Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Winters was at a complete loss with this irrational madwoman; this time he had securely tied the woman in black's fingers to ensure she wouldn't slip out of her bonds a second time.

As he stepped out the door, Winters found Elizabeth eavesdropping at the doorway.

"You're really pushing your luck," Winters felt a shiver of fear, wondering what would have happened if he hadn't managed to subdue the woman in black and she had encountered Elizabeth.

"Let me talk to her," Elizabeth said confidently, "You two were just shouting at each other. I'm sure I can get more out of her than you did."

Then Winters, gripping Elizabeth by the arm, locked her in her own bedroom.

——————

After sending the sheriff away, Antonio listened expressionlessly to Winters recounting the recent events and the whole story. How to deal with the woman in black would ultimately be a decision for the head of the family, as this matter had surpassed the scope of Winters' personal affairs.

"So, you're suggesting she might be Lavoisier's daughter?"

"That's what the signs point to, but there is no concrete evidence."

"What's your opinion?" Antonio asked out of the blue.

"If she truly is the daughter of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. The Lavoisier family has suffered enough, Antoine-Laurent's orphan should be treated kindly. But right now... she's mad, completely irrational," Winters confessed, his thoughts muddled, instinctively relying on his foster father, "I just don't know what to do. I'll follow Uncle's lead."

"Follow my lead?" Antonio's gaze was icy: "Then you and I should take her out to the countryside, shoot her dead, and bury her in a ditch."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Winters was dumbfounded.

In Winters' eyes, Antonio was a gentle husband and a kind father, making it easy to forget his other identity. This was the first time Winters had seen his cold and ruthless side.

"My boy, this is the permanent solution. Lavoisier's daughter and the notebook, do you have any idea what kind of trouble that would bring? If people found out you have that notebook, Korsa and your sister would both be living in danger. It doesn't matter whether she's Lavoisier's daughter or not, we'll interrogate her first, eliminate her, and then we'll only have the notebook to deal with," Antonio sighed, "but you won't agree. Your sense of justice is still intact. Come on, let's go meet the lady."

Having said that, Antonio headed up the stairs.

Winters, recovering from his shock, muttered softly as he followed Antonio, "Just give the order, Colonel, and I'll get the horse ready at once."

"Let's meet her first, hopefully, it won't come to that," Antonio said without looking back.

——————

Upon opening the door to the guest room, there was an unexpected person inside; Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of the bed, happily chatting with the woman in black.

"Dad, brother, don't tie up Sofia anymore." Seeing the two men enter the room, Elizabeth cheerfully ran to Antonio's side to report her success: "Sofia isn't a bad person, she just wanted to retrieve her father's belongings. Now she knows we're not bad people, so you shouldn't fight anymore." Experience new tales on empire

Winters was astonished; she even knew her name? Could there be some special way women communicated?

"Ella, go back to your room," Antonio ordered his daughter deliberately.

Normally, Elizabeth would ignore anything Antonio said out of indulgence, but this time she sensed the threatening atmosphere and immediately fell silent, obediently leaving the room.

Antonio sat on a chair at the bedside, with Winters standing behind him. Winters held a steel awl in his hand, the sharp kind.

"I am Antonio Serviati. May I know how you wish to be addressed?" Antonio started with a polite exchange.

The woman in black, who just moments ago seemed to be enjoying her conversation with Elizabeth, snorted coldly but didn't respond.

"May I ask what General Antoine-Laurent is to you?" Antonio got straight to the point.

"What's it to you?" the woman in black replied rudely.

"Because if you're the daughter of General Antoine-Laurent, then you're a guest here."

"Seems like you enjoy tying up your guests, don't you?"

"If I untie you, can you guarantee you won't resort to violence again?"

"I'm not a madwoman."

"Madam, please listen carefully," Antonio said to the woman in black, serious yet earnest, "General Antoine-Laurent is a military man and scholar whom I admire, and his family shares a distant kinship with my wife's family. It's for this reason alone that I consider you a guest.

I understand your hatred, but remember, there's a debt for every wrong, and it was The Federated Provinces Republic that executed General Antoine-Laurent. This is the Venetian Republic, and we are all Venetians. The injustice against Antoine-Laurent has nothing to do with us Venetians.

I've said my piece. This is my home, and I won't tolerate any threat to my family. So, if you commit any violent act against my family again, no matter whose daughter you are, regardless of your circumstances, I will kill you on the spot."

Antonio's tone was not fierce; his composure resembled that of a Shepherd counting his sheep, but no one in the room doubted his threat.

After finishing his speech, Antonio took out a small knife, first cutting the ropes around the woman in black's legs, then the ones binding her hands.