Catherine and the Black Emperor

1th

The Winter Palace.

Sergei stood by the window, gazing at the snow-covered landscape outside.

In order to get Lestoc to poison Sofia, the head of the outpost, on behalf of Louis XV, offered Lestoc a raise of 2 écues per year, which Lestoc immediately increased to 5.

Lestoc promised Gemma that if the plan succeeded, he would pay her 10 écu, enough for her and her father to retire in Naples.

Lestoker told Gemma even these things, which shows that he was very confident in himself and believed that Gemma was devoted to him and would never betray him.

"Besides you, it's rare to find a man so confident in himself."

Sergei looked at himself in the mirror.

He had already come up with a plan. Now that the first attempt at poisoning had been successful, he wanted to take this opportunity to help Sophia do more things, otherwise she would have suffered for nothing.

Elizabeth has declared Peter the heir to the throne and has now received Sophia in the throne room. All that remains is for Sophia to convert to Orthodox Christianity before the wedding takes place. All the Russian people are watching this couple who represent the future of Russia.

"A wedding...?"

Sergei clenched his fist involuntarily.

Regardless of the fact that Sophia was the future Catherine the Great, his time with her alone made him genuinely fond of this lively, spirited, and cheerful beautiful young woman.

But he knew that with his current strength, he was no match for Elizabeth.

Even now, he has to rely on many forces to deal with Lestoker, a Frenchman who serves as an advisor in the Russian court, and how he will soon stop Sophia and Peter's wedding.

"Not only should you not stop it, you should make this wedding go incredibly smoothly!"

Only if Sophia becomes Grand Duchess can Peter rightfully ascend the throne after his abdication, just like Peter the Great and Catherine I.

In the future, Peter will become Peter III and Sophia will become Catherine II.

Sergei opened his palm, and the coin left a bright red mark on his hand.

"Now that Sofia has entered the Russian people's field of vision, they should be made aware of this German princess's devotion and love for Russia!"

Sergei turned and headed toward Elizabeth's bedroom, where he was on duty both in the afternoon and evening.

Meanwhile, Sofia spent the day studying Russian, and as dusk fell, she stretched and left the room.

No sooner had Sofia left than someone knocked on the door.

Johanna came out of the bedroom and met with Betskoy outside.

"Mr. Betskoy, what brings you here?"

"I brought a painting, which I would like to share with you, Madam."

At Betskoy's instruction, a servant brought a painting covered with a cloth into the room. Betskoy pulled the cloth off, revealing a beautiful oil painting—a man with a blanket, sneaking close to a naked sleeping beauty.

"That's amazing! It's even better than Rembrandt's work." Johanna was very knowledgeable.

"I'm so glad you like it, Princess—"

"Johanna, call me Johanna," Johanna interrupted.

The other person nodded: "Johanna, I can tell you like it very much. I'll have someone hang it up. Tell me where?"

Johanna smiled knowingly. "It's hanging right above my bed. I'm sure that Moor and his mistress are having an affair."

Betskoy avoided Johanna's gaze: "Judging from this painting, the Moors didn't even dare to dream of their mistress."

Johanna couldn't help but laugh, staring straight at him: "I'd advise this Moor to be more decisive!"

Betskoy looked up. Johanna's smile held encouragement and a hint of teasing. Betskoy nodded happily, and Johanna looked satisfied before turning and walking into the bedroom.

"Matrena, bring some Muscat wine!"

Betskoy carried the painting himself and followed Johanna into the bedroom.

Unaware of all this, Sofia strolled through the spacious, luxurious corridors while practicing her Russian.

"I think, he believes, we think, they believe... (Russian)"

She stopped in front of a painting hanging on the wall. The painting depicted Peter the Great, and on a high table below the painting sat a gleaming longsword.

"I dream, he dreams, we dream, they dream... (Russian)"

Sofia unconsciously stroked the long sword with both hands, then picked it up. Just then, a magnificent figure walked towards them.

"Peter Alexeyevich (Peter the Great) forged this saber by hand before the Battle of Narva."

Sofia bowed to Elizabeth and spoke her heartfelt words.

"Your father was a true master, and a true commander!"

Peter, who was following behind Elizabeth, stepped forward and snatched the military knife from Sophia's hand. He then brandished it in front of Elizabeth and Sophia. The reckless action and the gleaming blade startled Elizabeth and Sophia, who immediately dodged.

"It fits my hands perfectly!" Peter exclaimed excitedly.

Elizabeth gave Sergei a look, and Sergei stepped forward to stop Peter, who was about to brandish the knife again, and took the saber from his hand.

"A military knife is not a toy. You absolutely cannot do this. Wait until you have the opportunity to join the army and train before you touch it," Elizabeth warned her nephew.

General Sergei handed Elizabeth his sword, which she respectfully placed back on the high table. She then turned to look at Sofia, her tone carrying a hint of skepticism.

"It was a difficult time, a time of moral decay. My father was a pragmatic man, and his subjects thought he was just an ordinary person. That's why they rebelled and went on strike, so my father hanged them and beheaded them!"

She changed the subject.

"I'm not the pragmatic type. I can't make knives, shoes, or behead my subjects."

Sophia was not subdued by Elizabeth's majesty, her blue eyes meeting the Queen's gaze without flinching.

"Nevertheless, people still call him Peter the Great!"

Elizabeth laughed at Sergei and the other courtiers, saying, "Look, the princess's Russian is getting better and better; she'll soon be able to hold long conversations with us."

Peter had only a rudimentary understanding of Russian, but he could still sense Elizabeth's displeasure and couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.

Sofia ignored Peter, who was making faces at her, and looked at Sergei and the other courtiers. Sergei was expressionless, while the other courtiers all had mocking smiles on their faces.

Even so, when her gaze returned to Elizabeth, Sofia still slightly raised her chin, her tone firm.

"Empresses can also be called emperors!"

After a brief silence, Elizabeth gave a meaningful smile.

Sofia turned and walked away, head held high and chest out.

Sergei looked at Sofia, whose shadow was cast tall and majestic by the sunlight on the floor.

Back in her room, Sofia was still immersed in her "verbal battle" with the Empress, her smile barely concealed. But as soon as she entered, she saw Betskoy coming out of her mother's bedroom, fastening his shirt.

She walked past the other person and into her mother's bedroom, where she saw her mother lying on the bed with her shoulders exposed from under the duvet, leaning lazily against the headboard.

"Mother, is it what I think?" Sophia couldn't believe her eyes.

Johanna shamelessly admitted, "Don't blame me, every woman can have an affair behind her husband's back. Mr. Betskoy is very magnificent, so I didn't make the wrong choice."

Sofia asked in disbelief, "What about my father? Don't you love him anymore?"

Johanna sneered, "I never loved him! I've always liked rough men who do whatever they want. Your father is extremely polite, but boring. I wish he would hug me, hug me until my sides ache, but he says, 'May I kiss you? I'm sorry if I hurt you.' He's ten years older than me, but he's still a virgin!"

As she spoke, her voice became incredibly loud, and Sophia's eyes were filled with tears.

"No woman in our family has ever married for love!" Johanna roared.

This seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back. Sofia turned her back to her mother, tears still streaming down her face, but her sapphire blue eyes revealed an unwavering light.

"Then I'll be the first!"