Chapter 3 A Disposable Tool: I've been sent to kill my own people? ...
Heinrich woke up from a nightmare.
In his dream, he returned to the battle with the bandits on the sea. The god of dreams poured vibrant colors onto the otherwise pitch-black scene—red blood bloomed in the algae-green seawater, staining Heinrich's eyes crimson. The unknown shadowy figure swung a knife at him, but this time Heinrich had no sword to defend himself. The blade pierced his skin, plunging him into the seabed. The bitter seawater choked his throat, and his body continued to sink, sink, until it plunged into the abyss—until he awoke.
Sunlight streamed gently through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the headboard. He was placed in the servants' quarters on the ground floor of the small building; although the bed wasn't spacious, it was much cleaner and more comfortable than the slave traders' barns.
Death so close, the stench of the straw mat, the sunless shack—all of that was over, all of that was over. Heinrich told himself this over and over again. His head throbbed with a buzzing pain. He wanted to quickly draft a letter to the Schmidl family, to have them send a trusted confidant to take him away from Venice as soon as possible, back to his familiar, safe surroundings. But of course, there was no paper or pen in his bedroom; only a dagger lay quietly on his bedside table, beneath which lay a parchment map with an address marked in red ink—the address of the person Lilith wished to silence forever.
"There was a hateful old man with a face full of pockmarks, who was ugly and disgusting. Despite his advanced age, he still bullied me, a poor little girl, saying so many hurtful things. The rumors and slander have weighed me down so much that I can hardly lift my head, and I have nightmares every night."
Lilith grumbled pitifully as she pulled the drawn map from the thick ledger and placed it, along with the dagger on the small table, into Heinrich's hand.
"Heinrich, please help me. Keep him silent forever, in the way you know best. You know what to do, right?"
The tone was pleading, but the eyes were sharp as knives. This wasn't a question, but a cruelly ordered command. Heinrich felt a headache coming on. He took the tool from the other man, his brow furrowed as he pondered a way to evade responsibility.
"You should get some rest tonight. Before I go to sleep tomorrow night, I hope to hear the good news that that guy has unfortunately passed away."
Seeing that Heinrich remained silent, Lilith's tone suddenly turned cold, almost threatening. Forced by circumstances, the newly bought slaves had no choice but to obey their master's orders.
"I will do my best."
"Then you can leave now. Let Cecilia in."
Heinrich walked out of the bedroom, a dagger in his hand. Cecilia, with her black hair and black eyes, coldly scrutinized him, her eyes filled with disdain and contempt, before slamming the door to Lilith's bedroom shut in front of him. Heinrich had no time to dwell on such trivial matters.
He was utterly stunned. He had just escaped one vortex of death, only to be pushed into another by his fiancée. Although his family had been producing ironware for war for generations, and he had learned how to fight from a young age under the guidance of his knightly predecessors, later transporting goods with caravans through Germany, fighting bravely against bandits, and even witnessing countless cruel humiliations, abuses, and tortures after becoming a slave, he had never actually killed anyone with his own hands.
If there is anyone he hates to the core, someone he wants to get rid of as soon as possible, it would probably be those who put him in this situation where he can't live without killing others: the slave traders who made him live like livestock, the bandits who killed his companions, and the possible masterminds behind it all.
However, Heinrich is now forced to obey the orders of a mischievous young lady to assassinate a complete stranger, someone insignificant to him. This situation, where he is compelled to commit murder against his will, fills him with deep resentment and disgust. Yet, he is also curious about Lilith's true motives for killing the man; is there some hidden reason she is unwilling to reveal?
Or perhaps she simply couldn't bear the rumors and was willing to kill to salvage her reputation for chastity? So young and beautiful, yet forced to live a solitary life, deprived of her husband's protection and utterly alone, she must have had a very difficult time…
The following night, he changed into an inconspicuous tattered cloak, covered his face with a scarf, and followed the map's directions, walking along seven paths, crossing six small bridges, and passing through three dark alleys. He finally arrived at a filthy, chaotic neighborhood, completely different from the area where Lilith lived. The stench of fermenting garbage and the urine emanating from the street corner reminded him of slave warehouses, making him feel nauseous. His destination was a very dilapidated hut. Heinrich stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Who is it?
“I work for Mrs. Schmidl to pay hush money.”
A man with a pockmarked face opened the door and saw Heinrich holding a heavy velvet bag in his left hand under his cloak.
"Okay, okay, that's enough. I'll keep it a secret, for now..."
Before he could finish speaking, a dagger was pressed against his neck. The man immediately drew his sword to fight back, but he was no match for Heinrich and was easily subdued, his weapon thrown several meters away. The heavy velvet bag fell to the ground, fine sand leaking from its opening.
What secret are you keeping?
“You weren’t sent by Lilith.” The pockmarked man feigned composure, glancing at the sandbags on the ground. “Why should I tell you?”
Heinrich broke his opponent's nose with a single punch.
"You won't talk? I have plenty of ways to torture you."
He gripped the man's neck tightly and cut off a small piece of flesh from his face with a dagger, causing the man to scream in agony.
"Fine, I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll talk, okay! It was Lilith, that loan shark, that little bitch from the Knarro family, who sent me to murder her fiancé and wipe out the entire wedding procession..."
"You're talking nonsense!" Heinrich exclaimed in surprise, his right hand, which was gripping the knife, trembled uncontrollably.
The pockmarked man keenly sensed Heinrich's panic. He looked closer and noticed the scar on Heinrich's left brow bone.
"So you're Heinrich Schmidl... So you weren't dead... You're a nobleman from Germany, aren't you? If you're willing to pay a higher price, I'll immediately bring a few of my brothers to do your bidding and get rid of that little bitch—"
The blade cleanly and decisively severed the man's throat. Heinrich's hand holding the knife was still trembling, and his whole body was shaking.
No… this must be fake, this must be a scam. She's just a girl who's barely come of age, how could she do something so insidious and ruthless, sending someone to murder her innocent fiancé…? She clearly loved the gem he carefully selected… Yes, that sapphire, if Lilith hadn't sent someone, how could she have gotten his gem intact?
Could it be that the ridiculous skull, the sacrificial offerings, and the words of mourning were all just a disguise to cover up the truth? Could she be the one who started it all, the culprit who caused him to fall to this state? Was she not a spoiled child, but a ruthless and vicious woman?
Heinrich stared in disbelief at the corpse lying in a pool of blood, at the crime he had committed following Lilith's orders. Lilith's real reason for killing this robber was probably to erase evidence of her hiring someone to murder her fiancé. But she didn't know he was the real Heinrich; in her eyes, he was just a newly purchased slave, an insignificant servant, a stranger whose life or death was irrelevant even if the assassination failed. His life or death was utterly unimportant; if he died, she could simply buy a more "useful" one. If he lived…
He looked down in a daze and saw another pawn that had worked for Lilith end up being used and discarded.
No. He can't just sit here and wait to die.
Run? He simply didn't have enough money for the journey back to Frankfurt. The entire city of Venice was spies of the Knarök family; where could he possibly go? He had nowhere to go except to return to Lilith's side and continue playing the role of a docile dog, wagging his tail and begging her to spare his life. He had no choice. He had to survive. He wanted to go home, to see his father and mother, his German Shepherd, his best friend, and so many other things he wanted to do—he wanted revenge.
He sought revenge against his heartless and cruel fiancée. He had to make her experience the pain he had suffered, to make her pay for her evil deeds. Before that, he needed to gain her trust, become her confidant, and ultimately use her own strength to punish herself.
Heinrich was mentally planning his next move. Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly opened the pockets on the corpse on the ground. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for in the inner pocket of the body's chest.
He tucked the blood-stained dagger into his cloak. On his way back, a sudden downpour soaked him to the bone. The early spring rain carried the chill of winter, making him shiver and quicken his pace.
When he got home, Cecilia opened the door for him.
“The main entrance isn’t for you.” Cecilia still treated him with extreme disdain, coldly looking at Heinrich, who was soaked to the bone. “The lady is waiting for you in the bedroom.”
"knew."
“Wait a minute. Do you really intend to just walk into Madam’s room like this?” Cecilia glared at him fiercely. “Go wash yourself clean.”
"……knew."
After showering, Heinrich changed into a clean shirt, combed his hair, and, carrying a clean dagger, went up the stairs to Lilith's room on the top floor. Lilith heard his footsteps and went to open the door for him. As soon as he opened it, he felt the warmth emanating from the fireplace and the rich scent of roses in the air. Even the coldest rain seemed like insignificant background noise in such a warm room.
“My knight is back. I’ve been waiting for you.” Lilith leaned lazily against the doorframe, smiling as she looked up at him. She wore a cream-colored cotton lace nightgown, her red hair cascading over her shoulders, looking like a pure and kind little angel.
“Madam, it’s all done.” Heinrich handed the dagger back to Lilith and followed her into the room. “No one will gossip anymore, and you’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Excellent, I knew Heinrich wouldn’t let me down.” She casually placed the dagger on the desk, then suddenly turned around, took Heinrich’s hand, and led him to sit on the sofa. On the small table beside the sofa lay an account book, next to a bottle of red wine and two full glasses. Lilith held the moon-shaped glass in her own hand, and handed the sun-shaped glass to Heinrich; the wine inside was as red as blood.
“Let’s celebrate your triumphant return.” Lilith raised her glass high, revealing a sweet smile.
A note from the author:
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