Chapter 90 Venice Divorce Ceremony: I Do
Sunlight streamed gently into the church through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow that shimmered with vibrant colors on Lilith's darkly patterned black dress. Long, semi-transparent black lace veils draped her red hair, adorned with expensive pearl hair ornaments that complemented the emerald necklace adorning her chest.
Heinrich, dressed in an equally lavish and expensive men's suit, his short blond hair neatly combed back, held Lilith's hand and looked in her direction, meeting her gaze. On the table in front of them lay a leather-bound, gold-embossed contract, a quill pen, and a bottle of ink.
Lilith's family priest stood on the other side of the desk, awkwardly announcing the church's approval of the divorce. He had officiated countless weddings throughout his long career, but this was his first divorce ceremony.
Strictly speaking, it's not a "divorce," but rather a "marriage annulment," attempting to prove that the marriage never actually began by citing reasons such as long-term separation and a lack of physical contact. But...
There was a strange excitement and a blatant absent-mindedness on their faces. They weren't listening to him at all; they were just smiling and gazing at each other with deep affection.
Heinrich was one thing. But Liliana's smile even carried a hint of mockery, as if she were laughing at what he was reading—truly arrogant and rude!
The priest felt a lump in his throat and was thinking of a subtle rebuttal. But considering that this woman was now one of the richest and most powerful women in the entire Canaro family and even in all of Venice, and also his direct benefactor, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.
Lilith yawned casually, finding the scene increasingly comical yet amusing. She tilted her head to look at the people sitting in the auditorium behind her.
She saw her friends first. Sophia, Isolde, and the other classmates from the monastery school were looking at her with smiles, genuinely pleased that her wish had come true.
Heinrich's sister Eliza and brother Wilhelm were also with them. Isolde adored Eliza, treating her almost like her own daughter, patiently explaining the local customs and culture to the young German girl who was new to Italy. Eliza's eyes were filled with curiosity and anticipation. Noticing Lilith looking at her, she gave her a big smile.
On the other side sat her father and the family's troublesome elders. They all looked worried and solemn, as if participating in this ritual to overthrow the Heavenly Spirits was a disgrace. But they had no choice.
Massimo, as the nominal head of the family, had long been sidelined, and the others were nothing but a rabble. Lilith invited them here partly as a formality, and partly to establish her authority over them.
After all, even a marriage "blessed by God" can be annulled, so what is there that she can't do?
She noticed a somewhat unfamiliar girl sitting next to them. She must be Adelaide, the cousin who had been arranged by her family to marry Heinrich, but was now studying at the convent where Sister Clara worked, sponsored by Adelaide.
Lilith wasn't sure how the other person would view her actions, but she firmly believed she had made the right choice. Education was an opportunity to change one's destiny.
She wouldn't mind continuing to donate to society like those seemingly respectable successful men. But she wants to donate the money to girls' schools so that more women can have access to education. Perhaps many people will think this is just a performance to create a good reputation, but she doesn't care.
Besides, today was a very important day for her, and her primary task was to make herself happy. So she turned around, looked at her lover, her former legal husband, and smiled at him.
"...In conclusion, I will convey God's will on behalf of the Holy See: the marriage between Liliana Knarro and Heinrich Schmidl von Frankfurt O. Main is invalid."
Lilith took the quill and signed her name on the agreement. Heinrich then took the pen from her and signed next to her name.
The brief ceremony ended there. But Lilith felt as if something was missing.
Suddenly, as if possessed, she grabbed Heinrich's hand, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his lips. Heinrich immediately embraced her, letting the kiss linger for a moment before letting go, just like a groom kissing his bride.
The priest was utterly shocked by what he saw and immediately pretended not to have seen anything and left. Her elders awkwardly turned their faces away, unwilling to face this absurd yet undeniably powerful woman. Meanwhile, her friends cheered and applauded for her.
Lilith then excitedly ran up to them and chatted for a while, sharing her new relationship with Heinrich. Heinrich, on the other hand, went alone to Lilith's parents and greeted them as Viscount Schmidl.
"Elders of the Knarro family. Nice to meet you, I am Heinrich."
Massimo was jolted awake; he immediately recognized the man as the lowly slave who had once served Lilith faithfully. However, out of consideration for his reputation and status, he dared not ask any real questions and could only awkwardly give a vague answer.
“Nice to meet you… uh, I’m Massimo, hello, uh, this is my brother Bruno, and this is my daughter Adelaide.”
Heinrich watched with interest as the man who used to be so domineering in front of him and Lilith was now bewildered like a headless fly, not daring to say anything that might offend him, and as uneasy as prey in a hunting enclosure.
“Oh, Massimo, I’ve heard so much about you. I seem to have heard that you once considered betrothing your daughter to me.” Heinrich glanced at the timid girl hiding behind her father. “That would be too unfair to her. After all, I’m the man her sister rejected. Your daughter clearly deserves a better choice. She will meet someone she likes.”
"You flatter me..."
Massimo gasped, the memory of Heinrich and Lilith kissing before the altar still fresh in his mind. He couldn't comprehend what these two divine beings were up to, so he quickly made an excuse to leave. Just then, Lilith finished her conversation. In high spirits, she skipped and hopped over to Heinrich.
“Ex-husband~” Lilith called to him with a smile, “Let’s go home, I have a divorce gift for you.”
“I also have a gift for you.” Heinrich kissed the back of her hand. “Let’s go.”
They walked out of the church hand in hand, the weather as beautiful as ever. They boarded a gondola and traveled along the winding canal to Lilith's house. Just before entering, Lilith suddenly realized that she had sold all the furniture Heinrich had commissioned for her. Before leaving Venice, she had been so busy dealing with Lorenzo that she had forgotten to have a new set made to look exactly the same.
"Do you know where these furniture pieces went?" Heinrich noticed Lilith's embarrassment and asked knowingly.
"Uh... I don't know either..."
“It was bought by William’s men,” Heinrich replied with a smile. “Before leaving Venice, I left William some money so he could buy himself a property there as a thank you for lending me his house in Frankfurt. To save money, he had his men buy secondhand furniture, and who knew they’d end up buying it from you.”
“…Okay!” Lilith rolled her eyes. “Let’s look at the gift first.”
She led him into her office. On the wall hung a portrait of Heinrich. In the portrait, he had regular features, a high nose, deep-set eyes, and neatly styled blond hair that shone with a gentle warmth—he was even more handsome than the real man. He moved closer and saw the signature of Venice's most famous painter of the time in the lower right corner of the painting.
“This is incredible…” Heinrich exclaimed, unsure how to describe the shock he felt.
“It’s alright, but it still lacks a little bit of the charm of the real thing.” Lilith looked at the painting triumphantly, then at Heinrich. “But this isn’t a gift for you; I’m keeping this for myself.”
"?"
"Aren't you curious about how the artist managed to draw your likeness without ever having met you?"
Lilith suddenly opened the drawer, took out a small, exquisite photo frame, and placed it face down into Heinrich's hand. Heinrich immediately opened it and saw a sketch portrait drawn in pencil.
“This is a painting I did, it’s for you.” Lilith watched with satisfaction as Heinrich’s expression of delighted surprise spread across his face. He stared at the painting in the small frame like a fool, looking at the painting, then at Lilith, speechless with excitement. After a long while, he finally managed to stammer out a sentence:
"You're amazing... Lilith, you're a genius! You're so smart, not only top-notch in management and accounting, but also incredibly talented in the arts..."
"Stop flattering me." Lilith poked his chin. "What gift did you prepare for me? Is it a necklace, a ring, or a dress this time?"
"Neither." Heinrich gave a cryptic look and took a long ribbon out of his pocket.
"I'm going to take you to a place where the gift is. Before we get there, I need to blindfold you."
“Alright, I’ll wait and see.” Lilith agreed to Heinrich’s request. Then, she felt herself being lifted up and placed on the gondola seat.
The small boat rocked forward, and she knew without looking that Heinrich was rowing. The warm sunlight shone on her, and even with her eyes covered, she felt very comfortable and relaxed. After a while, the boat docked at the shore, and Heinrich hugged her again and led her back to land.
She steadied herself and smelled the refreshing scent of Damask roses filling her nostrils.
She gently lifted the ribbon, revealing a vast sea of red flowers. The blooming blossoms swayed in the breeze, behind which lay crumbling walls covered in ivy, and several black and white rabbits frolicked in the garden. Lilith recognized at a glance this as her former home, destroyed by fire.
"When I first met you, you said you didn't like the cheap perfume in that room, so they replaced it with an expensive rose scent for you. So I thought you might like a garden like this..."
Heinrich blushed and spoke to her, but before he could finish, Lilith interrupted him with a kiss. Unlike the kiss that had declared his dominance in the church, this kiss was deep, moist, and lingering; Lilith wanted to express her gratitude and love with it.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, looking up at him.
"How do you like it?"
"I really like it."
Lilith spotted a beautiful bench deep in the garden. She took Heinrich's hand and sat down, nestled quietly in his arms, gazing absently at the sea of flowers swaying in the breeze.
She remembered buying him amidst the scent of roses, remembered dancing with him, masked, in the rose garden of Zurich… It had all been over a year ago. Time flies. But at this moment, she wished time could slow down, just a little bit more…
"lady!"
Lilith heard a familiar female voice. Ever since the announcement of her impending divorce from Heinrich, she had changed her address from Mrs. Schmidl back to Miss Knarro. It had been a long time since anyone had addressed her as a married woman. She turned around and saw Cecilia running towards her.
"Cecilia!" Lilith rushed over and hugged her with delight. "Are you alright? It's been so long since I heard from you. I didn't know if everything was going well for you. Whatever the outcome in Rome, I hope you're doing well—"
“The Pope has agreed.” Cecilia, clearly having rushed over immediately after disembarking, excitedly told her the good news. “The Cnarro Bank will officially become his agent bank next month. Madam, I have returned to tell you this news in person. Your bank is about to become the wealthiest bank in all of Europe! However, there is no time to lose. We must reorganize and then split into two groups to continue expanding our territory across the European continent.”
“Paris, London, Bruges, Madrid, Lisbon… these are all important commercial centers.” Lilith excitedly listed the destinations she could think of. “Not just the Christian world… but also Constantinople, Thebes, Damascus… wherever the waters flow, that will be my territory*. I can’t wait to travel to the next place.”
Lilith excitedly turned around to look at Heinrich behind her, and asked him with a smile, "Heinrich, would you like to come with me?"
"I do."
Heinrich responded with a genuine smile.
-END-
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Author's Note: *Note: This alludes to the saying "Wherever water flows, it is the territory of Venice," a boast that Venice was proud of during its heyday.
It's finally over! I'm so happy it finished during my birthday week.
Before I begin my rambling, here's an important point: I only realized halfway through writing that the title of Viscount wasn't a common one in 15th-century Germany (Holy Roman Empire), so I decided to elevate the Heinrich family to the rank of Count. Adhering to the principle of not changing the main text during serialization, I'd been holding back from making any changes. Now that it's finished, all the Schmidl Viscounts in the future astronomy will suddenly become Counts Schmidl [doge emoji]. Let's congratulate Heinrich…
Getting back to the point, this is my first time writing a full-length novel. I started writing in April, began serialization in June, and finished updating it in October. At the beginning, I wrote it purely out of enthusiasm, with the determination to finish it even if I was the only reader.
Although looking back now I realize there are many things that weren't handled perfectly, I still really love this work! I'm also incredibly happy to have met so many supportive readers; it's a great honor for me. Now that it's finished, I have to say goodbye to everyone for now, and I feel very reluctant to part ways.
I really love the character I created. Lilith is a decisive, excellent, sharp, and strong woman. She cries, she falls down, and she may not be the stereotypical "perfect" female lead. But she always gets up after falling down, bravely faces the challenges in life, overcomes her inner vulnerability and avoidance of intimate relationships, firmly pursues what she wants, and strives for a better future.
A purely sexy, decorative male protagonist is clearly unworthy of such an outstanding female protagonist; she deserves a healthy, equal relationship. Therefore, Heinrich is equally excellent, yet not perfect. At the beginning, although he possesses high combat prowess, he is kind, naive, and indecisive; in the middle stages, while becoming more mature and powerful, he also grows increasingly dark and twisted; finally, he gradually finds a balance between growth and morality, makes an existentialist choice, and becomes a better version of himself.
Before writing my next book, I need to do some research I've fallen behind on. Actually, I've only read no more than five online novels before, and it wasn't until it started being published on Jinjiang Literature City that I realized how niche the Western romance genre is [laughing and crying emoji]. During its serialization, I quietly bookmarked many novels I planned to read, and now I intend to study and learn how authors of similar genres write their works, and also become more familiar with the preferences of the readers on Jinjiang Literature City.
I also have a lot of physical books on my reading list. I've been so busy lately with the serialization that I haven't had time to read for a very long time. Hopefully, after it's finished, I'll have time to finish reading everything I wanted to read.
I plan to write three books about Lilith and Heinrich, using the characters from this book as a base. However, the characters' personalities and relationships will differ significantly depending on the different worldviews and storylines they experience. As for why I'm keeping the same names, it's probably just a strange obsession with raising OC characters.
My next book is a lighthearted Western fantasy romance novel. I mainly want to practice my web novel writing skills and hope to create more captivating plots and a more exciting pace! This book is already available for pre-order, but my current ideas are still being refined and adjusted repeatedly during the outline process. What I am sure of is that I still want to write a story of extreme love-hate relationship between a strong male lead and an even stronger female lead, and because of the addition of magic elements, I can push the limits even further.
My next book is about their story in New York during the first half of the 20th century. However, this subject requires a lot of research, and there are too many uncertainties, so I haven't started pre-orders yet. If you're interested, you can bookmark my author page; I think I'll get a notification when the book is published!
I feel that my biggest regret in this book is that I didn't have the opportunity to explore some more complex and profound social issues in Lilith's career storyline, so I hope to have the opportunity to mention them in future works.
Actually, I don't know exactly when I'll be able to start my next book... I'm too busy with so many things in real life, and writing isn't quite as effective as I could. I won't start writing until the outline is finalized and I have enough drafts saved up. I want to strive to present the best possible work...
In addition, there will be side stories, but I haven't decided what to write yet.
Thank you again to all the teachers for your support along the way. If you enjoyed this work, I would be very grateful if you could leave a comment or give it a rating. [pleading emoji] I wish everyone a happy life and all your wishes come true. I hope I can continue to work hard in writing and have the opportunity to be seen by more readers.
I love you all! I'm really, really going to miss you, but... until we meet again!!!
Historical references (sorted alphabetically by author's last name):
Crowley and Roger. City of Fortune: Venice's Maritime Domination. Translated by Lu Dapeng and Zhang Cheng, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2015.
Federici and Silvia [Italy]. Caliban and the Witches: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation. Transalted by Gong Jin, Shanghai Joint Publishing Co., 2023.
William Goetzmann, . *A Thousand Years of Finance: How Finance Shaped Civilization, From 5,000 Years Ago to the 21st Century*. Transalted by Zhang Yaguang and Xiong Jinwu, CITIC Press, 2017.
Parks, Tim [UK]. The Medici Financial Family: Money, Art, and Power. Posts & Telecom Press Co., Ltd., 2025.
Pirenne, Henry [Belgium]. Medieval Cities (Economic and Social History Review). Translated by Chen Guoliang, The Commercial Press, 2011.
Wilson, Peter. The Heart of Europe: The Holy Roman Empire, 800–1806. Translated by Wang Shunjun, CITIC Press Group, 2024.
Xing Laishun. A General History of Germany (6 volumes). Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 2019.
Shiono Nanami [Japan]. Women of the Literary Revival. CITIC Press Group, 2017.
Zhao Lin. The Brilliance of Ancient Greek Civilization. Posts & Telecom Press, 2020.
Literary references (listed alphabetically by author's last name):
Boccaccio. The Decameron. Transalted by Qian Hongjia, Taihe Xiang, and Tian Qing, Yilin Press, 2011.
Homer [Ancient Greece]. The Iliad. Transalted by Chen Zhongmei, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2016.
Italo Calvino, Italo [Italy]. The Nonexistent Knight. Translated by Wu Zhengyi, Yilin Press, 2012.
Italo Calvino, Italo [Italy]. Invisible Cities. Translated by Zhang Mi, Yilin Press, 2012.
William Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice. Transalted by Zhu Shenghao, People's Literature Publishing House, 2016.
Shakespeare. Hamlet. Transalted by Zhu Shenghao, Yilin Press, 2013.
Scarpa, Tizziano [Italy]. Venice is a Fish. Translated by Chen Ying, People's Literature Publishing House, 2024.
Thomas Mann. Death in Venice. Transalted by Qian Hongjia and Liu Dezhong, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2010.
Shiono Nanami [Japan]. The Choice of Venice. Translated by Yu Jun, CITIC Press Group, 2022.
Movie inspiration references (movie titles sorted alphabetically):
Venus in Fur. Directed by Roman Polanski [France], 2013.
"Shunkinsho". Directed by Katsumi Nishikawa [Japan], 1976.
Black Angel. Directed by Tinto Brass (Italy), 2002.
The Wall Street Journal. Directed by Oliver Stone, 1987.
Ludwig. Directed by Luchino Visconti [Italy], 1973.
The Countess. Directed by Julie Delpy (France), 2009.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Directed by Céline Sciamma [France], 2019.
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