Please Kill Me - Chapter 72
The beloved dog died, the family of a close maid met a sudden demise, cherished teacups shattered into pieces, and even the fish in her frequently visited pond floated up dead.
If these troubles had directly affected Larisa herself, perhaps they would have been thoroughly investigated. However, all these incidents were happening around her—most of them seemingly trivial and not worth investigating individually.
Yet, when these misfortunes accumulate, they can drive a person mad.
Larisa became someone who could cherish nothing, unable to show fondness or even shift her gaze for fear of causing harm.
So when Larisa gave birth to Yuri, she handed the baby over to a nanny without ever holding him. Despite the fragility caused by multiple miscarriages, she distanced herself from her child.
Amidst all this, there was one thing she couldn’t let go of—her older sister Marina Oleg Rostislav.
Leonid’s mother and Duchess Rostislav at the time.
Out of love for her younger sister, she left the castle of Rostislav with her husband to return to their mansion in the capital.
Larisa rushed to see her sister, and the very next day, an unprecedented fire broke out at the mansion.
There was one casualty in the fire—Marina’s husband, Duke Rostislav.
As with most fires, this one started from a small spark.
A clumsy maid left a room unattended so sparks grew. Had it been discovered earlier, it might have ended with minimal damage even without burning a single piece of furniture. Unfortunately, it was deep into the night.
Unnoticed, the fire grew uncontrollably and by the time it was discovered, it had grown as much as it could. It engulfed the entire mansion.
The official casualty was one, but the victims were countless, including Marina, who survived with severe burns.
– “My husband… My husband is still inside… Uh, uh, let go! My husband is there!”
Duke Rostislav died trying to save his wife.
Marina was aware that her husband had stayed behind in the flames instead of her. A fact that incessantly tightened its grip around her surviving breath.
If she had been physically unscathed, perhaps she could have coped better. However, Marina, whose body was severely burned, lacked the strength to overcome her guilt. Broken by self-blame, she became nearly deranged.
Eventually, Marina could not survive the year and passed away.
This incident lit a fuse under the already precarious mental state of Larisa.
The feelings of guilt were passed down.
– “I thought my sister would be okay, but how could she, at Rostislav… It’s all my fault… because of me…”
The fire at the Rostislav mansion was truly an accident. Accidents that snatch lives away are a well-repeated tale in human history. It’s just that this tragic accident seemed like a malicious hand choking the life out of those already plagued by misfortune.
In fact, most of the misfortunes occurring around Larisa had been orchestrated by Empress Irina Pavel, a person driven by a strong desire for power who would not leave Larisa unscathed as she was a threat to her power.
That’s why Larisa clung to Marina, who was not just anyone but the Madam of Rostislav, belonging to one of the central noble families that even the Emperor could not easily influence.
Larisa had reasoned that even if Irina wreaked havoc around her, she would not dare touch Marina.
Ultimately, this reasoning wasn’t wrong. The fire had nothing to do with Irina.
It wasn’t a blaze started in the palace, but one caused by a maid who had followed her mistress from the Rostislav main house and accidentally let a spark ignite. It was not a situation where Irina could have had influence, nor did she have the time to extend her reach.
Thus, the tragic incident involving the previous Duke and Duchess Rostislav was nothing more than horrendous bad luck.
However, witnessing even small coincidences, Larisa perceived this differently. The Queen eventually went mad, and her son, now without a mother’s care, was sent to live with his maternal family, the Olegs.
There, he found a companion of similar fate.
Leonid Rostislav was forced to leave his parents’ home and go to his maternal family due to a family incident.
Ironically, it was only after being sent away from their parents’ arms that the two cousins met for the first time. Sharing similar experiences of pain, they naturally understood each other well.
That was the reason Leonid often found himself concerned about an aunt he barely knew. Yuri was fully aware of this fact.
He sensed the conversation becoming too heavy and quickly changed the subject.
“Mother sleeping is probably for the best, but you don’t need to worry about her right now. What really happened to you, Leonid? What’s this about the forest?”
“….What happened? If you mean in the forest, nothing much. We encountered a high-grade monster, and we dealt with it. That’s all.”
Leonid’s explanation was brief. However, Yuri’s expression suggested he found Leonid’s explanation unsatisfactory, much like someone watching a child clumsily attempt to explain away a broken vase.
Leonid frowned.
“…..Why are you looking at me like that?”
