Please Kill Me - Chapter 154
Leonid was rescued by Olga, who happened to pass near the terrace. The story was settled with the understanding that she brought him to the First Prince’s palace without revealing who the attacker was.
It seemed Leonid believed this plausible explanation.
“…So that’s how it happened. Good work, Olga.”
“Thank you. Are you feeling any better?”
“I think I’m okay now. When I was stabbed, I was seeing all sorts of things.”
“Seeing things?”
“Yeah. Before losing consciousness, I think I heard Yekaterina calling me.”
That was the first time Leonid had mentioned Yekaterina since regaining consciousness.
“I usually don’t see hallucinations, but when death was near, I thought she finally showed her face. I was wondering if I would die just like that.”
Olga unconsciously swallowed hard at his calm tone. She wasn’t particularly good at lying.
“Ah, I see. When someone is on the brink of death, they often see what they wish to see, and, well, sometimes it’s just nonsensical stuff…”
“Just shut up.”
Vasily, unable to watch any longer, interrupted Olga.
“Anyway, it’s a relief that the attacker is dead. Was she really that skilled?”
“No, I was careless. I guess I was shocked… it turns out Yekaterina was the one who ordered the hit on me.”
Vasily squeezed his eyes shut. He had to deny it, at least once.
“That… can’t be true.”
“I thought it couldn’t be, too. But what if we didn’t know her well enough?”
“…”
“The assassin was disguised as Yekaterina. I’m certain it was a deliberate ploy to bait me. If I hadn’t known how Yekaterina fights, I might have been fooled more easily.”
But really, who else would use Yekaterina’s appearance to lure Leonid? Unless it was Yekaterina herself who ordered it or collaborated in some way…
Leonid looked even more exhausted than before the Vesna festival began.
“With this, there’s no reason to discuss Yekaterina any further. I’ll return once I recover. Keep this story from spreading in the mansion.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Olga and Vasily bowed their heads in unison just as Leonid was about to tell them to leave. Suddenly, the door swung open, and someone strode in without hesitation.
There was only one person who would act so recklessly in the First Prince’s palace: Larisa Oleg, Yuri’s mother, known for her erratic behavior.
Typically, she spent most of her days either crying out in fits or sitting vacantly, so her sudden entrance was shocking.
In the midst of the confusion, Larisa took Leonid’s hand.
“Excuse me. I can’t find Sister Marina. Do you know where she might be?”
The ‘Sister Marina’ she mentioned referred to Yekaterina. She couldn’t distinguish between her deceased sister and Yekaterina.
As if the situation wasn’t already tumultuous enough, now Larisa was bringing up Yekaterina. Leonid frowned as he replied, “Why are you asking me? I don’t know. Vasily, go find Yuri—”
“Why don’t you know? Sister Marina came here carrying you the day before yesterday?”
At that moment, the faces of the three stiffened. Leonid was the first to speak.
“…What did you just say?”
“Was it the day before yesterday? Or yesterday? Or the day before that?”
Larisa tilted her head, then cheerfully continued.
“Sister Marina came here carrying you! She was crying, saying something like, ‘Help me—’ Uhp!”
Larisa’s words abruptly cut off as Vasily instinctively covered her mouth. But the key words had already slipped out.
Leonid’s expression, which had been motionless, slowly contorted with realization.
“Vasily.”
“…Yes?”
“Get Yuri. I need to know what’s going on.”
* * *
After the tense silence that followed Larisa’s unexpected entrance, Leonid spent considerable time speaking with Yuri and finally learned the whole story.
“…So, it was Yekaterina who saved me, not Olga. And she asked to keep it a secret.”
“…Yes.”
“So she tried to deceive me completely.”
“Correct.”
Yuri answered reluctantly, and a wave of disillusionment washed over Leonid’s face.
His closest friend had deceived him, and the one he had believed would never lie—the woman he had missed every day for the past three months—had left him with nothing but lies. And now she was trying to erase even that truth.
But the most terrifying part was realizing that he felt a sense of joy about it.
D*mn it, Leonid cursed through gritted teeth.
“To think she tried to leave me like this—what a grand delusion.”
Although harsh words spilled from his lips, he couldn’t deny the smile creeping at the corners of his mouth.
“So it was all a lie…”
His muttering voice was tinged with an emotion that could have been anger or perhaps joy.
As he uncovered the truth, a whirlwind of conflicting feelings surged within him, leaving him far from sane.
