Please Kill Me - Chapter 50
The items before her were displayed by a merchant who had just arrived, marking the sixth visit of the day. And that’s just today.
‘Weren’t there eight visits yesterday?’
It was now the fourth day since the imperial messenger’s visit.
Yekaterina found herself having to view different goods and performances daily. This was due to Leonid inviting new people from Laosa Street every day.
“I can’t do much with my right arm injured, so might as well enjoy myself.”
Thanks to this, Yekaterina had experienced a lot of things in a few days.
She accumulated a wardrobe full of expensive and impractical clothes she’d normally only wear to tea parties or balls with Ludmilla. Enough jewelry to fill a large chest.
Not to mention the overflowing of unnecessary toys and dolls, and different performances awaited her after every dinner.
Truly, days of lavishness.
The problem was, Yekaterina didn’t seem to enjoy any of it.
‘Not a single reaction to anything,’ Leonid noted, observing Yekaterina under the guise of inspecting goods. She was impassively looking at a bear doll he had handed her, neither liking nor disliking it.
Her reaction was close to nothing, it felt almost as if giving the doll to a scarecrow might elicit more of a response.
In all situations, Yekaterina behaved this way. No matter the clothes or items presented.
– “The dress suits you very well, Yekaterina. What do you think?”
– “If you say it suits me, then it must.”
She would merely agree.
Fueled by spite, Leonid had bought loads of items, but even then, Yekaterina showed no reaction. It was much like when she watched Olga and Stepan bicker over her haircut. Her expression was unfathomable.
Perhaps the only time her expression changed was during meals. True to his command of the chef, Yekaterina often ate something.
She attended to three full meals a day, not to mention snacks between meals and tea time. The sight of her eating until her cheeks bulged didn’t resemble someone who had come to die.
Though the recipes had been altered, it was remarkable how she never seemed to tire of the duck served at every meal, always enjoying it thoroughly.
‘I wonder what’s really going on inside her.’
Leonid felt somewhat deflated.
Bringing merchants from Laosa Street had always been part of his plan. He had hoped to find something Yekaterina would enjoy. With its variety of goods, Laosa Street seemed the perfect place for that.
Considering Yekaterina was the only daughter of the Offenbach family, she must have been accustomed to all sorts of luxuries.
Yet, he hadn’t anticipated her lack of interest in anything they presented.
Leonid had gone to great lengths, arranging surveillance and ensuring Yekaterina couldn’t entertain any reckless ideas by summoning numerous people. But she continued as if nothing had changed since her arrival at the manor.
‘Is this really the person who was so adamant about going to battle?’
There had been changes since her arrival, one of which was that Yekaterina ended up sharing a bed with Leonid at night.
– “Are you sure this is okay, Your Grace?”
– “It’s a bet, after all. Let’s just consider it close surveillance.”
Perhaps it was for the best, given he was anxious about leaving Yekaterina alone at night. Thus, Leonid spent several nights closely monitoring her, ready to intervene at any sign of trouble.
But in the end,
‘Nothing happened.’
There were times he accidentally fell asleep during his vigil, only to wake up and find Yekaterina sleeping peacefully beside him, which only added to his sense of futility.
Meanwhile, Vasily had departed with his troop, and Yekaterina was blending into life at Rostislav more with each passing day.
In just a few days since her arrival, Yekaterina had already become quite close with the people of Rostislav. Leonid recalled the report Olga had given him that morning, primarily about Yekaterina’s strolls in the garden.
– “The Miss seems to really enjoy the garden. Honestly, I do too. It’s not easy to maintain such beauty without a single flower. Uncle Josip, despite his grumpy nature, has truly skilled hands. That’s probably why those two seemed so close.”
– “They appeared close?”
– “Yes. The Miss often takes walks, and it seems they’ve grown close through that. I get a mouthful of insults just for approaching, but I don’t understand how she managed to become friends with him.”
– “And why don’t you know? Have you been neglecting surveillance?”
– “No! I’ve always watched from a slight distance. The Miss said she feels uncomfortable with someone too close during her walks, so I only kept my distance then. I’ve been sticking close as much as I can.”
Olga frowned, expressing her frustration. It wasn’t for no reason; in just a few days, Olga looked noticeably worn out.
This was because Yekaterina would go to bed well past midnight and get up at dawn, likely a habit from her education in Offenbach.
