Chapter 15

The time when the moon rose high above the duchy of Rostislav.

Leonid still hasn’t slept through the night.

The reason was simple. It was because of what happened today, and it’s because he needed time to sort things out.

From a visit to the Imperial Palace due to a struggle for succession, to a woman who suddenly appeared in his office.

Ekaterina was obviously a good hand, but she was also difficult to deal with in many ways.

If he wants to use her to create a feud between the families, the time allotted is only one to two months.

‘In the meantime, if Offenbach finds out about Ekaterina’s existence here, it becomes difficult.’

If Offenbach finds out that Leonid is with Ekaterina, they’ll definitely try to take her away before he even causes trouble.

In the end, the key to the plan to use Ekaterina was how well he could hide Ekaterina.

The deadline has already been set.

‘The hunting party in a month.’

It is the most appropriate event to lay a fuse. It was also suitable as an excuse to flirt with Ekaterina.

The hunting ground is a place where you are free to use your sword, so if you go around in a way that you will kill them there, you will be able to make an appointment without any awkwardness.

So, until then, there seemed to be nothing to worry about if he could not tell Ekaterina of his lies and only her existence.

But if there is one thing that bothers him, would it be that of the woman herself, who doesn’t have common sense ?

‘Because I’m begging you to kill me right now.’

But who knows if she will change her mind and want to live again as time goes by.

Leonid had no intention of complying with her request.

He doesn’t know if the reason for the death is certain, but no one would be willing to do so when asked to die in such a reckless way.

There is nothing more precious than life. At least Leonid thought so.

So, Leonid was willing to help Ekaterina change her desire to die while she was with Rostislav.

To make sure Ekaterina stays in the mansion without bouncing around.

And to relieve the feeling of debt for Ekaterina.

She said she doesn’t like anything, so finding one that she likes would not be a bad plan.

‘I want to inform Ekaterina of the plan as well.’

If that happens, he doesn’t know how she will come out. If  he talks about the hunting party in a month, she might notice that the bandages are just camouflage. In that case, the possibility that Ekaterina would immediately pull out her weapon cannot be overlooked.

Thanks to this, Leonid was in a situation where he had to keep telling lies that did not fit his aptitude. His heart was very heavy, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.

No matter how concerned he is for Ekaterina, he couldn’t miss the golden opportunity that came to him in a difficult situation.

‘Tomorrow, I must go to the Imperial Palace once.’

“… … .”

Leonid slowly closed his eyes and opened them, clasping his hands open and vainly once. It was a common habit to come out when he felt uncomfortable in his stomach.

It seems that it will be difficult to go out for a while to hide Ekaterina in the mansion, so he thought he would have to meet the first prince Yuri tomorrow.

Finally, when his mind was in order, one beat later, the exhaustion began to push Leonid’s body down on the bed. Leonid was lying flat on his back and lowered his eyelids.

The moment when his last remaining thoughts were about to be washed away.

A breathless presence touched his sharp senses. Also  it was very close.

Sleep was further away in an instant.

Leonid jumped out of bed and got up.

“Who are you?”

“Shh.”

A small hand covered his mouth.

With an excessively timid voice, small hands.

It wasn’t difficult to guess who the intruder was.

“Ekaterina?”

“Be quiet.”

There was no denial. It really was Ekaterina.

She must have had a good dinner and went back to the guest room, but why is she here?

After a series of astonishment and bewilderment, the strongest hypothesis floated through Leonid’s head.

“Maybe the purpose of your coming to me is-”

“I told you to be quiet.”

Ekaterina covered Leonid’s mouth again. It was so strong that it was hard to believe that it came from such a small body.

‘What kind of power is this?’

It felt enough to be able to compete equally with Vasily at this level. Of course, it was never to the extent that Leonid couldn’t resist.

The problem is that Leonid has to pretend to have injured one arm.

It was a mistake to think only of tricking Ekaterina right now and not taking into account the possibility that she might attack him in the middle of the night.

In the end, Leonid obediently closed his mouth and rolled his eyes.

‘I don’t think she came to attack.’

Every moment they met, he felt like his backbone was being pulled.

Whether she knew Leonid’s feelings or not, Ekaterina gave orders with an expressionless face as usual.

“Lie down.”

“What if I  don’t like it?”

Again, that face.

Leonid frowned.

Usually, it is possible to make an impression when the answer to set the bar is returned, but Ekaterina simply keeps her eyes closed with an expressionless expression. Watching those dark, emotionless eyes staring at him softly, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

But that was also for a while.

Ekaterina wanted to shift her gaze to the window, but this time, instead of covering Leonid’s mouth, she grabbed hold of Leonid’s shoulders.

“Be stubborn in moderation.”

And the next moment, Leonid just fell on the bed.

Ekaterina, carrying weight on his body, knocked him down.

‘I don’t know what’s going on with this.’

He tried to get along in moderation, but I thought he would be threatened if he did this. Either his innocence or his life, at least one thing.

To put it bluntly, it’s a situation where you’ve been attacked by a member of the enemy’s family, but don’t you think it’s more like a joke than a sense of crisis?

‘I wonder if being insane is contagious.’

Leonid sighed as he thought of such a funny thought. Then he wrapped his right arm around Catherine’s waist, who had climbed on top, and turned her body over.

Thanks to this, the attitude was reversed.

When Leonid supported his body with his intact left arm to widen the distance between them even a little, the figure of the two of them in the dark became the perfect posture for the night.

However, even in this situation, Ekaterina did not respond much.

Just looking up at Leonid with those black eyes, she turned her head towards the window next to the bed.

It is the calmness that makes it hard to think that she was the first to attack Leonid, who was sleeping well.

‘Damn it.’

If it’s like this, doesn’t it look like my side has an affair? Leonid chewed the swear words to himself.

It was partly because the woman under his arm felt seductive for an instant.

It would have been nice if the darkness of the night had obscured the opponent, but unfortunately, Ekaterina was the kind that shined even more in the dark.

Shiny silver hair that was scattered on the bed sheets.

The dark eyes that looked up at Leonid, the inside of the eyes decorated with the light like the moon, seemed even more attractive.

In fact, even in the beginning, Ekaterina had a pretty face. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she’s a doll, but her expressionless face and the request to kill her, have made her appearance not so conspicuous.

The fact that it touched him anew made him confused.

What the hell is Offenbach doing and how to teach someone to come into the bedroom of an outsider without fear?

He raised his upper body, raising his eyebrows.

“I’m not going to ask you why you’re here, so just go back to your room.”

“Be quiet and cover yourself with a blanket.”

“Why a blanket?”

Instead of answering, Ekaterina raised her index finger over her lips and pulled him into a hug with one arm.

Leonid bit the inside of his molars because of the body facing each other again.

‘I’ll take care of it.’

What is she going to do? In his mind, he would have wrapped Ekaterina in a blanket and threw her away. One arm was not free in front of him, so he couldn’t suppress her in vain.

But by this time, one thing became clear.

At least, Ekaterina didn’t attack him with impure intentions.

She did even have all her clothes on, so it wouldn’t be strange if she went out right away. If she had had such a stupid idea, her attire wouldn’t have been that conservative.

In the end, Leonid chewed on the swear word inside, and then spit it out.

“You’ll have to explain what’s going on in the morning.”

“I know, so hurry up.”

Why the hell are you urging me like this?

Leonid hid his doubts and quietly lowered himself over Ekaterina. It didn’t take that long to pull the duvet and cover it.

Of course, he did not forget to support his body with his elbows and leave a certain distance between them.

Ekaterina checked that the blanket was covered, then lifted her head again and looked out the window.

Since it was a fairly tenacious gaze, Leonid also turned towards the spear as if drawn to it.

The moment he turned his head like that, there was a sign that he could feel without even looking with his eyes.

A window that opened silently, and a light breeze disturbing the calm room.

no way.