Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 7

My arranged marriage with Felicita Marinelli.

Thanks to that, the Lupus Carlton Hotel has turned quite chaotic.

“No, this just doesn’t match the ranks.”

“What rank?”

“Felicita is the boss’s daughter, and our lady is now the boss. Since you’re already the boss’s husband, if you become the husband of another boss’s daughter…”

I could grasp the meaning behind Giovanni’s words.

“That aside, what’s important is that we received this proposal from the Marinelli Family.”

But Carso changed the subject.

“What do you mean by that?”

Elena, still looking uncomfortable, asked.

“What I mean is, we are the only five families that have a chance to collaborate. Other families are likely involved in the Godfather’s assassination.”

“Isn’t it possible that the Marinelli side could’ve collaborated too?”

“If that’s the case, then that would be foolish. They can’t be that stupid to not think about the consequences.”

As Armo raised a question, Carso effortlessly dismissed it.

“So? Are you saying that Carso agrees with this proposal?”

“No. Personally, I don’t agree, but it’s necessary.”

This was a different situation than when my father dominated the city.

The biggest motivation and justification for Elena and me was taking revenge on our father’s enemies: the five families.

Unlike how my father used the animosity between the five families to his advantage, we might have to face them all. In this situation, no family can simply back out—they would become our allies.

“….”

Elena’s expression changed as she listened to Carso.

The discomfort remained, but I could tell she found it somewhat valid. After all, Elena wasn’t particularly foolish; she didn’t lack situational awareness.

“Wait a minute. We should also ask Luke, who’s involved. Luke?”

“…I’m in favor.”

“What?!”

“Just as Carso said, bringing the Marinellis to our side this time is a good move. It’ll significantly reduce the threats from the southern port.”

Sarina gasped at my answer. Elena’s expression darkened further.

But one thing was clear.

Our expansion would be limited to the west and north where the Academy is, but it was a relief not to have to worry about the south.

“Elena, and there’s one more good point for us.”

“…What is it?”

Elena, weighing the dire situation of our organization against her personal feelings, asked me.

“Sarina, you know that situation well.”

Instead of explaining myself, I let Sarina take over.

I had her explain the benefits of accepting this proposal from the perspective of someone who strongly opposed it; that would likely get a better reaction from Elena than if I did it myself.

“Firstly, Boss Vito Marinelli is completely ruined due to his addictions to cigarettes, alcohol, women, and drugs.”

“I’m aware of that. I heard he’s deep into Blue Eyes.”

Elena mentioned the drug, Blue Eyes.

Famous for its name stemming from the blue-tinged pupils of addicts, it was something our side didn’t deal with.

“That was Rita Carmen’s doing.”

As Giovanni said, it was she who got Vito Marinelli hooked on drugs.

Whether it was intentional or just an unfortunate turn of events that got him so deep, it was hard to tell.

“Sarina, continue.”

“Yes, that’s why Vito Marinelli’s children are running the family instead. The firstborn Manfredi mainly handles security and force within their territory, while the eldest daughter Felicita takes care of external affairs and business.”

Other children also had their roles, but those two were key.

“If we accept this proposal… Felicita won’t be with her family if she’s staying by your side, brother.”

As soon as Sarina finished her explanation, Carso added in, making sure that part was clear.

“Oh, and one more thing: Vito Marinelli’s condition isn’t as bad as we thought.”

“….”

That wasn’t an untrue statement. But it wasn’t at a severe level for a drug addict either.

In other words, Felicita’s absence might not impact them as negatively as we thought.

Pointing this out made Elena focus her gaze on me. I simply wanted to share the facts with her, and I did just that.

However, Elena seemed to struggle with making a decision because of my attitude.

Before she reached a conclusion on her own, others continued to present various opinions. Since a rough direction was set, we needed to maximize efficiency.

Various conditions were added, and the must-follow conditions and those that weren’t started to be divided.

I waited patiently so as not to appear to pressure Elena. Only after that did I ask.

“So, Elena, what will you do?”

“I got it. Let’s proceed with that.”

“….”

Sarina’s expression was not happy upon hearing Elena’s answer. Of course, Elena and Giovanni’s expressions were also negative, but not as much as Sarina’s.

Later in the evening, Elena and I found ourselves back in the same bedroom.

“Elena.”

“….”

We decided on my arranged marriage with Felicita, and Carso directly conveyed our answer to them.

Though we hadn’t received a reply from the Marinelli family yet, since it was their initial proposal, refusal seemed unlikely.

Yet, while Elena understood it intellectually, her heart didn’t seem to agree. To put it simply, she was sulking.

“Elena, are you going to keep being like this?”

“….”

Rather than answering, she turned off the lit lamp and completely turned away from me.

She wasn’t openly angry but wasn’t sharing her thoughts either. I figured that trying to talk further would just worsen Elena’s mood, so I held back.

With all the lights out in the room, and without any noise to disturb our slumber, a strange restlessness overtook Elena, who fell asleep faster than I did.

“…Father.”

She twisted and turned, desperately calling for him.

It seemed that she was recalling the moments when her father passed away and suffering through it.

With a click, I turned the lamp back on, hugging her tightly.

“….”

I stroked her dark hair, similar to her father’s. It was needless to say that she woke up.

Snuggling up to me and feeling my hands on her hair, even though she didn’t show it, I could see her trying to hide her expressions. It was all too obvious.

*

The next day.

It seemed that Elena and Sarina weren’t the only ones opposing this proposal.

Among the Marinelli family, all of Vito’s children, except Felicita, opposed this decision. But the family’s boss and patriarch, Vito Marinelli, wouldn’t budge.

Without realizing that his eldest daughter secretly yearned for my marriage.

He tried hard not to make her heartfelt sacrifice for the family end in vain.

“Wait a minute, what’s this? My daughter should be able to return to her family whenever she wants if she wishes. Otherwise, I’ll consider this proposal void.”

Just like the wolves aiming to extract as much as possible from this proposal, he too wanted to minimize what he might lose.

For that issue, we decided to follow Carso’s compromise: Felicita can always return to her family when she wants, but she must spend at least four days a week with me, her husband.

“…I want to get out of this ridiculous argument quickly.”

“I agree.”

Elena and Sarina despised this process every time it repeated itself.

“Elena.”

“….”

Of course, when I called her name and tried to persuade her, she listened to me and let it slide.

While I and Carso focused on the arranged marriage with the Marinelli family, Giovanni prepared for the possible eventualities if our matrimonial alliance went through.

Our Felini family was docked on the eastern side of the city while the Marinelli family was to the southeast.

We needed to clear out the minor factions existing between our territories altogether. Manfredi on the Marinelli side was showing similar movements as Giovanni.

He probably wasn’t thrilled about this situation personally, but he couldn’t go against his father’s and sister’s wishes.

Armo continued to focus on Elena’s security, and the former consigliere accepted our proposal. He agreed that his son would become the new consigliere.

Meanwhile, Vincent Lumini and Richard Vanella.

The two caporegimes who gave up their territories and joined us were assigned the docks north of the port.

With all this going on, there was some frustrating news delivered to me.

For some unknown reason, a rumor started spreading in this city, Hebili. They said that the Wolf, Vito Felini’s death involved the little wolf, Luke Felini.

And one newspaper even went as far as publishing an article about this nonsense.

Seeing how other media outlets didn’t react, they might have been worried about how I’d respond or had other reasons.

Naturally, when Elena got the newspaper and cautiously called me over to show me, I could only sigh.

“Luke.”

“….”

I checked the contents of the newspaper she was showing me. Every single word was nonsense.

There were more than a few incorrect details as well.

At that time, I was receiving a shipment of drugs from another organization across the sea.

Not just the person responsible who was with me at the time but also other wolves and even stevedores present could easily testify.

But Elena said it wasn’t necessary.

“I trust you, but others might not.”

I was curious how the other five families would react.

After all, I was the child of the wolf and at the same time the benefactor who cleared their grudges. On the off chance they were the actual culprits, they might’ve even laughed at the article.

Should I consider it fortunate?

To cut to the chase, the general public in Hebili seemed indifferent or negative about this article.

The death of the mayor had risen as a more significant issue, and in the west of the city, Eddie Sanchez was causing trouble.

To us, they were precious parents, but to them, they were just deceased figures, long gone.

However, among those who dipped their toes into the underworld, it seemed credible. There had indeed been changes in succession within our family.

Originally, I had been pushed out, and Elena, my legitimate child, had taken my place.

But they would also feel something was off.

If I had taken down my father, why hadn’t I assumed the boss position and handed it over to Elena?

Well, if those who believed in such things existed, they might think I was making Elena a puppet while pulling strings behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, newcomers in motion were the city’s police.

With the murder of the current mayor and the mafia godfather, they couldn’t ignore the investigation.

A task force was formed to tackle this incident, and they started pulling out the most likely suspects first.

And they excluded me from the list of suspects.

I, of course, wouldn’t know this fact, but had I known, I would have made sure to show it to Elena.