Please Kill Me - Chapter 136
What if he learns that Yekaterina is leaving?
As Vasily’s worries swirled, Yuri spoke up.
“Whatever the concerns, it’s better than dying. Offenbach is too dangerous. Can you be sure this won’t happen again?”
Without Yekaterina, such reckless plans wouldn’t have been made, and there would be no reason for Offenbach to become so deeply entangled. Even if Leonid hadn’t used Yekaterina for something, the outcome would have been the same.
Yekaterina, by her mere presence, brought danger to that place. It’s best to avoid such threats from the start.
Yuri’s words were undeniable. However, it was also true that Vasily found them quite unsatisfactory. After all, it was Yekaterina herself who saved his life.
But what could Vasily do in this situation?
Telling Yuri that Yekaterina sacrificed herself for him? Revealing that what she said was a lie? None of these would be fundamental solutions or resolve the situation.
So, Vasily followed Yuri’s advice—whatever the deception, it was better than dying.
* * *
But… is this really better?
Since that day, Leonid seemed to have become a broken person. He could no longer sleep in bed and continually pushed himself. He worked through all the affairs of the domain he had been putting off, staying up for nights on end. When there were no more tasks, he went to the training grounds to wield his sword.
One morning, when he mounted his horse and headed somewhere, Vasily followed urgently and found him arriving at a forest. On another occasion, he ended up in a wasteland.
For those observing, his movements were impossible to predict.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, the forest made sense. It was where Yekaterina and Leonid had shared many experiences.
“But why the wilderness?”
The wasteland wilderness was something you reached only after traveling a considerable distance through the forest. It was a place devoid of anything, just open fields and rocks.
A wasteland isn’t a place one would visit unless they had a strong desire to ride a horse. So, if Leonid had charged across the wasteland with all his might, one could have said, “Ah, the Duke wanted to ride.”
But he simply stood there, staring at the barren land, as if everything was meaningless.
It was troubling enough that Leonid had become so erratic, but an even bigger problem was that Leonid wasn’t the only one suffering from Yekaterina’s absence.
The next person to experience significant change was Olga.
Since she had been the one who cared for and spent the most time with Yekaterina, it was perhaps expected. After a week without Yekaterina following the hunting party, Olga came to see Vasily and said:
“I’m thinking of returning to the elite forces.”
“…Are you out of your mind?”
“Please spar with me. I feel like my body is getting stiff. I want to regain my touch and tell the Duke I’m ready to return to the forces.”
“Why the sudden change? You said you preferred being a maid and would never draw a sword again.”
“That’s true, but… I feel so empty. I used to feel proud and satisfied seeing dishes polished to a shine or a neatly arranged room.”
But now, no matter how much she cleaned or organized, it doesn’t fill her up. She felt more and more empty. Losing the master one served is a big deal even for a maid
After much contemplation, she had come to a conclusion.
“When you start feeling these pointless thoughts, you need to go where you might face danger. Rolling around in such a place will clear away the distractions and fill the emptiness, and…”
“Stop! I’m not going to spar!”
“What? Why not? Nothing beats real combat for getting back in shape!”
“If I say no, then it’s no!”
Vasily ran off like a rabbit chased by a fox. But living under the same roof, escaping was futile.
Olga popped up from every direction.
“Sir Vasily Arkady!”
“Ah!”
Even while he was maintaining his sword.
“Please spar with me!”
“Go away!”
Even while tasting Chef Igor’s ambitious dish.
“Just one sparring session!”
“This crazy woman!”
Even during his most important daily task: adjusting the temperature of his bathwater.
Bathing was a sacred ritual that washed away and ended Vasily’s day, and it was his only time of rest. The quality of this rest depended entirely on the temperature of the water.
Only by achieving the perfect temperature—not too hot and not too lukewarm—could he completely wash away the day’s troubles.
Like any household, Vasily used a stove to heat the water and mixed in cold water to get the temperature just right, a delicate and exacting task.
But one day, Olga’s sudden appearance caused him to dump cold water all over the carefully heated bathwater.
As Vasily sank into the lukewarm water, he quietly swallowed his tears.
