Catherine and the Black Emperor

86. Moscow Parade

12 month.

"In the fall, the Grand Duke brought some of his newly acquired dogs into his room and locked them behind the partition in the hallway between his room and the Grand Duchess's room."

"This made the entire suite reek, and we felt nauseous after being in there for a while. It's hard to imagine how the Grand Duchess could sleep. The Grand Duchess moved out because of this."

Sergei listened to Gemma's report.

"Are you about to move to Moscow?" Sergei asked.

"Yes." Gemma nodded.

In a few days, the royal family members will be moving to Moscow. Besides the warmer climate there, St. Petersburg is still sparsely populated and not as lively as Moscow.

The royals wanted a change of scenery, something lively and enjoyable.

"Such an environment is uninhabitable for humans. Dogs cannot be allowed in human dwellings. In God's eyes, this is an insult to humanity."

Gemma's eyes lit up: "Yes! I understand what to do!"

The next day, Elizabeth found out that Peter had brought the dog into the palace and kept it in his room. Elizabeth was furious and chased Peter all over the house, beating him.

It is said that Elizabeth was exhausted and panting when Peter thought he had defeated his aunt, making faces and sticking out his tongue at her. It wasn't until Shuvalov led the secret police to arrest Peter that she reverted to being the coward she always was.

Peter, who had already been flirting with Shuvalov, was not afraid of the secret police at this time, so after Elizabeth left, Peter became fearless again.

"After the dog was chased away, he focused on playing the violin. From 7 a.m. until midnight, the violin music was deafening, no less than the howling of a dog being whipped. Fortunately, at least the smell was gone."

On her way to Moscow, Ekaterina confided in Sergei, who was in charge of security.

1752, October.

Elizabeth, Catherine, and Peter are on a tour outside Moscow.

At Count Razumovsky's Perova estate, Catherine suffered from a severe headache.

Elizabeth wasn't there, and Peter ignored her until Sergei noticed, at which point the man's face turned completely pale.

"I'm going to see a doctor."

"No."

Ekaterina pulled Sergei back, indicating that she was alright.

She knew that she couldn't afford to get sick again at this point, otherwise Elizabeth would have to consider finding Peter a new wife.

"I'm really fine. I had a headache before, but it disappeared the next day," Ekaterina comforted Sergei.

But she didn't lie to him.

The headache symptoms did indeed disappear the next day.

The royal gathering was moved from the estate to Elizabeth's hunting grounds, which were 40 miles from Moscow. In addition to Sergei leading a large number of secret police, there were also Semenovsky's guards who had come from St. Petersburg.

The team was led by Major Maxim.

"After the Chernyshev brothers, someone else dares to get so close to the Grand Duchess. Doesn't that guy fear disappearing from the court one day?" Maxim looked at the young man talking to Catherine.

Sergei said calmly, "Are you mocking me?"

Maxim laughed and said, "Don't take it seriously, but I admire you. At first, there were rumors in the court that you had an ambiguous relationship with the Grand Duchess. Although the rumors died down later, among the countless young people in the court, you are the only one who can get close to the Grand Duchess and still have a smooth career."

"I can hardly be considered to have had a smooth official career; I still only have the title of 'Deputy' above my head," Sergei said with a shake of his head and a smile.

"You haven't held the title of 'vice' for very long, have you? I'm sure you're the youngest secretary-general and the youngest vice-chairman of the secret committee, and you're likely to be the youngest chairman in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words, but I just hope I won't be arrested as a traitor again." Sergei smiled.

This time, Maxim didn't tease him.

As Sergei himself quipped.

The other party's smooth career advancement is not entirely due to luck. To reach this point, Sergei's abilities are far beyond those of those young nobles who only know how to eat, drink, and have fun.

Anyone with eyes to see could see that Sergei's case involved a huge amount of people. Even Maxim, a major in the Guards, knew that if he got involved, he would be in serious danger.

He did not regret getting to know Sergei, and Sergei even sent people to stop him from helping, which made Maxim cherish this confidant even more.

Sergei's gaze then fell on the young man beside Ekaterina.

Cyril Razumovsky was the younger brother of Count Alexei Razumovsky, Elizabeth's lover.

The older brother's meteoric rise also paved the way for the younger brother's success.

In Moscow, he manages all the affairs and assets of the Razumovsky family.

Even the Governor-General of Moscow treated Cyril with deference, which gradually made Cyril arrogant and conceited.

In fact, none of this affected Sergei, and he didn't care that Moscow had such an arrogant and domineering young man.

But the worst thing he could have done was to fall in love with Catherine.

"The Emperor's charm is still too strong; he has admirers wherever he goes," Sergei muttered to himself.

Not hearing the preceding address, Maxim nodded: "The Grand Duchess is indeed very charming, what a pity..."

What the other party regrets is that Catherine's husband was Peter, who was of high status, but in other aspects...

After parting ways with Maxim, a subordinate approached Sergei.

"Sir, just as you guessed, should we report this matter?"

Sergei waved his hand: "We'll be at the hunting grounds soon, is there still time?"

The subordinate lowered his head: "I have failed in my duty."

"This is none of your business. You may leave."

Sergei looked back at Cyril in the distance. This matter was of course unrelated to his subordinates, because the unexpected event that was happening now, or rather, about to happen, was exactly what he wanted.

"I have always been in charge of Her Majesty's hunting grounds. When we arrive there, I will have my servants prepare the most sumptuous food to entertain Your Highness and have you stay in the finest tent!"

Cyril walked alongside Ekaterina, speaking with a boastful air.

Ekaterina kept smiling.

She didn't like this admirer, but since he was Count Razumovsky's younger brother and the person in charge of the tour, she couldn't very well drive him away.

The other party knew Peter liked hunting dogs, so they brought several. By then, Peter had already abandoned her to play with the dogs.

Seemingly sensing Catherine's lack of interest, Cyril began to boast about his experiences in Moscow, and finally, in an attempt to impress Elizabeth, he went up to her.

"Your Majesty, you are about to see your finest hunting grounds! I, Cyril, am honored to serve you and everyone here!"

Ekaterina shook her head as she watched Cyril showing off in front of everyone.

She doesn't like people who show off like that at all, but she has to admit that the other person is genuinely enthusiastic.

She was so enthusiastic that she could barely get a word in edgewise.

Finally, the group arrived at the hunting grounds.

There are no houses here; everyone camps in tents.

Soon, Cyril witnessed Sergei's methods. To be precise, it was all Cyril's doing, but Sergei, who was responsible for understanding the various situations of the tour in advance, deliberately "neglected his duty."

"I came here to hunt wild rabbits, but there isn't a single one! I can't see a single rabbit in sight!"

Elizabeth, upon arriving at the hunting grounds, flew into a rage within an hour.

Everyone was on tenterhooks.