Please Kill Me - Chapter 191
Even if the Empress or the Second Prince tried to interfere with public opinion, the execution of Duke Rostislav would face strong opposition from many nobles, so the situation wouldn’t flow unfavorably.
The death of Evgeny IV could change things drastically, almost like flipping a coin.
As long as Yekaterina doesn’t mess things up and spoil the situation she’s already changed.
Thinking of this, Yuri’s priorities quickly took shape in his mind.
“Vasily. I need to go to the prison right now. You go back and find Yekaterina.”
“Understood!”
Yuri turned his back on Vasily and rushed toward his father.
As the servant had said, he was dead.
The man who had been rampaging to kill Leonid now lay dead, just as Leonid’s death approached him.
‘It seems like fate’s twisted joke.’
This delicate timing sent a chill down Yuri’s spine.
But why did it feel so?
* * *
“…The Emperor, no, His Late Majesty has passed away.”
Vasily, who delivered the news, lowered his head in confirmation.
In truth, the person who stood to benefit the most from Evgeny IV’s sudden death seemed entirely indifferent to the news as if it had no relation to them at all.
‘In the end, this is how it went.’
Leonid, leaving behind the now-familiar bars of his prison, thought this to himself. He was neither surprised nor seemed to have any expectations, showing a contemplative attitude.
For someone who was supposed to be executed at the guillotine, it was an inappropriate reaction.
Of course, Leonid knew this, but what could he do?
There was truly nothing else to react to but this.
To be honest, Leonid had known this would happen.
The visitors who had come to see him while he was imprisoned weren’t just Yekaterina.
Strictly speaking, Yekaterina wasn’t even the first visitor.
Before she came to visit him, there was another young man who came.
With a face full of loss, yet unable to wipe away the lingering resentment, a pair of blue eyes that had glared at him resurfaced in his mind.
— Do you want to live?
And the question he had asked.
* * *
When the question was first asked, Leonid had thought.
“Came to mock me, Dmitry Offenbach?”
“I know we’re not close, but you have quite the talent for misinterpretation.”
However, the man who asked the question looked remarkably calm. It was clear that he hadn’t come to mock him.
“Well, why don’t you just get to the point? I’m not in the mood to chat long with the one who tried to kill me.”
“I thought I already got to the point. I asked if you wanted to live.”
“Who wants to die? Oh wait, some do. Is Yekaterina safe?”
“Yes. She’s safe.”
Dmitry said this, and then there was a brief silence, as if he was about to say something he truly didn’t want to.
After a moment, he spoke again, in a monotonous voice that reminded Leonid of Yekaterina’s tone, “I will kill the Emperor to save you.”
If anyone had overheard, it would have surely caused a huge uproar, but Dmitry’s expression was flat, even cold.
Surprisingly, the one more shocked by the words was Leonid.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
“Yes. I know exactly what I’m saying. I tied you up, so I’ll untie you. Of course, I still hate you enough to want you dead.”
Dmitry muttered, almost spitting the words out, then added a beat later.
“…I don’t think I can live after being abandoned by my sister.”
“Did Yekaterina abandon you?”
There was no answer. Only the hand gripping the bars.
“So… when you’re freed, please tell my sister about me, Duke.”
Though Leonid couldn’t see his face, it was clear that Dmitry was bowing his head. The voice was full of suppressed helplessness and regret.
At the time, Leonid couldn’t fully understand Dmitry’s attitude.
Not until Yekaterina came to see him.
— Leonid.
When Yekaterina, who had come to see him with Vasily, entered, everything clicked into place.
Now he understood why Dmitry had bowed his head and made the request.
If Leonid could feel one single sense of kinship with Dmitry, it would be the helplessness that came from loving something uncontrollable.
And tragically, Leonid had to feel it again as soon as he stepped out of the prison.
The expression on Leonid’s face, which had remained unmoved by Evgeny IV’s death, crumbled as soon as he heard that Yekaterina had disappeared.
“Yekaterina is gone? What is Vasily doing?!”
“If Yekaterina Offenbach decides to leave, how could Vasily possibly stop her?”
“Then why didn’t you tell me immediately? Damn it, I should have just been told the truth!”
Leonid hadn’t told Yekaterina about Dmitry, not fully trusting him, and now things had gone wrong. Although he hadn’t been completely unexpected, the sense of crisis was much stronger now that he had witnessed it.
“Calm down, Leonid. I’ve already notified the palace guards and ordered them to report to the palace.”
“Your Grace! Your Highness!”
Just as Leonid and Yuri were leaving the prison, hurried footsteps approached them.
