Chapter 77 A triumphant rebuttal! Haha, I'll shut you all up! ...

"What!?" Lilith's eyes widened in disbelief, her jaw nearly dropping in shock.

She quickly tried to recall who this cousin named Adelaide was. She was Massimo's youngest daughter, and his only legitimate daughter, and had just turned fourteen. As an illegitimate child, Lilith had never been allowed to associate with noble and pure legitimate daughters, and therefore was completely unfamiliar with this cousin.

“Heinrich Schmidl… he is, after all, the heir to the viscountcy,” Lilith’s father, Bruno, continued somewhat apologetically. “We’ve discussed it and still hope to maintain the engagement with the Schmidl family. Since you’ve already reached a private agreement with them, we can’t force you. We just hope you can act as a go-between for your cousin…”

"Utterly foolish," Lilith thought to herself with a sneer. The fact that Heinrich was still alive was a deliberate leak at her behest. But Venice and Frankfurt were a long and arduous journey; Helmut naturally had no idea, nor could he possibly be connected to the Knarro family in any way. And these foolish old men were completely oblivious to the power struggles within the Schmidl family, unaware that the Schmidl family had long since lost power and that Heinrich's situation was actually precarious. They still thought this was a good marriage, hoping to marry their legitimate daughter off to him and reap the benefits!

Besides, Heinrich belonged to Lilith alone. Even if she didn't want to marry him, he was still hers alone—her slave, her lover, her dog, her toy. She absolutely did not want to see him marry someone else. Heinrich's gentle kisses flashed through her mind, his bright blue eyes like a clear sky, his full chest and strong arms… He was hers, all of him was hers, and she would never share him with anyone else.

Lilith grew increasingly angry, so angry she wanted nothing more than to gag those old geezers and throw them into the lagoon. Moreover, she hadn't seen Heinrich in far too long, nor had they exchanged any correspondence. She had no idea what he was thinking now, or whether he would even be willing to rekindle their relationship after she had pushed him away. Massimo and the others' words ignited her long-suppressed rage, causing her pent-up emotions to erupt into a raging inferno.

“Besides, you must know that this war and pandemic have also dealt a heavy blow to the family business. You’ve grown your business by leveraging the reputation of the Knarro family, so you must have made a lot of money, right? Adelaide is your cousin, and she’s going to marry your former fiancé. You’ll have to contribute some dowry money. We’ve already discussed it, and as long as you hand over the dowry money we gave you before, we will never interfere with your marital status again. You can even remain a spinster for the rest of your life.” Francisco added with an air of importance.

“I won’t agree.” Lilith leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and glared at them. “Absolutely not.”

“Liliana, don’t forget you’re still a daughter of the Knarro family. Remember your identity—” Massimo was about to give her a stern rebuke when Lilith interrupted him.

“Me, remember my own identity? You guys are shameless! My identity is Liliana Knarro Schmidl, the fiancée of Heinrich, with whom I had a proxy wedding! Even if I want to cancel the engagement, that's my own business, and it's none of your concern!”

"Insolence!" Massimo roared. "Is this how you speak to your elders?"

"Is this how you talk to your juniors? A bunch of lazy, disrespectful lunatics! Mr. Massimo, how old are you? You're practically on your deathbed, and you haven't even made a name for yourself in your career, yet you expect a nineteen-year-old girl like me to help with your daughter's dowry? If you're crazy, go to a mental hospital. I'm not a doctor!"

The three old men were stunned speechless by Lilith's words and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"I think it's because Aunt Elena and I were too good to you before, giving you our share of the profits we made! You still have the nerve to act like elders in front of me, without even considering who's actually making money in the whole family right now! When my house burned down and I was missing for over a month, none of you took any responsibility as elders to look for me or help me. Now that I'm doing so well, you all come to me like beggars asking for money, and you're even putting on airs! It's truly a betrayal of the natural order!"

“Liliana, we understand you’re a bit emotional, but please don’t get agitated…” Francisco said with an awkward smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Uncle Francisco, aren't you unmarried too? Since you all like Heinrich so much and insist on dragging someone out of your homes to marry him, why not choose you? Instead of worrying about me becoming an old spinster who can't get married, why not deal with you, this unwanted old man, first!"

“Liliana…you…” Bruno was so angry that his face turned red, and he looked like he was about to vomit blood. “How could I have raised such a daughter…”

"Please, did you really teach me anything? I'm asking you! But thankfully you didn't. Look at the state of your precious son, whom you raised with such care. I wish I hadn't been negatively influenced by you! If you still remember you're my father, if you have any conscience or self-awareness, your life of luxury for the rest of your days will be thanks to my success. Now you'd better put away your fatherly attitude!"

"What else do you want?!" Bruno stared at her in disbelief, utterly exhausted by her retort.

“You’ve probably heard about my feud with Lorenzo. He’s accused me of murder and arson and has submitted the charges to the Committee of Forty.” Lilith swept her cold gaze across each of them, telling them bluntly, “I need you to use all your social connections to get me in touch with officials on the committee who are close to the Knarro family. I also need my father, Bruno, to testify on my behalf.”

“You just humiliated us all without any mercy, and now you want us to tear off the mask of friendship with the head of the Condalini family for your sake?” Francisco gasped, almost unable to believe how absurd he was hearing.

"This isn't for me, it's for yourselves. At the rate you squander your wealth, if it weren't for Aunt Elena and me fighting on the front lines, you would have already ruined the entire Knarro family's reputation. The Condarini family isn't attacking me, they're attacking Knarro Bank, the entire bank that bears the family name! So now you have to help me deal with them. Think about it carefully!"

Lilith finished speaking in one breath, then leaned back in her chair, slightly out of breath, and waited quietly for the reaction of the three elders whose expressions were extremely unpleasant.

“If I help you appear in court, your cousin’s dowry…” Bruno looked troubled and pleaded with her.

"This is terrible," Lilith exclaimed. "So the Knarro family is really so poor that they can't even afford a dowry for their eldest daughter's marriage?"

“Your father, perhaps grieving over Mauro’s death, racked up a debt of nearly a thousand ducats at the casino last month.” Massimo hesitated for a long time before finally revealing the real reason that had prompted them to seek money from Lilith.

"My God." Lilith gasped.

"To prevent him from gambling again, we've already assigned people to strictly control his movements. However, this huge deficit..."

“Alright then,” Lilith sighed. “If you can help me get through this court battle, I will fund my cousin’s education at the convent school. As long as she studies well, I will provide a dowry as a token of my support for younger women, just as Aunt Elena did for me. The condition is that you must not pursue Heinrich again, nor force her to marry a complete stranger, and certainly not marry her off to some remote, impoverished place for money. The husband must be someone she is satisfied with, and I must also approve of him.”

"Then the debts your father owes..." Massimo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lilith's attitude had finally softened, and tried to continue bargaining.

"Excuse my frankness, but he is a middle-aged man in his forties, capable of doing anything himself. There is no reason for me, his illegitimate daughter, to pay for his debts. I have already made significant concessions. In truth, I could have won this lawsuit without your help. I have already done more than enough by agreeing to this deal with you."

“Deal. I’ll have my men prepare a contact list for you later. I’m not feeling well, so I won’t be able to attend the dinner tonight.” Massimo gritted his teeth, stood up from his chair, trying to salvage some of his dignity as the head of the family, and ordered Bruno imperiously, “Cooperate well with your daughter.”

"I understand," Bruno replied timidly.

“In that case, I have other things to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now.” Lilith glanced at her good-for-nothing father. “I’ll have a lawyer come over later and tell you what to say.”

“Lily, my daughter… I actually heard about the fire at your house,” Bruno said to Lilith after Massimo and Francisco had left, catching up with her. “But you also heard about my situation; I was too busy taking care of myself to come and help you…”

"Enough." Lilith clenched her fists, turned around angrily and glared at him. "You've ended up like this entirely because of your own fault. Don't expect a few words of apology to win my sympathy."

"I'm sorry." Bruno stopped where he was, no longer moving forward. "Luckily, you're a good kid and didn't follow in my footsteps."

Lilith didn't want to deal with her father's belated remorse anymore. Everything that had happened in the palace was painful for her, and she didn't want to face it at all, so she hurriedly left with Hannah.

She suddenly missed Heinrich. She recalled the first time she truly considered Heinrich a partner: during the Mauro incident, Heinrich's resourcefulness. At that time, Heinrich hadn't yet made up his mind to seek revenge, and his kindness towards her was purely altruistic.

She couldn't help but fantasize that Heinrich would be by her side when she faced Lorenzo in court this time... No, this time she had to rely on her own strength to solve everything on her own, and after everything was over, she would be able to reunite with him soon.

Preparations are now complete, and the testimonies and evidence to clear his name are all ready. However, if we can obtain the same crucial evidence to counter Lorenzo as we did with Mauro, we might be able to turn this passive situation into a brilliant counterattack.

As Lilith pondered this, the small boat brought her to her doorstep. Entering the living room, she was about to rest when she saw Isolde sitting in chairs with her maid, waiting for her.

“Isolde? Why are you back! You didn’t even write to tell me beforehand, and I didn’t make any preparations. How was the harvest festival?” Lilith stepped forward with delight, wanting to hug her friend, but saw a solemn and doubtful expression on her face.

“Lilith,” Isolde stood up, skipping the pleasantries, and said seriously, “I have found you a key witness who may be able to bring Lorenzo down. He is a messenger who runs errands for Lorenzo between Venice and Padua, and can testify to Lorenzo’s connection with the Paduan rebels. I have had his family taken into custody, and he cannot possibly lie in court.”

"That's great! My goodness, that's amazing! You must have gone to a lot of trouble for me..."

“After all, the bandits posing as werewolves in that forest were once my servants,” Isolde explained coldly. “Catching a lone messenger is more than enough.”

"I really don't know how to thank you..." Lilith said, feeling very puzzled. This was clearly great news, so why did Isolde seem so distressed? Did she have some unspeakable secret?

“I have already taken this witness to Venice. But before I hand him over to you, I need you to answer one question truthfully.” Isolde suddenly stepped closer to Lilith, looking directly into her eyes. “Your sister-in-law, Maria Canaro, the Verona girl who came all the way to Venice to marry your brother Mauro, is she involved in your death?”

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Author's Note: Some readers may wonder why Lilith, who suffered so much at the hands of Old Deng in the early stages of her life, would now agree to pay for Old Deng's daughter's education. However, from Lilith's perspective, if Aunt Elena hadn't chosen to support her despite ignoring how terrible her father was, she wouldn't have so easily gained access to education, thus escaping her family and starting her own wonderful life. Lilith's "evil" as a "wicked woman" lies in her ruthless and sharp determination to break free from the shackles of patriarchy, while her "womanly" nature lies in her willingness to offer an umbrella to other women after she herself has been through the storm.

More updates tomorrow!