Chapter 13 Lilith's Dress-Up Game: Miracle Lilith's Tour of Venice...

"How could we let Madam wear such inappropriate clothes!" Cecilia sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Standing before her was Lilith, dressed in a secondhand men's suit that Heinrich had bought at a flea market. The black shirt was faded from washing, and the trousers had a small, harmless tear in the hem. The only new item in the entire outfit was her pair of riding boots. Lilith was already considered tall for an Italian noblewoman, and in those heeled boots, she was almost the same height as the average man on the street. Once she tied up her long hair and draped a cloak over her face, no one would realize that she was actually a woman.

Lilith was quite pleased with her appearance. She stood in front of the mirror, admiring her unusual self with great interest. Cecilia, seeing that her mistress wasn't speaking up for her, could only glare resentfully at Heinrich, who was also dressed in tattered clothes.

“It’s not a big deal to wear tattered clothes once in a while,” Lilith said with a smile. “This morning I wore such a formal dress to the Exchange Merchants’ Guild, but I still couldn’t get their respect, did I? If I could get a business license just by changing into this outfit, I would want to weld it to my body right now.”

Cecilia was speechless. This morning, she had accompanied Lilith to the trading company, bringing all the necessary accounting documents for registration, three membership recommendation letters obtained through bribery, as well as emergency funds and registered capital. As for attire, Lilith wore her most formal attire—a heavy black silk gown, an emerald necklace given to her by her fiancé, and a ruby ​​wedding ring. However, the manager at the trading company's front desk simply assumed she was the wife of a merchant searching for her husband.

“I’m not here to see my husband. I’m here to submit my application to join the guild.” Lilith placed the documents and a heavy bag of gold coins on the counter.

The man in charge glanced at her dismissively and muttered, "Let the applicant come over himself."

“I am the applicant.” Lilith raised her head, trying to adopt a businesswoman’s demeanor. “My name is Liliana Knarro. I am here to apply to open my own bank.”

"Women? Women can't run banks."

"There is no law that says a woman can't run a bank."

“Nobody would feel comfortable keeping their money in a bank run by a woman,” the man explained impatiently. “You won’t have any customers.”

“I have clients. Women also have needs for savings and remittances, and that’s what I’m doing.” Lilith anxiously pulled out an account sheet prepared in advance by Sherlock and Heinrich from a brown paper bag. “This is my balance sheet for last year…”

"...Did your husband allow it?" The man looked at the clear accounts on the parchment with suspicion.

“My husband has passed away.” Lilith paused, then added, “When he was alive, we had a very good relationship, and he always supported all my decisions.”

"...The man remained skeptical, but looking at the bag of gold coins, he couldn't really say anything. He could only accept the documents and registration fees and tell her to come back in seven days to hear the application results."

A vague sense of foreboding crept into Lilith's heart. But there was nothing she could do; she could only return home dejectedly and stare blankly at the backup accounts at her desk. Suddenly, Heinrich knocked on her door, bringing her news that was enough to lift her spirits.

“I have obtained information on all the places Mauro visited this week.” Heinrich handed Lilith a list he had compiled. “In the past seven days, he went to a casino four times, a brothel three times, and a house on Kalampani Road near the Rialto Bridge. Because some of the locations are sensitive, I did not continue the investigation and await your further instructions.”

“My father met my mother at the casino,” Lilith said, rolling her eyes with a laugh. “He’s certainly followed in his father’s footsteps. How much gambling debt do he have?”

"The number I can find is around one hundred Ducates at the moment."

“Definitely more than that.” Lilith leaned back in her chair and stretched contentedly. “No wonder he was so impotently furious when we said we’d deduct his monthly allowance. Turns out he was in debt and couldn’t pay it off, so he was waiting for money from his family to pay it off. As for the house on Kalampani Road… let me see… oh ho ho, it’s a socialite’s villa.”

"A socialite?"

“Yes. This lady is said to be a great beauty who came all the way from Paris.” Lilith stood up happily. “You said he first went to a socialite’s villa, and then went to a brothel three times in a row. Was it because the high-class prostitutes rejected his advances, so he had to go to a place that offered cheap services to satisfy his desires? Let’s go and meet this beautiful lady and see what interesting stories we can dig up.”

“Madam…is it inappropriate for you to go to the courtesan’s place?” Cecilia asked worriedly.

“What’s wrong with that? Men pay money for sex, while I pay the same amount of money and all I need is for her to talk to me. It’s such a good deal, I think she’ll definitely agree.”

Unable to dissuade her mistress, Cecilia had no choice but to help Lilith remove her overly formal dress and change into a simple yet elegant black casual dress, which Heinrich then accompanied her to the socialite's residence.

The socialite lived near the bustling Rialto Bridge, her interior decorated like a palace. Above the spiral staircase at the main entrance hung a portrait of her painted by a famous artist. In the portrait, she had long, light blonde hair and wore a semi-transparent white gauze dress, showcasing her voluptuous and sensual beauty.

"So beautiful..."

Lilith couldn't help but exclaim, gazing at the portrait with deep envy. Heinrich, watching Lilith stare at the painting, recalled the excitement and joy he felt when he first received the portrait of his fiancée. It was the greatest work of art he had ever seen; no other painting could compare, for it depicted the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

Although many might disagree with his view, the women of Venice generally admired mature, voluptuous, and curvaceous figures like courtesans, with delicate features and light blonde hair. To achieve this, they would cover their bodies and let their long hair hang loose in the sun, all to lighten their brown hair.

Lilith, in contrast, appeared excessively thin and frail, with striking red hair inherited from her mother, going against the grain of high society's aesthetic standards. But Heinrich never cared about these worldly conventions. He had never seen anyone with Lilith's captivating eyes, her light green irises occasionally reflecting cunning schemes, dangerous yet alluring.

Just as he was about to tell her his thoughts, to tell her that there was no need to envy socialites, Lilith revealed a sly smile and spoke first, exclaiming:

"When I'm rich in the future, I'll definitely hire the most famous painters to paint many, many portraits of handsome men for me. I'll hang one in the living room, one in the bedroom, one in the dining room, and one in the study. When I'm tired from work, I can look up at the portraits and my mood will improve."

"..."

Heinrich didn't know whether to feel fortunate or sorry for her. Not long after, a courtesan as beautiful as a figure in a painting arrived in the drawing room, accompanied by her maids. Lilith brought a gift for her trip—a pair of exquisite pearl earrings. She then got straight to the point about the purpose of her visit.

"You mean Mauro? That young punk from the Knarro family? Forgive my bluntness, but he's really unworthy of his family name."

The beautiful socialite wore gentle, charming makeup and a low-cut dress, just like in the portrait, revealing her full and shapely figure. Yet, even this gentle and tender woman frowned deeply when talking about Mauro.

“Those of us in this line of work sometimes learn some aristocratic secrets because of the nature of our work. I should have kept my mouth shut and said nothing; that’s the rule. No matter how valuable the gift, it wouldn’t make me talk. But there’s nothing about Mauro that I can’t share, simply because he only came to see me once. And I didn’t receive him; I just kicked him out.”

"Why? Was he very rude to you?" Lilith asked.

"Quite the opposite. He was extremely attentive and flattering towards me. But I've seen too many men; I can tell what kind of person he is at a glance. His character and wealth are hardly those of a target client. My time is precious. I'd rather chat with a charming lady like you than waste my breath on irrelevant fellows. Venice is so big; he can always find suitable people to serve him elsewhere."

Lilith nodded in sudden realization. Every industry is like a mountain to climb; she had never imagined that such insights could be gleaned from this business.

Frankly, Lilith didn't understand men. The convent school Elena sent her to was full of girls, and the only men she had truly interacted with in her life were her father, brother, and other elders in her family. Although she was attracted to handsome men out of some heterosexual instinct, she never trusted them, let alone had any interest in getting to know them.

However, if Lilith were to open a bank, she would inevitably have to deal with male colleagues or clients. She would have to force herself to become familiar with the thoughts and ideas of these kinds of people. Being as perceptive as a socialite would definitely be beneficial in the business world.

"For example, the man behind you, though simply dressed, stands tall and proud, his gaze fixed on you, not even glancing at me. He has blond hair, blue eyes, a high nose, and deep-set eyes, almost like a German. He's your husband, isn't he? The two of you have such a good relationship."

“No, no! Actually, he was a slave I bought… Although I gave him a German name, he was originally a Slav…” Lilith explained hurriedly, her cheeks flushed slightly.

“Then you’ve certainly acquired a fine slave.” The socialite gave Lilith a knowing smile. “Oh, by the way, I heard you’re running a business managing women’s assets. I wonder if you could accept a new depositor?”

“Oh, of course, it’s my pleasure.” Lilith quickly instructed Heinrich to take out a new bankbook from his briefcase.

After the deposit was completed, Lilith, accompanied by Heinrich, returned home carrying a heavy bag of cash. Although she had gained a new client, she hadn't obtained any useful information directly related to Mauro. The casino had been investigated, and the residence had been visited; it seemed that only one option remained: to continue searching for clues.

A note from the author:

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After finishing this chapter, I suddenly remembered that there really is an NPC named Lilith in the Miracle Nikki series... But it seems like it's been eight years since I last played Miracle Nikki >_<

The next update is on Friday! [Let me see!]