Please Kill Me - Chapter 81
Instead of giving an opinion, Yekaterina had stated her stance. A stance is not the same as an opinion. Now, with the truth clear, Leonid could deduce what she meant: she wanted to stay in the palace.
As this realization dawned, Leonid’s expression grew more serious.
“Yekaterina, there’s a difference between keeping your word and only answering questions you can keep.”
“The outcome is the same, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Then what do you think about this situation?”
“What situation?”
“Yuri’s request. Do you want to stay in the palace a little longer?”
At Leonid’s question, Yekaterina raised an eyebrow slightly.
“I don’t see why you’re asking for my opinion. I’ve already left the decision to you.”
“I’m curious, that’s why. Can’t you just answer?”
“I’m criticizing because it’s unnecessary.”
“It’s necessary for me. Or you could at least tell me what happened between you and my aunt—”
“The Queen called me ‘Marina.'”
Yekaterina’s words fell sharply, like a needle dropping, and that needle struck Leonid’s heart.
“Marina? You mean—”
“She mentioned it herself. She said the former Duchess Rostislav.”
Leonid’s brows furrowed.
“You saw it too. When Her Highness lost her senses again, she clung to me. For some reason, when she loses her mind, she seems to mistake me for your mother.”
“…”
“So I heard her talk. The Queen spoke about their memories and cried, asking for forgiveness. That’s all. I didn’t help her regain her senses.”
“Now that you mention it, you were wearing a gown earlier.”
“Yes.”
“My mother preferred gowns over indoor clothes when she was indoors. So in my aunt’s memories, she must have been wearing a gown.”
“Is that all it is?”
Leonid’s expression stiffened slightly at Yekaterina’s question.
“…And she had silver hair.”
“Ah.”
Silver hair wasn’t uncommon in the Ethiel Empire. If Marina also had silver hair, it made sense that the delirious Queen would mistake Yekaterina for Marina.
“Then I should inform Prince Yuri that bringing a silver-haired woman in a gown might help.”
“Do you think Yuri asked you to stay because he didn’t know that?”
Larisa’s search for Marina had been ongoing for a long time. Yuri had already tried bringing in look-alikes to help restore Larisa’s sanity, including silver-haired women in gowns.
“No matter which silver-haired woman he brought, my aunt never mistook them. But with you, she does.”
Yekaterina simply looked at Leonid before asking.
“Does that bother you?”
“…Why do you ask?”
“Your expression looks unpleasant.”
Their gazes locked. Yekaterina, barely reaching Leonid’s shoulder, stared at him with her dark eyes. The shadows of her eyelashes cast long lines on her cheeks, and her doll-like features seemed unusually distinct.
“That’s why I thought maybe you were upset.”
“…There’s no reason for me to be pleased. I did refuse Yuri’s request.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what?”
“You avoid talking about your mother, don’t you?”
Yekaterina’s words cut off as Leonid’s face turned grim.
He could have easily denied it, yet he didn’t. Yekaterina had hit a nerve.
“…How did you know?”
“I’m surprised you thought I wouldn’t notice.”
Yekaterina’s calm demeanor showed that she wasn’t startled by his reaction. It was only natural for her to be perceptive, a skill necessary for survival in Offenbach.
Leonid had already given away several clues about his reluctance to discuss his mother.
– My father died instantly. My mother… never mind, why are you asking about this?
Their awkward conversation the night before he left.
– The Queen called me ‘Marina.’
– Marina?
– She mentioned it herself. She said the former Duchess Rostislav.
Every mention of ‘Marina’ had caused discord in their conversations. From Yekaterina’s perspective, it would have been strange not to notice.
And when her curiosity about Marina was finally satisfied, Yekaterina felt a sense of clarity as if pieces of a puzzle within her had come together.
Leonid’s amber eyes that she encountered every time she turned her head, the way he seemed to have something simmering beneath the surface when he looked at her, even the voice that had once sounded almost pleading:
– Do you not see me at all?
These things had always puzzled her. She never delved deeply into these thoughts, but the questions lingered.
Why does he hold onto me when he doesn’t understand me? Why does he, without hiding his own discomfort, put the robe over my shoulders?
Is it because he likes me? Or is it just his nature?
Now, she felt she had found the answer.
“Leonid, I have a question.”
Yekaterina reached out and took Leonid’s hand.
But it didn’t feel like it did in the forest. It wasn’t confusing, and the thought that she would eventually have to let go of his hand didn’t scare her.
