act21side

The Bellones were the first to sully our honor, so it's not our fault if we're a little discourteous with them.

The Don's meaning is obvious. Follow his orders at the meeting. Famiglia Bellone is about to be wiped from Siracusa.

Why are they chasing money and power instead of violence and conflict?

Is killing me today just a cathartic release of this violence?

Or is it because... I got in the way of the people behind you taking power?

Danbrown suddenly understands why he hasn't been able to sleep at night.

Texas knows why she has been hesitating.

She doesn't like to think, and that means when she encounters a situation in which she is forced to think, she plans everything to the letter in advance.

She anticipated this well before she ever set out on her trip to Siracusa.

She knew she would have to fight.

But, she believes that what she did in Lungmen was not fundamentally different from what she had done in Columbia or Siracusa.

She does not believe that her life in Lungmen is righteous, just as she does not believe that her life in Siracusa or Columbia was evil.

She has always dealt in the logistics of life and death.

She knew she would one day have to face the land of Siracusa.

But she had already made up her mind.

Just as she had once asked her grandfather this question:

'Isn't Siracusan morality just trampling on the lives of the people all the same?'

She even anticipated meeting up with old acquaintances like Giovanna.

She really did anticipate all of this.

And that's why she has been tossing and turning sleeplessly for several nights.

But the one thing she did not expect was that she would meet people here who wanted to change the place.

Leontuzzo—even though he is the heir to a famiglia, his way of thinking is progressive. His ideas may still be immature, but they are never violent.

Lavinia—a puppet of Signora Sicilia's will, but a judge who nevertheless wants the law to apply equally.

Carracci—even though she never met him, she learned from many sources that he served the people as Ministro dei Lavori Pubblici.

And finally—

She used to feel that there would never be an end to all this, that she was powerless to change Siracusa, that everything was too deeply entrenched.

So she chose to run.

However, after returning this time, she's met people who wanted to make this land a better place, and they were hurt, one after another.

Would she still choose to run?

I found her! Cellinia's over here!

She has been hesitating because her desire to return to Lungmen is real.

But at the same time, her anger towards the plight of those people is just as real.

And right before her eyes, a good man with good intentions is forced by this country to cry out, at the cost of his life.

That is when Texas realizes—

Never in her life has she felt so outraged.

Woah, what's with the crowd?

Looks like some of them are starting to charge.

Don't blame me for this, Texas. I've already done what I could.

Why would I blame you?

Heya, partner, you get a good rest?

Good enough.

You look pretty mad.

So you can tell.

Of course. Just like how you can guess what I wanna eat from my mood.

We've been partners for so many years.

Exusiai, a good man just died.

I heard.

There's something I want to do for him.

I was thinking the same thing.

Do my ears deceive me, Texas?

You're planning on staying, aren't you?

Lappland...

Thank you for 'doing your best' to help me get back to Lungmen.

But I've already made up my mind.

There are a few people out there who don't deserve to die like that. They need help. They deserve it.

Can you actually do anything about that?

Is this little fairy tale enough to make you choose a different path?

This little fairy tale is more than enough to make me choose a different path.

Some things aren't that complicated at all, Lappland.

You, on the other hand...

How long are you going to stay on a leash?

What, are you lecturing me now?

Take it as a little advice from someone's who been there.

Exusiai, I'm going to break the encirclement. Back me up.

You got it!

Texas, you're always full of surprises.

Aha... Haha, ahaha!

The sounds of footsteps and screams gradually dissipate with Texas and Exusiai's departure, and the alley falls silent again.

Only the hollow laughter of the lone white wolf continues to reverberate.

Until she too stops laughing.

She turns her gaze in a certain direction. Not the one Texas left, but rather where Famiglia Saluzzo resides.

Father... He.... Urk....

Feel any better?

...Yes.

Your Honor, why would my father do something like that?

I wish he would've kept doing what he did before... If only he'd just kept on being an ordinary segretario...

You might not understand this yet, but your father was a great man.

I'll send people to keep you safe. Stay inside, and don't wander out. Alright?

I-I can feel it... After what my father has done, the whole city is going to turn upside-down.

You should hide here with me.

Thank you, but I have work to do.

Lavinia walks out of the room.

The peal of that gunshot resounds through Volsinii. Even the dark clouds part for a few minutes as if spooked, letting a few strands of sunlight filter through, for the first time in ages.

Her agreement with Bernardo was once her only goal.

To the point that when she found out Bernardo had broken his promise, she didn't know what to do with herself.

But now, she knows.

Because she's been told she does not stand alone.

And the ones who told her made a sacrifice a hundred times more heroic than her struggles.

Compared to them, she might actually be the lucky one.

But she does not plan to stand by and rely on this luck.

Ministro Rubio, your sacrifice will not be in vain.

She strokes the codex in her hands, a few names from Rubio's diary still lingering in her head.

She has either seen them before, or heard of them.

This is the most bountiful legacy that Rubio has left behind for her.

Moreover—

Who is it?

Penguin Logistics. Need something delivered?

Don Alberto.

I came because I heard Bellone wanted to speak with me.

What, does Bernardo not even dare to show his face?