Chapter 87 What if a special friend hurts you later...?
When the two returned to William's villa, their clothes were covered in ice crystals. Being soaked in the freezing night was hardly a good idea. After disembarking, a recovered Heinrich carried Lilith in his arms and headed home, trying to warm her with his body heat, but she continued to shiver. When the servants came to open the door and saw their masters in such a disheveled state, they quickly brought them towels warmed by the fireplace to wipe the ice from their hair.
“Heinrich…” Lilith wrapped her arms around Heinrich’s neck, frowning as she leaned against his chest, “It’s so cold… my head hurts so much…”
"Is the hot water ready?" Heinrich asked the servant beside him impatiently, then gently brushed aside Lilith's frozen bangs and touched her forehead with his own. It was so hot, burning up badly.
"Don't be afraid, Lilith, take a hot bath, get some sleep, and you'll be fine soon." Heinrich left soft kisses on her burning forehead. "I'll carry you to the bathroom."
After bathing, Heinrich changed Lilith into a clean nightgown, tucked her into a down comforter that the servants had warmed with charcoal, and fed her medicine for a cold and fever. Just then, the servant who brought the medicine arrived to report that several of his subordinates, having learned of Heinrich's successful operation, were waiting in his study to discuss the next steps. But at the same time, Lilith raised her hand and tugged at Heinrich's sleeve:
"Heinrich, are you leaving again?" she said weakly.
"There's cleanup work to do. If you don't want me to go, I'll stay here with you."
"Don't go, you ingrate. If I hadn't saved you, they would have waited until dawn only to hear of your death." Lilith slowly turned over in bed, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. "Stay with me."
“Okay.” Heinrich replied, climbed onto the bed, carefully tidied Lilith’s disheveled hair, and pulled her into his arms once again.
“Heinrich, I have something to say to you.” Lilith snuggled closer to him. “I want to apologize to you.”
"Apologize? Why should I apologize? I should be the one apologizing to you..."
“I apologize to you for sending someone to kill you when I didn’t even know you.” Lilith opened her eyes wide and stared straight at him, raising her hand to gently stroke the burn scar on the right side of his face that had only recently faded. “I think I really did hurt you terribly, causing you to lose many of your confidants, causing you to become a slave and be humiliated, and causing you to almost die for me time and time again. I feel that I should apologize to you for this…”
“From your perspective, you really didn’t have a better choice at the time…” Heinrich rubbed his nose against her cheek. “Although I feel very sorry for the departure of my partners… but if it’s just for myself, whether it’s working for your bank or plotting revenge, I have grown a lot. I was too naive and foolish before, and I didn’t deserve to be by your side at all.”
“If we could go back in time, would you want me to make the exact same choice?” Lilith asked him with a smile.
"Don't touch my men, just take me as your dog, okay?" Heinrich deliberately put on a pitiful expression and bargained, "Master... I love you so much."
“I love you too.” Lilith lifted her head and kissed his lips. “My head still hurts so much… I hope I get better soon… Tomorrow at noon I want to eat Panetone cake… and tonight I want to eat meat… lots and lots of meat…”
"I had them prepare a lavish feast for dinner, including our local specialty, roast goose. I remember you mentioned wanting to eat goose back in Zurich. But what is Panetone cake?"
"It's a cylindrical honey cake filled with nuts and raisins, a traditional Christmas cake from northern Italy. Well, I knew you didn't have it here. I had Hannah bring the recipe; I want some..."
"Okay, I'll definitely prepare something for you to eat tomorrow."
"Before I go to sleep, I want you to promise me one last thing."
"you say."
"Don't hurt yourself anymore. Don't do anything as foolish as you did today. You are mine, and whether you live or die is up to me... Don't go to your death on your own initiative, I didn't agree to it at all. Heinrich, while you love me... you should also love yourself."
“…Okay.” Heinrich felt his eyes welling up with tears. “Go to sleep now. Goodnight. Merry Christmas.”
"Merry Christmas, Heinrich."
When Lilith woke up the next morning, her head ached even more than before. She was alone in the bedroom. Heinrich had left a note on the bedside table telling her he was off work and would be back soon. Lilith simply went back to sleep, and when she woke up again, the sun was already setting.
"Are you feeling any better?" Heinrich was sitting at his desk not far from her bedside, writing something. Hearing the rustling of the blankets, he immediately turned around, stood up, and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Lilith, holding two letters in his hand.
“A little better…” Lilith rubbed her head, still feeling groggy from sleep, and leaned on Heinrich’s shoulder. “How’s your cleanup going? Oh, by the way, where is Eliza now?”
“I sent Eliza to a safer place. I originally planned to take you with me, but you escaped. As for the aftermath, I have already sent people to spread the word that the attack on Schmidl Castle was blamed on some bandits. I have also arranged for a steward who is loyal to me to try to stabilize the situation in the castle. To avoid suspicion, I have decided to wait until after the New Year when the parts of the castle damaged by the fire have been repaired before I go back to take charge of the household affairs. I will stay here for a while longer.”
"What if someone questions you then?"
"I will shut up those who doubt me."
"You're going to kill them all?"
"No. I will make them feel firsthand that I will become a better lord than Helmut and my father, and that they will live happier, richer, and freer lives than before. As long as they can benefit from my rule in the long term, even if there are voices of opposition at the beginning, they will soon be drowned out by praise."
“Yes, that’s very ambitious.” Lilith nodded. “I believe you can do it.”
“To avoid embarrassing my master,” Heinrich said with a smile, kissing her cheek. “Oh, by the way, here are two letters for you. One is an urgent letter from Cecilia. But I haven’t opened it yet without your permission.”
“Take it apart.” Lilith blinked, straightened her back, and tried to cheer herself up. “Read it to me.”
"Okay." Heinrich used a letter opener to cut open the sealing wax seal and read the contents of the letter to Lilith:
My dearest wife:
Merry Chrismas.
Bishop Innocent has now been successfully elected Pope. However, the bank is still hesitant in selecting Clarence Bank as the Pope's proxy bank. Reliable inside sources have revealed that the Pope has two nephews and one niece. He hopes that his children can inherit his wealth as Pope in some legal way. If we could design a product to fulfill his wish, things might change dramatically.
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Cecilia.
“You never mentioned these things to me.” Heinrich was somewhat surprised, but it was also understandable. It turned out that during his absence, Lilith not only successfully restored the bank to its daily operations and made up for the losses incurred during the war and the pandemic, but also sent Cecilia to Rome again to participate in some very important matters.
“The largest client of the Rome branch of Cnarro Bank was Bishop Innocent. If we could obtain his authority as the Pope’s agent, Cnarro Bank would handle the taxes that the entire Christian world pays to the Pope.”
"In other words, Knarro Bank is poised to become the largest and most influential bank in all of Europe."
“That’s right.” Lilith pushed him away, put a pillow behind her back, hugged her knees, and thought seriously. “Heinrich, write a reply for me. Tell Cecilia at the beginning that I am sick and therefore you are writing it for me.”
Have you figured out what to do?
“We’ll set up a fund for the Pope, a fund ostensibly for charity. The interest from this fund will be used to pay annual annuities to his children, and they will only be allowed to withdraw the principal under specific conditions, thus ensuring his descendants’ financial security for generations to come. Knarro Bank will collect a certain percentage as a management fee. Of course, to avoid any suspicion of ‘lending,’ we can’t call it interest; we’ll just say, uh, charitable donations. And how the fund actually operates will only be known to the Pope and the bank’s top management, ensuring maximum privacy. Heinrich, what do you think?”
Heinrich thought carefully for a moment and replied:
“I think we could add something more: encourage the Pope to establish this fund outside of Italy. One of the major advantages of Cnarro Bank over other Italian banks is its strategic distribution across the Holy Roman Empire and the Apennine Peninsula. Italy is frequently embroiled in wars, making it a high-risk country. However, the Swiss Confederation is geographically isolated and often remains neutral in wars, which is more conducive to the safety of funds.”
“Very good,” Lilith praised. “Write it like that. As for the name of this product… this kind of fund operation requires the client to have a considerable degree of trust in the trustee, just like we tried to persuade the Pope to trust us. In that case, let’s call it the Trust Fund. I’ll add something else later if I think of anything else. Hurry up and write… I’m so hungry, let’s go have dinner together after you finish.” “Yes, ma’am.” Heinrich kissed her forehead, got up and went back to his desk. Lilith, however, hugged the blanket and lay back down, staring blankly at his profile.
She thought back to several similar moments during her first trip with Heinrich. She had once thought that life might continue like that... that he would always be her loyal servant, striving for the goals she had set for him.
But she now knows very well that the Heinrich she loves, like herself, is not someone who can be imprisoned by temporary loss of power.
His ability to rise from a lowly slave to regain his title is proof enough of his competence and yearning for freedom. Therefore, even if he says he'll always be her dog, he can't truly serve her for life.
He will have his own life, his own career, and his own pursuits. Given that, how can they possibly stay together?
Lilith racked her brains, unable to find a suitable model in any of the love stories she had previously read. She would never be a submissive wife, nor did she need a husband who would "protect her." She wanted a free and equal relationship.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of the famous heroic buddies Achilles and Patroclus in the Trojan War depicted in the Iliad.
Achilles was once the most invincible hero in the Greek coalition. After his friend Patroclus, also a warrior, was killed, Achilles returned to the battlefield to avenge his friend.
Their deep friendship deeply moved Lilith. She wished she and Heinrich could treat each other like their most important friends. But this special friendship had to be exclusive; she absolutely, positively wanted to never share it with anyone else.
What should we do...?
Before she could figure out the answer, Heinrich had already finished writing the letter. Lilith beckoned him to put down the letter and come to her alone.
“Heinrich…” Lilith suddenly clung to him like a red octopus, kissing him forcefully as if she wanted to devour him. “I want it. Give it to me, now.”
“But you’re still sick…” Heinrich touched her still feverish forehead. “Let’s wait until you’re better before we do it, okay?”
“Right now.” Lilith challenged him with a stern face. “What, are you incapable? If you’re not, I’ll find someone else for me. Your subordinates, your subjects, anyone who can make me happy…”
Suddenly, Heinrich grabbed Lilith's wrist, pinned her to the bed, and used his knee to pry open her thighs.
"Don't talk to me like that." Heinrich's face turned red with anger. Realizing he might have said something harsh, he added, "If you deliberately provoke me like this... what if I hurt you later?"
“Then I’ll find someone else,” Lilith added fuel to the fire. “I think that waiter who’s always by your side is quite good-looking. Maybe he’ll be willing to help this lonely beauty like me relieve her troubles—”
The next second, Lilith's mouth was sealed by a rough kiss. She instinctively closed her eyes, her body trembling uncontrollably. When she opened her eyes again, she stared directly into Heinrich's eyes, which were filled with anger and desire like those of a hunting beast.
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Author's note: To be continued tomorrow [starry-eyed]
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