Please Kill Me - Chapter 134
If Dmitry was to fully establish himself as the perfect Offenbach, Yekaterina would have no choice but to let Dmitry go. This was how he earned his sister’s affection. Every time Yekaterina gave him a glimmer of recognition, even this damnable task felt somewhat meaningful.
So Dmitry concealed his emotions, ensuring no one would notice how much he cherished his sister.
‘…But this is a different matter altogether.’
Leonid Rostislav, that damnable bastard, had dared to lay hands on Yekaterina.
The thought of him touching her with those filthy hands twisted Dmitry’s insides.
‘Not that I planned to spare him anyway.’
He resolved to kill him in the most horrific and painful way possible. Dmitry’s blue eyes glinted coldly as he made this vow.
* * *
The hunting event ended in chaos.
With the heads of the central two families simultaneously getting affected, there was no way the event could proceed smoothly. Additionally, the Emperor’s health, which had seemed to improve slightly, had rapidly deteriorated again, further affecting the situation.
With the Emperor on the brink of death and the central two families withdrawing due to their losses, and the confusion following Sergei Offenbach’s death, the event was a complete mess.
One small consolation was that the perpetrator of Sergei Offenbach’s murder was quickly identified. The culprit was the attendant of the Offenbach family, who had been a starter alongside Sergei.
The attendant was apprehended while trying to escape during the Offenbach retreat. He claimed that his attack on Sergei was motivated by personal grudge. He also tried to kill the witness, Leonid Rostislav, by causing him to fall, but failed.
With Leonid’s accusations cleared and Sergei’s death resolved, the hunt ended with the remaining game selected for the New Year’s sacrificial offering for peace and safety.
The event concluded with a somber end, lacking any feast or congratulatory words. The gossipers would undoubtedly have much to say about this debacle. However, few knew that at the center of this disastrous hunting event was Yekaterina Offenbach.
Few knew that she had been with Rostislav and had returned to Offenbach, or how Rostislav had changed after her departure.
* * *
“Stepan.”
“Oh, Sir Vasily.”
Stepan, the elderly steward of the Rostislav family, turned around. Normally wearing a friendly smile, he now had a look of deep concern etched on his face.
However, this was not much different from how Vasily looked.
Three months had passed since the hunting event, and Vasily had noticeably become more taciturn and lost his smile. His once straightforward and mild demeanor had hardened into something much more severe and sharp in that brief period.
The reason for their dramatic change was simple.
“Is His Excellency still the same?”
“It’s been several days now… He’ll have to collapse again before he’ll stop his antics.”
The reason was that their master showed no signs of returning to his former self, after the guest who had stayed in Rostislav for a while disappeared.
Many in Rostislav had undergone changes, but none more so than Leonid.
His strange behavior began the day after the hunting event, the very day Yekaterina disappeared.
* * *
That day was also the day after Vasily had gone to meet Yuri and had a drink. Somehow, it had left him feeling quite disturbed.
‘As His Highness Yuri said, it seemed like there was something off about those two.’
Vasily believed that remaining ignorant about others was the quickest way to peace of mind. By focusing only on the people within his narrow scope and investing all remaining energy in himself, he considered this the path to personal development.
In that sense, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had learned too much.
Just after Yekaterina had left to clear Leonid’s name and returned, she discovered that Leonid had been deceiving her all along.
And her reaction, which seemed quite furious.
“So, Leonid’s reaction was unusual?”
“Yes. In fact, I sensed something from the beginning. He was unusually interested at the Miss.”
“To be that concerned, and yet Yekaterina Offenbach was angry…”
Yuri seemed to ponder this for a moment before setting his glass down with a thud.
“Do you have any good ideas for resolving this situation?”
Vasily, who was slightly relaxed from the effects of alcohol, looked at Yuri with hopeful anticipation.
“Your Highness, what should we do?”
“Hm? Do nothing.”
“What?”
“Don’t try to do anything. Just leave it as is.”
“…Are you saying we should just sit back and do nothing?”
“Yes. It seems both you and Leonid are so engrossed with that woman that you can’t see things clearly. Do you really think everything she said was true?”
“The Miss is not someone who lies.”
“If you’re so certain of that, then she must be quite extraordinary.”
