Chapter 14

Since she never sat at the table at home, the only time Ekaterina sat down at the table, dressed in nice clothes, was when she was attending other family parties with her mother, Ludmila.

-Long time no see, Mrs Offenbach. How is your son doing?

– Oh, he’s all right. He changed his swordsmanship this time, and his skills improved. He became so tall that I look up at him now.

-You must be really proud of having a good son, madam. I’m looking forward to meeting him at the next party.

Ludmila’s ‘children’ should include both Dmitry and Ekaterina, but of course the two were talking only about Dmitry.

This was despite knowing that Ekaterina was the eldest daughter of Offenbach externally.

The people who flocked to Ludmila were so busy just talking to her, they had no time to notice the existence of Ekaterina.

Of those many, not one cared for her. It was an innocent indifference.

Like a shadow outside, Ekaterina used to look down at the empty plate without touching the food, and came back with Ludmila. Because that was her job.

She never had any regrets about that. She’ve never felt sadness.

Those are the stories of when she was too young.

Still, if I  listen to Leonid… … .

“Do you like the plate?”

Her thoughts were shattered by the sudden sound of a voice. Ekaterina looked up, quickly swishing like a rabbit’s feet.

And faced the duke, who was staring at her in a strangely motionless way.

There was no smile on his face. Considering that his voice was always soft, his face was hard and cold enough to be a little puzzled.

But it was very fleeting. When Ekaterina’s eyes met, Leonid immediately smiled faintly.

‘Was it an illusion?’

There was no way to check. Before she could ponder her doubts, Leonid continued.

“I bought it for a lot of money. I heard that it was made of hard-to-find soil.”

Obviously, the plate was soft and light, but firm. Moreover, the understated and elegant design proudly announced that it was created by the hands of a craftsman. Ekaterina asked, staring at Leonid as much as a plate.

“Are you the type of person who enjoys showing off your wealth?”

“To show off what is not is poisonous, but to show what is there is not a fault.” 

“One of Offenbach’s virtues is humility. It seems that Rostislav does not have it.”

“Unnecessary humility could eat your flesh. I guess Offenbach doesn’t teach that, doesn’t it?”

At Leonid’s reply, Ekaterina wanted to stare at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze again and turned to the plate.

He didn’t miss a moment. Leonid leaned forward and lightly supported Ekaterina’s cheek and chin.

Thanks to that, Ekaterina’s head was lifted and their eyes met. Leonid’s straight lips parted loosely from Ekaterina’s face.

“And, when talking, you have to make eye contact with the person you are talking to.”

“… … .”

Ekaterina’s almond-like eyes widened. Obsidian-like black eyes were revealed with nowhere to hide.

A strange sense of satisfaction filled Leonid’s chest. He asked with a smile without realizing it.

“Didn’t you teach me this too?”

He thought that if he asked this question, she would definitely look at himself again.

“… … You have short nails.”

What came back was an odd answer. Ekaterina’s gaze suddenly tilted to an oblique angle and looked at Leonid’s arm.

It was a sudden and blatant change of topic, but there was no reason to refuse. Leonid bit the hand that was supporting his head and looked at his nails.

“I am not good at growing my nails. Nails are thin and sharp, so they are often accidentally cut when grown. It also breaks well. It would be more convenient to just keep it short.”

“Do you ever grow your nails?”

“well. When I’m on the battlefield, I tend to keep it longer than now. Maybe I don’t have much time to worry about things like that. Likewise, if I have a busy job, it will be a little long. I can’t think of anything other than that because I don’t take care of it in particular.”

“i See.”

“Why are you suddenly interested in my nails?”

There was no reply from Ekaterina.

She always changed the topic at will and cut off conversations whenever she wanted. He didn’t know the former, but the latter was not very sociable. Ekaterina herself knew.

But this time, she was also innocent. How the hell can you answer that?

‘I met you in my last life, and at that time your nails were long.’ so she asked

Even a Leonid with a very smooth tongue would not have said that.

When Leonid’s hand supported her head a while ago, Ekaterina inevitably recalled what happened at the interrogation room.

Until Leonid’s hand lifted her face, and his fingernails wounded her.

Thanks to this, Ekaterina, without realizing it, thought that the events of that day would be repeated. I expected a little.

She thought that Leonid’s nails might hurt her again. If she pointed out the wounds he had inflicted without his knowledge, would Leonid withdraw his hand in astonishment as he did back then? But that wasn’t what Ekaterina cared about now.

It is said that Leonid had injured one of his hands now, but if he could hurt Ekaterina even in that condition, there would be no reason to wait until his hand was healed.

However, despite expectations, Leonid’s nails were short, so there was no way to confirm it in this way.

‘He must have been busy back then.’

A lot of regret followed.

It wasn’t very long. It was because Leonid broke the silence for not long.

“Anyway. I don’t know what Offenbach’s standard is, but this is Rostislav, so even if there’s a food eater, it’s not a big deal. Do you understand? Don’t worry about it, just be comfortable in the joint residence.”

“You will kill me when your hands are healed, right?”

“Of course.”

Leonid lied without even blinking an eye.

Of course, Ekaterina did not completely trust his words. But she didn’t care. In fact, whether or not what Leonid said was true had nothing to do with Ekaterina.

‘It’s okay to lie.’

If Leonid refused to kill her, Ekaterina would rush to kill him. Because the dagger was still tied to her thigh.

That was the plan from the beginning.

If Leonid had said in their first meeting that he wouldn’t do it, Ekaterina would have pulled out a knife from her thigh right away.

Then there would be a battle that would not end until one of them died, and of course the winner would be Leonid.

And she will be able to get the rest she has longed for.

It was because of such calculations that Ekaterina passed over Leonid’s sophistry that he could not use his left hand because he had injured his right hand.

‘Let’s live a few more months.’

Until that man’s hand gets better and he can fight on an equal footing with me.

But if it turns out that Leonid can hurt Ekaterina even as it is now.

‘then… … .’

Rest is not that far away.

Ekaterina thought as she took a sip of the wine. Unsweetened wine was not as tasty as expected.

If she had tasted the wines of Offenbach, she would have been able to compare them, but unfortunately she never tasted wines from Offenbach.

How did Leonid drink this bitterly? Is that also a characteristic of Rostislav?

Ekaterina put the question straight into words. There was no reason to swallow the question in her throat in front of him. As the Duchy of Rostislav, it was enough for her to pass on a meal and a few months’ time.

“Some wine,”

And, she just stopped talking.

It was because the sense of movement, which had been trained, was so sharp that it was like a scratch on Ekaterina’s cheek for a moment.

Is it a sense of alienation from being in an unfamiliar environment? Or is it a misunderstanding due to drinking?

Ekaterina turned to Leonid. He already had a face that didn’t notice whether Ekaterina was off.

“Wine, why?”

“… … Where is the window open?”

“well. I wouldn’t have opened it because there is heating in this area. Is it cold?”

Ekaterina lifted her head and glanced up, then put the wine glass to her lips again.

“No, it’s okay. The wine doesn’t taste as good as I thought.”

“You said you were going to have a bit of a taste. If you are not used to alcohol, drink something else.”

“I can get used to it from now on.”

Ekaterina shed Leonid’s words lightly and averted her eyes. Her cold gaze scanned the dim hallway outside the dining room.

for a while too. The meal was soon over.

Ekaterina left the room only after she emptied her glass.