Two Victories (4)
Before Darius Lusso made his fateful decision.
The senior leadership of the Lusso Family—excluding Damar, who had been taken captive by the wolves—gathered in one place.
They put their heads together, hoping to find some clever way out of the crisis. The atmosphere, of course, was murderously grim.
“What are we even worrying about? They won’t dare touch Uncle Damar. We keep fighting!”
“Have you got no heart? That’s your uncle they’ve captured!”
“Then doesn’t your uncle have a brain?! Shouldn’t we be making rational decisions here!”
The emergency meeting had devolved into an argument because of these two.
Arta Lusso, the Lusso Family’s underboss and heir, and Besus Lusso, youngest brother to both Darius and Damar.
Arta wanted to continue the war. Besus wanted to end it and bring his brother home.
Meanwhile the boss, Darius, simply watched in silence. He appeared to be thinking deeply, but the flames that engulfed his entire face made it impossible for anyone to read his true intentions.
Half the people in the room were vampires. The other half were dwarves.
Dwarves had lived in northern Hevilly since ancient times, so it was only natural they had gravitated toward the Lusso Family.
Just as Arta and Besus were raising their voices at each other, one of the dwarves bravely asked to speak.
“May I be so bold as to offer a word?”
It was Hemart Rucellona, the eldest of the dwarf caporegimes.
“Go ahead, Hemart.”
Arta granted permission first, and Besus nodded his agreement. Both secretly hoped the old dwarf would side with them.
“In a situation like this… a realistic choice would be best.”
The moment the word “realistic” left his mouth, both Arta and Besus smiled. Each was convinced his own opinion was the realistic one.
“Be more specific.”
“We cannot continue this war without a consigliere.”
“…What are you saying?”
“And with no consigliere, dragging things out any longer isn’t going to improve our position.”
As Rucellona continued, Arta grew agitated while Besus remained calm.
“Keep talking.”
“Young master. Or rather, Underboss. Do you know what the wolf is doing right now?”
“….”
Arta knew perfectly well. He simply couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“They say he’s helping the she-wolf in the central district. What does that tell you? Even without the wolf himself, the rest of the Fellini Family is already driving us this far back.”
“Hold on. The situation in Hevilly is still even. We can’t say they hold the advantage.”
“That’s only because we’ve concentrated every fighter we can spare. We have nothing left to commit.”
Rucellona clearly had much more to say.
But he knew the boss and his family’s explosive tempers too well, so he stuck to the essentials.
“Besides, the wolves aren’t the only ones eyeing us hungrily. The poison snakes are waiting too. They’ve cut off the route between here and our northern territory.”
It was exactly as Rucellona described.
The poison snakes were fewer in number after the spiders’ relentless purges, but they were still formidable. And because the Lusso Family couldn’t focus its full strength while fighting the Fellini Family, the snakes had grown bolder, exploiting the opening.
Like someone widening an already gaping wound and then rubbing salt into it.
“Even if we accept the risk that our consigliere might die… the poison snakes will stab us in the back, or the she-wolf and the wolf will finish their work in the central district and return. It’s inevitable.”
Rucellona patiently explained to the underboss why buying time would gain them nothing.
Besus nodded beside him. Arta could only grind his teeth.
“So let’s give them what they want.”
“You’re telling my father to bow his head to those bastards again?”
“The price of that bow will be higher than you think. Surrendering now—while our forces are still mostly intact and we’re still holding them off in Hevilly—is far more advantageous to us.”
“And we can ask the wolf to deal with the poison snakes.”
“Have you no pride, Uncle?”
“That’s right, I have none! So what if we did? Tell me—would pride win us this war?”
“Even if we surrender, there’s no guarantee they’ll protect us from the poison snakes!”
A caporegime who sided with Arta spoke up.
“That’s one of the things we must secure as part of the surrender terms. Don’t be so hasty.”
Rucellona answered in a soothing, coaxing tone.
“Father! This is insane!”
“…Enough.”
Unable to watch any longer, Arta appealed directly to his father.
Darius rose from his seat. The flames that usually burned only around his head blazed hotter than ever, spreading across his entire upper body.
“….”
Arta, Besus, and every man present waited for the boss to speak. This was the moment they had all been waiting for—what decision would come from his mouth?
“We surrender to the wolf.”
“…Father?!”
Darius could not afford to lose his clever younger brother.
Of course the Fellini Family understood Damar’s value, so the chance they would kill him was low. But Viola Carmen, who harbored a deep grudge against Darius, was with them now. He could not gamble his family’s lives on mere probability.
Besides… he had already knelt to someone once before. A second time would not be so difficult.
*
The moment Giovanni brought me the good news, I headed straight for northern Hevilly. More precisely, to the restaurant we were using as a temporary base.
Elena was coming from another location to meet me there.
One of the five families was surrendering to us. The occasion warranted that level of importance.
The Marinelli Family was an alliance formed through political marriage. The Solomon Family was a partnership based on mutual interest. But the Lusso Family would be the first to submit outright to the Fellini Family’s power and become a true subordinate organization.
“Whew…”
I arrived at the restaurant in a bulletproof car.
“Are Giovanni and Sarina inside?”
“Yes, boss. Everyone’s waiting.”
The wolf standing guard outside answered quickly and precisely.
I had left the central district in the hands of Lannon, the most veteran wolf under my command. That rhinoceros wouldn’t bungle the job.
“Boss.”
“Luke.”
“Underboss.”
“Don Fellini.”
As soon as I stepped inside the restaurant, a chorus of different titles rained down on me.
“Good work, everyone. I didn’t expect them to fold this quickly.”
“Don Fellini, has the central district been fully secured?”
“Not completely. But we’re hitting them from every direction and they’re collapsing faster than expected. Victory is only a matter of time.”
Lumini looked visibly relieved at my answer.
“That’s good to hear. So we’ve won both wars.”
“Viola, I heard capturing Damar was your idea.”
“Given Darius’s temperament, I couldn’t think of a better move.”
Viola added that workplaces that actually listened to her counsel were rare.
“Is that a compliment?”
“You may consider it slander against the Lusso Family.”
She said it as though highlighting the difference between us and them. Of course, one had to remember she was both a hated enemy and a spy planted among the Lusso.
“Elena will be here soon. Let’s wait calmly until she arrives.”
Giovanni brought me an espresso without being asked.
I and the six caporegimes present took up a large portion of the restaurant, drinking espresso together.
“The young lady is running a little late.”
“It was sudden news. She’ll be here soon.”
“By the way… will we be accepting the Lusso Family’s surrender?”
“There are gains to be had whether we accept or refuse. Elena will make the final call. She’s the boss.”
“Understood.”
Carini answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Since she was Elena’s subordinate, my attitude didn’t strike her as strange at all.
We continued chatting about this and that.
As time passed the number of espresso cups in front of me grew. After the fifth, my head began to spin.
“This espresso is awfully strong.”
“It is espresso.”
Sarina answered as if it were obvious and promptly drained another cup. She had clearly drunk more than I had.
Bang.
The door suddenly flew open.
“Have you all been waiting long?”
My lovely sister—Elena Fellini—had arrived.
The moment she appeared, a chorus of titles greeted her just as they had me.
“Good. Let’s begin at once.”
The consigliere was nowhere to be seen. She was most likely managing the situation in the central district while Elena was away.
Salmo was an excellent lawyer and a sharp mind, but he lacked experience in actual warfare.
Well, Varnella’s with him. No need to worry.
“Elena, have you decided what to do?”
“Yes. I had plenty of time to think on the way here.”
Elena started to act a little more affectionate toward me but caught herself. With so many eyes watching, it was the smart choice. There would be plenty of time for husband and wife to express their love once we returned to the hotel.
“Viola. You may not like this, but I intend to accept the Lusso Family’s surrender.”
“Not at all. I have no objection. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to seeing the former boss kneel before you.”
Viola responded as though she had zero objections to Elena’s decision.
“Miss, if we become the masters of those Lusso bastards… doesn’t that mean we’ll have to clean up whatever shit they leave behind?”
“Exactly. We’ll need to deal with the poison snakes first.”
Giovanni had actually said something useful for once. The moment he finished, I answered.
“We have no quarrel with the poison snakes—unlike the spiders.”
“I used to be a spider myself.”
The instant Elena spoke, Viola replied. That was true. During the spiders’ purge of the poison snakes, Viola had been their second-in-command. The first-in-command had naturally been her older sister, Rita Carmen.
“Either way, we cannot coexist with the poison snakes.”
Especially since we were cooperating with the Marinelli Family. From the snakes’ perspective, both Vito Marinelli and Felicia Marinelli were targets to be eliminated.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
Armo, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke. Yes, this really could not be avoided.
“Of course, since we’re doing their dirty work for them, we’ll need to extract proper compensation.”
Elena seemed to have several conditions in mind. I decided to add one small stipulation of my own.
“How about making them hand over Belcastro Granada as well?”
Elena gave me a look that said she’d expected as much, but Viola nodded enthusiastically. The dwarf vampire’s skill with explosives was undeniable.
“Good. Let’s include that too.”
Elena began listing the conditions she had prepared.
First, if the Lusso Family requested aid against the poison snakes, we would provide support—but only in exchange for appropriate compensation.
In return for giving back the southern districts of Hevilly that we had seized, we would entrust them with the pacification of the territories lying south of the city.
“It’s a shame to give up ground we already took.”
“True, but that area is already a wreck from all the fighting.”
The rest of the terms were the same as what my father had imposed on the other five families.
Of course, the Lusso Family would not be reduced to mere caporegimes under us. They would remain a subordinate organization.
Naturally, we intended to extract substantial tribute money. We would also impose various restrictions.
The only question was whether they would accept these terms. From their perspective, they didn’t have any better options anyway.
If all these conditions were reflected, the map of each family’s territory would probably look something like this.