Chapter 21 The Price of Victory: The Master Rewards the Dog
“Mr. Goldstein!” Tata chased after Solomon Goldstein, frantically trying to stop him.
As the former owner of the bankrupt bank that Lilith had acquired, Solomon was originally sent by Lilith to Tata to testify about the legality of the businesses operating under Lilith's name. However, since Mauro hadn't approached it from that angle, Solomon's testimony was meaningless. Having overheard the entire proceedings from behind a wall, especially witnessing the casino owner barging in to collect debts, he too was eager to gain something for himself. So, taking advantage of the door opening and Tata's momentary lapse in attention, Solomon rushed into the drawing room without hesitation.
"And who are you?" Massimo frowned again. Why were these uninvited guests coming one after another tonight? It seemed endless.
“I am Solomon Goldstein, the operator of Goldstein Bank. Some time ago, I sold the bank’s operations to Liliana Knarro Schmidl. But you seem to be completely unaware of this. In order for the acquisition to proceed smoothly and legally, I need to confirm whether Mrs. Liliana has your approval.”
Lilith gasped. She knew she would eventually have to tell her family about her business, even though it was clearly not a good time.
She concealed the shady loan deals hidden behind jewelry and social gatherings, revealing the acquisition in detail. She also proactively offered to hand over 10% of the profits from the official opening to the Canaro family, as is customary, in exchange for everyone's permission and authorization in the family name. With Elena backing her up, Massimo and Francisco couldn't really say anything, and her father, Bruno, was already exhausted from what had happened.
Even assuming the worst, Lilith, as a married illegitimate daughter, is not nominally part of the Knarro family. If she incurs insurmountable debts or commits crimes, the Knarro family can quickly sever ties with her and escape responsibility. Conversely, no matter how successful Lilith is, it will not affect the inheritance rights of her legitimate children.
For Lilith, relationships bound by mutual benefit were far more reassuring than mere blood ties. With the formidable threat of Mauro eliminated, her relationship with the Knarro family finally had room to improve. Wasn't this exactly the outcome she had long hoped for?
But she still couldn't eat at the dinner that followed. Neither the honey cheese fig dish that she loved as a child nor the lavish red wine braised lamb stewed with various spices could whet her appetite.
She stared blankly as familiar and unfamiliar family members took their seats. The men lamented how difficult business was, each year more challenging than the last, while the women flattered each other with beaming smiles, praising each other's clothes, hairstyles, and jewelry. Having grown up immersed in such social settings, Lilith was always at ease and comfortable, but today she simply couldn't muster the interest to exchange pleasantries with them.
Her gaze kept drifting unconsciously to the empty seats occupied by Mauro and Maria at the banquet. Most of the family members were completely unaware of what had just happened, having been fooled by the lie of "absence due to illness." Mauro was already an unlikable person, and Maria was an even more taciturn and somewhat withdrawn woman. Apart from their father Bruno and Lilith, who hated them to the core, who else would care about them? Who knew if the victors who had escaped tonight would one day stumble and follow in the footsteps of the losers?
Lilith was filled with mixed feelings. She dared not relax for a moment, but she really didn't have the strength to pretend to be friendly, so she had to leave early on the pretext of feeling unwell.
The rain had stopped late at night, and the water town, washed clean by the downpour, exuded the salty smell of the sea. Lilith and her servants boarded a gondola to go home.
Tata seemed very guilty for not stopping Solomon, and Cecilia patted her on the back to comfort her. Lilith, however, simply turned her head to admire the night view silently, saying nothing.
When they arrived home, Heinrich saw Ivanka standing on the dock, covered in blood, tossing three or four corpses onto a small boat used for servants' cargo. Lilith glanced at her coldly, seemingly unfazed, and walked straight into the house. Tata hurried to the woodshed to light the boiler to prepare hot water for the mistress's bath, while Cecilia went into the kitchenette to prepare a midnight snack for her. Only Heinrich and Lilith remained in the dimly lit living room.
The red-haired girl, in a fit of rage, untied her tightly bound sash, loosened her high-tied hair, and roughly tossed the cumbersome fishbone braid aside, collapsing limply onto the sofa like a dead fish washed ashore by the waves. After a moment, she beckoned with her finger, and Heinrich, understanding perfectly, knelt on one knee before her.
“Heinrich… my dear Heinrich, I owe you so much for today.” Lilith smiled sweetly, casually adjusting her position on the sofa, her legs wrapped around the armrests like a water snake with its tail raised.
"I just did my job." Heinrich blushed slightly, stimulated by the hostess's somewhat abrupt advances and ambiguous posture, but subconsciously he felt something was amiss.
Lilith started speaking in a high-pitched, affected voice again. When she spoke in that theatrical, affected tone, her words were often full of insincerity.
“How should I reward you?” Lilith reached out her right hand and stroked Heinrich’s head like she was coaxing a child. “How about I grant you the status of a free man? But the price is that you must continue to work for me until you have earned enough ransom and you cannot leave me.”
Is there really such a big difference? Heinrich sneered inwardly. Is there really a difference in "freedom" between an employment relationship bound by a labor contract and a master-servant relationship bound by a contract of servitude?
"Thank you for your mercy and generosity, madam. In whatever capacity I may hold, I will continue to stand by you and serve you faithfully."
Suddenly, Lilith pulled a dagger from her waist pocket and held it to Heinrich's neck.
"Then why did you disobey my orders, my Heinrich?"
The sharp blade grazed the skin on Heinrich's Adam's apple, like a viper probing its fangs at a prey it had already captured.
“I remember I asked you to fetch the bishop, right?” Lilith lightly raised her wrist, using the flat of her blade to lift Heinrich’s chin. “Why did you take it upon yourself to do it?”
“Of course not.” Heinrich seemed unsurprised by Lilith’s provocation; in fact, it somewhat confirmed his suspicions. However, he was now quite used to dealing with her suspicious nature. “It was my incompetence that I failed to invite Bishop Daluca, and I was so worried about your safety that I took it upon myself to invite that creditor of Mauro. Please forgive me; I only wanted to help you.”
Ignoring the weapon pressed against his neck, he lowered his head, removed the silver ring from his little finger, gently took Lilith's left hand, which was gloved with black lace, and placed the ring in her palm.
"From now on, you are absolutely not allowed to act without my orders, nor are you allowed to question any of my decisions." Lilith slowly moved the dagger away and sheathed the blade.
"Yes, ma'am."
“Keep it.” Lilith picked up the ring with her fingers, held it high, and tossed it onto the carpet in front of Heinrich. “This matter… at least the outcome was not bad. But you must remember that loyalty will always be the most important thing to me, understand?”
"clear."
"Alright, you can go now. Go and call Tata over."
"Okay. You've had a long day, get some rest."
"I know."
Heinrich didn't know whether Tata would be criticized or punished, nor was it something he could control. He only knew that Lilith, with Cecilia's help, had turned off the lights early, and Cecilia herself was going to bed earlier than usual.
He lay in bed, replaying the events of the night in his mind. Thankfully, Lilith had weathered the crisis unscathed. Had anything happened to her, Heinrich, as her servant, would have been doomed, and there would have been no chance for him to contact the Schmidl family to exact revenge on Lilith and the entire Knarro family.
He suddenly remembered Ivanka covered in blood. He had never imagined that this usually introverted and shy girl would be doing cleaning work outside of her maid duties. Who were the people she killed? Were they desperate criminals sent by Mauro for a final gamble? Not only the Knarro family, but even in the seemingly peaceful little house of the Lilith family, there were too many secrets that Heinrich was unaware of.
Fortunately, he had finally gained nominal freedom and received the family crest ring from Lilith, which essentially granted him the privilege of freely entering and leaving various places. With that in mind, he decided to quietly get out of bed, put on a black cloak, and slip out the back door with the key.
He walked alone through the streets of Venice at night and found the location of the Canaro family's main house with ease.
“I’ve come to ask Mauro a few questions on behalf of Lady Liliana.” Heinrich used his ringed right hand to slip several Grosso silver coins into the guard’s palm.
He followed the guards to the dungeon where Mauro was imprisoned. The Venetian buildings were situated above sea level, surrounded by seawater and silt, making Mauro's place even darker and damper. Even as a former nobleman reduced to a prisoner, he was at least still wearing the clothes he had worn to the banquet that afternoon, and was provided with clean bedding and a bed—far better than Heinrich's treatment.
"Who are you?" Mauro asked rudely upon hearing footsteps. The candlelight illuminated Heinrich's features beneath his hood, and Mauro, seeing his face clearly through the iron bars, gave a mocking smile.
"It's you. Did Liliana send you?"
No. I came by myself.
“You’re nothing but that little bitch’s dog, yet you’re wearing a ring with the Knarök crest engraved on it. You’re truly going against the natural order.” Mauro glanced at Heinrich’s fingers, then subconsciously touched his own now empty fingertips, where only faintly aching red sores remained.
"Why do you hate her so much? She is, after all, your sister."
"She's a bastard born of a slave girl, how dare she be worthy of being my sister? My mother was a noble lady from the Daofen family! If that little slut's mother hadn't seduced my father to climb the social ladder, my mother wouldn't have died lonely and depressed..."
"So you justify blaming an innocent sister for the grudges of the previous generation? Isn't what you did to Maria exactly the same as what your father did?"
"I think you've really been bewitched by Liliana," Mauro scoffed. "You haven't been working for her for long, have you? She's been just like her mother since she was little, a master at using a hypocritical face to gain sympathy, putting on a pitiful act, but in reality, she's more selfish and ruthless than anyone else. To satisfy her own interests, she'll stop at nothing, even using the most cruel and vicious methods, which she'll disguise as sweet traps."
"..." Heinrich recalled what Lilith had said to him earlier that night. Back then, a blade was hidden behind that sweet smile; now, what was hidden behind the identity of a free man and the family crest ring—a bargaining chip already priced in Lilith's mind?
"So, she's not innocent at all. I haven't wronged her at all; she's a wicked witch. The entire Knarro family is rotten to the core, and Liliana is utterly hopeless. Go back and tell her that one day she'll end up like me, or even a hundred times worse! And then, none of you lackeys will escape; you'll all be buried with her!"
Mauro gripped the iron bars tightly with both hands and shouted hysterically at Heinrich.
Heinrich frowned. He concluded that there was no possibility of further communication with this man. Without looking back, he left the dungeon where Mauro was imprisoned, blew out the candle, covered his golden hair with the black hood, and skillfully disappeared into the Venetian night. But Mauro's vicious curse still lingered in his ears like a persistent ghost.
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Author's Note: The Mauro incident has finally come to an end! As the first boss that Heinrich and Lilith defeated together, Mauro was portrayed as a stupid and wicked scion, incompetent and immoral, constantly indulging in self-pity as the legitimate son and looking down on Lilith, a rising star who rose to power through her own efforts. Maria, the true mastermind, is far more complex. She possesses a certain intelligence, capable of profiting herself and her child, but her thinking remains trapped in the shackles of patriarchy, unable to break free. She transforms from a victim into a perpetrator within this blood-sucking system, both pitiful and hateful.
And everyone can guess why Lilith granted Heinrich the status of a free agent; it wasn't out of kindness! [Let me see] The next chapter will be a sweet, romantic segment that I really love! Updated Wednesday!
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