Please Kill Me - Chapter 173
Dmitry had created a situation in which Yekaterina felt compelled to bear responsibility, shifting all blame onto her and rendering her immobile.
Just from that short story, it was clear how Yekaterina had been treated in Offenbach.
‘Have you lived your entire life like this, Yekaterina?’
Forced to shoulder burdens of responsibility, accepting the suffocating guilt that came with it as normal…
Leonid’s empty fist clenched and relaxed.
It was pointless for them to engage in further arguments here.
“Yekaterina is hidden in a box behind the partition. It would be best to carry her out in the box to avoid raising suspicion.”
Only then did Dmitry smile, completely wiping away the attitude he had just displayed.
“Thank you, Duke.”
Leonid smirked at the stark change in Dmitry’s attitude. It seemed he no longer had any reason to engage since he had achieved his goal.
As he quietly watched Dmitry’s back as he prepared to sneak Yekaterina out, he spoke up.
“Dmitry Offenbach. You said Yekaterina cannot escape Offenbach.”
“…That’s correct.”
“I’ve thought about it long and hard, and no matter how I ponder, it seems to me that in a crucial moment, she chose something other than Offenbach.”
The moments when she fell from the cliff and when he was attacked by an assassin mimicking her, and now here in this place.
“She chose me.”
And he had no intention of letting her go either.
Leonid swallowed the thoughts that followed that statement and exited the lounge first.
Soon, the bell chimed to announce the hour.
It was the sound marking the end of all the turmoil that had transpired that night.
* * *
The banquet quickly reached a climax.
The appointment of the Crown Prince was conducted in a brief manner without the parties involved, and those who attended the banquet were swiftly subjected to simple interrogations before being sent home.
It was impossible for the banquet to proceed after the announcement that Yuri Oleg, the first prince, had been attacked.
Moreover, the fact that the assassin who had infiltrated the palace was still at large and roaming within the imperial grounds had greatly angered the sickly Emperor.
The current Emperor, Yevgeny IV, who once commanded all of Ethiel, was now trembling in fear, not knowing when his own death might come.
While it might sound absurd for someone in such poor health to be terrified of death, every living being tends to crave life desperately when faced with the brink of life and death.
Having narrowly escaped death, the Emperor began to see everything in the world as blades poised to kill him, and the incident involving Yuri’s attack only added a sense of reality to this delusion.
“Attacking the prince is nothing less than a betrayal of Arlan! If we cannot capture the real culprit, I will behead all suspects to set an example!”
The Emperor declared, bursting with fury, causing a great stir in the social circles.
It was understandable, as there was only one suspect currently imprisoned.
That suspect was none other than Leonid Rostislav, the last direct descendant and head of the prominent Rostislav family.
“Is His Majesty really going to behead Duke Rostislav?”
“Even so, he is a Rostislav…”
“Weren’t the Duke’s imprisonment just a formality? Who doesn’t know that Duke Rostislav and Prince Yuri share a bond closer than family?”
“Of course, no one would doubt that the Duke is innocent… but it is also true that no culprit has emerged.”
“I heard that Prince Yuri has been pleading with His Majesty.”
“I really don’t know how this will all unfold. What a mess at such an inconvenient time.”
Had it been any other time, the situation wouldn’t have escalated this far.
Assassins infiltrating the palace was not an uncommon occurrence, and it wasn’t as if the Emperor had been directly attacked.
In fact, the Arlan imperial family tended to be somewhat indifferent to the safety of those who hadn’t been granted the name of Arlan. While the Emperor, bearing the name, held absolute power, other members of the imperial family who didn’t share that name were treated much like any other noble.
Thus, under normal circumstances, the matter would have ended with a search of the palace and increased security measures. However, no one could deter the Emperor, who was gripped by the fear of death and lost in delusion.
Especially in a situation where he considered the attack on Yuri as treason against himself.
As a result, the social circle’s interest shifted to how Duke Rostislav would be treated. Yet, while everyone eagerly awaited news, no one realized that they were missing something crucial.
Yekaterina Offenbach, known to have met Yuri before the attack, was the central figure in this entire incident.
