Catherine and the Black Emperor

013. You are a genius.

After leaving Sofia, Sergei went to Peter's room, but Peter wasn't there.

He ran to the kennel, and sure enough, the other person was there, walking the dog with Naryshkin.

Before this, he had already learned some things. Lestoker had completed the physical examinations of the other princesses, and judging from the expressions of each princess as they left, they were all terrified, as if they had been tortured by a demon.

Clearly, Lestoker humiliated them!

Sofia is Elizabeth's favorite, and Lestoker will inevitably escalate his actions, causing Sofia to suffer immense humiliation.

"Sergei, you've come at the right time. How about we go see a play this afternoon?" Peter saw Sergei rushing over.

"Your Highness, Lestoker is going to examine Princess Frederica. You'd better go and stop him," Sergei said bluntly.

"Why should I stop him? Lestoker is my aunt's physician; it's his job." Peter crouched down and teased the hound.

"You should know that this includes private inspections," Sergei reminded him.

Peter glanced back at him: "When did you start caring about these things? Doctors are the hands of God; they can't see genders. Besides, Lestoc examined many women, including my aunt."

Peter was right about that.

Compared to the conservatism of the East, Westerners are more "frank," even to the point of being blatant.

"Charm" is no longer enough to describe the royalty and nobility of various European countries; adultery is.

Therefore, even in the 18th century, it was perfectly normal for male doctors to examine the bodies of queens, grand duchesses, and noblewomen, including their fertility.

But Sofia was incredibly young and inexperienced, and Lestoc's deliberate humiliation of her would become a nightmare that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Even putting all that aside, this is still unacceptable to Sergei.

"Your Excellency, you yourself have said that Princess Frederica becoming your fiancée is almost a certainty. The injustice Frederica suffered at Lestoker's hands was an insult to you," Sergei advised again.

Peter, completely unconcerned, stuck his tongue out at Sergei.

"If you want to go, then go by yourself, Sergei!"

After saying that, Peter led his dog away.

"Grand Duke!" Sergei couldn't help but shout, "You will be the Emperor of Russia, and Frederica will be the Empress. For the sake of your image and prestige among your subjects, you should also try to stop it!"

Peter turned around angrily.

"Once I become emperor, I'll divorce her! She can never be the Empress of Russia!"

Sergei then changed the subject: "But undeniably, she is a German princess, the one Frederick hoped would become your fiancée. You wouldn't want to disappoint King Frederick, would you?"

This was his trump card.

Given Peter's fervor for Frederick II, even if he disliked Sophia, he wouldn't stand idly by.

But this time, he was wrong.

Peter stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned and left, even handing the dog over to Naryshkin.

"Why are you doing this? Even the Grand Duke doesn't care, so why are you in such a hurry?" Naryshkin led the dog to Sergei's side.

Sergei's anger was intense.

He knew it wasn't because of Peter, but because of what Sophia was about to face.

He lacked the composure expected of a schemer; he valued Sophia more than Peter, and that's where he lost.

Sergei took a deep breath, his eyes hardening.

This was perhaps the most reckless thing he had ever done, but he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. If Peter didn't stop him, then he would have to do it himself.

"Where are you going?" Naryshkin called out as he saw Sergei about to leave.

Sergei ignored him.

Naryshkin stepped forward and grabbed him: "Hey, you're not going to go by yourself, are you? Are you crazy? Stopping Lestok from examining the princess will enrage the Empress! You'd be better off sending a dog!"

Sergei paused, looking at the two white hunting dogs, then at Naryshkin.

"What are you going to do?" Naryshkin shielded himself.

"Naryshkin, you are a genius!"

"What?"

……

Lestoker sat in a chair, legs crossed, hands on his knees, his eyes scanning Sofia with interest.

Sofia, who had already taken off her skirt, was now only wearing a white, tight-fitting dress.

Although it still covers the whole body, the thin material and tight design already show off the slender figure of a girl who is beginning to develop, as if it were God's most proud masterpiece.

"Princess, your figure is as captivating as your face."

Sofia crossed her arms over her chest as if to shrink herself, her voice trembling.

"Count, could you please stop the inspection?"

"Don't you want to be the Grand Duchess anymore? If so, I can explain this to Her Majesty the Queen."

"No, I think so, but—"

"Then don't speak! Listen to me!" Lestoker suddenly shouted.

He stood up and walked around Sofia, scanning her body.

"I need to check if you're a virgin and if you're fertile! This process will be very long, and you'll experience it very clearly!"

"First I'll touch your waist, then your butt... Finally, I'll put the lens between your legs, and you must spread your legs as wide as possible! After that... you have to take off all your clothes! Take them all off!"

"No, no!" Sofia cried and shook her head.

"You have to listen to me! You have to do it!" Lestok came in front of her and grabbed her shoulders with his hands like a vise.

"No!" Sofia cried out desperately.

Lestoker suddenly released his grip and pointed towards the door: "You can leave, but the moment you step out that door, it means you can no longer be the Grand Duchess of Russia!"

Sophia looked at the door, which seemed so close yet so far away.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as Sergei's handsome yet cold face flashed through her mind. She sobbed uncontrollably, "Duke, I can't wait for you anymore."

Lestoker looked at Sofia, who seemed to have made up her mind and stood there with her eyes closed, a cold glint in her eyes.

This German princess's resolve was harder than a rock, completely different from what he had imagined.

If it were a Polish princess or a Welsh princess, she would have run away long ago under such torment.

"Very well, now that you've made your choice, I'll begin. I've decided to examine your pelvis directly!"

Lestoker's hands reached out to Sofia once again.

This time, his hands reached directly for Sophia's buttocks...

"Bang!"

Just as Lestoker's hands were about to touch Sophia, the door was suddenly slammed open by something. Before Lestoker could question it sharply, a loud, piercing sound echoed throughout the room.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Woof woof woof!"

Two white hunting dogs rushed in, running and jumping around. One bumped into the screen, and the other jumped directly onto the table full of inspection tools.

"Grab it! Grab it!"

Sergei and Naryshkin, with seven or eight servants, rushed in and started grabbing dogs everywhere.

Lestoc was completely bewildered by this sudden turn of events.

Sophia dodged behind the screen the instant it collapsed, keeping her distance from those demonic hands.

"What's going on! What's going on!" Lestoker roared as he realized what was happening.

"Counselor, the Grand Duke's dogs have run away! Let's catch them right away!"

While frantically explaining, Naryshkin tried to catch the dog, but accidentally bumped into the table, scattering his inspection tools all over the floor.

Lestoker was even angrier.

Sergei winked at Sofia at that moment, and she immediately understood and left.

After "unremitting efforts," the two dogs were "caught."

Various ideas flashed rapidly through Sergei's mind.

He knew that such an emergency could only happen once, and could only temporarily free Sofia from her predicament; Lestok would soon "catch" her back.

He has only bought time; now he must come up with a way to completely solve the problem.

However, just as he and Naryshkin were about to leave with the dog, they heard Sofia's overjoyed voice coming from outside.

"Your Highness!"