Chapter 15 Taming a Biting Dog: The Moment of a Vicious Dog Protecting Its Master
Almost instinctively, Heinrich shielded Lilith behind him, standing in front of her to fend off the bandits attacking from both sides. He quickly surveyed his surroundings to assess the situation. The streets were deserted, and the dilapidated houses were all locked up, offering no hope of help. He was unarmed, and there was nothing he could borrow in any direction; the situation was dire.
He was not afraid of fighting, but swords and blades have no eyes, and he was not entirely confident that he could protect Lilith while fighting against many opponents.
"Hand over the money!"
The lead man, a burly man with a thick beard, carried a curved knife, followed by two other thugs also armed with knives. The other alleyway was also blocked, and two men wielding sticks were closing in.
“We’ll pay,” Heinrich shouted, raising his hands at the man holding the knife.
"Pay up!"
He reached his right hand into his cloak and pulled out the money pouch that Lilith had asked him to keep for her. Having just spent some money at the brothel, it was nearly empty of Grosso coins.
"Is that all? Take off your wool cloak too!"
Heinrich took off his cloak and handed it to the other person.
"What about the other one? Why are you blocking his way?"
"Just take off my clothes. He's not in good health, and he'll catch a cold if he takes them off."
"What can't you take off? Take it off if you don't want to die!"
Lilith trembled uncontrollably at the man's menacing expression. She backed away in fear until her back hit the wall, accidentally pulling off the hood of her cloak—her long, bright red curly hair was immediately exposed to everyone.
"Why is it a woman?! Since there's a woman, then I should at least be allowed to—"
Before he finished speaking, Heinrich snatched the scimitar from the bandit leader's hand and, in a swift motion, decapitated him. The man's hand, tightly gripping his money bag, was forced to loosen; silver coins clattered out of the bag, landing on the ground with a crisp sound. The other four were startled, but exchanged glances and decided to charge forward together, relying on their numbers. Heinrich hurled the blood-spurting head at the two men wielding clubs, then gripped his scimitar and bravely fought off the two knife-wielding bandits who attacked him.
Lilith had never witnessed murder before, and her legs went weak with fear. She clung to the wall, trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, she remembered that Cecilia kept a sharp dagger inside her cloak. As she tried to grasp the dagger with her trembling right hand, a splatter of blood instantly blinded her.
When she frantically wiped the blood from her eyes, she saw only Heinrich standing before her, covered in blood. His hair, face, clothes, and hands were all covered in blood. He had already knocked the four bandits to the ground, their limbs scattered in pools of blood.
“It’s safe now.” Heinrich knelt down, picked up the blood-stained money bag, and dipped his fingers in the blood to pick up the scattered silver coins. “Don’t be afraid.”
After picking up the money from the ground, Heinrich took off his belt and used it to bandage the bleeding wound on his left upper arm. Lilith then realized that Heinrich was also injured, injured while protecting her—but when she saw this strong man covered in blood walking towards her, she still instinctively backed away in fear.
Heinrich noticed the emotions on Lilith's terrified face. Fear, resistance, even disgust—why did she wear such an expression? He had done all this simply to protect her. This was the second time he had killed, and the second time he had killed for Lilith's sake. All because of her. But he didn't want to become like this, didn't want to become a vicious, cruel, and ruthless monster.
He was transported back to that night when he was still Heinrich Schmidl, to the beginning of it all—the pirates sent by Lilith plundered his small boat. He had decided to take revenge the moment he learned the truth, so why did he risk his life to protect the very culprit who had brought him to this state?
He seemed to have missed a perfect opportunity for revenge. He could have simply managed to escape and handed Lilith over to those bandits… No, no, no, absolutely not. Even though they were all bandits, their treatment of men and women was certainly drastically different. Heinrich couldn't bear to imagine what would happen to a defenseless noblewoman in their hands. It was too cruel, too vicious, too disgusting.
If we kill her now and frame these bandits for her death, wouldn't that be a perfect solution? His scars would be irrefutable proof that he fought the bandits to the death to protect his master, clearing him of any suspicion of murder and even earning him the reputation of a loyal servant.
Should we make a move? Should we make a move now? Heinrich looked at Lilith, lost and bewildered, seeking an answer.
Lilith suddenly threw herself into Heinrich's arms and hugged him tightly.
“Heinrich, thank you…” Lilith wiped the blood from Heinrich’s face with her sleeve. “I want to go home…”
"...Okay, let's go home."
He lifted the woman, who was limp and powerless against him, and carried her quickly towards home. He couldn't do it. He simply couldn't bring himself to do it. It was impossible.
He certainly couldn't let her off so easily. But if he really resorted to violence to kill Lilith, how would he be any different from Lilith? Did revenge necessarily have to involve becoming a devil like her?
Perhaps he could take a more indirect and subtle way to exact revenge, letting her personally experience the pain he suffered, without actually killing her. After all, she was just a girl about the same age as Heinrich, and perhaps she still had a chance to reform... Perhaps he could change her.
Back home, the two received a severe scolding from Cecilia. Lilith was forbidden from going to such dangerous places again, while Heinrich was granted special permission to carry weapons. This seemed to reflect that he had successfully gained Cecilia's trust after this incident. After all, he had real cuts, while Lilith only had bloodstains on her hair.
After cleaning himself up, Heinrich had his wounds re-bandaged with Ivanka's help. Before taking a shower, he realized he still had the money bag Lilith had entrusted to him. He put the cleaned silver coins back into a clean bag and knocked on Lilith's door.
"The lady said it's a reward for you, so keep it."
Cecilia opened the door. She spoke to Heinrich in a slightly gentler tone, but still wasn't exactly friendly. She immediately closed the door, leaving Heinrich alone to return to his room with his purse.
He lay in bed, recalling the events of the night, as if he could still feel the warmth of Lilith nestled in his arms and smell the faint fragrance of her hair. This was his enemy, his mistress, his fiancée, who wanted to kill him. His thoughts were too jumbled to be sorted out in one night.
Seven days later, the money changers' guild.
After the incident, Heinrich was given a week's leave to recover his injured arm and was instructed to stay in his bedroom, forbidden from going out. He knew this was a form of protection. Even in the murder-ridden Castro district, the brutal deaths of five people in one night were not uncommon, and law enforcement officers would need to conduct a perfunctory investigation. During this time, it was best for him to remain out in public as little as possible.
Once the storm had passed, the next time he had the chance to see Lilith was when he accompanied her to the money exchange guild located on the Lialto Bridge.
The city center of Venice was as bustling as ever in the morning, teeming with people. The market was abuzz with activity as people haggled over prices, goods and money flowing like water in a lagoon. The bright sunshine illuminated every corner, as if the sins lurking in the shadows had never existed.
The widowed noblewoman stepped into the guild's doors once again, and unsurprisingly, the guild rejected her application to join.
"Why did they reject me? I clearly submitted all the required materials. I've seen some small banks that are already registered, and their capital isn't even half of mine..."
“There’s nothing wrong with your documents,” the man in charge told her expressionlessly, “but there’s never been a precedent for a woman to be the head of a bank.”
“There is no law that forbids women from opening banks,” Lilith retorted angrily.
"Banking operations not only require legal recognition, but also need to be based on trust. You women are too weak, too fickle, and too easily influenced by emotions."
"This is utter... utter nonsense!"
"Look, I just told you the truth, and you look at me like you want to kill me," the man teased. "How about this, I'll give you a suggestion. If you really want to work in our line of work, why don't you ask your father, Knaro, to open a bank for you, and you can start as an apprentice and see how it goes? If that doesn't work, I can have my brother apply for it."
Heinrich couldn't stand it any longer and was about to say something to defend Lilith when he saw the lady of the house in the black dress turn around and walk straight out the door without looking back.
"They can reject my application, but they can't insult my character."
Lilith sat dejectedly on a bench in the small square in front of the guild, directly opposite a small church.
"They actually want me to go find my father and brother? I went through all this trouble just to escape them..."
Lilith gritted her teeth, muttering to herself, racking her brains for a solution. Was the money not enough? Should she try to bribe someone even more powerful? But what if that didn't work…
She looked up and saw another dejected man walking out of the guild hall. It was an old man dressed in Jewish attire. She suddenly remembered the message Tata had given her early that morning—the pirates in Genoa had become increasingly rampant recently, and three ships carrying wool raw materials that had set sail from London had run aground. Since most of the cargo on board was purchased with loans, if the debt burden became too heavy and they couldn't repay it, the banks that funded them might go bankrupt due to a broken capital chain.
Lilith even felt a little envious of them. She felt like a noble boy who couldn't become a knight because he was born out of wedlock, envying those wounded warriors who returned home full of courage to fight but didn't even have the chance to go to the battlefield.
Helplessly, she turned her gaze to another intersection and saw a little girl with a ponytail walking towards her carrying a basket.
"Beautiful lady, would you like to buy a little bunny? Easter is coming soon, and a little bunny will bring you good luck!"
Lilith stared blankly past the smiling little girl, her gaze settling on the litter of recently weaned rabbits in the basket.
Yes, Easter is almost here, and Aunt Elena is going back to Venice to celebrate. There will be a grand celebration in St. Mark's Square to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ...
"Heinrich!"
Lilith suddenly stood up and shouted, startling Heinrich and the little girl next to her.
“My chance has come.” Lilith grasped Heinrich’s hand, a triumphant smile playing on her lips. “I finally know what to do.”
A note from the author:
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Our Heinrich is currently in a state of complete infatuation, totally manipulating himself, being thoroughly controlled by a woman... Let them enjoy their sweet moments a little longer... More tomorrow!
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