Chapter 60 The Inferno of Heinrich's Death

Before Lilith could comment on the rumors about the masked man, she heard someone urgently knocking on the office door.

"Come in."

Heinrich opened the door, but behind him were two unfamiliar faces dressed in law enforcement uniforms.

“We have received a report that you are suspected of murder and arson. We need to arrest you immediately, or you can choose to post bail.”

"Go get the money." Lilith, trying to appear calm, handed the vault key to Heinrich, who was standing by the door. "When is the trial?"

“One month later.” The bailiff placed the court summons on the table in front of her.

"I understand. Go with my subordinate to collect the money."

After dismissing everyone, Lilith closed the door and sat alone in her chair, her mind blank. The sound of her shoes tapping on the floor made her anxious. Even though she knew Lorenzo's accusations didn't necessarily mean she would lose the case, she had never been to court or been involved in a lawsuit before, and it all felt terrifying and foreign to her.

"It's alright, it's alright," she tried to reassure herself. The man had been dead for so long, and the warehouse affair was long gone, leaving no way to prove anything. The only thing Lorenzo couldn't use against her was the secret lending to the Duchy of Milan on the black market…

She belatedly realized that Lorenzo hadn't mentioned this point when listing her crimes the previous night. Because from beginning to end, only Heinrich and she had handled this matter; Tata was completely unaware of it. And as long as this matter didn't come to light… she still had a chance to be acquitted…

As Lilith pondered, she silently turned the ruby ​​wedding ring on her ring finger; the cool touch of the ring calmed her down.

Despite Lorenzo's confident assertions last night, he actually had no substantial evidence other than the message Tata relayed. Tata, during yesterday's conversation, displayed a death-defying remorse, and if summoned as a witness, she would undoubtedly side with him.

Thankfully, she didn't kill Tata—her hidden agenda inadvertently helped her. If she could get Tata to cooperate with her from the inside, feigning allegiance to Lorenzo, but then suddenly recanting her testimony in court, it might ultimately help her. Lorenzo wasn't exactly immune to dirty tricks. Even if Lilith had no evidence, so what? Sherlock's death was inextricably linked to him, and having someone follow her was a real crime he had committed.

She suddenly remembered that when she had Heinrich kill the translator, had she searched him for evidence that he was acting under Lorenzo's orders? She had indeed become too complacent and had been so focused on her work that she had forgotten to deliberately collect any incriminating evidence against Lorenzo.

After Heinrich saw off the bail officers who had come to collect the bail money, he immediately returned to Lilith's office. Lilith leaned close to his ear and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.

“I did take the letters between Lorenzo and Dante.” But that was to imitate Lorenzo’s wording and handwriting. “They should be in my suitcase in my room. I’ll take them out when I get back if you need them.”

“I’m counting on you.” Lilith breathed a sigh of relief. “Before that, there’s one more important thing I need to entrust to you… or perhaps not you, let William do it… find Tata.”

Heinrich looked at Lilith's distraught state, hesitated, and wondered whether he should tell her the truth he had just been told.

"What? You think I shouldn't have spared her life? She's still very useful. Sigh, actually I shouldn't have let her go..."

“Tata… was found in the lagoon by law enforcement officers last night.”

"What??"

"Madam, please accept my deepest condolences." Heinrich watched helplessly as Lilith's tears streamed down her face. "The officers are still investigating the cause of her death; the initial assessment is that she drowned around midnight..."

For a moment, Lilith suddenly felt like she couldn't hear anything anymore. She then realized that she was still wearing the bracelet that Tata had woven for her. The cheerful and bright little girl who used to be like the warm spring sun had drowned in the dark sea and would never come back.

No, her bank subordinates were still sitting in the outer office; she couldn't let them hear her crying. So she could only bite her handkerchief tightly, burying her tear-streaked face in her wide puff sleeves and sobbing silently. Heinrich was about to go over and comfort her when Lilith suddenly sat up straight, wiped her wet eyes and cheeks, and continued to hold the knife and open the letter as if nothing had happened.

“Heinrich,” she swallowed back her sobs, calmly uttering his name, “go find a good lawyer, sort out the case, and prepare for the court appearance next week.”

"Yes, ma'am."

Heinrich closed the door, leaned against it, and took a deep breath. The events of the past two days had been overwhelming for him. He knew nothing of Tata's betrayal. He had previously assumed Tata's feelings towards him stemmed from girlish sensitivity, but he hadn't expected these feelings to escalate to the point where she would turn to Lorenzo.

Knowing all this, Heinrich inexplicably felt sorry for Lilith again. Even though he wanted revenge on Lilith, he never intended to kill her close associates, especially a young girl who wasn't even an adult yet. Although Tata's death wasn't his fault, but rather her own doing, Heinrich still felt regret. He could only try to convince himself that this was an unavoidable part of the revenge process. Compared to Lilith, he had already done his best to minimize the radiation damage from venting his personal anger. After all, Lilith hadn't shown any remorse when she ordered the killing of all his close associates.

He would still help Lilith complete the tasks she assigned; no matter what, he couldn't let Lilith fall into Lorenzo's hands. She was his wife; only he could decide her fate, only he could control her life and death, only he... could protect her.

Is that really the case?

Perhaps he made a mistake, perhaps he shouldn't have done it, perhaps the entanglement of love and hate had blinded him. But there was no turning back for him.

After a long day at work, Lilith dragged her weary body home. Ivanka anxiously brought her dinner, which she had reheated several times. Tonight, she had baked Lilith's favorite lamb chops, but Lilith only took a small bite before leaving the rest aside. Even while eating dessert, she used her left hand to dig into the cake while simultaneously pulling out unfinished calculations from her briefcase and starting to write furiously.

Lilith herself vaguely knew that her body couldn't continue to be worn down indefinitely; the work pressure she was under was nearing its limit. She was already overwhelmed with overtime work due to the devastating news of the war cutting off trade routes, and now she had to add another layer of work to her workload because of her feud with Lorenzo.

She recalled Lorenzo's unusually hysterical outburst last night. What exactly was the relationship between this so-called Antonio and Lorenzo? Could it be that her casual remark had actually guessed correctly—that Lorenzo's subordinate was the reason he was still unmarried at thirty? Could it be that Lilith's rumor had struck a nerve with Lorenzo, causing his elders to discover this illicit relationship and force him to break off the affair?

This explains why Lorenzo insisted on marrying her even though he didn't love her. The marriage he wanted was just a pretense, which is why he approached Lilith, knowing that she also resisted marriage, only for completely different reasons.

So this was the real reason Lorenzo was so devastated that he wanted to break off all ties with her. It wasn't about career at all; it was ultimately about emotions. Lilith laughed out loud when she realized this. He was, after all, a savage animal driven by emotions—meaning that as long as she remained calm, she could definitely find a way to exploit his weaknesses during his emotional outbursts. Although she was currently at a significant disadvantage, she shouldn't be discouraged. She needed to calm down, to calm down, like a lurking viper, waiting in the darkness for the perfect moment to strike her prey deadly.

Along the way, she had already weathered countless crises. Poisoning, slander, stalking, robbery, curses, ambushes… so many attempts to frame her had failed to take her life. Even though Tata's betrayal and departure devastated her, she still had her Aunt Elena in Florence actively helping her resolve her cash flow problems, two close friends seeking refuge in Ferrara, Cecilia honing her skills in Rome, and the unwavering loyalty of Ivanka and Heinrich by her side. She was never alone. This crisis, like every one before, would be overcome through their combined efforts.

Thinking this, Lilith pulled the covers over herself, hugged the rabbit doll Heinrich had given her, and drifted off to sleep.

This time, she didn't dream of the man in the black mask. Instead, she saw an endless, raging inferno, just like the hellfire described by Dante in *The Divine Comedy*. Thick, black smoke billowed from the flames, choking Lilith and causing her to cough violently, almost unable to breathe. She saw a tall man, entirely in black, emerge from the smoke, approaching her step by step. Was he a demon, or Death? No, neither. He was the man in the black mask, the embodiment of the nightmare in her mind. He still had no intention of letting her go.

"Madam, wake up! Wake up!"

Lilith was jolted awake by the smell of burning in the air. Through the thick smoke, she could vaguely make out Heinrich's face. He was holding her in his arms, his hand covered with a wet black handkerchief, and stuffing a long, damp towel into her hand as well.

"What happened?" Lilith watched in disbelief as her dream turned into reality. A dizzying sensation swept over her as Heinrich carried her uncomfortably out of the bedroom. Below the stairs lay a sea of ​​crimson flames and billowing black smoke.

"Heinrich, what's going on?" Lilith couldn't believe her eyes; she wished she were still trapped in the nightmare world from which she couldn't wake up.

Heinrich didn't answer her question, but instead carried her, bending down to walk down the stairs. Suddenly, the portrait of her husband that Lilith had arranged to hang at the top of the stairs crashed down, the huge frame burning as it pressed down on Heinrich's back. He abruptly pushed Lilith away—

"Heinrich!!!"

"Lilith." Heinrich stared at the raging fire before him, and for some reason, suddenly fell into a strange calm. He softly called Lilith's name to say goodbye.

"Please forgive me for saying this at this inopportune time. But... I used to have many goals, and I did many wrong things in order to achieve them. I was tormented, as if something was tying my neck and choking me."

“Heinrich…don’t be afraid, I will get you out…” Lilith paced back and forth anxiously. The picture frame holding Heinrich was engulfed in flames, and she had no idea what to do.

“But when I realized that death was coming, I suddenly felt relieved.” Heinrich smiled with relief. “Lilith, I love you. I fell in love with you the first time I met you. Congratulations on finally achieving your wish. Since that’s the case, please live well.”

“Heinrich, what are you saying? You won’t die, I won’t let you die, I will… cough cough cough…” Lilith’s eyes were filled with tears from the thick smoke. She realized that if she didn’t get out soon, she would die here with Heinrich—no, she had to live. Heinrich had sacrificed himself here to save her, she had to live…

She turned around desperately and ran towards the gate of the villa not far away. When she finally escaped the hellish inferno, she vaguely saw neighbors calling for help to pump water from the lagoon to put out the fire. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the stone pavement. Suddenly, someone covered her mouth with a damp cloth with a strange fragrance. She felt dizzy and lost consciousness.

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The author's note: When discussing Heinrich's character with a close friend, she aptly remarked that the early Heinrich resembled a privileged white man in a traditional Western conservative utopian narrative. This summary is incredibly accurate.

At the beginning of the story, he is a kind, upright, brave, and wealthy male character who is almost the "perfect" male character in fairy tales, resembling the "Prince Charming" in white horses. His family background is so privileged that he can live and grow up in such a utopian environment.

Lilith's betrayal shattered the utopian narrative he had believed in for eighteen years, pulling him into the harsh reality Lilith had faced for those eighteen years. In the real world, money isn't something you inherit from your elders at birth; you have to earn it yourself through hard work. Courage isn't like child's play in a knight's training ground; it's the unwavering determination to fight your way through adversity.

He was quickly drawn to the powerful and resolute Lilith—her existence completely shattered his understanding of the world. But she was also far too sharp, too incisive. So at the end of the first volume, he resolutely chose to take revenge on her—not by killing her, but by forcing her to marry him in a way that would cause her even more pain than death.

His biggest mistake was that, as he gradually came to understand Lilith and was able to guess her subtle thoughts in small things, he believed he was capable of maintaining their marriage while making her happy. He completely overlooked the fact that Lilith's aversion to marriage itself was the root cause that drove her to kill her fiancé. Even now, he hasn't truly understood Lilith, which is indirectly the root cause of their current "tragedy."

However, this story has a happy ending, so both he and Lilith still have the opportunity to grow. The next chapter will begin Volume 3, so please stay tuned!