Please Kill Me - Chapter 112
The events in the imperial palace resurfaced in her mind.
Right before Marina barged in, she had recalled a conversation she had with Leonid in the forest. It was then that she had felt a subtle sense of unease. She had brushed it off as nothing significant, but now the memory struck her hard.
In truth, she had sensed it all along: Leonid had no intention of killing her. There have been countless opportunities to realize this. She had simply chosen to ignore it.
‘Why?’
Did she suddenly want to live now? At this late hour?
Her insides churned. Only when she was alone could Yekaterina finally clutch her stomach with both arms and curl up. Her face, etched with anguish, remained eerily calm.
With that still expression, she thought,
‘I must die.’
Death could no longer be a hopeful escape for her; it had become an obligation. In her world, the reasons for her to die far outnumbered the reasons to live.
The reason Yekaterina had wished for death from the beginning was just as clear-cut. As long as she was alive, Sergei would do whatever it took to kill her.
She was living a life where she was not allowed to want anything. She had committed the sin of possessing what was beyond her means. So, if she wished for death in accordance with the natural order, wouldn’t that be a fitting end?
She had already been torn apart once. If her body could at least be preserved the second time, it would be a good death.
With that thought, she left Offenbach. She knew she couldn’t survive away from Offenbach.
Even if she found temporary refuge with someone, it would only be a fleeting reprieve. But even if she tried to live on, there was no path ahead of her. It was as if a cliff loomed not far away.
The problem was that it wasn’t right before her eyes. If it were, she could at least despair.
But there was a slight distance between her and the cliff—close enough to reach with a bit of effort, but not immediate.
And so, one falls into emptiness. Knowing there’s no path forward, why continue walking?
Do I really need to reach the end and confirm that my path ends at a cliff? Wouldn’t it be better to just stop here?
And so, Yekaterina chose to stop.
‘No more hesitation.’
She had delayed long enough. Now, all she had to do was go to the hunting event and die as planned.
She had seen Leonid swinging his sword in preparation, his right hand and shoulder still bandaged. Even if one arm was a bit inconvenient, it would be enough to kill her.
But there was a problem.
“Miss, please rest here comfortably! Don’t even think about coming out!”
The security had become significantly tighter, and she was now under guard. And it had all happened in the blink of an eye, without her noticing.
Yekaterina stood there, staring in the direction where Olga had cheerfully bid her goodbye and disappeared. Then, she turned around.
In the luxurious and spacious room, a rocking horse stood alone, swaying back and forth. She decided to climb onto it. The perfectly carved rocking horse, with a saddle that fit just right, was a marvel of craftsmanship.
“…….”
She decided to ride the horse for a bit and think about what to do next.
* * *
After riding the rocking horse for about three hours, Yekaterina made a decision.
Yes.
“This won’t work, Miss. You can call for me all you want, but I won’t help you.”
She had to demand her life’s worth.
In Offenbach, one must follow the ways of Offenbach. Even though this was Rostislav, without Yekaterina, Vasily would have been in the afterlife. So what did it matter now?
Owing her life to Offenbach, it was only right to repay it in the Offenbach way. This was Yekaterina’s belief. But Vasily seemed to have different thoughts.
When he entered the room, his eyes were filled with doubt and suspicion from the start. Before Yekaterina could even speak, he cut her off, declaring he wouldn’t help her.
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“Do you have any other purpose? Clearly, you want me to take you to the hunting event.”
“……Does Rostislav teach mind reading?”
Even the master seemed to read minds when he met Yekaterina, and now this knight was doing something similar. Instead of answering her question, Vasily looked frustrated.
“Someone who has been avoiding me all this time suddenly calls for me—of course, there’s an ulterior motive, isn’t there?”
He had a point. It wasn’t something she had considered, but it seemed the honest knight was also quite perceptive.
“That’s true.”
“No matter what you say, I will not help you. You need to stay here! I would rather—”
“Die?”
“Of course—wait, what?”
“I asked if you would die for it.”
Vasily narrowed his eyes.
“Are you trying to threaten me?”
“In Offenbach, defying orders is punishable by death. I was just wondering if Rostislav is the same.”
“While disobedience is certainly dealt with severely, we don’t use such brutal methods as Offenbach.”
“Then, since there’s no risk of death, why not help me out? After all, you owe me, don’t you?”
