Dragon Hill Hotel.
Inside, it was plain compared to its overly extravagant exterior.
Dragovich frowned, feeling as if he were witnessing the once-glorious Marinelli Family. He too had been defeated by the Wolves.
Creak. No matter how much oil he applied, he could never get used to the awful metallic sound from his prosthetic arm.
Vito Marinelli had called himself an “eternal loser” during his conversation with the Little Wolf, but that was wrong.
Eternal losers were not singular; they were plural.
“Mr. Dragovich.”
“Manfredi.”
Upon hearing that one of the bosses of the Five Families had made an appearance, a man rushed over.
Manfredi Marinelli, the eldest son of Vito Marinelli.
Dragovich warmly welcomed his friend’s son, explaining why he had come personally.
“I came to see a friend.”
“…You already know, but he’s not in great condition.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
If it had been someone other than Dragovich, Manfredi would likely have kicked him out immediately. There was no benefit in having the Boss caught acting like a junkie on Blue Eyes.
But Vito Marinelli and Mikhail Dragovich were close friends.
In the underworld, loyalty was often more strange and fluid than general principles, and some didn’t think much of it. But that wasn’t the case for Dragovich.
During the last meeting of the Five Families…
Dragovich had cared for his friend’s welfare before worrying about the other bosses before him, disregarding allies and rivals altogether.
“Follow me.”
“Uh-huh.”
The two giants took the elevator to the floor where the family boss awaited.
“…Is he still in the same state?”
“Yes, it’s the same as ever, that Blue Eyes.”
“….”
Dragovich learned about Rita Carmen’s heinous deeds only after getting involved with her. Of course, he had known about his drug addiction long before that.
If it hadn’t been for Eddie Sanchez’s ferocious momentum, he wouldn’t have cooperated with Carmen and her family at all.
As the Wolf dweller sank into his thoughts, the elevator came to a halt.
As soon as they got off the elevator, Manfredi said he would check on his father’s condition.
To anyone else, it seemed perfectly natural, but this was in fact to buy his father a little time.
After a brief wait, the two bosses finally gathered in one place.
“….”
The condition of Marinelli was still poor.
Buried under luxurious artwork and lavish goods, his eyes had lost the sharpness they once had.
Of course, he looked better compared to the last meeting. His well-groomed hair and beard were certainly the work of someone else.
“Manfredi, I’d like to talk to him alone. Could you step outside?”
“That’s not possible.”
Knowing what was about to happen, Manfredi seemed to be saying it with his body.
“Regardless, your father is fine, isn’t he?”
“….”
The words from the Wolf dweller left both Marinellis quite surprised.
“Looks like he’s still in good shape.”
“Oh, damn.”
Dragovich didn’t miss the instantaneous change in expression. As soon as Marinelli felt he had been found out that he wasn’t a junkie, he erupted into curses.
“Manfredi, you can leave.”
“Yes.”
After sending his son away, Marinelli took a seat wherever he pleased.
“My friend, your acting skills aren’t bad.”
“You knew all along.”
“Carmen, that woman probably knows too.”
“….”
As Dragovich mentioned her name, Marinelli’s gaze turned sharper.
“So are you going to let that woman know my condition?”
“No, I have no such loyalty to her.”
Dragovich answered his friend with incredible ease. It was obvious to him.
“Then what in the world are you here for?”
“You’re asking something obvious. The time for revenge has come. If you and I join forces, taking down the two lost little wolves will be a piece of cake.”
“….”
“Why the long face?”
Hearing such talk from the Wolf dweller could almost make one laugh, but Marinelli couldn’t manage a chuckle.
“Revenge, huh….”
“Surely you can’t say you’re not interested? We’re getting revenge on the Wolf who made us all like this.”
“Well, I’m not so sure about that.”
Dragovich felt something was off.
Once a man who burned with desire for revenge against the Wolves alongside him… now looked so powerless.
“It seems that drug has ruined you.”
“That might be the case. But I no longer care about such revenge.”
“Hah, to hear such words from you. Is that true? Or have you found something more important than revenge?”
“Yeah, I have.”
Dragovich waited for Marinelli’s response.
Although he couldn’t quite understand it, if it were a decision made by a man who had given up his lifelong goal, it must carry some weight.
“Since the Wolf is already dead, my children are more important than that kind of revenge.”
“…I don’t get it. Children can just be born again, can’t they?”
Marinelli looked at Dragovich’s answer with a stupid expression. It was truly hard to grasp the values of those Wolf dwellers.
“Let me put it in terms even you can understand. Even though I lost to the Wolf, I won’t make my children losers.”
“I see. Got it.”
Marinelli thought this dense guy finally understood. But Dragovich’s following reply was ridiculous.
“Looks like that drug has soaked your head.”
“What?!”
“My friend, there’s one more thing I should tell you.”
Dragovich added that he heard it directly from Rita Carmen. Even though Marinelli despised her, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity.
“She made you addicted to that drug because she thought you might become a threat to the Wolf.”
“….”
It wasn’t hard to believe.
Vito Marinelli was one of the bosses most eager for revenge against the Wolf alongside Dragovich.
That woman, who presumes to be the Wolf’s woman, would go that far, no doubts about it.
“She probably tried to dilute your rage with the drug. Judging by your current state, it seems she was quite effective.”
When Dragovich first learned this, he thought it was quite ironic.
What she did for the Wolf had come back to her as a boomerang. Although Rita Carmen offered to collaborate with Marinelli to take down the Wolf, she was outright rejected.
She had put him on drugs to quell his anger, only to later turn around and borrow his hand to deal with the Wolf.
Naturally, it couldn’t end well.
“Hmph, that doesn’t change anything.”
“Is that so….”
Dragovich abruptly stood up. He no longer had business with the man before him.
Although he intended to inform him that his decision was merely the intended consequence of someone else, doing so failed to ignite his rage once more.
Involuntarily making a choice by others was one thing, but if that was his will, then there was no room for negotiation.
“I’ll keep quiet about your acting.”
“….”
Marinelli eyed his old friend with suspicion as he walked out, but Dragovich was sincere.
He was close enough to respect his wishes, even while being an ally, not to benefit his enemies.
There was nothing more futile than loyalty in the underworld. It was exactly for that reason that it was worth keeping. At least that’s what Dragovich thought.
*
The brief meeting between the two bosses had come to an end.
Meanwhile, at the Lupus Carlton Hotel located in the eastern part of Hebili, an important discussion of the Felini Family was underway.
A conference where the bosses of the Five Families had gathered in one place.
Elena, Felicita, and I planned to make the most of the turmoil that occurred in the interim.
Immediately, Carso and the Wolves under him headed west of the city. They were fully armed as the place had turned into a battlefield.
“….”
“Elena, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just.”
It seemed that Elena was worried that things might not go well. She tended to worry more than she appeared.
Carso was supposed to convey our intentions to Sanchez.
Unless Rita Carmen, who killed the Godfather, forfeited her life, there would be no peace between the Five Families and the Felini Family.
This was explicitly part of what had been discussed at their conference. The bosses of the Five Families would suspect that someone had leaked the contents of the conference to us.
“Felicita, are you alright?”
This would mean that her father would have to bear even more burdens. Nevertheless, Felicita willingly agreed.
After all, the Five Families were already at odds with Sanchez, Russo, Carmen, and Dragovich all in partnership and growling at each other.
In such circumstances, with rising suspicions toward one another… I thought that they wouldn’t have the luxury to zero in on the Marinelli Family.
“And there’s something I want to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“….”
Elena appeared on guard, wondering what Felicita might say next.
Felicita answered my question with a slight smile.
“I just wanted to let you know that leaking the contents of the conference is a significant burden for us.”
“Sure, I can see that.”
I readily acknowledged her words. It was a risk we were willing to take.
“If you promise to keep us informed of the next conference, I’ll spend this Sunday with Luke.”
“…What?!”
“Felicita, are there any other conditions…?”
“No, there’s no room for discussion.”
As soon as Elena asked in disbelief, I jumped in.
Felicita was wise. She couldn’t be unaware that there was much to gain from this opportunity….
Surely she wasn’t oblivious to it.
It seemed she was willing to grasp me at any cost. Elena was vehemently opposed, but there was no way around it.
“…That’s just low.”
“Oh come on, you started it first.”
Just as she said. It had been Elena who had initially set the condition of spending a day with Luke in the business of the two families.
“….”
“What can we do?”
“Luke.”
“Elena, it’s only this once.”
Of course, Felicita was referring to the outcome of the next conference. It meant that she might ask for something different regarding the one after that.
If she were to demand something similar then, I felt Elena wouldn’t stand idly either. I thought Felicita was aware of that as well.
Anyway, Elena continued to resist Felicita’s reach while holding onto me. But after my continued persuasion, she reluctantly agreed to give up this Sunday to Felicita.
To be honest, this agreement was more like a coercion, similar to how I handled Elena before.
[He who digs a pit for others falls into it himself.]
As expected, the status window didn’t miss this opportunity. The phrase that came out was very familiar to me. It was a proverb from the world I lived in, from the country I was from.
“I hope Sunday comes soon.”
“Felicita, stop teasing Elena.”
As I reveled in my victory, her figure shaking her tail like a rattlesnake was indeed cute. But what mattered now was to soothe Elena’s feelings.
Fortunately, just then, a significant call came through to us.
Hastily, I picked up the ringing phone. It was a call from our family’s Consigliere, Anthony Salmo.
“Luke, Hagen has a request for you.”
“A request?”
A request from J.P. Hagen, especially after he had provided a large sum of funding. It couldn’t be anything but awkward.
However… after hearing the contents of the request from Salmo, it was far from what I expected.
“Got it.”
As I quickly set the receiver down, both Elena and Felicita were curious about what I had heard.
“Hagen asked us for something.”
“…Hagen?”
“Yeah, his nephew attends the Academy, and he wants to ensure that our drugs don’t affect him or his friends at all.”
It was a perfectly reasonable request. Just that he’d make such a request from us meant he wanted some serious assurances.
“Apparently, he sent the list of his nephew and his friends to Salmo.”
“Well, I guess we have no choice then.”
Elena entrusted this matter to me. The Academy was my domain, after all.
