Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Whispers of War

[Emperor Cassius Pov]

The wine tastes bitter tonight.

Strange. It’s the same bottle I’ve had aged for fifteen years. Same grapes, same vineyard. And yet it grates on my tongue like ash.

Sigh...

I set the goblet aside.

Damn it. My mind won’t calm down.

No matter how I close my eyes or count the breaths, my thoughts claw their way to the surface like starving wolves. Maybe I should train. Maybe I should carve through the air with a sword until the rage burns out of me. Maybe I should kill something. Something that bleeds.

"Uughhh..."

I glance to my side.

She shifts in her sleep—my daughter—curled like a kitten in the mountain of pillows. Her small hand stretches toward me, blindly, instinctively. And then she finds it—my fingers—and clings. Tight.

I paused and smiled. It looks like she knows—even in dreams—that I’m the only shield she has in this damned world.

"She’s sleeping peacefully," I murmur, more to myself than anyone else.

Then she moved again and laid her cheek against my hand, breath soft, warm, even. As if there weren’t a trace of blood on my hands. As if I weren’t one step away from declaring war.

I smile again. A rare thing these past years. She’s so small. So fragile. And yet... she grounds me more than any throne or crown ever could.

Then, I lean back against the pillow, but my thoughts don’t rest. They drag me back—to the Everhart estate.

Built like a fortress. Generations old. A symbol of unshakable loyalty and might.

And it was attacked.

Just like that...simply. As if it were nothing.

I wonder, If Lavinia hadn’t seen that damned horse in the distance... if she hadn’t tugged my sleeve with those bright eyes and pointed it out—

Would I have been too late?

Would I have lost the entire Everhart household?

No. No, this wasn’t some foolish insider plot. This wasn’t bandits looking to fatten their pockets. Someone planned this. This was deliberate. Precise.

A message—sent straight to me.

A declaration of war.

Another kingdom, perhaps? One of those pathetic little courts thinking they’ve gone unnoticed. A gamble. A test. To see how far they could go.

But whoever they are, they’re going to regret it.

"Mm..."

She shifts again, brows twitching, clutching my hand even tighter. A little drool escapes her lips, and a golden strand of hair clings there, stubbornly stuck.

I wonder what she’s dreaming about. Maybe cakes and cookies.

I brush a golden strand from her face, careful not to wake her. She’s too beautiful for this world. Too soft. Too precious.

But what happened at Everhart... it can happen here too.

I look at her again, and my fury deepens. She’s the only thing that keeps me moving forward. She may not understand the cruelty of this world yet, but I’d set the world on fire just to keep her safe. Just to keep this little warmth beside me.

Then—

Knock. Knock.

A sharp knock splits the quiet. Lavinia stirs at the sound. She frowns in her sleep, then shifts closer—laying her cheek fully atop my hand. Her breath warms my skin.

I smiled. It looks like my daughter can sleep peacefully... even through the storm.

"Enter," I say, my voice low and cold.

The door opens. Theon steps in, eyes immediately drawn to Lavinia.

"She’s sleeping peacefully," he says quietly with a warm smile.

I narrowed my eyes. "Stop staring at my daughter and speak."

Theon sighs. "Seriously, I still can’t believe the princess is really your daughter, Your Majesty."

Something snaps inside me.

"It looks like you have a death wish."

He sighs again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Alright, alright... We’ve received the investigation report... so far, at least."

"It was reported faster than I expected," I murmured.

"Well, no one wants to be hanged at the kingdom gates," he muttered.

I smirked. "Fear is an excellent motivator."

"But, Your Majesty... I think you should be gentler in front of the princess," Theon sighed and said.

"I am gentle."

"More gentle," he insisted, exasperated. "You can’t talk about blood and death so casually in front of her."

I scoffed. "My daughter is not scared."

"Ugh... Who am I even arguing with?"

"Shut up and hand me the report," I said, extending my hand.

Now, let’s see who dares to provoke me.

Tch. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

That alone tells me this wasn’t the work of an insider, as I first suspected. But even outsiders can’t breach the kingdom’s walls without slipping through the cracks. And those cracks don’t form on their own.

Which means someone under my roof—under my rule—chose to betray the empire.

Hm. My eyes pause on a name.

Tavroth.

"There were sightings," I say slowly. "Unknown shipments crossing into our borders. Caravans guarded by mercenaries. Merchants claiming they were ’invited’ by nobles I’ve never sanctioned."

Tavroth lies dangerously close to Myre—the Eastern Kingdom. A nation of cowards dressed in silk and courtesy. They’d never bloody their own hands. No, they hire others. Whisper from the shadows. Smile as they plant daggers in your back.

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