act21side

When I think about that question, I realize we should really be asking what counts as success, and how long we have to hold up this country for it to count as a success.

Maybe we've only succeeded once we have every famiglia seated at the same table.

In other words, the Siracusa we've built is not a success?

Who knows? Sometimes, just making fewer mistakes than others already counts as a success.

If that's true, I've definitely made fewer mistakes than most.

After all, my mirror is still here, is he not?

Hah, you've got terrible taste in people.

Looks like I should've sent you to a nursing home instead of Volsinii.

Which is why I asked you to come with me, Sicilia.

Some things, you won't see until you sit down on a park bench.

I've seen some interesting things, and figured you might want to join me.

And there are other things you won't see until you're sitting in Grey Hall.

I didn't come here to listen to this, Agenir.

Alright. I must say, we went a bit overboard this time.

I'll admit, I was in the wrong, in certain respects.

Hmph.

Now, it's your turn.

You sound awfully confident about what I'm going to do next.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here this time either.

Heh. Having a friend who understands you too well isn't always a good thing.

Signora Sicilia smiles and walks up to Agenir.

Then, the most exalted presence in Siracusa slowly kneels down.

Her expression is one of piety, like a devotee.

To whom are you praying for forgiveness?

To guns and order.

What is your sin?

I accepted the challenge of a young man.

And his goal is to destroy everything I've built.

Do you see this as a betrayal of guns and order?

I do.

Then why didn't you nip it in the bud?

Bernardo's methods went outside the rules, and I could not tolerate them. But Leontuzzo chose to sit in front of me, risking his own life to offer his ideas.

I decided to give him a chance.

No, that's not the real reason.

...I told him, Siracusa will be resplendent while I live, but wither away after I die.

Do you not believe that the guns and order you created can live on?

I've learned one thing from the many heirs I've tried to cultivate: the next Signora Sicilia won't be born in an era of peace.

When I decided to make all the famiglie bow before me, the only things on my mind were ambition and passion.

And over all the years I've managed this country, I can't help but feel somewhat sentimental for this one word: Siracusa.

I will do everything in my power to crush him.

But, if he really does succeed in the end...

Then so be it.

On behalf of guns and order, your transgressions will be forgiven.

Signora Sicilia stands up slowly, her expression returns to normal, as if everything that just happened had nothing to do with her.

How long has it been since the last time you confessed to me like that?

I forget.

How'd it feel?

I feel even worse.

It's not easy to be honest with yourself.

Agenir... do you think you've failed?

What about you? Do you think you've succeeded?

When I think about that question, I realize we should really be asking what counts as success, and how long we have to hold up this country for it to count as a success.

Maybe we've only succeeded once we have every famiglia seated at the same table.

In other words, the Siracusa we've built is not a success?

Who knows? Sometimes, just making fewer mistakes than others already counts as a success.

If that's true, I've definitely made fewer mistakes than most.

After all, my mirror is still here, is he not?

Hah, you've got terrible taste in people.

Hello.

Oh, Your Honor, what business do you have with me?

Excuse me, but you... are Don Agenir, aren't you?

Hrm?

I heard from the courthouse that Signora Sicilia showed up in court yesterday.

When I saw you around here, I assumed you were just a Sankta living in the area. It wasn't until they brought it up that I realized, you're actually Signora Sicilia's right-hand man.

Oh, well... It's not like I was trying so hard to conceal my identity anyway.

Having that said, I didn't expect you to come looking for me.

I thought you'd find me just as despicable as Sicilia.

That's not how I see things.

Regardless of my thoughts on Signora Sicilia, I've always had great respect for the man who laid the legal foundations of this country. That's you.

So, is there something you'd like to learn from me, my child?

I... This is kind of embarrassing, but actually, I'm not sure what I want to ask you.

But after learning that you exist, I felt a need to talk to you.

This is... the Code of Law?

And, a first edition too?!

That's right. It's for you, my child.

This... is priceless beyond measure.

The path you've chosen is completely opposite to mine.

But, I'm not as hard on our youth as Sicilia is, so please treat this as a little present from me.

I actually don't think that's true.

Oh?

I don't think our paths head in opposite directions.

The reason it was difficult to walk the path of a judge had nothing to do with the law itself, only the power of the famiglie to largely render it irrelevant.

To be honest, if I was able to handle every case to the letter of the law, I don't think I would be where I am today.

Every judge believes that you, the man who wrote this code, know full well what justice is.

The institution of guns and order should have also been the institution of the law, but instead, it became a convention among famiglie.

And this is the biggest misunderstanding you have about me, my child.

Guns beget power, and order begets regularity. What I sought was never justice, but efficacy.

Then, I will prove to you that the law can replace the customs of the famiglie.

My child, are you going to challenge me, just as Leontuzzo challenged Sicilia?

That's right.

Haha, in that case... We'll just have to wait and see.

If everything that unfolded in Volsinii was observed by a bystander...

That person would likely have a lingering suspicion.

And that would be—who exactly am I, Benthonexigios?

Why do I keep appearing in this story, yet do nothing?

Why do I seem to know everything, yet stand on the sidelines?

After all my talk of civilization and the wilderness, which side am I on, and why?

Well, I would first like to rid you of a misconception.

And that is—I do not know everything.

Everything I've said has been nothing more than reasonable conjecture based on the current state of Siracusa.