Chapter 84 The Tragedy of Fate Get out! Get out! Eliminate it now...

Lilith opened her eyes groggily. After experiencing an overly stimulating pleasure, she collapsed wearily into Heinrich's arms, almost falling asleep.

The crackling embers in the fireplace warmed the spacious bedroom. Heavy curtains kept out the cold and darkness, and the room was filled with the aroma of cinnamon, apple, and wine from mulled wine. This was the scent of Christmas.

As a child, Lilith always looked forward to Christmas because her mother would save money to prepare a sumptuous dinner for her. But as she grew older, she grew to hate the holiday more and more. She had to leave school and return to her family to deal with her disliked elders, which made her feel disgusted and miserable.

And now... Lilith leans lazily against her lover's chest, wearing only a thin silk nightgown, her exposed skin covered with alluring marks.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps it was the long-awaited reunion, but Heinrich's way of demanding from her in the bedroom tonight could even be described as somewhat rough. But Lilith didn't mind. Overall, she still enjoyed the services he provided. After all, dogs occasionally reveal their animalistic instincts; if they really misbehaved, she could just tie them up and punish them properly.

However, she seemed to finally understand why so many women become hopelessly addicted to love. For those pitiful women who are neglected by their elders, scheming against their sisters, and powerless to escape their powerless situation, at least when they are with men, they might feel a sense of purpose.

But Lilith would never allow herself to fall into such a self-pitying situation. Her purpose in coming to Frankfurt wasn't just to find Heinrich, nor would she allow her life to consist solely of love. Besides, Heinrich always had work to do; they couldn't be together all the time.

So during the day, she and Hannah disguised themselves as ordinary small merchants and sneaked into towns to learn about the market. The opening of the new branch would be a regular occurrence once the situation stabilized after the New Year, and her correspondence with Cecilia and Elena never ceased. The selection of a new pope remained undecided. While her allies worked diligently on the front lines in southern Italy, she also wouldn't overlook any business opportunities north of the Alps.

After mailing all the letters in the afternoon, she returned to William's villa to play with Eliza and Blitz, listening to Eliza tell her stories, which also served as practice for her German. Eliza enthusiastically showed her the dagger that the blacksmith on the estate had given her for self-defense, with delicate patterns engraved on the handle.

Eliza told her that it was specially made for her by the only female blacksmith in town. She was a widow who had learned blacksmithing from her husband, who was a blacksmith, when he was in poor health.

Later, after her husband's untimely death, she took on the responsibility of supporting the family, forging weapons of even higher quality than those made by men. The armor Heinrich wore when he went to train with the Knights was made by her. Despite the vast difference in their social status, she was like family to the brothers and sisters.

Eliza insisted that she must bring Lilith along to visit her in a few days so that Lilith could also make a beautiful and useful weapon for her.

Heinrich didn't return home until dinnertime. Perhaps because the day of the operation was approaching, he always looked gloomy and worried, only smiling when he was alone with her.

Lilith would share her future plans and work progress with him, but the biggest uncertainty facing her now was Heinrich's actions. She was still completely unaware of this.

"Heinrich..."

She nestled in Heinrich's arms, her arms wrapped around his waist, and slowly yawned before lifting her head to ask for a kiss. The blond boy was used to his fiancée's occasional teasing, so he obediently lowered his head and exchanged a wet, deep kiss with her.

"Can't you really tell me what you're planning to do?" Lilith licked the water from her lips, her cheeks flushing slightly as she recalled what they had just done.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you slowly after things are done and there's an opportunity." Heinrich took out a handkerchief and wiped her lips.

"You don't still suspect that I might be colluding with your uncle, and therefore you don't intend to tell me the whole truth, do you?" Lilith deliberately provoked him, trying to get more information out of him.

"Do you think I'm such a stupid person..." Heinrich feigned a disappointed expression. "I'm just worried about your safety. If you knew my plan, you would definitely take it upon yourself to come with me and do something."

“You still don’t believe I can help you.” Lilith frowned. “Even if you don’t tell me your plans, I’ll go with you. You can’t stop me.”

“Lilith, but this place is different from Venice…”

Lilith rolled her eyes, thinking Heinrich was about to launch into another long lecture about the dangers of swords, but instead he suddenly pulled a ribbon from his bedside table and wrapped it around Lilith's hand.

"What are you doing?" Before Lilith could react, her hands were already tightly bound and secured with ribbons. Then, Heinrich tied the other end of the ribbon to the pillar where the bed curtains hung at the head of the bed. Her first thought was that this might be some kind of strange hobby, but soon she noticed that the other person's expression was unusually serious.

“The biggest difference is that this is my territory.” His voice suddenly turned cold, but remained gentle and cautious. “To ensure your safety… I have to do this. Tomorrow morning, someone will take you away from here to a safe place.”

“Heinrich?” Lilith screamed incredulously. “Let me go! I order you to let me go!”

“No.” Heinrich gazed at her with sorrowful eyes. “I’m sorry, Lilith, I have to go against your wishes once again.”

“If you don’t let me go now, I will never forgive you,” Lilith glared at him fiercely.

“Then hate me. Perhaps hating me will make you remember me forever…” Heinrich gently stroked Lilith’s cheek, his gaze sweeping over every corner of her face, as if trying to imprint her image in his mind.

"Heinrich?"

“Lilith, thank you for coming to see me. I’ve been so happy to spend these nights with you.” Heinrich gently took her hands, which he had tied together, and rested his cheek on the back of her hands. He knelt down on one knee in front of Lilith. “You even agreed to continue playing the role of my wife in Frankfurt. I’m so happy… But I can’t go back to Venice with you to get a divorce… I’m sorry.”

"Why? What do you mean?"

"Actually, I never intended to come back alive from this mission."

"What did you say…?"

"The Schmidl family's castle sits atop a cliff on a mountain peak, a strategically advantageous location. While I can influence the miners' and blacksmiths' opinions of the patriarch, the castle's guards are all his trusted confidants, making them extremely difficult to turn against him. Therefore, with so few men, it would be a miracle if I could successfully infiltrate and kill Helmut. So, Lilith, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lilith suddenly raised her leg and kicked Heinrich hard in the waist, her eyes burning with rage as she met his tearful blue eyes.

"Even if you're short-handed, you can hire mercenaries; you're not short of money! And those blacksmiths and workers who are already dissatisfied with Helmut, you could definitely use them..."

“I have indeed considered mercenaries. But different legions are closely connected. They might work for me today, but tomorrow they could switch sides for my enemies for personal gain. It would be too easy for word to leak out and alert them. If Helmut finds out about my plans beforehand, my personal feud with him could easily escalate into a full-scale war. As for the blacksmiths and workers, they are my subjects. My duty as a nobleman is to protect them, not to use them as tools to seize power. I don’t want innocent people to die for me… I can’t do that.”

"Yes, you can't bring yourself to hurt innocent people, but do you know how much it would hurt me if you died?" Lilith screamed hysterically. "Useless thing... Even without you, I'll find a new dog, one that's more obedient, more useful, more beautiful, and will never leave me..."

“Lilith.” Heinrich looked at Lilith’s angry and heartbroken face, his eyes welling up with tears. “I’m sorry, I can’t be as heartless as you. This is a choice I made after careful consideration. Perhaps this is why fate has decreed… I can never be your husband. But I love you, Lilith…”

"Get out! Get out! I don't need your love! Disappear right now!"

Lilith screamed, her voice hoarse with disbelief at Heinrich's words. She had thought that after all her hardships, she was finally about to have everything she wanted: a successful career, a loving partner, and a warm family. But these beautiful dreams shattered instantly with the sudden, devastating news.

She then recalled the scene two days ago when Heinrich had driven her away. If she had left then and simply regarded him as a foolish and cold-hearted heartless man, would her heart not be aching as if it were being torn apart now?

Lilith curled up in bed in agony, burying her face in the pillow and crying helplessly. She cried until she was exhausted and fell asleep.

In her dream, she returned to Venice, back to the alley where she had been ambushed by bandits when leaving the red-light district. Heinrich stood in front of her, his cloak completely soaked in blood, splattering his face crimson. The air was thick with the stench of blood, as if she had stepped into a hunting ground for wild beasts.

Heinrich slowly turned to look at his mistress, his gaze fierce and empty, like a hunter who had discovered another prey yet to be killed, a fish that had slipped through the net. The blade he gripped tightly in his hand was still dripping blood, and his tall, strong body cast a dark shadow before her, a dangerous glint in his blood-stained golden eyelashes.

Lilith then realized what his gaze had truly meant. He could have killed her then and there, framed the bandits for her death, and avenged his fallen confidant and the humiliation he had suffered. But he did nothing; he simply turned to her quietly and said:

"It's safe now, don't be afraid."

Lilith threw herself into his arms, and suddenly, the world spun around her. She found herself tackling Heinrich to the ground, his face covered by a Balta mask, his black hat askew. Without hesitation, Lilith removed the mask, revealing a face scarred and tear-streaked.

At that time, he clearly controlled everything about her—her bank, her subordinates, even her life—yet he did nothing. After he finally made Lilith "belong to him," all he felt was the sadness and pain of Lilith being deprived of her freedom, and he collapsed helplessly in front of her, crying.

Even though he appears somewhat gloomy and cold on the surface, and difficult to approach; even though his hands have long been stained with blood to obey her orders, he still cannot bring himself to use innocent civilians to avenge his family.

Looking back on her past nineteen years, Lilith had encountered men who were either like Mauro or Bruno, born into privilege and living a life of extravagance and complacency; or like Lorenzo and most of her clients and partners, whose every expression and word was meticulously crafted to extract more profit from others, their kindness laced with exploitation, their praise a veil of lies. She had never met a kind person like Heinrich.

Perhaps... if he were truly a ruthless man like Lilith, he wouldn't have let her go at all when given the chance to eliminate this threat. If he were like other men, prioritizing his own interests above all else, he would never have empathized with the humiliation Lilith suffered as an illegitimate child; he would have only seen her as a resource to be used at will once acquired.

Because he is different, perhaps it means he will become a better lord than Helmut, more compassionate towards the people and concerned for their livelihood, enabling them to live in peace and prosperity on his territory, rather than merely using them as tools to satisfy his personal power and desires. Perhaps he can become a partner who can truly put Lilith at ease, because no matter the circumstances, he would never want to harm her, selflessly giving her love that transcends personal gain or loss, without calculation or exploitation, and without seeking any return.

He's really... hopelessly stupid.

Lilith would never, ever love someone so unconditionally and recklessly as he did. But to receive such love... she felt very happy.

Lilith awoke with a start; it was already daylight, and she was alone in the bedroom. She tried to break free, but it was clearly futile. What should she do? She couldn't just sit and wait to die. Heinrich needed her help, and she knew how. But now she had to find a way to escape.

Hannah is probably already under his control, and Eliza can't help her anymore. Now, the only person she can turn to for help is... Blitz.

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Author's Note: Xiao Yin is finally going to get her revenge! Something very exciting is going to happen!

The next update will be on Friday. From Friday to Wednesday, I'll maintain daily updates, a total of six chapters, continuing until the story is complete! [Keep it up!]