Chapter 16

As soon as their eyes met involuntarily, unspoken affirmations came and went.

It was only then that Leonid could guess Ekaterina’s purpose.

Someone sent an assassin. A chill slowly spread through his back at the belated realization.

‘Really an intrusion.’

Rather than the fact that there was an intruder, the fact that he did not notice it made his mind go cold.

If it had been at another time, it would have been easier to notice. In particular, if the distance had been narrowed enough to recognize the presence, he would have noticed it from the time the window of a room opened.

But today, Leonid has been preoccupied with Ekaterina all evening. Moreover, because the mansion was bustling due to her intrusion, it must have been a contributing factor to the fact that it was difficult to notice that one additional intruder was added to and from the hallway.

Suddenly, Leonid remembered the dinner he had with Ekaterina. While drinking wine, Ekaterina asked a random question.

-… … Where is the window open?

Did Ekaterina notice from then on?

Leonid’s nerve cord, which had been loose a while ago, was tightened. Even though it was late to notice, he was also accustomed to fighting. Leonid’s breathless gaze quickly examined the situation.

‘It’s on the black desk.’

He can’t use his right arm because of Ekaterina.

Of course, it wouldn’t be difficult to kill the assassin with just his left arm, but holding him alive was another matter.

You wouldn’t have to kill him to find out who sent him.

‘In that case, even if it’s just a little scratched, I’ll have to fight to catch it.’

Leonid was counting the time to leave, watching the shadows gradually approaching over the bed, when suddenly the blankets wrapped around the two of them were rolled up.

To be more precise, the blanket that was placed over them. 

At the same time, Ekaterina got up as if bouncing up, pulled out a dagger from her left thigh and threw it at the intruder.

“heuk!”

The dagger pierced the duvet. Still, he only stumbled, and gathered up the blanket and threw it, then pulled out the knife he was carrying.

A little above the assassin’s heart, near the shoulder, there was a trace of the dagger being pierced.

Yekaterina clenched her tongue and pulled out a sword slightly longer than the dagger she had thrown a while ago from her right thigh and ran towards him.

The moment the intruder was about to shoot Yekaterina, she leapt sharply to dodge the attack, then turned her body half a turn and attacked his neck.

In the quiet night.

He staggered a few steps and fell to the floor.

thud. The dull sound of the man falling signaled the end of the situation.

All of these things had passed so quickly, Leonid’s head was a bit dazed.

“… … Is he dead?”

“I killed him.”

I’m jealous. Ekaterina seemed to have muttered a little.

However, apart from Yekaterina’s feelings, it was not a very pleasant situation for Leonid.

“couldn’t you catch him alive?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not a good idea. He can’t talk about that. Our housekeepers give drugs that damage the vocal cords.”

Leonid’s gaze became sharper at the words Ekaterina added.

“Is hr from Offenbach? How are you sure?”

“Of course, it was a heart attack at first. But I heard a knock on the drain pipe.”

The sound of tapping twice, so lightly that it could be mistaken for the sound of water.

“This is the method our housekeepers use to make sure the room to sneak into is empty. They knock on the drain pipe, and by the sound of the return, they gauge the condition of the room. It’s so subtle that it’s no wonder you didn’t notice.”

She probably wouldn’t have known if she wasn’t from Offenbach, Ekaterina added.

“And I’m sorry I broke into your bedroom in the middle of the night.”

“done. If it wasn’t for you, I might have missed it.”

It’s not that he almost died by that assassin, it’s that he almost missed him. It was a statement full of confidence to say with a bare body without a single weapon, even with an injury to one arm.

But Ekaterina knew that Leonid would not have been greatly injured without her.

He was strong enough to deal with a first-class monster alone, so it was not enough to aim for his neck with just one assassin. Perhaps they need to send at least five elites to be able to judge victory or defeat.

If so, there is one possible answer.

‘the intruder was not sent to kill Leonids.’

The original assassins rarely move alone. Especially if it’s a mission to assassinate someone, no matter how easy the opponent, two or three move together. However, there is only one that appeared today, and no sign is felt from the outside.

Then, who in Offenbach sent him and for what purpose?

“Have you ever upset my father?”

“It doesn’t happen in a day or two that Sergei Offenbach and I have a bad relationship. Just today, I got stuck once.”

Then maybe that’s why. Ekaterina answered, not wrapping the body in a blanket.

“You must have been strongly hated by my father, you.”

“it’s to the point of being bored.”

“And I think the surveillance in the duchy is poor.”

“Thanks to someone I figured it out today.”

All three shifts were guarded by elite soldiers, but there were already two intruders.

Thanks to this, Leonid woke up from sleep.

I guess I’ll have to go to the estate and replace the soldiers. Leonid was washing his face dry with complicated thoughts, but he felt a tenacious gaze from the side.

It was none other than Ekaterina’s gaze.

Even if he tries to avoid it, he felt like he couldn’t avoid that black gaze. Leonid finally spoke with a terrifying expression.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Ah. I’m just thinking about something.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t think this will be the first time an intruder has invaded.”

“Yeah, that’s right. So I was thinking of changing my guards.”

“No, it’s not a matter of guards. No matter how many times you close your window, the cold wind will seep in. you can live No matter how tight your guard is, there will always be a hole in it. At least that’s how Offenbach is raised. If we fail our mission, we will only die, so we are desperate.”

It is unavoidable. No matter how hard they tried to stop them, there was no way to stop them from approaching if they risked their lives.

It’s Ekaterina herself who was raised like that, so she can tell.

Ekaterina glanced at the corpse curled up on the blanket, then turned her gaze back and looked up at Leonid.

“I’m from Offenbach, and no matter how strong you are, I’ll be better at dealing with the them.”

“… … therefore?”

“Because you have to kill me, I can’t let anyone else hurt you in the slightest.”

Ekaterina continued calmly, as if saying that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

“From tomorrow, we’ll sleep in the same bed.”

I’ll protect you.

Saying that, Ekaterina even showed a little bit of determination.

Leonid looked at Ekaterina like that and pursed his lips. touched his forehead. He washed his face and opened his mouth.

“Ekaterina, I’m sorry, but no, I’m not sorry. Are you crazy?”

“I think you should be sorry when you say things like that.”

“Put it away.”

Leonid let out a growl, then took another breath.

Sleeping with Ekaterina wasn’t a problem in itself. Leonid wasn’t such a picky lord, and he wasn’t even that greedy.

But apart from that, he also has social status and face.

She came as an intruder, but he couldn’t let the rumors circulate in the mansion that he was sleeping with Ekaterina, who was a guest anyway.

But Ekaterina didn’t seem to care.

“Do you know what you are talking about?”

“I said we were going to sleep together.”

“I’m sure you’ll get a good night’s sleep with me.”

“Are you the type of person who can’t sleep when someone is next to you?”

“Not like that,”

“Then do you still like me?”

“Can’t we get rid of that misunderstanding?”

“Don’t worry. I will protect your sympathy.”

Ekaterina answered indifferently, then lifted the corpse, which had been rolled up in a blanket, and threw it out the window. A thud echoed through the quiet garden.

It happened without Leonid’s time to stop.

always.

“… … What are you doing now?”

“A dead body.”

“In my garden?”

“Are you sensitive to landscaping?”

“No, not that.”

“Then be patient. If you leave it in the room, it will be warm and rot. It’s cold outside, so he’ll be fine until morning.”

In the eyes that seemed to appease the whining of a little child, Leonid lost even the heart to refute.

“Yeah, do whatever you want… … .”