Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Day the Sun Almost Sank

I didn’t mean to fall.

I really didn’t.

One second, I was laughing—my little feet dancing over the garden path. Sunshine on my hair. A butterfly fluttering just out of reach.

And then—SPLASH.

A slip.

A stone.

A sharp turn that didn’t go the way I planned. My arms flailed. The world spun. And suddenly—I was under.

The water wasn’t deep. Not to grown-ups. But to me—so small, so little—it was like an ocean. Cold. Loud. Angry. My vision blurred. The sky above me rippled and vanished. I opened my mouth to scream—and water rushed in.

I choked.

Get up. Move. Please move, Lavinia.

But my legs didn’t listen. My arms floated like broken toys.

Wasn’t I supposed to be strong now? Didn’t I get another chance? Wasn’t I supposed to grow up and live a full life this time?

Move. Get up. Swim.

But nothing worked. My body dangled like broken strings, and I was floating—no, sinking.

And it hurt. Gods, it hurt.

My heart pounded too fast—or maybe too slowly. I didn’t know anymore. My body didn’t feel like mine—it felt far, far away.

And still... I thought of him.

Papa.

The only family I have.

I’d lived before, hadn’t I? Worked myself to death in that world. No love. No warmth. Just endless days of nothing.

But now I was here. With him. With Papa. And yet—was this it? Was I going to die again? Wasn’t I supposed to die by poison? Isn’t this a story? I just wanted a little freedom. I just wanted to play, to laugh, to enjoy the life I never had in my previous one.

I know I was wrong...very wrong. But my fate was to die from poison. Not like this.

Not cold. Not scared. Not in a place where Papa couldn’t reach me.

I don’t want to. I don’t want to die again. I know I was wrong—I shouldn’t have snuck out. But please—

Someone... someone, save me...please...PAPA!

I want to stay with my Papa. I want to grow. I want to feel the love I never had.

So...Please... someone... please save me...anyone...please...

Then, a whisper left my lips, fragile as a breath—"P...Papa..."

But I knew no one would have heard my whisper. The sky above me shimmered, rippled, and faded. I reached for it, but my fingers only grasped empty blue. Everything felt so far. So far away.

And It hurt. So much.

Maybe... maybe if I just closed my eyes, it wouldn’t hurt anymore. Maybe if I just—

"...vinia...!"

A voice.

Distant. Desperate. Calling my name.

"Lavinia!!"

The sky tore apart. A shadow. A splash.

Arms.

Strong. Shaking. Pulling me from the dark.Air.Light.

A ragged, burning gasp—Life. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Lavinia!"

I knew that voice—rough, fierce, but safe.

Papa?

I couldn’t see. My eyes wouldn’t open right. But I knew who he was. Even through the cold that clung to my skin. Even though the dark is still trying to take me. That scent. That voice. Those arms that wrapped around me so tightly, like they’d never let go.

It was Papa. My father.

He held me against his chest like I was something precious—like if he let go, the whole world might shatter.

"You’re okay. I’ve got you," he said, but his voice cracked. "Lavinia, open your eyes. Please..."

I wanted to smile. I wanted to tell him, I’m okay now, because Papa was here, and he always made the bad things go away. But the pain tugged me down again, like the water hadn’t quite let me go.

Still—just before the dark swallowed me whole—I felt it.

The way he trembled. The way his heart pounded against my cheek. The way his breath shook as he whispered—

"I’ve got you."

His lips pressed to my forehead. Gentle. Desperate. Real.

"I’m here, my girl," he whispered. "Please... wake up."

And suddenly, I wasn’t afraid anymore. The last thing I heard was a roar—his voice, wild and broken, laced with terror and fury.

"Call the physician! The priest! Drag them here—fast!"

***

I opened my eyes. But I didn’t see the sky.

No sunlight. No garden. No Papa.

Only dark.

Endless, suffocating dark.

It wasn’t cold, exactly. Not warm either. Just... empty. Like the space between heartbeats. Like the breath held just before a scream.

I blinked. Once. Twice. Still nothing.

No shadows. No land. No stars above.

Just me and... the mirror.

It floated in front of me—tall, thin, silver-framed, like something pulled from an old, forgotten memory. There was no stand, no reflection. Just a faint shimmer on the glass, as if it remembered light, even if I didn’t.

I stepped closer, though I wasn’t sure how. My legs didn’t move. My feet didn’t touch anything. Yet somehow, the mirror loomed larger.

And then—I saw her.

But not me.

Reina Suzuki.

Dead.

Alone. Unnoticed.

A single sticky note fluttered on the edge of the monitor—"Meeting at 3PM." But that meeting never came.

Her reflection didn’t move, but I could feel her thoughts. The exhaustion. The ache in her spine. The silence was so loud it hummed in her ears. The loneliness that settled like dust and never left.

The mirror shifted. The office dissolved into firelight and gold, and suddenly, I saw—

Papa’s royal chamber.

"IF SHE DOESN’T WAKE UP, I BEHEAD EVERYONE IN THIS PALACE!"

Then—suddenly—light.

"HEAL HER!"

Papa’s voice. Raw. Commanding. Terrified.

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