act21side

It was supposed to celebrate your return.

Hah.

Well, how about that. From here on, you're Don Rossati.

Giovanna.

Do it.

The sound of sharp metal slicing through flesh appears in the alley.

It is quickly drowned out by the sound of the falling rain.

Texas knows she is already too late.

The alley is scarred by traces of battle, and blood spreads out across the ground.

Her gaze goes to the source of the bloody water, where a familiar figure lies fallen.

Her heart quivers.

Giovanna!

We should be able to have a nice discussion over here, Your Honor.

I won't become your accomplice.

Accomplice? That's a rather extreme choice of words.

Shouldn't you be thanking me for saving your life?

Forget it, just treat it as an act of kindness on my part.

The upside about you young folks is that you're go-getters. The downside is you tend to overdo it.

There's nothing I particularly need you to do for me, actually.

I just don't want to see an outstanding young woman like you fall.

You? Really?

I think the Carracci incident has given you some misconceptions about me.

No, I don't think it has.

I happen to care more about what's in front of me, that's all.

'The government is just the cloth draped over Grey Hall's round table.'

Lavinia, everyone in Siracusa knows of Signora Sicilia's lament.

But I'd imagine there are few who understand the source of this lament.

Thirty years ago, there was a group of youths like you who naively believed they could free Siracusa from the famiglie.

But there was no end to the dark clouds that hung over the country, and they couldn't conjure up any support.

So they chose to try to win over a number of famiglie by catering to their interests, trying to fight... the thing they thought they could resist.

As for what happened to them... nobody knows.

Nobody knows?

Try to picture this scenario, Signorina Lavinia.

Your father is a clerk who works for the city government.

One day, you get up, shower, and have breakfast as usual. That's when you realize your father forgot something at home, and your mother asks you to bring it to him.

It's the rainy season, and you're in a bad mood because you had an argument with your father. But then you think to yourself, it's partially your fault, and it would be better to just apologize.

But when you walk into city hall, you feel an unnatural stillness.

The place shouldn't be so quiet at this time of day.

Soon, you see blood seeping from beneath the doors of various offices.

And that's when you realize that streaks of blood are painted all across the floor.

You find that everyone in city hall has gone missing.

What scares you even more is that not a single soul will comment on it, no matter who you ask. Even your own mother is completely silent.

It's as if the disappeared never existed in the first place.

After a while, people begin to appear at city hall again, and a bit after that, the normal hustle and bustle returns.

And you finally realize, that's all there is to it.

That's when Signora Sicilia's saying really starts to spread.

'The government is just the cloth draped over Grey Hall's round table.' And naturally, the tablecloth can be changed at will.

When you've lived through it, you'll understand—

Anger. Of course the anger is there. But what happens after the anger passes?

After anger, comes nothing.

Just as you are now, not knowing who you can even vent your grievance to.

To Don Bernardo? To Famiglia Bellone? Or to Signora Sicilia?

No, of course not. They are all cogs in the existing machine, and you, as the gatekeeper to this machine, know better than anyone else—

It can't be shaken.

And that's why you want to tell me... that all I can do is to cover my eyes and ears like you, pretending to be oblivious to everything that's going on.

Pretending I'm living a semblance of what you could call a life.

Signorina Lavinia, you are even more naive than my daughter.

And as someone who's experienced it all, my advice to you is the same as the last time you came to me—no matter what your ideals are, you must first live on.

And if you're really in that much of a hurry to die, at least find a successor first.

Sometimes, living to pass down your ideals can be even more difficult than dying a merciful death.

Oh right, I'll be taking up my new post in a few days, and Don Bernardo has arranged a speech for me to deliver to the whole city.

There's nothing I need you to do for me, but if you'd like, you are welcome to keep my wife and daughter company.

I do believe that isn't anything that would violate your principles.

Hmm? You're not going with the rest of your friends, my child?

Uhh... I have a somewhat personal question I'd like to ask you.

Oh?

Please continue.

I learned a few things about you back when I was in school. Back then, both you and His Holiness the Pope were seen as promising young talents.

But after Signora Sicilia visited Laterano, you left with her. Didn't even hesitate.

You want to know why I left Laterano with Sicilia?

Not exactly. What I'd like to know is, you must get along very well with Signora Sicilia, right?

That depends on what you mean by 'get along.' But if you mean in terms of understanding, it may be the case that nobody understands her as well as I do.

However, our personalities are actually quite incompatible.

At least these days, I am happier hiding in this city to avoid the headaches she brings me.

Isn't that also part of getting along with someone?

That, I cannot deny.

Then, how were you able to stay on good terms with her for decades?

Hahahaha!

Senior Agenir, I'm serious!

An excellent question indeed, my child.

You certainly ask much more interesting questions than your friend.

But first, there's something I'm curious about.

From the description you just gave me, you seem to get along very well with Texas.

That's right, we're the best partners out there~

You don't doubt your friendship at all.

Not even a little.

In that case— Ah, I see now. The reason behind your question.

Shared empathy allows you to treat people without reservation, but you still have doubts about the process of getting along with those who lack that empathy.

Moreover, it is not deception that you fear, but this doubt itself.

You are ashamed of this doubt when you are reciprocated with nothing but sincerity.

But at the same time, you are also afraid of how you will handle yourself if these doubts prove to be true one day.

Is that the case?

Um, yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking!

I think every Sankta who leaves Laterano will encounter this problem.

When Sicilia came to visit Laterano, I was tasked with serving as her guide.

However, I did not leave Laterano with her because I was persuaded by her ideals, as the rumors claim.

Sicilia was still young at the time, and no matter how talented she was, it was impossible for her to instantly come up with a way to change Siracusa after but a brief stay in Laterano.

Her ideals were puerile and unrealistic, but they happened to resonate with some of my own thoughts at the time.

We discussed and argued our ideas day and night until finally, I decided to go with her to Siracusa to settle them.

Discussing, and arguing...