Chapter 18: Surely no one will actually believe the unexpected frame-up? ...

Heavy raindrops pounded against the city floating on the sea outside the window, the sound of rain falling into the lagoon like the drumbeats before the overture. Men and women, each with their own ulterior motives, gathered together, pushing their disobedient illegitimate daughter to the center stage of the storm.

Lilith was stunned by this completely unexpected frame-up. "Red-haired Lillian"—what a ridiculous nickname, it had no imposing presence whatsoever. She preferred the nickname "Loan Shark Lilith."

Before Lilith could react, the orange-haired prostitute who identified her continued wiping her face: "About two months ago, shortly after Mr. Schmidl, Liliana's fiancé, perished at sea, she contacted our nanny through her mother's connections, introducing herself as 'Lilith,' and asking the nanny to introduce her to some business providing special services to dignitaries... I have this handkerchief she gave me as proof!"

The orange-haired woman pulled out an exquisite silk embroidered handkerchief. One corner was embroidered with lifelike red roses on both sides using a double-sided embroidery technique. Next to the roses was a line of delicate, cursive script, the signature "Liliana." Lilith recognized the handkerchief immediately—when she and Heinrich went to the brothel to try and bribe the prostitutes to obtain testimony, she had kindly handed the handkerchief to a weeping prostitute, never expecting it would be used to smear her.

“This double-sided embroidery technique can only be done by embroiderers from the Far East. It does indeed resemble the craftsmanship of the Eastern female slave who follows Liliana.” Lilith’s brother-in-law, Francisco, instructed a servant to bring the handkerchief over for inspection, and then passed it to the head of the family, Massimo, and Lilith’s father, Bruno, for examination.

“I have embroidered hundreds of such handkerchiefs for you, Madam. Who knows where they might have been accidentally lost and picked up by someone with good intentions,” Cecilia replied coldly, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present. “Furthermore, you have granted me the status of a free foreigner, therefore I am not a slave.”

"Heh... Free foreigner. A prostitute of my lowly status lives worse than a noble lady's maid. If she hadn't given me this handkerchief, how would I have had the chance to find such a fine one? That day, she saw me being bullied by a customer and was crying. Out of consideration for our past as colleagues, she gave me the handkerchief to wipe my eyes."

"How could this be!" Maria, sitting next to Mauro, looked surprised. "She's a daughter of the Knarro family, how could she do such a despicable thing!"

"May I ask, Madam and gentlemen, since the engagement, has the Knarro family continued to provide Liliana with living expenses?" Another light brown-haired prostitute kneeling on the ground asked the crowd.

“No, not at all.” Lilith’s father, Bruno, frowned deeply. “But it’s understandable. Ever since she graduated from the convent school at seventeen, she’s insisted on moving out and living alone. Elena found her a place, and she also has a large dowry book to take to the Schmidl family…”

“Because she no longer had the living expenses provided by her master, and her husband was killed by robbers, she lost her economic support and had to earn money through prostitution. Although her dowry was large, it would eventually run out…” the orange-haired prostitute added.

"Slap, slap, slap."

Lilith clapped her hands, sat down in her chair with a smile, and yawned.

“It must have been quite a feat for you to come up with such a complex story.” She leaned back in her chair, carefully observing the expressions of everyone present. “My household expenses for groceries and daily necessities alone amount to at least five ducats a month, not counting the wages and commissions I pay my servants. If I were really working myself to the bone in the cheap red-light district of Castro, as you say, earning Grosso silver coins, I wouldn’t be able to afford my daily expenses even if I worked myself to death.”

"You serve only wealthy and influential people, so naturally the prices you charge are different..."

"According to your logic, I'll do my job, and you can do yours. Even if I become the so-called 'top star,' I still can't steal your business. So what's your reason for coming all this way to report me?"

Lilith completely disregarded these absurd accusations. It was obvious that Mauro had bribed them to fabricate baseless charges. However, the flaws were so glaring that she didn't think anyone would actually believe them; instead, she was curious about their next move.

"Because you killed my child, you are a heretic, a witch!"

The black-haired prostitute, who had remained silent until now, suddenly raised her head and stared intently at Lilith's face with empty eyes, a stare that sent chills down Lilith's spine. She tried to recall the people she had ordered to be killed in the past, but couldn't recall any underage children among them.

“Ever since you came, my sisters have fallen ill one after another. Every time I wiped my face with the handkerchief you gave me, I had styes on my face the next morning. And my child… that day… you touched my child’s head, and not long after, she fell seriously ill and died! She was just a newborn baby girl… all of this is because of your witchcraft…”

"Just because Liliana is a member of your Knarro family, even the head matron can't do anything to her. She can only send us to denounce her so that we can carry out a witch trial on her and then execute her on the spot."

"Nonsense!" Lilith finally panicked. The lie accusing her of prostitution could be refuted with sufficient factual evidence, but this superstitious accusation of a witch trial left her at a loss for words. These three women were nothing but scoundrels, throwing tantrums and shoving mud at her, and she couldn't possibly argue with them using any reasonable logic.

“There’s only one way to judge a witch: bind her hands and feet and sink her in the water. If she floats, she’s guilty; if she sinks, she’s innocent,” Francisco muttered to himself. “But that’s too dangerous. Women often prove their innocence but are drowned. You want Liliana dead.”

“No! Liliana is my daughter after all. We cannot resort to such cruel interrogation.” Bruno unexpectedly straightened his back and defended his daughter. “If she has really done something wrong, it is my responsibility for failing to discipline her properly. But these three women, relying solely on a handkerchief, want to slander my daughter without any evidence. It’s despicable…!”

The orange-haired woman, somewhat intimidated by Bruno's retort, unconsciously glanced at Mauro. Mauro was also somewhat surprised by his father's opposition. However, he remained silent, secretly observing Massimo's attitude as he sat in the main seat.

“Liliana, do you have anything to say in your defense?” Massimo frowned as he looked at Lilith.

“Their accusations against me are twofold.” Lilith lifted the black veil in front of her, suppressing the anger and fear welling up inside her, and explained seriously to Massimo, “The first accusation is that I participated in [illegal activities]. The second is that I am a witch. The former is a prerequisite for the latter. And this prerequisite itself is nonsense. First of all, I don’t know them at all; secondly, I don’t need to make money through such despicable means, much less practice witchcraft. This is blatant slander and defamation.”

She turned to the three prostitutes and said, "You keep saying that I serve the guests of Venice's high society, so I'd like to ask, what are the names of my 'patrons'?"

“Those are your guests, they always come wearing masks, how would we know who they are…”

“You have absolutely no substantial evidence, yet you've smeared me like this, not only defaming my innocence as a daughter but also questioning my loyalty to God. You've turned right and wrong upside down, and your intentions are sinister!”

“Aren’t our three testimonies evidence?” The dark-haired woman raised her head and said earnestly, “My child died because of your witchcraft, and that’s why I’m risking offending the Knarro family to seek justice for her. Are you saying that just because you’re both citizens of the Republic of Venice, your noble families can get away with your crimes?”

"To subject me to a water trial without any evidence is not fair; it's blatant and premeditated murder!"

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, Maria suddenly spoke up:

"If we want to prove Liliana's innocence... there is another way besides a water trial. Although Liliana is nominally married to Heinrich of the Schmidl family, they have never actually consummated their marriage, so she should still be a virgin. If we ask the family priest to examine her and prove that she is still a virgin, we can clear her of suspicion and prove that she has neither sold herself to disgrace the family nor could she be a witch."

“That’s a good method,” Mauro, who had remained silent until now, chimed in. “But if Liliana’s examination reveals she’s not a virgin, then the three women’s words might have some credibility…”

“Absurd!” Lilith interrupted him angrily. “I am Heinrich Schmidl’s wife. Even if my husband is dead, you cannot allow other men to freely examine my body! Even if you could clear my name, it would be a great humiliation!”

"Compared to a thorough investigation, this is already a compromise." Mauro raised an eyebrow smugly, looking at Lilith's exasperated expression. "Otherwise, what other way could you possibly come up with to prove your innocence?"

"The burden of proof lies with the accused. How can I, as the defendant, prove my innocence?"

"We can't just let this go! We have to get to the bottom of this!" the orange-haired prostitute retorted. "Otherwise, wouldn't it be the Knarro family abusing their power?"

"This concerns the reputation of the Knarro family. As the head of the family, I cannot sit idly by." Seeing that the crowd was about to turn into a mess again, Massimo announced sternly, "Liliana, for the sake of the family's honor and for your own innocence, I think you should cooperate with Maria's suggestion and undergo a physical examination."

“I refuse. Such an examination would damage my innocence.”

Lilith blinked, clutching her skirt as she analyzed the situation. On the surface, Maria had proposed a more lenient, "fair" test, but in reality, if Lilith agreed to the test, she would be voluntarily stepping into the rules of the game they had set.

Leaving aside the humiliation of being examined, if the priest they bribed were to declare her "not a virgin," it would be tantamount to confirming her crime of unchastity and selling her body—a stain she could never clear even if she jumped into a lagoon. Faced with such overwhelming slander, what could she possibly do to salvage the situation?

Cecilia bent down and whispered in Lilith's ear that Tata, along with Solomon Goldstein, was waiting outside the main palace for a summons. She then remembered that before leaving, she had specifically instructed Heinrich and Tata to separately invite the bishop and the Jewish bank seller—both witnesses who could testify to the bank's legitimate operation. But now, facing completely baseless slander, what use would these two witnesses be, even if they were brought?

"Go and fetch the family priest." Massimo coldly ordered his servants, not intending to inquire further about Lilith's opinion, and ignoring her firm refusal.

Lilith felt an uncontrollable fear from the depths of despair wash over her. Her dead husband's name offered her no protection. She had only met the three women who had denounced her once, speaking kindly to them and even tipping them. Yet, a higher bribe could easily have turned them against her. Would the priest she had been secretly cultivating, faced with a greater temptation, also make the same ungrateful choice?

She turned her gaze to Mauro, her own brother with the same grey-green eyes, who, since she could remember, had used his status as the legitimate son and his gender to subject her to all sorts of violence and humiliation. The red-haired girl's initial fear transformed into anger, and then that anger coalesced into resistance. If it weren't for Mauro's relentless abuse, she might not have been so eager to move out of her home, so eager to establish her own household, even at the cost of murdering her innocent fiancé, rather than let her fate fall into the hands of another man again. The Liliana of today was no longer that little girl who was beaten without the strength to fight back. No matter what, she was determined to fight back with her own strength.

“I refuse,” Lilith declared firmly again. “I cannot accept any man subjecting me to a so-called physical examination. If an examination is absolutely necessary, it should be conducted by a nun, not a priest. The headmistress of the convent school is a highly respected old nun, and I believe…”

"How can that be? Your teacher might protect you because of your friendship, right?" Mauro said somewhat guiltily, trying to stop him.

“Isn’t there a possibility that the family priest could be bribed?” Lilith sneered mercilessly, then turned her gaze to Massimo. “I don’t mind having a few more people do the checks, but there are two requirements: they must all be women; secondly, they must be women who are not easily bribed.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door to the reception room was suddenly pushed open.

A note from the author:

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Next update on Friday [Let me see!]