Please Kill Me - Chapter 151
The fact that the woman on the floor had the same hair as her, and that there were two daggers lying around that looked like ones she used, made her even more terrified.
‘This is like looking at myself.’
If the face had been exposed, things might have been different, but in Vesna, everyone wore masks. Especially the assassin, who shared a similar aura to Yekaterina, making it easy for someone from Offenbach to deceive Leonid without much effort.
Yekaterina hurried to the unconscious Leonid.
‘The injuries are severe.’
If Yekaterina hadn’t found him, he would surely have died right there. Perhaps if he had managed to get outside while still conscious to call for help, things might have been different, but for some reason, Leonid was leaning against the railing inside the terrace.
‘What if Leonid dies like this?’
The very thought made it hard to breathe and caused her fingers to tremble.
Yekaterina checked Leonid’s pulse with her shaking hands. The cold weather made his already chilled body, from blood loss, feel as cold as a corpse. This was a different sensation from when she had faced Leonid falling from the cliff.
At that time, the body she had embraced in the fall was warm. Dying side by side had even seemed not so bad.
But now, death was terrifying beyond measure.
She wasn’t afraid of her own death. She had once thought she would welcome death, so if she were to die right now, she would have seen it as the return of those times. But the thought of Leonid, bleeding and lying there, never opening his eyes again, was chillingly terrifying.
Something choked up in her throat, and before she realized it, large tears were falling, wetting her skirt.
Yekaterina tore at her skirt with her trembling hands. She carefully removed the blade embedded in Leonid’s torso, being cautious not to tear the surroundings further and prevent excessive blood loss.
She had seen wounds like this before and had performed first aid on them, but she couldn’t understand why everything felt so trembling and terrifying now.
The torn piece of her skirt was long enough to be of use. With her trembling hands, Yekaterina tightly bound Leonid’s injury and then lifted him onto her back.
But this time, unlike when she had carried him from the cliff, she couldn’t just carry him away carelessly.
‘There are too many people.’
She wanted to rush out alone, showing the dying Leonid and asking for help, but doing so would break her promise to Dmitry.
Breaking the promise to Dmitry would be a significant loss for Yekaterina. She could have used her life as leverage in the hunting party, but what could she use now to negotiate?
‘I mustn’t be discovered.’
She had to get out as quickly as possible, before anyone noticed.
But where to?
At that moment, a person flashed through Yekaterina’s mind.
Yuri Oleg.
‘This is the palace.’
If she needed to go somewhere, Yuri was the only answer. Both the party hall and the First Prince’s palace were located on the outskirts of the palace, so if done carefully, she could slip away without drawing much attention.
Of course, it would be challenging.
‘But I must succeed.’
Saving Leonid was the most important thing right now. Yekaterina’s eyes shone with determination as she adjusted her hold on the man. As the most capable assassin raised by Offenbach, she was exceptional.
With Offenbach’s protective magic, the only person who could potentially kill her in this world was Leonid himself. As long as she stayed alert, she could reach the First Prince’s palace without being detected, especially by Dmitry.
Yekaterina took a deep breath.
Soon, the presence on the terrace faded away.
* * *
“It looks like he has lost a lot of blood, but fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be life-threatening.”
The doctor said as he put down his medical tools.
The faces of the two people standing behind him brightened slightly at his words. The one who had called for the doctor expressed their thanks.
“Thank you. Please keep this matter a secret from the outside world.”
“Certainly, Your Highness.”
As long as he was well-compensated, the doctor was someone who would keep a secret. That was also the reason he had survived so long in the palace.
Yuri handed a large sum of money to the doctor and, once the doctor had left, he sighed in relief.
‘What on earth is happening?’
When Yekaterina had burst in carrying Leonid, Yuri was more shocked than he had been in nearly three years. If he hadn’t been staying home during the Vesna festival, what would have happened?
‘I did push them to meet, after all.’
But he had never imagined that Yekaterina would come in carrying Leonid who was bleeding so profusely.
Yuri drew the curtains around the room, and, following the doctor’s advice, stoked the fireplace until it blazed. Only then did he return to Yekaterina.
She remained completely absorbed, not even glancing at Yuri as he worked. Only gazing at the unconscious Leonid.
