Chapter 4 The Lost Ruby: The pet dog bought with money is still being played with...
Heinrich placed the wine glass back on the table and abruptly knelt down on one knee in front of Lilith.
"What's wrong?"
Even Lilith was startled by Heinrich's unusual behavior. She reached out to help him up, but Heinrich remained kneeling on the ground, motionless.
"Madam, there is one more thing I must report to you."
"What can't be said over a drink?" Lilith's voice turned noticeably cold, as if she had guessed what Heinrich was going to say. She awkwardly adjusted herself to a more comfortable position on the sofa and took a small sip of her drink.
"Please allow me to confess first. As a servant, I overheard words I shouldn't have heard, and I deserve my master's punishment and condemnation. I cannot accept your toast with dignity." Heinrich knelt obediently, bowing his head.
"What's making you so nervous? You should know that pockmarked guy is a scoundrel who loves to slander and defame." Lilith gave a forced smile as she stared intently at Heinrich's face.
“It is precisely because I know best that he is full of slander and framing that I feel so sorry for you.” Heinrich tried to use the exaggerated, operatic language that Lilith had used when speaking to him: “Despite your noble birth into the Knarro family, despite your character being as pure as moonlight…”
"Enough, stop flattering me," Lilith interrupted him coldly. "Just say what you have to say."
"Yet some people still wantonly smear you, simply because you are a widow, a woman."
"I don't think I need you to tell me these things."
"But you never gave in, did you? Your family turned a blind eye to your situation, so you took matters into your own hands and managed to keep your cozy home in perfect order and comfort. Your husband left you, but you never grieved excessively; instead, you built your own business and are still working so late. I want to tell you that you are the strongest, smartest, and most remarkable person I have ever met. It is an honor to work for a lady like you."
"..." Lilith never expected that this taciturn guy, who had been silent since their first meeting, would suddenly say such a thing. Before she could reply, Heinrich continued.
"No matter what career you want to achieve in the future, no matter what your wishes are, I am willing to help you, support you, clear away all obstacles for you, and get rid of all the people you don't like. You will never hear any more gossip."
"Heh, look how scared you are." Lilith rolled her eyes and gave a disdainful smile. Suddenly, she leaned down, picked up the wine glass that had been handed to Heinrich on the small table, took a big gulp in front of him, swallowed it, and then poured the rest of the wine over Heinrich's head.
“If you want to work for me,” Lilith said coldly, “you need to understand one thing first. I don’t like empty talkers and sycophants. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll kill you to silence you because you know my secret? Let me tell you, I only kill those who pose a threat to me, and a slave like you isn’t worth my personal attention.”
"Is this why you personally ordered your fiancé to be killed?" Heinrich, his eyes still wet with red wine, looked up and stared directly into Lilith's eyes.
“He’s a threat to me,” Lilith said fiercely. “I can’t possibly abandon my career, my friends, and everything I’ve built up in Venice to marry a German I’ve never met and be locked up in some desolate village to bear his children.”
“This is my mistress. It is because you have such decisiveness that you have won my loyalty.”
"Then keep your loyalty safe." Lilith suddenly kicked Heinrich hard in the chest.
“I will keep it safe and will prove to you that I’m not just good at flattery.”
Heinrich smiled and extended his right hand to Lilith. Lilith, somewhat flustered, offered him her left hand. Heinrich then took a blood-red gemstone ring from his pocket and carefully slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.
"Where did this come from!?" Lilith stared incredulously at the exquisitely colored pigeon blood red gemstone, startled.
“It was an engagement gift from your deceased fiancé.” Heinrich watched Lilith’s reaction with relish.
The red-haired girl carefully admired the brilliance reflected by the gemstone in the candlelight. Even her earlier displeasure was swept away by the unexpected joy of receiving the gift, and she couldn't hide her excitement like a child.
"That old geezer... how dare he keep such a good thing from me..."
Do you like it?
“I like it, who wouldn’t like something this good…” Lilith answered subconsciously, only realizing after she finished speaking that she had just been angry with him. “What are you so smug about? Remember who you are. You’re not the real Heinrich.”
“I know, I am your slave.”
“Cecilia will assign you your work first thing tomorrow morning.” Lilith suddenly turned stern and said coldly, “Do a good job.”
Heinrich bumped into Cecilia as he came out of the bedroom. The black-haired, black-eyed maid was still glaring at him fiercely as before, and slammed the door to Lilith's bedroom shut in front of him. Before going to the bathroom, Heinrich went back to the bedroom and pulled out the small knife he had hidden in his left shirt sleeve for self-defense.
While Heinrich might not be a tenth as ruthless as Lilith, in terms of physical strength, the petite girl was clearly no match for him. Cecilia, who always looked down on people, might pose a threat. However, Heinrich was thankful that he hadn't been forced to draw his weapon.
He took a deep breath, thankful that he had once again escaped unscathed tonight. Luckily, he had heard plenty of flattering words in social situations before, and at this crucial moment, he actually managed to squeeze out a whole bunch of praise—words that made him feel nauseous.
Just because she was "threatened," she was willing to sacrifice innocent lives. How could there be such a selfish, greedy, and wicked woman? She was utterly depraved and vicious. If he were to marry such a terrifying and venomous woman, who knows what chaos would ensue. He absolutely had to find a way to get paper and pen, write a letter home as soon as possible, and escape this mess in Venice to return to Frankfurt... Of course, before that, he had to make Lilith pay for her evil deeds.
On the other side, in Lilith's bedroom.
“Cecilia.” Lilith stood by the window, watching the heavy rain outside turn the seawater below the small building into a murky mess. “Don’t do anything yet.”
Are you planning to spare his life?
“It’s a toy I bought with money, after all. I want to play with it a little longer.” Lilith twirled the ruby ring on her hand. “The quarterly report is due next week, and there must be some staff shortages. How’s the work going?”
"...I will work harder."
"I'm going to see Sofia on Friday, so I need to make sure everything is ready before then."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Go and get some rest. Goodnight."
After Cecilia left, Lilith was left alone in the room. She finally took off the ring and put it in the jewelry box along with the emerald necklace. She stared blankly at the skull on the dressing table, as if looking through it at her fiancé whom she had never met.
“I’m sorry, Heinrich,” she said to him in German, her voice so soft it was almost completely drowned out by the rain, “but I have to do it.”
The following morning, Venice cleared up again after the rain.
Heinrich got ready early and, before dawn, sat at the small table in the kitchen where the servants ate, waiting for Cecilia, the housekeeper, to assign him tasks.
Lilith's home wasn't an assassin organization or a pirate gang, so they wouldn't be assigning him murderers and robbers every day. As a strong male servant, he'd probably be assigned physical labor like carrying heavy objects and cleaning, which shouldn't be too dangerous.
He saw the other servants in the small building gradually taking their seats at the dining table. The first to arrive was a Gypsy girl with brown, curly wool hair. She looked very young, dressed in linen clothes and a vest, with leather ankle boots, looking like a street vendor. The girl was quite mischievous, glancing sideways at the large newcomer every now and then while munching on the leftover bread from the previous night.
A little while later, a Slavic woman dressed as a maid arrived; she seemed a bit older. She timidly greeted Heinrich and then began to start a fire to boil water.
A little while later, the back door of the kitchen was pushed open, and an elderly Jewish man with a white beard entered. He was carrying a thick leather briefcase.
Cecilia was the last to finally appear in the kitchen. She wasn't dressed as a maid, but rather in a black and white nun's dress, standing solemnly before the four of them.
“He is Heinrich, the new slave the lady bought. Tata, let him go with you to the market to gather information.”
“No way!” The Gypsy girl called Tata made a very disdainful look and quickly refused. “This guy acts like a noble young master. If a business person sees him, he’ll sell a loaf of bread that would normally cost 5 grosso (Venetian silver coins) for 10. How can I let him come with me to find out the price? He’ll only disrupt my work.”
"Inquire about the price?" Heinrich frowned.
“Ducat (Venetian gold coin), Grosso (Venetian silver coin), Florentine (Florence gold coin); and pepper, cloves, cinnamon; wool, silk, steel,” Tata listed off with great familiarity. “And the latest maritime news, the arrival of goods at the docks, even some dirty scandals emanating from some noble family… all of these are crucial pieces of information for your business decisions, Madam. Let me test you casually: last Friday in Venice, how many Florentines could you exchange a Ducat for?”
"..." Heinrich was speechless for a moment. Not to mention that he was new to Venice, even when he was in Frankfurt, he had never paid attention to price information other than that of his own steel products.
"By the time this big oaf figures out the answer, he'll have missed the first wave of news at the morning market. Sorry Cecilia, I have to go now!"
After saying that, Tata skipped and hopped out the back door without looking back. Cecilia sighed and rubbed her forehead, then turned her gaze to the Slavic woman who was preparing breakfast ingredients.
“Ivanka, then…”
“I have to take care of Madam’s daily life, such as her bed and clothes. How can I let a man handle these things? I can do it all by myself.” Ivanka, who hadn’t said anything before and was just doing her work, suddenly interrupted Cecilia and made a gesture of strong protest.
Cecilia sighed and gave Heinrich a look that said, "Look how annoying you are." She could only look helplessly at the old Jewish man.
"In that case, Sherlock..."
Heinrich followed Cecilia's gaze and looked at Sherlock. The old man looked at Heinrich with a very pitying expression.
“Poor young man, it seems I have no choice but to accept your offer,” Sherlock said slowly. “Come and learn some accounting and financial skills from me. I’m getting old, and it would be good if a quick-witted young man could help me check the accounts.”
"I am happy to serve you."
“Being diligent and eager to learn is a good thing. But you don’t know anything, so I have to teach you from scratch, which will take a lot of my time.” Sherlock suddenly turned his gaze to Cecilia. “That would be redundant work for me, and I’d have to pay you more. I’m requesting a salary increase of ten ducats per month.”
"Three."
“Five, Cecilia. You can’t force me to do a losing business.”
“Three. Not one more.” Cecilia said through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely at Heinrich. “Alright, meeting adjourned. Get back to work.”
Heinrich looked helplessly at the old Jewish man who had taken advantage of the situation to swindle him, thinking to himself, "No wonder they all work for Lilith; they're all so cunning and treacherous. I really don't know what kind of business she's running..."
Suddenly, he remembered the prefix of the nickname "Lilith the Moneylender"—usury, a crime forbidden by the Church.
A note from the author:
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Heinrich finally succeeded in placing the engagement ring on his fiancée's finger. ^_^ Hehehe
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