Catherine and the Black Emperor

71. Fire fighting

8 month.

Elizabeth thought that taking Peter and Catherine out for a stroll would help them relax, so she took the two of them, along with a group of officials, to Razumovsky's country villa in the suburbs.

"Auntie, my friends and I live there!"

Peter pointed to a three-story wooden house on the hillside.

"Your friends or your wife?" Elizabeth asked coldly.

"My wife and I are already single; we live there with my friends," Peter added.

Elizabeth didn't really want to see her nephew, so she waved him away.

And so, Sergei, Naryshkin, and Peter (the elder brother) followed Peter (the Grand Duke), Catherine, the two stewards, and a host of servants to the cabin.

There were three rooms upstairs. Peter (the Grand Duke) kept the best one for himself, and the other two were for Catherine, and for Sergei, Naryshkin, and Peter (his brother) to share the other room.

With Sergei and the others around, Peter found a good excuse to let the Dzogolokovs sleep downstairs.

Because Sergei was there, the Dzogolokovs turned a blind eye, giving Peter and Ekaterina relatively free space.

Peter believed it was all his own doing and boasted about it to Ekaterina, Naryshkin, and others.

"Look at them! They were under my aunt's orders to control me, but now I've completely subdued them!"

Catherine could tolerate Peter's foolishness and ignorance, but she could not bear him being intimate with other women in public, especially since those women were Peter's servants.

Everyone was having a good time in the room when Peter suddenly called his maid over from downstairs and, right in front of Ekaterina, Naryshkin, and the others, pulled her into his arms.

"My friends would never leak this information, so if my aunt finds out, my marriage with her will be over!" Peter threatened Catherine.

Ekaterina sneered, "Do you think we haven't severed all ties yet?"

Peter remained silent.

Ekaterina glared coldly at the maid: "Get out!"

Peter yelled, "Shut up! I'm the boss here!"

Catherine didn't speak, just stared at him coldly. Peter was eventually frightened by that look and let the maid go. The maid was already terrified, and when she heard that she could leave, she panicked and almost fell down the stairs.

Peter pursed his lips and egged him on, "Why are you so angry? It's normal for men and women to have sex. You can find men too. Look at them, what do you think of Sergei? He's the most handsome one around here, and he's got a great physique..."

At this point, Peter became interested and looked at Sergei.

"Look at this Grand Duchess, aren't you attracted to her? How long and shapely those legs are, they must feel so soft and supple to the touch. Sergei, imagine you placing Catherine's legs on your waist..."

Ekaterina couldn't bear to listen anymore; her nominal husband was saying such humiliating things to the man she loved.

Just as she was about to slam the door and leave, Sergei stood up first, and he roared angrily at Peter.

"You're so stupid! You're like a clown! How could I have a friend like you!"

He slammed the door shut, the loud noise startling the Djogolokovs downstairs. They rushed over, and Peter, fearing he would be confined, immediately ran back to his room.

Ekaterina also got up and went back to her room.

Inside the room, Naryshkin and Peter (the older brother) looked at each other, both bewildered.

Weren't we having a nice chat?

Why did the Grand Duke suddenly embrace the maid, causing the Grand Duchess to become angry? Then Peter encouraged Sergei to flirt with his wife, Sergei slammed the door and left, and then...

Then the lively little gathering came to an end.

Peter (the older brother) lay down: "I'm going to sleep."

After being "disciplined" by his younger brother, this troublemaker has become much more perceptive.

Naryshkin was at a loss: "What about me?"

Peter (the older brother) ignored him, lay down with his back to him, closed his eyes, and after a while, he felt a warm breath in his ear, with a tentative question.

Should I go to sleep too?

"what!"

Peter (the older brother) turned around in fright, looking angrily at the not-so-bright guy.

"Now, you either go to sleep, or go outside and freeze!"

Naryshkin pouted and sat there alone. "But I miss my wife. I should have brought her with me. Then we could have shared a room, and with Sergei's gift, it would have been wonderful! I regret it so much! Ah!"

Sergei was outside, his hands resting on the railing as he looked at the moonlight. After a while, the door opened and Peter (his brother) came out.

"Why did you come out?"

"If I hadn't come out soon, Naryshkin would have driven me crazy. I can understand him regretting not bringing his wife, but why would he regret not bringing the gift you gave him?"

Sergei smiled, which immediately made Peter (his brother) even more curious, and he kept asking questions.

"Don't worry, I'll give you the same gift when you get married."

"Okay, I'll find one tomorrow."

Sergei continued to admire the moonlight.

He was not at all surprised by Peter's (the Grand Duke's) behavior.

Because of his inferiority complex, Peter dared not face the excellent and charming Catherine, and only dared to have romantic relationships with servants of low status. Moreover, because of his distorted aesthetic sense, Peter did not even dare to flirt with beautiful servants like Ulyana and Gemma.

The servant he had just found was not only ugly, but also obese, and like Peter, had a face full of pimples.

"I'm going in."

After estimating the time, Sergei returned and first met with Peter (the Grand Duke).

"Are you out of your mind? Why did you yell at me? You even cursed at me and brought Dzogolokov over here!" Peter was gulping down his drink.

"If I don't make a big fuss about this, it will get out of control once the Grand Duchess does. Once the Dzogolokovs find out, your aunt will find out, and I don't need to tell you what the consequences will be."

Peter shivered.

Indeed, if his aunt found out about his affairs with servants, and not just one, and that she was even encouraging Sergei to flirt with Catherine…

His aunt will kill him!

"Sergei, you were so clever! I forgive you! Come drink with me!"

"I'll go and comfort the Grand Duchess first, so she won't feel resentful. If she doesn't calm down, she might go to Djogolokova to complain."

"Yes, yes, go quickly! Although she has some intelligence, a woman loses all reason when she's angry. Sergei, remember one thing: you must calm her down! No matter what method you use!"