Please Kill Me - Chapter 156
But as her lies were revealed, everything became clear at last.
What the truth really was.
A chuckle escaped his twisted lips, His stomach twisted. It was absurd to think he had been thoroughly deceived, and it was equally absurd that he found joy in that realization.
Imagining Yekaterina, who had never expected her truth to be uncovered, made him chuckle again.
‘You shouldn’t have saved me.’
Once, it was to repay a debt, but the other time was a mistake. Had she not intervened, she wouldn’t have had to pay the price for meddling in someone else’s affairs.
Leonid’s insides were still a mess, just as Yekaterina had left them. With crumbling walls, the wind howled through, and within the chaos, his thoughts were disordered.
To set things right, he needed to confront the one responsible for creating this mess.
A smile, which had faded, returned to Leonid’s face, and he gritted his teeth.
“Yuri. When you deceived me, you must have been prepared for the possibility of being caught.”
“…I’m ashamed. Whatever you think of me, everything was for you.”
“Of course. With so many people thinking of me, I’ll be healthy and live a long life.”
Leonid taunted and snapped his fingers lightly.
“I’ll grant you absolution, Yuri.”
“Absolution?”
“Yes. As an accomplice, you should at least bring the main culprit before me if you want to atone.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes, as if he knew what Leonid was going to say next.
“…I can’t do that. I just can’t.”
“Why not? You once said you’d do anything for me. Now you don’t seem to want to help at all?”
Leonid chuckled, then slammed his hand on the desk. The smile had vanished from his face.
“Yuri. This isn’t a request or a suggestion. I’m giving you your last chance to be my friend.”
“Is this really… something worth doing?”
“Yes. I have no intention of seeing someone who thinks they can deceive me under the pretense of helping.”
A look of distress crossed Yuri’s face. He squeezed his eyes shut, then wiped his face and replied.
“I’m truly sorry about this. But wasn’t it her will to deceive you? Of course, I’ll follow your wishes if you want, but that’s our conversation. Are you planning to pressure Yekaterina Offenbach as well?”
“Yes.”
Leonid’s low voice scraped against his throat, coming out in a threatening tone.
“I’ve shown enough leniency by letting her off the hook under false pretenses. If she has decided to keep a life in her grasp, then she must take responsibility.”
If she dared to deceive him and run away, she should have thought about being caught again.
If he were to keep her imprisoned as much as she wanted, so be it.
Even if a captured Yekaterina resented him, it wouldn’t matter. It was her own safety that mattered even more.
If Yekaterina was trying to sacrifice herself to escape, Leonid was prepared to sacrifice himself to capture her.
“So cooperate, Yuri.”
With a tone bordering on intimidation, Yuri sighed.
In the end, his choice was set.
* * *
“…So, Leonid Rostislav survived despite being stabbed in the gut.”
In the office of the head of the Offenbach family, a young man with silver-blue hair spoke slowly, tossing a dagger into the air and catching it repeatedly.
“What do you think, Sister?”
“I think you should stop bringing up Rostislav to me.”
Yekaterina was seated directly opposite Dmitry. He had summoned her just moments ago. As usual, he offered her tea, yet he didn’t touch his cup, focusing instead on the dagger glinting ominously in the light.
It was as if he was openly showing his displeasure.
“Why? He’s someone you hold dear. After all, you jumped off a cliff together.”
“He’s no longer relevant.”
“So, you would say the same if I killed him?”
Yekaterina narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge Dmitry’s intentions.
Receiving her sharp gaze, Dmitry smiled slyly.
“Don’t look at me like that, Sister. There was never a clause in our agreement that stated Leonid Rostislav must not be killed.”
“Wasn’t it sufficient that I returned to Offenbach and ceased contact with him?”
“I wanted to feel that reassured too, but human emotions aren’t so easily swayed. So, I set a trap.”
With the mention of a trap, Yekaterina’s expression slightly hardened, but she continued to speak smoothly.
“I lured Leonid Rostislav into the banquet hall and planted a spy who mimicked your appearance. Then, pretending to be you, I lured him into an attack.”
“…So, Leonid fell for that trap?”
Instead of answering, Dmitry raised his hands in a gesture that seemed to say, ‘Look at the results.’
“But… you can’t kill him with just that.”
“True. I can’t kill Leonid Rostislav, but I can certainly sever the connection between you two.”
While he hadn’t anticipated that a mere elite soldier would be able to injure Leonid, the point remained.
“Now he will believe you are involved in this matter in some way. That’s all I needed.”
Dmitry concluded his statement cheerfully. His attitude showed that he felt he had done his duty.
Yekaterina found herself at a loss for words.
All she felt was a sense of despair constricting her throat.
