Please Kill Me - Chapter 63
It wasn’t just a dispute of opinions; it was a conversation to understand each other better.
It was the first time Yekaterina had shown curiosity about Leonid.
To Leonid, that alone made everything worthwhile. He believed that eventually, there would come a time when he wouldn’t need to watch over Yekaterina.
But what was the outcome?
Yekaterina had left, almost as if mocking Leonid’s considerations.
‘Was it all just an act?’
He had thought something had changed.
Did she ultimately not abandon that desperate resolve of hers and impulsively run off to the battlefield, not caring about herself or Rostislav?
His mind felt frozen cold, yet his stomach churned with rage.
It was clear what had to be done, regardless of his feelings. Yekaterina was the key to securing Yuri’s position as Emperor. He couldn’t just let her go.
Leonid’s hand that was resting on the desk, slowly clenched into a fist.
“Olga, saddle the horses.”
“Where are you headed?”
“To the imperial hunting grounds. Prepare two horses. You’re coming with me.”
“Me? Without bringing any knights?”
“We’re not sending reinforcements, so I can’t bring knights. Or have your skills rusted?”
“I guess I won’t die, at least. I’ll get ready.”
Olga smirked and exited.
Soon after, two horses left the Rostislav estate.
* * *
Leonid knew the path to the imperial hunting grounds well, having frequented it with Yuri since he had been staying at the palace.
‘But it’s so vast, finding her inside won’t be easy.’
Following mere sounds risked tracking animals or monsters instead, and tracing her movements seemed nearly impossible.
Fortunately, after entering the hunting grounds, signs of monster hunting were discovered.
“There are signs here too. I hope we don’t run into a search party.”
“If we don’t run into those Offenbach bastards, I’d be relieved.”
“Will we actually be able to find Yekaterina Offenbach?”
Yuri chimed in from his side. He had eagerly joined Leonid after he requested permission to enter the imperial hunting grounds.
Leonid responded with a humorless expression on his face.
“It’s not a question of if we can find her, but rather, we must find her. Offenbach might be here too.”
Given the potentially complicated situation, they needed to find her quickly.
“Let’s split up and search. Yuri, you go left. Olga, take the center. I’ll head right.”
“Understood, see you soon!”
“Let’s meet back safely.”
After Yuri and Olga disappeared in their respective directions, Leonid turned his horse.
Just a few moments into navigating through the trees, Leonid encountered something unexpected.
“…A horse?”
Indeed, it was a horse tied to a tree.
A horse tied alone in the hunting ground was unnatural.
If it were a search party, there would surely be several horses, not just one.
Moreover, the only item on the horse was a small bag.
“Sugar cubes?”
Approaching the horse to inspect, Leonid opened the bag, and a sweet scent wafted up.
Inside, several sugar cubes, worn round from jostling during the ride, confirmed it was Yekaterina’s doing.
‘She must be nearby.’
Finding her was easier than expected, though strangely, it wasn’t entirely a relief.
Leonid tied his horse next to the other and followed the footprints, his strides quick but his insides twisted with complexity.
The betrayal and anger he’d felt upon realizing Yekaterina had disappeared hadn’t subsided. Time had passed since then; he should have calmed down. But every time he thought of her, his rage flared anew.
Perhaps it was the image of Yekaterina’s dark eyes from the night before that haunted him, or perhaps he’d been too confident in taking his eyes off her.
Was his anger directed at his own foolishness, or at Yekaterina for deceiving him and leaving? It wasn’t clear. What was certain was that he wouldn’t find the answers until he saw Yekaterina’s face again.
So, he needed to find her quickly. As Leonid hurried on, a voice called out from somewhere.
“Leonid?”
The moment he heard the voice, he recognized it as Yekaterina’s. But in a forest crawling with monsters, could he be certain this wasn’t just another hallucination? Leonid drew his sword with his left hand and slowly approached the direction from which the voice had come.
Beyond the bushes, a small figure in a robe was faintly visible. The figure continued to mutter something as Leonid approached. But the voice was not as clear as when he first heard it, making it impossible to discern what was being said.
He could only recognize that it indeed was Yekaterina’s voice.
Throughout his approach, Leonid had to think of the possibility that this might be an illusion.
However, his suspicions dissolved the moment he saw the robed figure. Not because he saw the figure’s face.
