Please Kill Me - Chapter 94
‘Is it because they don’t trust me?’
Just moments ago, Yuri had mentioned that Offenbach is ruthless with traitors. If it is considered so dangerous that they must abandon a card they have, there is only one plausible explanation.
They doubt Yekaterina’s loyalty, so they are excluding her.
It was a reasonable suspicion. Who didn’t know about the animosity between Rostislav and Offenbach? But wasn’t it Leonid who had stopped Yekaterina from leaving and insisted she stay at the mansion?
And now they doubt her? It seemed unnatural.
‘Or maybe it’s because of that conversation yesterday?’
It made more sense to assume that some event had occurred to cause a change of heart.
When Yekaterina couldn’t answer Leonid’s question, he became angry. He turned his back on her and kept his distance up until he left for the hunting grounds. He barely acknowledged her, just looking away.
Remembering his attitude, she felt as if the missing link in a chain had finally been found. If Leonid had decided to ignore her because of their conversation, then excluding her from the plan seemed a logical next step.
‘But they still intend to use me in some other way, right?’
Yekaterina was not well-versed in Offenbach’s external affairs. However, she knew well enough that the long-standing rivalry between Rostislav and Offenbach was exacerbated by the current conflict for the throne between the first and second princes.
‘How could I not know?’
In her previous life, she first met Leonid during the failed assassination attempt on the first prince amidst the throne dispute. Leonid was determined to secure victory for Yuri Oleg, the first prince. She had always wondered why he hadn’t tried to leverage anything from her.
But now she knew they had a plan to use her, and oddly enough, she felt relieved.
‘If not at the hunting party, then somewhere else they plan to use me.’
If they had no intention of using her, it would be one thing, but anyone willing to use someone like Yekaterina would not easily discard such an asset.
Leonid had said that Yekaterina was no longer valuable as a pawn, but she was far from ordinary. She was a significant force on her own and she was willing to risk her life without hesitation.
Her potential for use was endless.
Yekaterina was convinced that Leonid would subtly approach her again with a plan to use her, just as he had when he suggested she attend the hunting party.
‘Leonid isn’t a fool.’
So, she decided to pretend she hadn’t overheard their conversation. Normally, Yekaterina would address matters directly, but this time she chose to wait.
This was partly because their last conversation had ended with the sentiment, ‘Talking with you is meaningless,’ and also due to Leonid’s behavior that morning.
He was furious that he acted as if he was determined not to exchange a single word with her, likely.
So, Yekaterina pretended she had heard nothing and walked away. She continued to feign ignorance and waited patiently until they met again and returned to the Rostislav mansion.
Waiting was one of the easiest commands to follow, and she had no trouble with it.
After they returned to the Rostislav mansion from the imperial palace, small changes began to occur around Yekaterina while she waited for Leonid.
The first change was that gardener Josip noticed new shoots sprouting from the bulbs he had planted.
“Miss, look at this! They’ve finally sprouted! Maybe it’s because I covered them with straw like you said!”
In other words, enough time had passed since Yekaterina’s return for the bulbs to sprout, but regardless, Josip was overjoyed to see the seeds he usually froze to death finally growing. He was so moved that he nearly cried.
If Olga hadn’t glared at him, he might have lifted Yekaterina onto his broad shoulders in celebration.
The second change was in Vasily’s attitude. The stubborn knight, who was as rigid as iron, came to Yekaterina as soon as the incident with the hunting grounds’ search team was resolved and bowed his head to her.
“It’s a bit late to greet you. But I also wanted to express my gratitude once again for saving my life and the lives of the other knights. And also…”
“And also?”
“I now believe that you were right.”
Yekaterina had once told him that only those who survive have the right to be called better people. Back then, Vasily had felt that her words had tarnished his pride in Rostislav.
“But now I understand. No value can come before survival.”
They don’t become a better person to survive; they survive to have the chance to become a better person. Only those who stay alive can achieve anything at all.
Yekaterina looked at his resolute face for a moment before answering.
“So, it wasn’t in vain to save you.”
“Still, I cannot agree with the ways of the Offenbachs. Such… brutal… results-oriented methods.”
