without saying a single word to one another, she had given up on the idea of locking him away entirely.
Every evening though, Yuri went upstairs and took a bath. It was one of the few times he was allowed to be in his own bathroom, despite the fact that it was the largest room in the entire manor. After washing himself clean and changing into his pajamas, he would curl up in the biggest armchair in his room and fall asleep with the book he had picked out yesterday that he had been reading, even though he knew it was impossible to read it. It helped him relax, he had decided. He enjoyed talking with others while listening to their voices and seeing their expressions. And even though the stories weren't as interesting as he thought they would be, he was pretty interested in learning more about their lives and cultures.
His favorite story had always been one from Russia. It was about a girl who was a princess and her family. Her name was Princess Katherina Katsuki and it was obvious from the beginning that everyone loved her and protected her, even though she was only a small child and therefore had no chance to do much on her own. She would occasionally ask her father about his plans with her, but her questions were always short and sweet. It almost seemed that she already knew exactly what was going to happen to her, and her only request was that she could meet her Prince Charming someday, wherever and however he might turn up. One day, her beloved brother Nikolai turned up and proposed to Katherina, but she refused, stating that she was too young and she wanted to marry her prince charming later. However, she never mentioned Nikolai to anyone, even when he eventually died.
The book that had made Yuri happy the most though was about the girl who lost her heart to the dark wizard of the forest named Zolotse.