Please Kill Me - Chapter 182
Although it was arduous, it was simply a matter of following orders and wielding a knife to resolve the issue.
‘There will likely be more problems like this in the future.’
Having left Offenbach, and as long as she stayed by Leonid’s side, that was inevitable.
Thus, Yekaterina had to learn to resolve issues without killing an innocent person.
‘But…’
If the plan she chose, which avoided killing someone, ultimately led to Leonid’s death, would she still be able to say that?
Just imagining Leonid’s death felt like a tearing pain in her chest.
If it were to become a reality?
‘I’d want to kill everything in sight.’
The plan she chose was to prepare for that moment.
Despite Leonid’s and Vasily’s concerns, Yekaterina had no intention of darting off anywhere right now.
‘Leonid said he was fine.’
If he had wanted to escape, he would have been taken out immediately. If there were any other plans, she would have followed them as well.
But Leonid said he was okay. He told her to wait and not worry.
So Yekaterina planned to follow his words.
At least for now.
But if Leonid turned out to be wrong, and if he was in danger, she would act immediately.
The plan was simple.
‘I need to engrave in everyone’s minds that Leonid is someone who must not be killed.’
Even in the notoriously cruel environment of Offenbach, Yekaterina was an unchallenged powerhouse.
Considering that once Sergei held the position of the strongest and was deemed unmatched within the Ethiel Empire, Yekaterina’s status had only risen since even he couldn’t harm her.
Now that she possessed the protective magic, Yekaterina was confident she wouldn’t die under any circumstances.
Unless, of course, the one trying to kill her was not Leonid.
‘I know better than anyone how strong Leonid is.’
That experience was new even for Yekaterina.
It felt like fighting against a solid wall.
Even with all the various drugs and tricks of Offenbach that granted her strength beyond others, she still felt outmatched in sheer power when sparring with Leonid.
If she felt that way, what would a regular person experience facing Leonid?
‘It would be like trying to pierce a rock with a needle.’
Thus, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Leonid was the true strongest in the current Ethiel.
It was just that very few people were aware of this because Leonid usually came off as quite gentle.
‘In fact, the head chef Igor has a more rugged physique.’
If they were to compare attitudes, gardener Josip was far more aggressive.
While Yekaterina knew well what Leonid’s body looked like beneath his clothing, most people only saw the slender form created by his tailored garments.
For those who had never crossed swords with Leonid, it was understandable that they would be unaware of his true strength.
‘If they had known, they wouldn’t have even considered letting him die.’
Ethiel—and the capital, in particular—had been far too peaceful for too long.
Thanks to the two powerful families, Rostislav and Offenbach, serving as a buffer, the capital had managed to fend off only minor mid-grade monsters.
However, it was certain that they had not considered what might happen if that buffer were to disappear.
That’s why Yekaterina intended to demonstrate the necessity of that need firsthand.
Specifically, by destroying the seal on the core of the highest-grade monster that was sealed away in the underground prison of the palace.
* * *
In the underground prison of the palace, there was a small sealing stone.
It marked the spot where the first Emperor Arlan, alongside his two close friends, had united their powers to defeat a colossal, lizard-like monster and seal away its formidable core.
‘To be precise, it’s not the entire core that was sealed.’
Legend has it that the core was as massive as it was powerful.
Even Arlan, Rostislav, and the powerful magic of Offenbach could not completely seal it away.
Thus, they had shattered the core into five pieces and sealed each fragment in various locations, both on the borders and in the center.
The problem was that even the seal created from those fragments was not perfect.
The pieces of the monster’s core continued to emit magical energy even after being sealed.
Fortunately, this energy posed no threat to humans, but it was later revealed to significantly affect other animals that lacked magic resistance.
‘To put it precisely, it was more of a lucky discovery while trying to understand the source of the monsters.’
In their ongoing research to eradicate the incessantly appearing monsters, it was discovered that the area surrounding the sealing stones had become contaminated land.
The magical energy emitted from the seal had caused mutations in the surrounding creatures.
One fortunate point was that the smallest piece was sealed within the capital.
However, even though it was the smallest fragment, it still emitted magical energy, and with each slight crack that appeared in the seal over time, the emergence of monsters increased significantly.
‘For example…’
Like the unnatural monster sightings that occurred in the imperial hunting grounds a few months ago.
During the time Yekaterina was staying at the palace at Yuri’s request, she often overheard conversations between Yuri and Leonid.
Among those conversations was also a discussion about the sealing stones.
