Chapter 89 A Free Relationship I am your loyal servant, I love you...

"Go out and call back those people you just sent away. Pack your bags, I'm going home now," Lilith ordered Hannah, her anger blazing.

Hannah nodded sensibly and immediately prepared to flee the battlefield. The moment she opened the door, she saw Heinrich standing helplessly in the doorway, two lines of tears streaming down his face. She didn't dare look any longer and quickly left.

“I was wrong… Lilith, I’m sorry. I apologize to you.” He tried to hide the sobs in his voice. “Please let me in to apologize to you in person, okay? Please.”

"No way," Lilith refused decisively, and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

"Several people who were originally by my side... died in that operation. These newly recruited people don't understand the rules and have angered you; it's all my fault for not training them properly..."

“Of course it’s your fault,” Lilith continued, “Heinrich, I’m still your guest. How can you treat a guest like this? An apology won’t help. I don’t want to play your wife anymore. Even knowing it’s fake, I still feel terrible, cough cough cough…”

"Lilith, are you alright? Your cough still hasn't gotten better..."

"Of course it's because of you!" Lilith quickly took a sip of water to soothe her itchy throat.

“If this makes you uncomfortable, then don’t continue. You know I won’t force you. I would never do that. Because I love you, not just the title of wife. I love you no matter what your status is, whether you are poor or rich, healthy or sick, I will love you.”

"Stop with the nice talk..." Lilith was still sharp-tongued, but her mood had clearly improved, and she seemed much calmer. "Perhaps marriage is a good thing for many people, an easy shortcut. How many girls consider wedding dresses their dream treasures, even my mother... she never even dared to hope to marry my father, even though he was a complete bastard."

“If marriage is such a bad thing, then why get married?” Heinrich said quietly. “Lilith, to be honest, I used to fantasize countless times that you might change your mind one day and tell me you’re willing to be my bride. But after witnessing the truth about my parents’ relationship, I don’t want you to marry me at all.”

"Really?" Lilith asked, half believing it.

“I don’t want you to repeat the tragedy that happened to my mother. Even if we can’t be together in the end, I hope even more that you can live the life you want. If you really decide to go back, I won’t stop you. But I still feel that we’ve come this far, and you’ve even told me that you love me… Since our relationship isn’t just one-sided, I think we can still try a little harder, and maybe we can find a solution to the problem.”

"How do we solve this?" Lilith stopped what she was doing, and as if possessed, walked to the door, hesitating whether to open it for him.

"Just like you told me before, career and love shouldn't be conflicting things. We don't need to get married to be together. Maybe we can have a... free love relationship."

"What do you mean?" Lilith leaned against the wall, waiting for him to continue.

Heinrich heard Lilith's footsteps and knew she was beside him. His heart raced, and his voice trembled slightly. This was a question he had been pondering from time to time during his work breaks. Although he hadn't fully figured it out yet, now that the opportunity had come, he was determined to share his thoughts with her.

"In my ideal world, we can be as honest with each other as friends. If you ever encounter a situation where you feel unhappy because of me, please tell me. I want to find the root of the problem with you so that we can face the issues in our relationship together and resolve them promptly."

"That's great, and I wish we could get along like that. But how is that any different from being friends?"

Lilith recalled Sophia's frank criticism and concern for her during the war crisis, and Isolde's relief after discovering her relationship with Maria and directly addressing the issue to clear up the misunderstanding. Yes, perhaps she should approach Heinrich in the same way... While ensuring her own safety, telling him her thoughts frankly might be a more efficient way to resolve the problem.

"The biggest difference is that I hope you can only have me as your lover... Is that okay?"

"What, I can only have you, but you can have many?" Lilith chuckled, deliberately teasing him, curious about what kind of interesting expression Heinrich would make behind the door.

"Of course not! Of course, I will only have you... I will never let myself become a man like my father, just as you and your mother have completely different values. I am willing to be loyal to you and will never deceive you or hide anything from you."

“But Heinrich. I can’t stay here with you forever. I didn’t come here just to be with you. After I recover and finish my work, I still have to go back to Venice.”

“Then I will go to Venice with you,” Heinrich said decisively. “Once I have resolved the existing problems in the territory and appointed trustworthy subordinates, I believe I can manage the affairs of the territory well even if I don’t live here. Besides, the Schmidl family’s steel business wants to expand trade routes, so I can’t stay here forever; I will inevitably have to travel around. We can travel together. I want to accompany you, so that your bank can be found in every corner of Europe, and watch you become the most outstanding banker in the world.”

"What if there's an emergency in your territory that requires you to return, but I don't have time to come with you?"

"If I absolutely have to leave, I will take time every day to write to you, telling you what's happening in my life, that my love for you won't diminish because of the distance, and that I always look forward to our reunion."

"Then why is such a relationship considered free? Since it's exclusive, there can be no betrayal, and it requires effort to maintain... it can't possibly be completely free, can it?" Lilith asked earnestly.

"The freedom lies in the fact that it is a relationship based on choice and trust, free from the binding and constraint of any dogma, law, or social rules."

“I know that divorce is something that is almost impossible to accomplish, otherwise you wouldn’t have killed me back then. If it weren’t for your current position in the Venetian financial world and your relationship with the central government of the Papacy, even if we both agreed, the priest would not have been able to go against the will of ‘God’ to deny our union.”

"Therefore, in our relationship, I don't want anyone to tie us down. If one day you really feel that there are irreconcilable conflicts and contradictions between us, or you realize that you no longer love me, I hope you can tell me directly. I may try to keep you, but I will never pester you or put you in a difficult position. We can... part amicably."

“But if I do that, won’t you hate me?” Lilith asked.

“I don’t think I will,” Heinrich said calmly. “In any case, I will remember the wonderful times we spent together. Even though… my heart will still ache terribly… Lilith, can you open the door and let me see you? I miss you.”

Lilith opened the door, looked up, met Heinrich's red, tear-filled eyes, and suddenly hugged him tightly, standing on tiptoe to kiss his lips.

"I'm willing to give it a try," she said, looking earnestly into his eyes.

“Go and write down what you just said, and draft a contract. I want to attach it to our divorce agreement. Eliza, your subordinates, my friends… I want everyone to know about our new relationship. No longer master and slave, no longer husband and wife, but a completely new and free relationship. They may not approve, but I don’t care. As long as I have wealth and power, no one has the right to criticize my lifestyle.”

"Okay. I promise you." Heinrich smiled and wiped away the tears on his face.

Lilith smiled, looking at him with a sly gaze: "Well then, I'd like to reintroduce myself. Sir Heinrich Schmidl von Frankfurt O. Mein, my name is Liliana Knarro, and I am a banker from Venice. My bank has branches in Venice, Rome, Zurich, and Florence. It's a pleasure to meet you."

“My dear Miss Knarlo,” Heinrich took her left hand, knelt respectfully on one knee, and kissed her arm, “I am your loyal servant. I love you.”

/

By the end of January, as the snow outside the window began to melt in the warm sunshine, Lilith had recovered from her illness. Heinrich moved her back to the newly renovated castle, and also brought Eliza back with him. Lilith saw the portrait she had painted for her engagement hanging in Heinrich's study.

In the portrait, she is only 16 years old, with some baby fat on her cheeks. Her sharp eyes have been deliberately softened by the artist, making her look like an innocent and naive girl, completely different from Lilith standing in front of the portrait.

Lilith immediately thought of Heinrich's portrait and couldn't help but laugh. She reached out and gently stroked the almost imperceptible burn scar on Heinrich's right cheek, telling him mysteriously that she had prepared a gift for him, but without revealing what it was.

In February, Lilith began intensive preparations for opening the Frankfurt branch. Cecilia wrote to her informing her that the Pope had accepted the proposal for the trust fund, but the decision from the agent bank remained unresolved. Lilith then wrote to the Venice branch, urging them to continue focusing on the groundwork related to foreign exchange and fair securities issuance, as performance and profits steadily increased.

At the same time, Heinrich introduced her to many people.

"This is Miss Canaro, a banker from Venice."

Heinrich always introduced her this way, then remained silent, watching Lilith proudly describe the diverse professional services and unparalleled network advantages her bank offered. They never brought up their former engagement, but when asked, they would openly tell everyone they were lovers.

In March, Lilith accompanied Heinrich to the Holy Roman Emperor's palace in Aachen. Heinrich was officially granted a knighthood.

Although Lilith had no immediate plans to open a branch here, she took the opportunity to get to know many well-known local nobles and businessmen, expanding her network in Northern Europe. Several young nobles were initially impressed by this beautiful Italian redhead who spoke fluent German, but they all became intimidated after hearing her use financial terms like trust funds and fair securities, which they couldn't understand at all.

Occasionally, a few bold individuals would muster the courage to invite her to their estates for dinner, only to find that the charming and shrewd Miss Knarro was always accompanied by a stern and aloof man, as unpleasant as a persistent and vicious dog.

In April, they returned to Frankfurt. Heinrich arranged for a tailor to make Lilith a dirndl (a traditional German commoner's dress, a tight-fitting, wide-skirted dress) for her dance, in preparation for the St. Wopurgess Night on the last day of April.

Heinrich also donned the Leidhausen leather trousers, shirt, and vest that craftsmen typically wore. This would be their last night in Frankfurt; they would depart for Venice in May.

Under the black night sky lit by a bonfire, Lilith held Heinrich's hand tightly and danced wildly with the music and strangers around them.

Here, she doesn't need to pay attention to the elaborate social etiquette among nobles, nor does she need to follow the rules of changing dance partners after each round. She only needs to be with the people she likes, dancing as she pleases, experiencing a primitive and simple happiness amidst laughter and sweat.

This was truly a wonderful trip.

Lilith gazed longingly at the roaring campfire, the castle atop the distant mountain, and her lover before her. It seemed Lilith had once again made the right choice—she didn't regret coming here willingly and confessing her feelings to Heinrich. Her commitment to stepping out of her comfort zone had brought her unparalleled love and a future even more promising than before.

Soon, she will return to Venice with Heinrich to fulfill her most important wish.

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Author's Note: The next chapter is the finale! [Let me see!] I'm so reluctant to say goodbye! [Pity]