Chapter 63 The Only Wife, the Extremely Desperate Man to Marry, Heinrich is Crying Again...

Lilith stood there awkwardly, watching her husband break down in tears behind a mask.

“I haven’t done any of the things you’re talking about, at least not some of them.” Lilith didn’t understand why she could evoke such a strong emotional response from the other person.

He's clearly the one in control now, so why does he keep having mental breakdowns in front of her? Were her words really that hurtful? Well, this guy is easier to deal with than she thought. Although he's somewhat difficult to communicate with, he doesn't seem completely impossible.

“Heinrich,” she tried to get used to calling him by the name that belonged to him, “I did send men to kill you. Yes, I caused the deaths of all your confidants; I gave the orders myself. But I had nothing to do with your father’s death. I didn’t know Helmut at all. I first heard his name a few times from my father when he was arranging this marriage. The next time we crossed paths was when he sent the obituary for your father.”

"And... although saying this might not make you feel any better, after that, one by one my confidants died unnatural deaths. Perhaps it's a kind of retribution."

This time, he was speechless and frozen in place. He turned his head blankly, staring at her in disbelief.

“Heinrich, you truly have no grudge against me. I did have reasons for doing so at the time… I really didn’t want to leave Venice. I had my career, my friends, and the environment I needed here… I absolutely did not want to marry into a German family. But at that time, I was too insignificant and humble in my family. I couldn’t take any normal steps to control my future. This was the only way I could defy fate…”

"The only way... was to sacrifice my life. So even now, you still have no regrets about the decision you made?" the man asked through gritted teeth, anger clearly outweighing his grief. "You have no idea how much I've sacrificed for our marriage... I worked myself to the bone for the family business, just to save money to choose the best gemstones for your wedding. I practiced Italian and Latin every day so that I could speak to you in a language you understand..."

"So, I'm trying to communicate with you now..."

"Communication? Only after you've fallen into my hands will you realize there's still a way to communicate? It's too late! There's no turning back! It's all too late to go back... I've become someone I despise... Everything is irreversible. But don't be afraid, I'm not as ruthless as you. I don't intend to kill you to get revenge. I just want you to become my wife. I'll take you away soon, and we'll leave this dangerous place together..."

Where are you taking me?

“Of course, we’ll go home, back to our home. We’ll have a grand, formal wedding, and you’ll become my wife…” For some reason, Lilith noticed a hint of hesitation in her eyes. “As for your confidantes… not all of them have left you. Ivanka, that Polish maid, she’s not dead, just badly injured. I’ve sent her to the best sanatorium. Once she’s healed, we can leave Venice together, and you won’t have to worry about not having good food to your liking…”

"You're practically using Ivanka as a hostage to threaten me."

“No, Lilith, not everyone is as wicked as you. I just want to be kind to you because I love you.”

"But all I want is freedom."

She looked up at him, her gaze unwavering, as if it could pierce through the thin mask and penetrate his heart.

“…You need to rest now.” He stood up unsteadily. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Hannah will come in to take care of you. She doesn’t understand Italian and doesn’t have a key to the room. Don’t try anything funny with her.”

“Whether it’s tomorrow, the day after, months, or years, my thoughts will never change. I want freedom. If you want to lock me up here, I will find ways to torture you severely. Once you let your guard down, I will find an opportunity to kill you with my own hands. What’s the point of keeping a venomous snake like me by your side?”

Her husband offered no further response, and as if unable to face her, hurriedly left the cramped little room. A strange blonde maid entered in his place. She pushed open a small cart laden with toiletries and a change of clothes, then casually closed the door, locking it from the outside.

Lilith sighed, got up from the ground, and walked to the cart to take a look. The creamy white silk dress with lace trim was indeed much more comfortable than the one she was wearing now. The makeup remover and fragrance were the kinds she often bought from the workshop she knew.

Perhaps Ivanka told him these details. He was indeed very attentive, but no matter how much he tried, it was useless; her stance would never change because of these small favors.

However, since the opportunity had been delivered to her doorstep, Lilith had no reason not to use it. A good night's sleep tonight would allow her to come up with a better plan tomorrow.

Before falling asleep, she lay in bed carefully considering her conversation with her fiancé. There were just too many inexplicable points in it.

Since he hasn't died, what has he been doing for the past six months? The assassin Lilith hired carried out the attack in the lagoon area, so why is he appearing in Zurich with Lilith? Are the scars on his face congenital or acquired? What exactly did he go through?

Of all these questions, the one that she couldn't understand the most was why he kept repeating that he liked her very much, loved her, and wanted to protect her, even though they had only met once.

Does an arranged marriage truly possess such powerful "love" magic, or was it simply love at first sight in the ballroom? He clearly knew she had personally sent someone to kill him, and even mistakenly believed she was colluding with his father's killer. With such a deep-seated blood feud, he could have easily killed her, or stood idly by while her tragic fate unfolded. Why then did he pay to buy her away, insisting she marry him?

Was he trying to humiliate her like Lorenzo did? The price of that would be too high. And the words he spoke, choked with tears, didn't sound like lies at all; they sounded like heartfelt words poured out from the depths of his soul. He seemed to truly love her.

This puzzled Lilith even more. Was love synonymous with imprisonment and confinement? Lilith didn't think so. She loved her friends and companions, so she never interfered in their lives and gave every slave she bought the opportunity to work in order to redeem their freedom. Love should be freedom. If only Heinrich Schmidl could understand this.

Heinrich… Lilith covered her face with the blanket, silently murmuring the name she knew so well. What, then, was love to her Heinrich? Was it a sacrifice where he would rather die than let her live?

The image of Heinrich confessing his love to her while pinned against the flames flashed through her mind again. For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. She suddenly missed him terribly, longed for him to hold her and read her bedtime stories, wanted to ruffle his always-groomed blond hair like a pet, wanted to ride horses with him, row boats with him, and explore the unknown with him. She wanted him to come and save her, to take her away from here—but she knew it would never happen.

Her Heinrich is dead; now she has to rely on herself for everything.

She decided to get some sleep now and try to persuade her fiancé again tomorrow. If she still couldn't reach an agreement amicably, she would have to resort to another method. After all, her fiancé wasn't chaining her up like a slave trader, so she still had a chance to escape.

At the other end of the corridor, "another" Heinrich locked himself in another equally simple and cramped bedroom. He closed the window, drew the curtains, and after making sure no one could see him, he took off his hat and removed the mask soaked with tears.

He stood before the mirror, forcing himself to scrutinize the face he dared not even look at. From his right forehead down his cheek, a crisscrossing network of festering wounds, congealed scabs, and newly grown pink flesh crisscrossed the area. Only through the still-intact left half of his face could one discern his identity. Compared to the devastating burns on his right cheek, a scar on his left brow bone was negligible.

He collapsed, turning around and kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Thankfully, she hadn't seen his face clearly. He absolutely couldn't let Lilith know who this ugly and violent fiancé was… he absolutely couldn't let her know that he was the "trusted partner and important friend" she spoke of…

He felt a heart-wrenching pain in his chest. The Heinrich of the past had fantasized countless times about the moment he would successfully avenge himself on Lilith. He imagined himself triumphantly telling her that Heinrich and Heinrich were the same person, exposing his long-standing loyalty and obedience as mere pretense, and then forcing her to become his wife.

Time will heal her wounds, and resentment will turn into love, just like Heinrich did after meeting Lilith... He originally thought he would hate her to the core, but now he belatedly realizes that his love has swelled to the point that he can no longer do anything to hurt her.

Not to mention the colossal misunderstanding that spurred his decision to take action against Lilith—he firmly believed that Lilith was in cahoots with Helmut, an accomplice in his father's death and his mother's remarriage. But in reality, he had no evidence whatsoever, nor had he ever bothered to investigate.

On second thought, there was quite a bit of evidence to suggest she hadn't done it. For example, Lilith's high level of vigilance towards Helmut's agent, Pascal, during their trip to Zurich, and her usual friendly attitude towards William. If she were truly in cahoots with Helmut, why would she have William work for her instead of eliminating him? Furthermore, Lilith didn't actually speak German, and had no close confidants who did. With her vocabulary limited to just a few sentences, how could she possibly conspire with Helmut?

But... it was all too late.

His love for Lilith drove him to rush into the inferno to save her. Melting paint burned his face, and the smoke choked his throat. Fortunately, William arrived in time to rescue him, saving her life. Once his wounds began to heal, he quickly began searching the entire city of Venice for her. He bribed Lorenzo's men and learned that Lilith had been sold to slave traders, so he immediately set sail for the slave island.

He ordered the slaughter of every slave trader on the island and burned down all the sinful prisons, torture chambers, and trading houses. He released every poor slave, searching for Lilith within them, but to no avail. He frantically searched the entire dark world of Venice, finally finding her at the auction.

From the moment he saw Lilith's sunken cheeks, he began to regret all the vengeful things he had done. He had never seen her so haggard, yet she still negotiated with him with unwavering strength and grace, trying to change her fate. She was stronger, more determined, and more remarkable than he had imagined. But he loved her too much; he didn't want to let her go, and he didn't know what to do.

If he hadn't secretly cultivated his own power behind Lilith's back, and hadn't interfered with her decisions, sowing the seeds of future trouble, perhaps neither she nor Lilith would have ended up in this situation. He could still be her "trusted partner and important friend," he could talk to her with a smile, and he could hold her and wipe away her tears, instead of becoming true enemies like they are now.

-----------------------

Author's note: Heinrich's fragmentation level is 90%...

I bought it for 500 after finishing the clip... I'm so touched... A special thank you to all the teachers for their support... I wonder if I'll ever get a thousand copies after this book is finished (just dreaming).

Next update on Wednesday, code removal countdown begins!!!