across the battlements... turning the stains on my boots into rusted shadows. I hadn’t even changed into proper armor; there had been no time.

Sir Haldor and Osric stood on either side of me, blades drawn, backs straight, forming a shield around me. I didn’t need it—but they refused to move away after the ambush.

My sleeves were torn, my dress drenched in blood that wasn’t mine. My palms were scratched raw from gripping my sword too long. My arms stung from shallow cuts I had ignored through the night.

Then—

SLASH—!!

THUD—!!

The last Meren soldier collapsed at my feet, his body twitching once before going still. Blood pooled quickly beneath him, dark and steaming in the morning cold.

I exhaled and wiped crimson splatter off my cheek with the back of my hand.

"Check the fortress again," I ordered, voice sharp enough to cut stone. "Every corridor. Every crevice. If any Meren soldier is still breathing..."

My eyes swept over the carnage—the corpses, the broken weapons, the dirt turned into red mud.

"...kill them without mercy."

Haldor and General Arwin bowed instantly. "As you command, Your Highness."

They disappeared into the fog, barking orders to the squads.

I turned slowly, surveying what remained.

Dozens of bodies surrounded me—strewn like discarded dolls, limbs bent at impossible angles. Blood had painted the walls in uneven arcs. The ground beneath my feet felt soft from the layers of flesh and soaked earth.

It looked like a graveyard where even the earth refused to accept what lay on it.

I sheathed my sword with a click that echoed through the ruined courtyard.

"How many of our soldiers died?" I asked.

Osric stepped closer, scanning the field beside me. The front of his shirt was painted red, the blade in his hand still dripping.

"We need time to search," he said. "The fallen were scattered. Some may still be under rubble."

I nodded once. Coldly. "Find them."

He blinked. "Lavi—"

"I want every name," I interrupted, tone flat, emotionless. "Every soldier who died protecting this fortress... I want their names on my desk before sundown."

Osric swallowed—but he nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."

My eyes hardened.

"And make sure the bodies are brought to one place. They will not rot beside our walls like trash."

I stepped past him, my boots crushing a fallen assassin’s hand—bone snapping under my heel.

"These men bled for Eloria," I continued. "I will not have their deaths drowned beneath the corpses of cowards."

The wind howled softly, almost respectfully.

Osric hesitated again, watching me—the woman drenched in blood, cold and terrifying in the newborn sun.

"Lavi," he whispered, "you... you’re still bleeding."

I glanced at my scratched arm.

"Oh. This?" I shrugged lightly. "It’s nothing."

Because compared to the bodies stacked around me, compared to the blood soaking my sleeves, compared to the night we just survived—It truly was.

Osric didn’t agree.

He stepped forward and gently—almost angrily—gripped my uninjured arm, pulling me just a fraction closer. "It is not nothing," he said in a low voice. "You should’ve been wearing armor."

I raised a brow. "I didn’t have time to dress up for a midnight massacre."

"I’m calling Rey," he insisted.

I sighed. "You won’t listen, will you?"

"Isn’t that why we keep arguing?" he shot back, frustrated but quiet, as if even his irritation was protective.

A laugh—short, sharp—escaped me. "At least you finally realized it."

Osric opened his mouth, probably to argue again—but a heavy weight pressed against my side.

Marshi.

His golden fur was darkened with blood, some of it his, most of it not. Solena perched on his back, feathers ruffled, eyes sharp and bright as polished metal.

The divine beast nudged his massive head under my palm, demanding acknowledgment. I exhaled softly and rested my bloody hand on his mane.

"You did well," I murmured, voice dipping into something warm but fierce. "Both of you."

Marshi purred—a deep, rumbling vibration that shook the stones beneath us. Solena clicked her beak proudly, as if she had orchestrated the entire slaughter.

They fell into step behind me, flanking me like sacred guardians.

I walked forward through the carnage—Osric at my right, Marshi at my left, and Solena perched high like a crown.

The sun rose behind us, bleeding across the battlefield.

***

[Later—Black Wall Fortress—Meeting Chamber]

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify