Please Kill Me - Chapter 194
Home. How could such a foreign and soft word feel so strange?
Even when she lived in Offenbach, Yekaterina never referred to it as home. Offenbach had been more of a last refuge, a place where she could be taken in, rather than a home.
When she lived in Rostislav, she never even considered calling the place home. Yet, unconsciously, she found herself thinking about it now.
If there were a place she could truly call home, maybe it would be this one. A place with a large bed where she didn’t have to curl up to sleep. A place where people cared for her, and it was okay to say, ‘I’m home.’
A few moments after they heard the sound of a tray dropping, people began appearing at the door. The first to enter was Vasily, followed by Olga.
“Miss!”
For some reason, they both looked as though they were about to burst into tears, rushing toward Yekaterina, just like Leonid had done.
In an instant, the room was filled with people, causing a stir.
“Miss is awake!”
“Do you remember us? Can you recognize us?”
“This isn’t the time for that! We need to make some food, something that will help her recover her strength!”
“Ah! Be careful! I’ll fall!”
Everyone was bustling about, each one trying to check if Yekaterina was okay, asking if she remembered them, or thinking of what to bring her.
The room became as crowded as a market square, and without realizing it, Yekaterina felt something welling up in her throat. It truly felt like she had come back.
* * *
“…So, my plan failed, but you were able to be freed.”
“In the end, it turned out well for everyone.”
Leonid lightly nodded.
It was already evening. They sat in the darkened study, holding tea cups.
Just a little while ago, Yekaterina had opened her eyes. She had eaten a bowl of Igor’s stew, taken a hot bath, and after Olga had dried her hair, she had eaten a snack that Igor had carefully prepared.
After hearing from the doctor that everything was fine, she was able to leave her bedroom.
It was then that she learned she had been asleep for an entire week, and heard about everything that had happened during that time.
Her plan had failed, and the consequence of that failure was her collapse. Had she been someone else, she would have died long ago. But because of the magic on her body, she had survived to this point.
“Could the family protection magic not block the high-density magic?”
“After all, it must have been magic as well.”
He didn’t know all the details, but he could make an educated guess: Since it utilized magic energy, blocking such high-density magic would have been impossible.
Because of the protective magic, Yekaterina had survived, and during her sleep, the magic that had been damaged by the high-density magical energy had been restored.
“If I were going to die there, I would have considered starvation as the way out, but that would be a much more merciful death.”
Yekaterina nodded her head lightly. But as she spoke, she noticed the expression of the man sitting beside her stiffening.
“You… still speak of death so easily.”
The world was very hard when you were bedridden. His voice sank low.
It had been difficult for him to cope without Yekaterina.
“I thought it would be better if I died rather than you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I have nothing, but you are a Duke, and there are many who follow you. There’s Prince… Emperor Yuri..”
Even if Leonid had nothing, the scales would have tipped in his favor.
“Above all, if it’s not you, I would have no place in this world.”
If you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have had any reason to stand here. I’m too old to love this world. But because of you, I thought I could live just a little longer. Isn’t it right to save you?
“You have a lot of things you like.”
“Yes. But the problem is, without you, they all lose their meaning.”
“People forget quickly. Everything is fleeting—”
Leonid furrowed his brows, taking Yekaterina’s hand in his.
“Stop, Yekaterina. It’s not because I want to keep you as a memory of the past. That’s not why I’m doing this.”
“…But.”
“If something like this happens again, I know you’d throw your life away again. I don’t want that. Are you asking me to step on the ashes of your burnt body and live on?”
To live a miserable life by sacrificing Yekaterina—what kind of hell would that be?
Leonid stayed by Yekaterina’s side, watching her as she slept like death, and he thought endlessly.
‘Why did you make that choice?’
Was it because you wanted to leave me behind? Or was it out of guilt? Did you think I could live without you?
Every time you close your eyes or turn away, it feels like my heart sinks.
I can’t sleep properly, afraid that while I blink, you might leave me forever…
