Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 410

Chapter 410: The Day We became Parents

[Haldor’s POV—Imperial Palace—Lavinia’s Chamber—Night]

She didn’t wake up.

That was the first thing I understood.

Not immediately. Not all at once. It crept in slowly, like frost over glass—cold, inevitable, and cruel. Lavinia lay still beneath the sheets, her chest rising and falling. Breathing—but wrong. Too shallow. Too quiet. Like the world was afraid to touch her again.

I stayed where I was, right beside the bed. I hadn’t moved since she collapsed. My knees hurt. My hands were numb. I didn’t care.

"Wake up," I whispered again, for the hundredth time. "You already scared everyone enough. You’ve made your point."

No answer; her fingers were cold in my grasp. Not dead, but not here. Behind me, the room was chaos trying to pretend it wasn’t.

The twins cried.

Thin, piercing sounds—new, furious, alive. Each cry stabbed straight through my ribs, because she wasn’t here to hear them.

She hadn’t seen them. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She hadn’t held them.

She hadn’t scolded the world for daring to exist too loudly.

"You said you wouldn’t leave me," I murmured, pressing my forehead to her hand. "You said we’d look at them together."

My throat closed.

"I’m waiting," I added softly. "I won’t look without you."

Then—

"WHERE IS THE HEALER?!" Cassius’s voice cracked the chamber like a blade.

The former emperor stormed across the room, fury incarnate, his cloak half torn, sword still strapped to his side like he’d come straight from a battlefield.

The healers flinched, and the priests backed away.

"Drag them here," Cassius snarled, pointing with a shaking hand. "ALL OF THEM. EVERY LAST ONE."

"Your Majesty—" a healer tried.

Cassius grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"My daughter is lying there," he roared, eyes blazing, "AND YOU ARE STILL BREATHING, SO YOU WILL FIX THIS."

The man whimpered.

Rey stepped forward. "Emperor—"

Too slow.

Cassius turned and yanked Rey forward, fist twisting into the front of his robes.

"You," he growled. "Supreme Mage. Divine genius. Useless bastard."

Rey didn’t resist. He didn’t even blink.

"If she dies," Cassius whispered, voice breaking in a way I had never heard before, "I will burn your tower to ash. I will rip magic out of this empire with my bare hands. I will—"

"She’s not dying," Rey cut in sharply.

Cassius froze.

Rey’s voice trembled but held.

"She’s exhausted," he said. "Her body is empty. Two lives took too much. But her soul—" He placed a hand over his own chest. "—is still anchored. Still fighting."

Cassius’s grip loosened slightly.

"...Then why hasn’t she woken up?" he demanded hoarsely.

Rey swallowed. "Because she’s stubborn."

A broken sound escaped Cassius’s throat. Not a laugh. Not a sob. Behind us, the crying grew louder. Sera stood near the bassinets, tears streaming freely as she rocked one child while another wailed in protest.

"They need her," she whispered. "They keep crying for her."

That did it.

Something inside me finally cracked. I stood abruptly, turning toward the bassinets—and stopped.

No.

I couldn’t.

Not without her.

I went back to the bed instead and leaned over Lavinia, my voice shaking openly now.

"They’re loud," I told her. "They’re angry. I think one of them already hates your Papa."

Cassius scoffed weakly through his fury. "I heard that."

I brushed my thumb over her knuckles.

"They’re waiting," I whispered. "So am I."

Silence fell again. Heavy. Suffocating. Then—her fingers twitched.

Barely.

So small I almost missed it.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "Rey."

He was already there. Magic flared softly, warm and controlled, not violent this time.

"Lavinia," Rey said quietly. "You’ve done enough."

Her lashes fluttered.

Once.

Twice.

Cassius stopped breathing. I leaned closer, heart in my throat.

"Lavi," I whispered desperately. "Please."

Her lips parted.

"...Too... loud," she murmured faintly.

The room shattered.

"She spoke," someone gasped.

Cassius staggered forward. "My daughter—?"

Her eyes opened. Slow. Heavy. Furious. She blinked at the ceiling.

"...Why," she rasped weakly, "is everyone screaming in my bedroom?"

I laughed.

I sobbed.

I dropped to my knees beside her bed and pressed my forehead to hers, shaking.

"You’re back," I whispered. "You’re back."

She frowned weakly. "...Did I ...miss anything?"

Cassius laughed—a broken, unhinged sound—and sank into the nearest chair, hands over his face. Rey exhaled like he’d been holding the world together with breath alone.

The twins cried again.

Lavinia flinched. "...What... is that?"

I smiled through tears. "Your children."

Lavinia’s eyes sharpened despite the exhaustion weighing them down.

"My children," she repeated, voice still hoarse but unmistakably commanding. "Bring them. Now."

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