Please Kill Me - Chapter 199
With an unexpected guest in tow.
When Yekaterina left, she had disappeared without a word, but now she returned in a black carriage with a red snake emblem, marking her return in a way that no one had expected.
The servants of Rostislav were startled by the ominous-looking carriage, one they had never seen before, but they hesitated to speak because Yekaterina, usually so expressionless, seemed oddly pleased.
‘That silver-haired young man is Miss’s brother…?’
‘They really do look alike… It’s hard to deny they’re siblings.’
‘But doesn’t he look a little more intimidating?’
The silver-haired young man, who was supposedly Yekaterina’s brother, didn’t smile at all, except when he was facing her. Perhaps that’s why he seemed so intimidating.
The servants, watching from a distance, slowly started to look to Leonid for guidance. When something was too difficult to handle, it was often the higher-ups who could help resolve it.
Leonid was soon called, and as he glanced between Yekaterina and Dmitry, he smiled without showing any surprise.
“Come on in. We can talk inside.”
It was a smile that seemed to say, ‘I knew this was coming.’
* * *
Dmitry bowed his head to Leonid, apologized several times, and only after changing the way he addressed him to ‘Older Brother-in-law’ could he leave the reception room.
“Next time, you should come visit me in Rostislav.”
“If I get the chance, I will. …Older Brother-in-law.”
Dmitry clenched his fist and then relaxed it as he answered.
Of course, Leonid saw the movement clearly, but Yekaterina, standing next to Dmitry, didn’t notice anything.
She was just proud to see the two people she cared for standing side by side, her eyes shining the whole time.
“Being together like this really feels like family. It’s so nice.”
If anyone else had seen her, they might have thought, ‘Is that supposed to be a happy expression?’
Her tone was flat and monotonous, and her face was equally expressionless.
But to those who held her life dear, the satisfaction and affection behind her words and face were more clearly felt than ever before.
“I hope now that Dmitry has apologized, you two can get along well.”
“Of course. We’re good now, right, brother-in-law?”
“Yes, yes, Older Brother is right.”
When Leonid put his arm around Dmitry’s shoulder, Dmitry gritted his teeth and replied.
‘I have to hold back. I have to hold back…’
‘I can’t speak my mind because Yekaterina looks so happy.’
Leonid didn’t feel much affection for the man who had tried to kill him multiple times, but he could see that Yekaterina was really happy.
She was someone who had longed for a life with a normal, happy family.
So the two of them, pretending to get along in front of Yekaterina, even ended up serving each other food from their plates.
Of course, they didn’t serve each other’s favorite foods.
“Brother-in-law, try these cherry tomatoes. They’re really delicious.”
“The spices here pair wonderfully with the fish, you should try them, Older Brother-in-law.”
“Ha ha, thank you.”
‘That damn bastard.’
‘Just shut up and eat. Don’t ruin the mood.’
It was unclear how he knew that Leonid didn’t like strongly flavored food.
Every time he bit into the fish, Dmitry could feel his jaw tighten. With each burst of the cherry tomato, he had to swallow the curses that rose up with it, along with the tomato itself.
The only ones unaware of the tension in the room were Yekaterina and the cook Igor, who were enjoying the meal with genuine delight.
“Dmitry, I thought you didn’t like cherry tomatoes. Looks like you’ve overcome your picky eating. Good to see!”
“The fact that you’re eating so much seafood stew, Your Grace… I’ll definitely have to bring this dish to the table tomorrow too!”
It was truly a case of conflicting dreams.
* * *
Even now, sometimes, when she closed her eyes, memories would flood back.
A vast expanse of snow with ice-like butterfly fragments scattered across it.
The faint light gradually brightens the sky.
It was a memory of such blinding beauty that nothing about the scene suggested a battlefield.
It was the memory of a day when she had shed tears, when she had abandoned the last of her humanity.
Yekaterina could still clearly recall the feeling from that moment.
They say that when faced with an utterly unreal situation, the mind freezes.
There were emotions that any human being should feel—fear, sadness, or the joy of encountering something beautiful.
But at that moment, she felt nothing. No sadness, no fear.
It was strange. Every night she would feel a crushing sorrow, as if someone had struck her across the back of the head, leaving her pillow damp with tears. When she held the knife, the cruel images of slaughter would flood her mind, leaving her mouth dry with fear.
But in that moment, in the face of that breathtaking scene, all Yekaterina could think was:
“Beautiful.”
It was an empty appreciation.
It felt as if her limbs had frozen from the brilliance of it all. She couldn’t even twitch a finger.
There was something she felt, certainly. But how could she describe it?
That hollow, cold feeling, as if a fierce north wind was blasting through her chest, leaving her heart hollow and exposed.
That deep loneliness she felt when faced with the breathtaking beauty of the scene before her.
It was strange. She should have been grieving the death of her comrades, terrified that she might end up like them.
But at that moment, all Yekaterina could feel was:
Just….
‘I’m still alive.’
It was just the rhythmic pounding of her own heartbeat amid the cold.
The wind howled, brushing through her hair. The butterfly swarm soared toward the sky, chasing the sunlight. Things she could never have felt if everyone had died.
With the realization came a sense of relief.
The feeling of being alive, leaving behind those she had brought with her to die.
It was shameless beyond measure.
