Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 400

Chapter 400: The Night of Judgement Part 2

[Lavinia’s POV—Night of Judgment—The Capital of Eloria]

The city did not know it was about to be reborn.

Lanterns still glowed softly in the streets. Music drifted from taverns. Merchants closed their shops with laughter in their voices.

And beneath that peaceful skin—the empire moved. Black cloaks swept across the city roads; this was not war.

This was surgery.

The wind tore against my cloak as my horse thundered down the stone road. Eleania clung behind me, her hood pulled low, her breathing sharp but steady.

"We are about to reach Talvan’s estate," I said over the rushing air. "Cover yourself."

She nodded firmly. "Yes, Your Highness."

Torches burned along the high walls of Talvan’s mansion, their light trembling as shadows moved around them—Black Knights already in position, waiting for my signal.

Ravick rode on my left, armor dark as night. Zerith on my right, eyes sharp and unreadable. Ahead of us rose the iron gates of House Talvan—tall, arrogant, and proud.

I raised my hand.

Everything stopped. Horses snorted. Armor creaked. Magic hummed beneath the air like a heartbeat.

Then I lowered my hand.

"Break the gates," I commanded.

Ravick’s voice roared like thunder. "Forward!"

The knights charged. Steel struck iron. The gates groaned in protest, chains snapping under force and magic combined. A crack split the metal down the center—BOOM.

The gates collapsed inward with a deafening crash. Dust rose. Torches fell. Servants screamed inside. I urged my horse forward through the smoke, Eleania gripping tighter behind me.

Talvan’s estate—once a symbol of noble power—now lay open like a wound.

Black Knights flooded the courtyard in perfect formation.

"Secure the exits!" Ravick ordered.

"Seal every corridor!" Zerith added.

"No one leaves!"

Windows slammed shut. Guards were disarmed before they could shout. Magic barriers flared at the walls, trapping the estate inside a silent prison.

I dismounted in the center of the courtyard; the marble beneath my boots was cold. Eleania slid down beside me, trembling—not in fear, but in fury.

"It’s time," she whispered, eyes burning, "they fall into the hole they dug themselves."

A slow smile curved my lips; footsteps rushed out in panic.

Butlers first. Then Talvan’s personal knights. Maids clutching their robes in terror. And finally—Talvan and Sirella appeared at the top of the stairs in their night garments, faces pale with disbelief.

"Y—Your Highness?" Talvan stammered. "What are you—"

His eyes fell on Eleania. "...What is the meaning of this?"

I did not answer him; I turned slightly and nodded to Ravick.

Ravick raised his hand.

"Charge inside," he commanded coldly. "Arrest anyone who resists. Search the entire mansion. Leave no chamber untouched."

Black Knights surged forward like a living shadow. Sirella stepped in front of them, lifting her chin in false dignity.

"Wait!" she cried. "Your Highness, you cannot barge into a noble house simply because you are the Crown Princess!"

Her voice trembled, but she tried to sound brave.

I laughed softly.

"Oh, Lady Sirella," I said, tilting my head, "you truly have a honeyed voice. Anyone would believe you are an innocent noble flower."

I walked closer to her, my gaze sharpening.

"But you are not, honey." I leaned in just enough for her to hear. "You are sour liquid hiding beneath perfume."

Her face drained of color.

"And yes," I continued calmly, "I can enter any house that has committed treason against the throne."

Talvan shouted, his voice cracking with fury, "This is madness! What do you mean by treason? You cannot barge into my estate without proof—!"

I cut him off sharply.

"No proof?" I said coldly. "Then we will create the proof right now—by tearing this house apart stone by stone."

His jaw tightened. He scoffed, trying to regain his noble composure.

"Are you attempting to divert public attention, Your Highness?" he sneered. "Your husband is a traitor from Astreon, plotting the downfall of this empire. And now, to shift the blame, you attack House Talvan? I never imagined the Crown Princess would fall so low."

The courtyard went deathly still. Even the wind seemed to stop. Sirella’s lips curved into a faint, poisonous smile.

I laughed once.

Soft. Dark. Empty.

"What a joke."

I stepped forward slowly, my boots echoing against the marble.

"Count Talvan," I said, my voice dangerously calm, "do you truly believe I do not know what happens inside my own empire?"

My eyes burned as I continued, "Marquess Everett. Caelum. The rumors spread when I was a child, every assassination attack on me using Eleania as your pawn. And now—Astreon’s sudden interest in Eloria."

I leaned closer.

"Do you think I am a blind ruler?"

His face stiffened.

"This is my empire," I whispered. "And it is my duty to erase every poison that dares to sink its fangs into it."

His color drained.

"But you know what?" I said quietly. "I wanted to do this slowly. Cleanly. Without blood on my hands."

I seized his collar and yanked him forward. "But you dared to use my Haldor as your pawn."

My voice cracked with fury.

"How dare you." I stared straight into his eyes. "Did you think he was my weakness?"

I shoved him backward, and he fell hard onto the stone.

"No, Talvan," I said coldly. "He is the reason I am strong." I pointed down at him. "And he is the reason for your doom."

I raised my voice like a blade cutting the air.

"SEARCH THE ENTIRE MANSION!" My command thundered across the estate. "LEAVE NO ROOM UNTOUCHED!"

Knights surged forward.

Steel boots thundered up the stairs, doors were kicked open, drawers ripped apart, and walls struck with magic sigils.

The mansion screamed with chaos.

"This night will be remembered," I declared, my voice echoing through the estate, "as the night House Talvan fell—not by rumor, not by fear, but by its own corruption."

"Arrest Count Talvan and Lady Sirella."

***

[Later — Talvan Estate]

I crouched in front of Talvan.

"You accused my husband of being a traitor," I said quietly. "Yet it was you who invited foreign blades into my empire."

I lifted another ledger.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked.

Talvan said nothing.

"This," I continued, "is the cost of every assassin sent after me. This is the price of rumors spread when I was four years old. This is the blood of Marquess Everett and Caelum written in numbers."

His eyes widened.

"You kept records," I whispered. "You trusted paper more than God."

I stood and raised my voice.

"Read them."

Ravick grabbed one of the parchments and began aloud:

"—House Brenton: funded through Astreon merchants—Baron Luthier: spread rumor of illegitimate bloodline—House liaison from Astreon: magic transport spell—"

Zerith cut in sharply, "So the Astreons was not the origin. It was the passage."

Talvan’s shoulders collapsed. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Sirella screamed, "Father, say something!"

He looked up at me with hatred.

"You think killing me will save your empire?" he hissed. "The people already doubt your husband. They already whisper."

I smiled.

A slow, terrifying smile, "You misunderstand something, Count Talvan."

I walked to the center of the courtyard.

"You were not my goal." Every servent froze. "You were my proof."

I turned back to him.

"By sunrise, every house listed here will kneel before the throne. Their wealth seized. Their titles stripped. Their bloodlines ended if necessary."

Sirella sobbed. "You can’t—!"

I raised my hand.

"I can."

My voice rang like a bell of judgment as I looked at Zerith. "Seal the estate, throw them in the imperial dingeon."

I looked at Ravick. "Send copies of every ledger to the Black Knights and Papa."

Then I faced Talvan.

"You wanted to break the Devereux line," I said quietly. "You wanted to turn my people against me. Instead, you taught me where to cut."

I straightened.

"Count Talvan," I declared, "you are under arrest for treason against the crown, conspiracy with foreign powers, and attempted destruction of the imperial bloodline."

Chains snapped shut around his wrists.

The torches roared brighter, and in the fallen silence of his estate, but who would’ve know soon I will end up in more trouble than this.