Please Kill Me - Chapter 3
Sergei, as if mocking, delivered his words.
“Black eyes. It’s a sign of inheriting the magic of Offenbach. It serves as the mark of the head of the family and, at the same time, a protective spell. Originally, it was a magic Dmitry had to cast on himself during the family’s succession ceremony, a magic that works only once in a generation.”
Snap! Sergei violently seized Yekaterina’s hair as if about to pull it out.
“Whatever trick you used, it seems you intercepted it. And then, whether due to the side effects of the magic or whatever, you conveniently forgot even that fact. Do you think this makes sense? You, a mere adopted child, bearing the mark?”
Nonsense. Muttering as if to himself, Sergei threw Yekaterina’s hair as if shaking off something filthy.
However, his grip was so brutal that Yekaterina’s body slumped weakly.
Sergei shook his hand, adding, “The sole reason you must die is that one thing—committing the sin of daring to covet Dmitry’s possession without understanding a thing about it.”
Filth. Leaving these words behind, Sergei, along with his subordinates, departed from the underground prison where they confined the monsters.
The cold footsteps and the harsh clang of the closing door.
Only when the silence settled did Yekaterina truly comprehend everything.
It felt like finding the missing piece of a puzzle that had been out of place all along.
‘So that’s what it was.’
The reason Sergei always had a certain expression when looking at her.
His attitude, as if observing a thief. And even the reason she had to die. Everything was explained.
Yekaterina’s self-imposed taboo: not to desire anything.
To protect that, Yekaterina struggled all her life, but in reality, she was someone who had violated the taboo from the beginning.
Therefore, she couldn’t be loved. Her life could only be an effort to die.
When she realized this fact a while ago, unlike before, there were no tears. She wasn’t angry, sad, or resentful. She had lived as an emotionless doll until the age of twenty-five, forgetting even how to get angry.
Tears, along with innocent laughter, were sealed and thrown away during her childhood. All resentments and sorrows were put to use as firewood.
On the threshold of death, Yekaterina realized.
I am an empty shell.
In the end, Yekaterina collapsed to the floor with a thud. Unconsciously, she tried to clench her hand, but nothing could be grasped. Just a feeling of emptiness.
Moonlight permeated the underground prison. The emptiness that used to make young Yekaterina cry every night came deep into her soul, and the coldness of the stone floor gradually disappeared.
Sergei called it another failure, but Yekaterina could vaguely feel it this time.
This time, it’s death.
There was no thought of fear or sadness. The fact that the long-lasting pain was ending was just welcome.
Death is said to be eternal rest, isn’t it?
Yekaterina closed her eyes sweetly. She bravely embraced the approaching death. Now she could finally rest.
“Have you awakened, Miss?”
However, when she opened her eyes, Yekaterina’s rest disappeared.
* * *
Is this real?
Yekaterina sat on the bed, pondering her thoughts. It took quite a bit of time from the moment she opened her eyes until she realized that she had returned to the past.
When Yekaterina asked about the situation the maids openly showed strange glances, and only then could she somewhat gather her confusion.
The information she gathered was simple.
Yekaterina is now twenty-four, today is the fourth day of winter in the current year. The place she’s in is not the underground prison of the Offenbach estate, but the Offenbach Mansion in the capital.
In summary, it can be put this way: She had returned to the winter a year before her death.
It’s still hard to believe, but it felt too vivid to be just a dream. Just to be sure, she discreetly pinched her thigh, and the pain was there.
It’s truly unbelievable, but she has returned to the past.
The reason is not clear, but there’s a guess.
‘The family’s protective magic.’
Despite not knowing the details, it seemed like she returned to the past because of this protective magic. Magic is the only thing that can create such unrealistic events, and magic has long been lost except for a few ancient artifacts.
Now, one thing is certain: she has returned to the past.
And the first emotion she felt upon realizing this fact was ironically,
‘I thought I could finally rest. It’s disappointing.’
For Yekaterina, who was an empty shell, death was not despairing. It was closer to eternal rest. Since she had nothing to wish for, life itself had no meaning.
The only thing she could consider as a wish was becoming a proud member of the Offenbach family.
‘However, that was no longer possible, I had stolen the protective magic and mark intended for Dmitry….’
Is it the aftermath of dying and coming back to life? As she thought about the protective magic, memories that didn’t occur to her in her past life briefly passed through her mind.
For example, young Dmitry holding her hand and laughing brightly, or the reason he could laugh so brightly.
– “Sister, I found something good for you. With this, you won’t have to suffer anymore.”
– “But I’m not sure if I should accept something like this. It might be more appropriate for you.”
– “No, I’m strong enough even without something like this. What I need is a sister who seems like she’ll die soon even if left alone.”
Perhaps this was the moment Sergei mentioned, when Yekaterina intercepted the protective magic.
