Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 36

A threatening killer slipped into the Academy on Russo’s orders.

However, despite the killer’s actions being quite bold, I was actually staying at the Lupus Carlton Hotel in the port area, not the Academy.

I had come to bring Viola Carmen to Elena since I had something to confirm first.

“….”

As soon as Viola and I arrived on the top floor, Felicita naturally joined us.

“Viola, it’s been a while.”

“I’m curious why you’re here.”

It seemed the two were already acquainted.

“Shall we say it’s a marriage alliance? Old-fashioned but effective, right?”

Viola looked at me with a bit of surprise after hearing Felicita’s words.

“Indeed.”

She looked as if she understood without needing any further explanation. That expression reminded me a bit of her sister.

“Let’s get moving.”

“Yes.”

Felicita stuck close to me, and Viola followed behind us.

“Come on.”

As soon as we entered Elena’s Room, Elena appeared.

Scattered around the room were members of Elena’s organization on standby in case anything happened.

“Felicita, you weren’t supposed to come.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

It wasn’t whether Felicita minded; it was whether Elena minded. Every moment of conversation with Felicita seemed to test Elena’s patience.

“Viola, it’s been a while.”

“…Yeah.”

Viola’s response was almost identical to what Felicita had just said, as if she was experiencing déjà vu and hesitated before answering.

“Miss. Or should I call you the Black Wolf now?”

“If that’s the case, you should have a title too. Little Spider.”

Elena and Viola strangely exchanged titles. The reason Viola Carmen was called the Little Spider was simple. Just as I was regarded as the heir to the Wolf, Viola was seen as the heir to the Spider for a time.

Long ago, there were various groups of henchmen among the Five Families. The ones with the deepest history were the Wolf, Spider, and Viper.

Among these, the Wolf and Spider gnawed at the Five Families, with the Wolf becoming part of the Felini Family and the Spider taking control of one of the Five Families.

The head of the Spider was none other than the current boss of the Carmen Family, Rita Carmen.

The reason the Wolf and Spider turned on their master was due to the horrific fate that befell the Vipers.

Tools that could be disposed of at any moment.

They realized that they were no more than that to the Five Families.

“For now, I heard the basic circumstances through Luke.”

“Then this should be an easy conversation.”

Elena and I sorted out the situation first.

The people and items Viola brought were currently in Carini’s territory.

I had previously brought them from the port to the Academy to prevent them from pulling any funny business.

“So what’s the deal?”

“I have no obligation to stay on a sinking ship. More than that, I was keeping an eye on the Russo Family under the Godfather’s orders.”

My father’s death and the power struggles within the Russo Family.

The reasons Viola made a grand escape towards us could be boiled down to these two.

Of course, there was another reason she didn’t mention. It was clear she thought our Felini Family wasn’t doing so badly after all.

“Now everything can be said to be in its rightful form. I’m honored to be here with you, Miss and Little Wolf.”

“….”

Elena seemed to quite like that Viola had referred to the two of us together.

“For now, I’ll welcome you as the boss of the family.”

“Thank you, Boss.”

Perhaps Viola wanted the person she was being welcomed by to be neither the Black Wolf nor the Little Wolf, but… my father, the Wolf.

“Viola, you haven’t forgotten, right?”

It wasn’t enough for Elena to greet her and for Viola to thank her.

Instead, when Viola heard my words, she kissed the back of Elena’s hand, which bore the seal of the Felini Family.

Viola’s vow of loyalty was ultimately to my father, Elena and my father.

In other words, it was like swearing allegiance to the new boss of the family.

*

In the brief moment when Viola kissed Elena’s hand, the organization members scattered across my room were staring intently at Viola. There was a possibility her surrender could be a ruse.

However, it wasn’t the kind of behavior Darius Russo would think of, but rather one that suited Viola’s sister, Rita Carmen.

“Let me just say, this is only the beginning.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m not the only one with complaints against the boss within the Russo Family.”

Viola was hinting at the rough trajectory of things to come while naturally emphasizing that she was the first spark of this unfolding.

“Well, that can’t be bad.”

I responded to Viola’s words.

Given the shortage of forces, the Russo Family’s strength becoming our own was something we would wholeheartedly welcome.

“And I have something to inform you two.”

Viola Carmen mentioned the things she learned while in the Russo Family.

It wasn’t appropriate to reveal everything in this meeting, but Viola intended to share the most vital information with us.

“You may find it hard to believe, but the Russo Family doesn’t have the capacity to wage war.”

“Yet the attack last night seemed quite serious.”

“The ones who could set up and detonate bombs so quickly… that’s Granada. But if the Russo Family had any intention of doing things properly, they would have also involved other forces besides Granada.”

And we had mistakenly thought that Viola and her people were the other forces deployed by the Russo Family.

Attacking Lumini’s territory to divert our attention while launching an attack in Carini’s territory, for example.

“So what do you mean the Russo Family doesn’t have the capacity to wage war?”

“Well, while no family is entirely unaffected, they’re suffering from multiple attacks from both inside and outside. And the external threats might surprise you two.”

“….”

What could possibly be so shocking that it would catch Elena and me off guard?

“Would you believe if I said that the Vipers have returned?”

“…Didn’t the Spiders handle all the Vipers?”

Elena asked in disbelief to the Little Spider, who had once led the Spiders alongside Rita Carmen.

“Yes, that was the case. But there were some we missed.”

Viola added that she personally expected they would pose no significant threat.

However, her expectations were ultimately proven wrong. They had grown into a force capable of threatening the Russo Family in such a short time.

More importantly, we had only just learned of the return of the Vipers.

It might also be due to our lack of information, but there was a reason Viola called their return critical information.

Wolf, Spider, Viper.

If the Wolf was the executioner of the Five Families and the Spider was their ear and eyes, then the Viper was the deadly dagger of the Five Families.

After the Five Families exterminated the Vipers, that role shifted to the Spider.

The Vipers’ most significant characteristics were that most of them bore fangs or could be metaphorically described as monsters whose blood flowed with poison instead.

They were essentially living weapons.

[The enemy of my enemy is my friend.]

The words on the page before me transformed into a compelling sight.

Taking this opportunity, I wondered what she was about to say. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh?

There were few times the status window was truly helpful, but it seemed I didn’t understand this situation at all.

After Viola finished speaking, Elena and I naturally turned our eyes toward Felicita.

“What? Is it because I’m a Marinelli?”

“Yeah. After the Vipers take care of the Russo Family, the Marinelli Family will be next.”

When Felicita asked, Elena spoke plainly.

“And maybe my damn sister and I will be targets too.”

That was to be expected. When the Spider exterminated the Vipers under the command of the Five Families, the Spider’s leader was Rita Carmen, with Viola Carmen as the heir.

“There might be grievances even among our Wolves.”

The Wolf wasn’t significantly involved in the Viper extermination. At the time, the leader of the Wolf, my father, was away for other matters.

However, some Wolves on standby helped the Spider in that task.

I wondered how the Vipers would define the scope of their revenge, but in truth, the Wolves would be hitting a rather ambiguous line.

“So, the best scenario would be to push out the Russo Family and the Vipers as well.”

“Yes, that would seem to be the case.”

Viola agreed with me while also indicating it wouldn’t be an easy task.

In the process, if the Russo Family and Vipers were to team up, it would complicate things significantly.

“I don’t think those two will join forces.”

“But no one knows how things will flow.”

Despite Elena’s words, Viola seemed to think it was necessary to consider worst-case scenarios.

Afterward, we discussed Viola’s treatment.

The place she and her people would stay. In other words, we first needed to decide on Viola’s new territory.

“Coincidentally, there’s a spot in River West.”

It was awkward to replace the existing Caporegime as we had just settled down ourselves. Plus, it seemed like Elena was agreeing with me.

“The area situated between Carini and Vanella would be suitable.”

“I’m fine with anywhere.”

I wondered if Viola’s words were sincere. Considering her personality was quite open, unlike her sister, it was possible.

With Viola agreeing to the area Elena and I had decided upon, her new territory was set.

Just as we were about to discuss something else, a phone call came from the Academy.

“Brother, it’s Kambara.”

“Oh, okay. What’s going on?”

Kambara calmly told me that he had captured the killer who had sneaked into the Academy.

Even with many forces drawn out to Carini’s territory, the Academy had practically become the Wolf’s den.

That killer had quite the nerve.