Chapter 31: A rival's marriage proposal requires at least ten years of widowhood! ...

Lilith fell asleep on the sofa. When she woke up, she was lying on the large bed in the bedroom, wearing a slip and covered with a blanket, with Cecilia sitting by her bedside.

How long did I sleep?

“Less than an hour. Are you alright?” Cecilia looked at her mistress with great concern, clutching a letter sealed with wax in her hand.

"I'm fine." Lilith rubbed her still dizzy forehead and got out of bed. "What are you holding in your hand?"

“An invitation sent by Lorenzo Condalini,” Cecilia said hesitantly. “He invites you to have dinner at the Condalini palace tomorrow night.”

"Again?" Lilith frowned deeply. "Haven't he already gotten what he wanted? Wasn't that batch of spices enough? What else does he want from me?"

"No matter how the messenger asked, he refused to say why he had invited you, only saying that this was a private meeting and had nothing to do with business."

“That will only annoy me more.” Lilith rolled her eyes, clenching her fists around the blanket. “But this guy is clearly a ruthless character who won’t give up until he gets what he wants. If I don’t go, who knows what kind of trouble he’ll cause. Let Tata tell him I’m going tonight, and to get straight to the point, stop beating around the bush. You help me with my hair and makeup, and we’ll call Heinrich to come along later.”

"Heinrich went out after you fell asleep, saying he was going to finish the work you had assigned him."

"Oh, then let him be. You come with me."

Lilith sat on the soft stool in front of her dressing table, staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror as Cecilia used a hot towel soaked in rose water to remove her smudged makeup, then gently applied finely ground pearl powder to her skin to cover the dark circles under her eyes caused by lack of sleep. She hadn't even had time to carefully consider the things Elena and Clara had discussed before her visit—their talk of investment and opening branches—and now she had to immediately face news from her competitor, the outcome of which was uncertain.

Time seemed to speed up suddenly. She was being pushed along by her surroundings, relentlessly pushing her forward, leaving her breathless. But this was the path she had chosen, so she didn't regret it at all; on the contrary, she somewhat enjoyed it. The unknown symbolized opportunity, and risk meant reward. She didn't mind working overtime to run her business—provided she had a chance to catch up on sleep.

On the gondola ride to the Condalini's house, Lilith kept thinking about what Elena had told her. Now that her bank had gone from a secret between her boudoir and social balls to a registered member of the money changers' guild, even her once most trusted and relied-upon aunt had become somewhat of a stranger.

Less than five years ago, she was the least valued illegitimate daughter in the Knarro family. Elena's small act of kindness was enough to change the poor child's life. She would never forget Elena's kindness. But now things are different. Lilith's decisions not only need to consider herself, but also all her employees and clients.

The benefits Elena could offer were fresh cash capital, the reputation and connections the Cnarro family had built up in the Italian peninsula and throughout Western Europe, Sister Clara's assistance, and even the Vatican's further recognition of the bank and tacit approval of its lending activities. What Lilith, as the founder, needed to give up was relinquishing the bank's original name and a significant portion of its control.

Prior to this, her bank was entirely her own domain, with her controlling all business operations, products, and future strategic deployments. While Elena was involved in the execution, she had no intention of interfering with her development direction. Even the idea of ​​joining the money exchange guild through acquisition was Lilith's own, never discussed with Elena.

At least for now, Lilith could see that the guild license she had gone to so much trouble to obtain was more valuable than she had originally anticipated. It was like the first seed planted in the soil; even though it had only sprouted tender green shoots yet, it contained the potential to grow into a towering tree. This was why Elena wanted to invest.

But isn't opening three more branches outside Venice so quickly too fast and too aggressive? Florence is manageable; it's practically the headquarters of Elena's trading company, and she's already handled small-scale exchange transactions there. Elena can provide her with trustworthy agents. But Rome and Zurich are almost entirely unknown worlds. The risks of rash expansion are simply too great. But if Lilith insists on rejecting Elena's proposal, will this important partner still be willing to inject fresh capital as previously promised?

Lilith still hadn't found an answer, but the gondola had already docked at the shore. Lorenzo's servants had been waiting for her at the dock in front of their house for quite some time.

Lilith lifted the black veil to admire the magnificent palace. It was said that after Lorenzo came to power, renowned Siena artists were commissioned to redecorate it, and the blue dress worn by the Virgin Mary in the fresco was painted with the most expensive lapis lazuli pigment. Seeing this lavish decor, Lilith thought to herself that burning down one of their warehouses didn't seem so bad. For a large family like hers, with interests in multiple fields and industries, the loss of a single business line wouldn't be crippling.

It was late at night. Lorenzo was waiting for her in the private drawing room, wearing a bathrobe. Water droplets still clung to his chestnut hair, which he had just showered. On the coffee table beside the sofa were two carved Merano glasses, a bottle of Greek white wine, and a dark red, delicate velvet box.

“The arrival of Mrs. Schmidl has brought a touch of elegance to this empty palace,” Lorenzo said with a smile to Lilith, slowly uncorking the wine bottle with a corkscrew and pouring a glass of wine for the widow dressed in all black. He glanced at the shimmering emerald necklace on Lilith’s collarbone and the wary servants behind her.

“Good evening, Mr. Condalini. I’ve been very busy with official business lately and have no time for small talk.” Lilith made no attempt to hide her impatience.

“But I am truly honored that you have taken the time out of your busy schedule to visit me.” Lorenzo handed Lilith a wine glass, and as she lifted her veil to drink, he gazed intently into her large green eyes. Lilith unconsciously met his gaze. Behind Lorenzo’s glasses, his brown almond-shaped eyes were bathed in the warm honey light of the candlelight, blending with the woody scent of the room to create a carefully crafted sense of warmth.

Lilith had to admit that, by Venetian standards of beauty, Lorenzo was very handsome, gentle, elegant, and scholarly, and came from a first-rate, noble family. Despite having such excellent qualities, he remained unmarried past thirty, a mystery that remained a regular topic of gossip in high society.

She vaguely remembered that her father had arranged a marriage for her with the Condalini family before her engagement, but her birth as an illegitimate child seemed to be a huge stain. Even the unknown members of the Condalini family's collateral branches felt that marrying into the family with such a status would be a disgrace.

However, Lilith didn't care about any of this. "Love" was a concept to her so vague and ethereal that it was almost like a scam, and Lilith wanted to avoid it at all costs.

“I just don’t want to waste each other’s time. Although I can’t compare to your family’s wealth, I do have a bank under my management. Anyone who deals with money knows that time is as precious as money.”

"You always speak so incisively, like a rose with thorns, sharp and captivating."

“Mr. Condalini,” Lilith said sternly, trying to establish a clear boundary between them, “please get to the point.”

"Although this may not be the best time to be honest with you, since you don't want to beat around the bush anymore and are unwilling to wait any longer, I will tell you my thoughts frankly."

Lorenzo suddenly stood up, picked up the velvet box on the coffee table, and knelt on one knee in front of her.

"Mrs. Schmidl... no, please allow me to call you Miss Liliana. From the day I first met you, I was captivated by your beauty and intelligence. Later, upon learning of your ordeal at the Knarro's house and your unfortunate experience of being widowed, I felt even more sorry for you. You are still so young; your heart should not be buried with your fiancé's death. Therefore, I wish to propose to you, to become your husband and protect and cherish you."

Lilith stared wide-eyed, frozen in place, as Lorenzo opened the box and revealed a dazzling diamond ring to her. Even Cecilia gasped in shock.

“This is a diamond ring made by artisans in Antwerp using the latest cutting techniques. Not to mention Venice, you won’t find another one this big in the entire Italian peninsula.” Lorenzo smiled gently. “Only it can express my deep love for you and my unwavering vow.”

“Mr. Condalini,” Lilith took a deep breath, “thank you for your kindness. But I am of humble birth, and I have already been married and bear the Schmidl surname. I am not worthy of you at all…”

“You know I don’t care about these things.”

“Most importantly,” Lilith interrupted him somewhat impatiently, “Heinrich and I… corresponded for many years and had a very good relationship. So I don’t want to get married; I’d rather remain a widow for him for at least ten years…”

“I know what your real concern is, it must be your career, right?” Lorenzo still wore that enigmatic smile, as if he hadn’t heard Lilith’s words at all. “My dear banker, if you agree to marry me, I will not only not interfere with your career, but I will also hand over the management of Condalini Bank to you. What attracts me to you is your experience, wisdom, and business acumen that are different from ordinary women. I would never have the heart to let you lose the stage to make great achievements.”

"Thank you, but I refuse."

"You can think about it again. I admire your thoughtful approach to decision-making. In that respect, we are the same kind of people."

Lilith stood up, not intending to waste any more time with him: "If you truly appreciate me, please respect my wishes and choose someone else. I have other matters to attend to, please excuse me."

Goodnight, Liliana. We'll meet again soon. I'll ask for your final answer then.

"goodbye."

After saying this, Lilith took Cecilia's hand and left Lorenzo's palace without looking back. Everything that had just happened made her feel inexplicably nauseous. When she got home, she saw Heinrich waiting for her in the living room, wearing a cloak, as if he had just stepped inside himself.

"Where did you go out to do?" Lilith removed the black veil from her head and looked up at him, her face deathly pale. She half-reclined on the sofa, picked up the rose milk pudding that Ivanka had prepared for her from the coffee table, scooped out a spoonful, and put it in her mouth.

“I investigated Sherlock’s death.” Heinrich frowned and crossed his arms. “I found out that several homeless children witnessed the murder at the scene, but were afraid of retaliation and dared not tell the law enforcement officers the truth. They said the murderer was a dockworker employed by the Condalini family.”

"It was Lorenzo after all." Lilith's suspicions were confirmed, and a slight smile finally appeared on her tense face. "Where is he now?"

"It is said that he disappeared after committing the crime, and his body was only retrieved from the lagoon this evening. However, the body was already decomposed, and even law enforcement officers could not identify the cause of death."

“Use it and discard it, that’s so clean.” Lilith licked the rose syrup off the spoon. “Maybe we really are the same kind of people. Do you think I should really accept his proposal, my dear Heinrich?”

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Author's Note: I've been put on the "whip" (a term used to describe a difficult or unpleasant activity) again this week, so I'll only be updating three chapters. The next update will be on Monday.

Also, I want to say that I didn't follow the rankings because I wanted to reduce the word count or anything like that. It's simply because I'm usually too busy and write slowly (wiping sweat). Even if I used all my free time to write, I could only finish 4 chapters a week! My goal for my first book is to keep updating and finish it smoothly! Thank you all for your support.