Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 364

Chapter 364: A sudden Proposal

[Lavinia’s POV—Eloria City—The Market]

For a heartbeat, the world forgot how to breathe.

The merchant was still talking—complaining about the price of grain, about how hens were laying less this season—but his words faded into nothing. All I could see was him.

Haldor.

Not in armor. Not standing at attention. Not one step behind me.

Just... a man.

Plain clothes. Rolled sleeves. A small coin pouch in his hand. Eggs cradled carefully, deliberately, like something fragile that mattered. He looked thinner. Tired in a way that had nothing to do with battle. The kind of exhaustion that comes from thinking too much, from standing at the edge of truths you don’t know how to touch.

"Your... Highness?" he said again—softer this time, uncertain, as if the title itself might crack between his teeth.

I stepped forward before reason could stop me.

The crowd shifted around us—bodies brushing past, voices colliding, the market alive and careless—but none of it touched me. I stopped an arm’s length away from him.

"Captain Haldor Valethorn," I said quietly.

Every muscle in his body reacted. Instinct. Training. Habit.

"We need to talk."

His breath hitched once. Then—hush—he bowed his head, not deeply, not formally. Just enough to acknowledge the weight of what stood before him.

"Yes," he said.

Not Your Highness.Just... yes.

***

[Later—Haldor’s Old House]

The house was small.

Not cramped—but narrow, like it had been built for a life that never planned to grow. One bed. One chair. A small table by the window. Bare walls carrying the quiet imprint of a man who did not expect permanence.

This was where he had lived before titles. Before banners. Before me.

Rey and Sera lingered at the door only long enough to exchange a look. Rey lifted a brow, already reading the room.

"We’ll... roam the market," he said lightly. "Very slowly. Very far away."

Sera nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Extremely far."

The door shut softly behind them.

Alone.

I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, fingers resting against the thin blanket, taking in everything—the neatness, the restraint, and the loneliness pressed into every corner.

Behind me, Haldor shut the door.

"Your Highness," he said immediately, tension threading his voice, "you shouldn’t be here. This place—it isn’t safe."

I didn’t turn.

"What could I do?" I replied calmly. "My captain took leave without a word... and then vanished."

I finally looked at him over my shoulder.

"As the Crown Princess of the empire," I continued, measured and deliberate, "taking care of every citizen is my duty."

The room fell silent.

Not empty silence.

Heavy.

I heard his breath change. Slower. Deeper.

"Am I," he asked quietly, "just a normal citizen to you, Your Highness?"

That made me turn fully. My eyes widened just a fraction. Because there was something new in his gaze—not defiance, not obedience.

Doubt.

And beneath it—something warmer. Something dangerous.

Confusion tangled with longing. A man standing between who he had been and who he feared he might become.

I stood.

Slowly. Carefully. Closing the space between us until the air itself seemed to hold its breath.

"No," I said.

His brows furrowed.

"You are not just a citizen," I continued, my voice low but steady. "And you are not just my captain."

He swallowed.

"Then what am I?" he asked.

The question wasn’t challenging. It was searching. I lifted my hand—but stopped short of touching him.

"You are someone who matters," I said softly. "To this empire. To your soldiers."

I paused.

"...To me."

His eyes flickered—shock, relief, and fear all colliding at once.

"That’s exactly why I left," he admitted hoarsely. "Because if everything I heard is true—about my blood, my past, Luke—then standing beside you isn’t simple anymore."

"Nothing about standing beside me has ever been simple," I replied.

A faint, broken smile touched his lips.

"I don’t know who I am," he said. "And until I do... I didn’t think I had the right to look at you the way I do."

My chest tightened.

I stepped closer.

"You don’t get to decide your worth alone," I said. "And you don’t get to disappear when the truth becomes inconvenient."

His gaze dropped.

"I didn’t want you to see me like this," he whispered. "Uncertain. Unfinished."

I exhaled slowly.

"Then you should have stayed," I said gently. "Because this is exactly when I needed you not to run."

Silence stretched between us—raw, trembling. He lifted his eyes again, searching my face as if afraid the answer might change if he blinked.

"...You came after me," he said.

"Yes."

"Personally."

"Yes."

"And if any empire dares to try," I said, eyes burning into his, "that will be the last day it ever breathes. I’ll wipe that kingdom from every map in this world."

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