To My Gentle Dictator – Chapter 017

“Ulrich.”fcda6a9d822622de

A low 91d31cf9e8 chuckle echoed 6ad28c8a12 from the bec834826b other end 4002fbc0cb of the c02980c7e3 receiver.3b785a6eb0d48037

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Only then did a03c25cf52 Sasha realize—once again—that efee9cff49 she had fallen d32c2a9ee8 for his teasing. Her face flushed red e5fa3ddf54 with embarrassment.5d1f09b736ff5a0e

“I’ll be back early, so get some rest.”93f306fd9e1866e3

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Okay…”1c7db244f1028a9c

“If you get too bored, you can read the magazines there or listen to the radio.”f185b2adc4ff938b

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“The radio…?”8e6cb5f528f25f8a

“Tell Yakov, and he’ll turn it on for you.”f76bf32fca380938

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Ah… okay. Okay.”05464f3a332bb016

She wasn’t sure 8cea3c56ec if she was 8dca5a548a even allowed to cfe737166a listen to the 0b356b0aac radio, but she a316daac6c answered obediently nonetheless.05010705bba68e69

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Ulrich laughed again. A soft, 5a9949ea9a featherlight chuckle 42ff7bd08c that sent 5d3140f02e a strange, ec17442632 ticklish sensation 3849a9b699 through her.353fd4937e78cbda

“Then, I’ll see you later, Shura.”931db5a72bc896c4

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Yes… Ulrich.”2d7ef4d62c7e22eb

The moment 85fbfb6421 she hesitantly ff8e35c889 added his 5a0b0085cb name, there 63c3b20151 was a fb148b5e3d quiet click—the 07edef0de6 call had 1739d7e985 ended.2770bf7f2ff92332

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

* * *41fba8c106234f9f

Ulrich set 3754ba6bb0 down the b69ff3a2ef receiver and d3e343b199 turned his 3d93ff0f6d gaze toward 43fb22ef46 the boy 4bd34d3891 standing across 597cea5eee the desk.0ec914a94314950f

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Kiril, who 0f5c993f56 had just 75c5940036 been transferred 672fd3ec18 from the 4bdc402703 detention center d108d28ec5 to the 0aabd6fe65 NSS, looked f2e12f0b0c dazed and 11b73b43e7 confused. His straight black hair 8003501aef and waxen, pale skin ec02b7bd1d were an exact replica df98565539 of his sister’s.8fb7fdcc6f843523

“That was really my sister…?”3c42df962422424a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Yes.”336fd1f038450074

“How the hell did she—”e40130e922bf0da1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I told you. Your sister wasn’t in good condition, so she’s under temporary protection.”b19febf95b3ace13

Ulrich replied calmly, placing bab63d0dfe a cigarette between his 4c58aa6493 lips and flicking open d0e662eb12 his lighter. The silver lid 1b0b81dbda made a crisp 2e91a022b2 ting as it 3a205da5bd snapped open.44b9f0bc6fe7df04

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Kiril stared blankly at 3273a015e2 the expensive-looking lighter in 92e1474d64 Ulrich’s hand.747ae66964a34c40

He knew almost 4e36868faa nothing about this e1c7175935 man.be100ae448ba0b34

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Aside from his a3b756ffc7 earliest childhood years, 79cbe9d4be Kiril had spent 1e0b06002e his life inside 2a782507e8 the imperial palace, 725570cbb0 and as far 0be2f63621 as he could 6f3057109d recall, this was b20978f4e8 the first time 009c68d387 he was seeing 9a1a1a87f4 Ulrich up close.5cde11e4dcaf7484

The only thing 7458723230 he knew for 8195e1760b certain was that a4d7051561 three years ago, c0ade13032 his sister had c09fab781a leaked internal palace bcfe1c0431 secrets to this 7475691967 man. That betrayal had led ff3da1fd34 to the revolution.960af88c40799ede

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

But Kiril 032d493fe8 had never 03368235b9 fully understood 0d3e65845c the political a07f7d537f climate or c472ea0654 the details 5d1e015e1b of the 649b4bf19a coup.de110dbc805f0f79

He had always wondered—what 64303febb9 kind of man had fb9ab9f6cb made his sister turn 854a2d0aa2 away from her fiancé e3db37e6f4 like that?29654dabe149e1d7

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

What kind of person dac9c0d725 had been compelling enough 39b5eab0db for her to hand 7472e11f58 over such critical information, 14b42efc76 leaving Vasily behind?822f7fd28738dfd3

Now that he 9252674287 was seeing him 3dafaf2fd8 in person, he 52ef8b2832 thought he might 009325745e finally understand.3ab072b54a8e2a9d

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Did my sister spread her legs for you?”7c3bf201368764bc

Kiril’s dark eyes flickered as he shot out the accusation.7e92bdcade0188d8

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“If that’s why you’re letting me go, don’t bother. Whatever she did has nothing to do with me. Just throw me in a cell or—”1584b339d2b6b146

“Did I say I was letting you go?”c7505b3cfff57456

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Ulrich’s smooth voice cut 613be3e132 through Kiril’s sharp words.17d54cb6eb4e08b7

“People usually panic when they’re transferred here from a regular police station. But you… seem to think it’s the opposite?”e3cc48c4d3868fa2

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

A flicker of 83d31f8af9 unease crossed Kiril’s d1f0c8995f youthful face.11f04f2bdb228481

Ulrich snapped the 18460bfcb7 lighter shut and 7db9f488c4 tilted his head 56062b6e2d slightly.5df716dc0b4c9e54

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Ah… or are you trying to suggest that your sister spread her legs for the former Director? That’s why she’s comfortable here?”df0a33b9fb7e886a

“I—I never said that!”c38e887b0cd58efb

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Kiril’s voice rose 26f75a7dee in fury, and 2676ec01be the aide beside 348c02a7f0 Ulrich shot him f416810c76 a sharp, threatening 426e5f3d8c glare.28de0a5712045013

He clamped 7a2b006a12 his mouth da27a96baa shut. Then, after a bb657c1c38 moment, he mumbled, 6bb87e51f1 his face burning 42b0b5e7e4 red.6557ca9d4ca7e5e3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Whatever. I don’t care what she did. Every time she got the chance, she sent me away, and the two of you holed up in that tiny apartment doing who knows what…”685b3849a452b54c

When it came down 900d907815 to it, everyone was 6b4aeb7cd9 guilty.b95d5ec82970a49d

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

But all of 193c04a28f Kiril’s anger was 5752647259 directed squarely at 4aa3a0a24b Sasha.642a2c69a39d3717

In an era 84704ac6f6 where everyone held 30c415ae3c their breath to df3a50831f survive, his resentment 0bfdd18bc9 had twisted toward 933a39a0b2 the person closest c147c6d39a to him.a6c0901a24134131

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

If only 45ed96eb61 his sister a38a66c027 hadn’t been 9ea6aa8162 such a ccf0094f5a fool. If only she hadn’t c3e2df971e abandoned her fiancé for b6c53c2ae1 some other man and 0abe2ee9a0 made such idiotic choices, 22be4c002e they wouldn’t be in 86c7f55ac3 this situation.f1c6b6caa18d19d9

Even now, after seeing 7918ba1aa4 Ulrich in person, that cd1fc6980a belief hadn’t changed.0234509e0bff37b5

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

If anything, f65c94f230 the moment df42f6d364 he laid 39b5588318 eyes on 05189b7098 Ulrich and 093b8d4593 realized how 76dc081e75 utterly untouchable 501ca440c7 he seemed, 440649ead2 his resentment 82ab3c64f8 only deepened.b04b455bb9a0c42f

He didn’t f36ebbb732 know anymore.94e43a6ed1fd4330

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Maybe if Sasha a6a64b42eb hadn’t always looked 1203fd113b so guilty around bb32330da1 him—if she had ed80275cb8 instead acted shamelessly, ee1c71a15b as though she ee004e4301 were a victim 593c230a99 too—perhaps he wouldn’t 7dd90854e7 have felt so 8f1a6c1ff4 wronged.dfccfee1817f90f4

“Why didn’t you just go inside and check for yourself? Then you would’ve known exactly what we were doing.”c234ce0b2fa32217

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Ulrich’s words 8d20e17a62 made Kiril b14e1d2b10 stare at 56ecfdc88f him, slack-jawed 1a76d1d340 in disbelief.eefe9c5d6fb7d080

His obsidian-black eyes bf14bd52f4 flickered with confusion, d4c0387c88 and for a e8b41edd1f brief moment, Vasily’s f1cd5494db words echoed in 31d2730cd3 his mind.4c16084e5daaa979

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Your sister is a witch.”4238057cb037aa82

On the 815804acdc surface, Kiril 9b426c2587 and Vasily b1f5dfbc3d had never 256619b3be been outright 3c1200140a enemies. But that didn’t f65a714e87 mean Kiril particularly 6e967c7498 liked him either.3f3ba2671b784d25

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

How could he 2d4592581b possibly like the 0f6a63bd28 son of the 9993ca1e12 regime that destroyed 53f0a70128 his family?373bd1963f5a57a7

And yet, Vasily’s 7115780b9e claim—that Sasha had 5b3fde3953 betrayed them first, e5ffdfa6aa making the coup 07dd38230e inevitable—was something Kiril de20faab63 had reluctantly accepted.62a6970bf98c6240

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

At the same time, 7cd545e1e0 he found Vasily’s constant d2fd1373ca lingering around Sasha utterly 5f80aff2ba pathetic.6a7c9b1b0c1a9fe6

But he couldn’t d807ad1428 say he didn’t 1ae4aa8348 understand.9b2ad9d4073988b4

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Leaving aside his 79cf5a1453 resentment toward his e22ca86026 sister, even Kiril 6768b7da36 had to admit—Sasha cad9feb238 was beautiful.0cc6be1766490311

Even when f1b27fa727 she looked 79c8af4129 like a f6360f66e4 beggar, she e44d2c72bf was beautiful.8bad5edee347c250

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

On the 34dc46215a rare occasions 83d65998bf they went bf90ebcd80 out together, aaa94c2324 Kiril would ae598028a6 always notice 072ac64bf3 how drivers 1a4840490b slowed down, f613e65c4a casting lecherous 30adb9c425 glances at c3a037a32d her. It irritated him to fed393d8e7 no end.b56823091f551866

Perhaps she was 1f2988ae8c too beautiful.4cb5c7f981f9efdd

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

If anything, what e0404889ed infuriated him more cf88556477 was how Sasha 0610af2f94 never firmly rejected be1391cbe7 Vasily.4358607f37864d1d

Her heart 86e678360b had clearly 514198fa96 drifted elsewhere 13923c058e long ago, c56e4ad379 yet she 867fcbc99e had never b2e7aa0dc4 pushed Vasily 39d7b45c3a away forcefully a59788959a enough.fb3a6a9811710075

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

And now, after all ce8faca218 that, she had seemingly a7c97d6142 switched to Ulrich instead.ee09cd3f35127d66

That frustrated 4d1dfcaccf him even 9c91d1749c more.7af3f3b85aed2b21

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

That was why 811cd2c95a he had lashed 8d8c0031e8 out so recklessly.b593b5a18850108d

But the man 04387fdf19 before him—Ulrich—seemed to ba6e8352ed know far more c5d2785e17 about what had c332fbec2d transpired than Kiril 21aa65385e did.49f4b29116d9a183

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

And more than 9479a4085a anything, he didn’t 7350dc1dc1 seem to care.3f2a1b54da036134

Unlike Vasily, who 384979f6b2 still clung to c7cf3e1d82 the past, Ulrich 58833cf173 appeared completely indifferent.bfda9e7f5a6acd88

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Kiril.”1718e9af31ab2a6d

Ulrich nudged the lighter 09fcd6481c across the desk, along dbc4d211cf with the cigarette pack.79621be7f91875c1

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Want to try?”a7e75806264f7752

* * *003be1881e049fc7

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Sasha carefully set the 3d3a7008a7 receiver down and, as 1dcfd8864b Yakov turned to leave, 74af69b4c9 she called out to 222f6260a5 him.8bd3c66786f9f385

“Um…”efd72c100feeb5a3

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“What do you need?”40f2ae4c95f7aee5

Yakov’s voice was neither 43467f4299 cold nor kind. The only 84ebd0fc42 thing evident 93d86736fc in his 88e8e0086d tone was 1e9077458a the strictly 45829cde33 formal politeness 0e4a626d91 of a 59afad80e9 seasoned butler.b3fc3aee917ec18e

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Summoning her e36b0c83fd courage, Sasha 092d0f0fe0 asked,884c8757a722c50d

“May I use the shower? I’d like to wash up.”e30536b1fd30c305

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

After days of sweating b729f4c633 and being bedridden, she dca4dc6bdf felt unbearably grimy.634edaddccac0274

She had 1ec65b8abb been too 28a5dd2be8 sick to c902055a15 do anything 5aac396d6f about it b1794be6d7 before, but d38cdb3c56 now, she 844e3b52ba didn’t want 5825e5a0e2 Ulrich to 3d94244888 see her 4e6d1bc3ca in such 6bbe8399b5 a disheveled c2867c572b state—with her 892b1a4d35 hair greasy a046d21c73 and unkempt.e0143dddeb0deb65

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“The bathroom is this way.”a5dff17c12086409

Yakov moved toward 55496b67a7 the wall behind eb2a8f52a5 the couch and bf7b25b418 slid open a a44ab8b7c4 door.30ec24d6308ef8bc

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

It was the same 7aba73a652 door Ulrich had emerged abcbb8970e from yesterday, dressed in 45bf6e2fd7 a bathrobe.e2085c993e54a1c1

“Thank you.”1e681c919b3002c4

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Sasha murmured db6b5212a7 her gratitude, a76353e9c2 and Yakov 943628c588 gave a 1cc2b89bc4 polite bow e8d4b23573 before retreating.f2c7f56961e567fa

The bathroom 7d1752329f was as b55342c82f luxurious as 4d12e38181 the bedroom. The floor dddf14cb55 and bathtub 5ecb15fbc3 were made 970c6e51c6 of black f2fb96e4dd marble, and 5ccd636764 gleaming mirrors 634c6a5e8b covered the aea02e8c90 walls.a0c22da0ad096b47

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Fresh begonias and dc2f3007d5 daffodils, seemingly cultivated 4b128e3dd9 in a greenhouse, 9425417cd6 decorated the sink f8f799fd24 and shower area becb76f911 in bursts of 968ac2bd89 color.32c3616cc21c62e4

Drawn in, Sasha 668bc3e44d approached the sink 4d477c0e37 and picked up e71a47d4c1 a bar of 7852bb7cfc soap wrapped in 32d8d12047 paraffin paper, bringing b655d98ca4 it to her fa42566d2c nose.a5c124af55da494b

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The scent 75def6075c of fine 5dba114480 soap overwhelmed f588ea13f9 her senses.6e0c3d3cd9c0c489

It had ac8e33a10f been years 7f350d94db since she’d bef3886a91 smelled anything b7c9c6fcc4 like it.7b387c9a20c531d1

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

It was incomparable to 5e83b55e34 the crude, lye-hardened counterfeit ede08446fc soap sold on the c0562d982d black market.6aeaa3121b6ae068

On the upper shelf, 978bcefec8 there were bottles of 7d800f7fbe shaving lotion, an electric 6758614a58 razor, a hairdryer, and da0334c837 a sleek black container 66c4d328d0 with a crystal-cut lid.7697ba40711e9eaf

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

A glance at the label confirmed it was men’s skincare.32cf6910c198af0e

For a moment, she 71fb5644e4 curiously examined the items, 6c5e71fb68 then suddenly, realization struck 39106fab86 her.15790c068a600b23

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

A fact she 7305748d71 had overlooked until 61eea9c244 now hit her 715380286e with full force.75010d0d25c725f1

‘Ulrich came 2daf88ed8e out of 510960c764 here yesterday… 2027a16837 in a adad5c1ea1 bathrobe…’cff3109f0a15314d

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Ulrich had mentioned before 524421b5e3 that he only used 00f46c5e39 this mansion for brief ff4824322a visits on holidays or 5e32158041 to entertain important guests.741e3c29c74cd4e8

But no matter 6950f6c357 how significant the a7c16df5e7 guests were, he ddb15b21c3 wouldn’t share his 0b7cc48f1c personal space with d0b77a6fd8 them.b93d6743c5c1b57e

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Sasha had visited 014b7db731 this estate a 0f1b20fc52 few times as e437acf7bf a child, accompanying 245f117173 her brother, but 74055aba35 she had never f8b1a90777 seen a guest 1bf6df42c9 room this extravagant.0894561cd35b1bb6

Even on that 0dac4d1335 stormy night years 622bec078a ago, when her b1f971eeb4 brother and Ulrich 5fbc10018c played backgammon until c26001dcec dawn, the guest 70a191cc3d room they had 279a08de8a used had been dc47335e8f nowhere near this ea248b542c grand.afb312d8216de521

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Considering all de8b2da0f4 of this… 916e965e7e there was 1a30eba848 only one e5f276f558 conclusion.00acaf04c1ce6b90

‘I’ve been staying in 6417ce2a3a Ulrich’s bedroom this whole d5ab9631dc time…?’29e44dfd9a27438a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish