Good News, Bad News (1)
The pursuers targeting Little Dom.
They chased the boss of the Solomon Family with relentless determination. It wasn’t a single vehicle but several moving in coordinated formation. These were no amateurs.
“....”
He had been heading to the celebration marking the Lusso Family’s surrender and the Fellini Family’s victory… only for things to turn out like this.
“Boss, should we turn back?! We’re not going to make it to the hotel at this rate.”
“Lu! Turn the car around right now! Surviving comes first!”
Little Dom shouted at the Elf driver like a man begging for his life. The driver had been with him since the days of Big Dom.
The sight of the small-statured hamster-man flailing wildly in the backseat was enough to drive anyone insane.
“Big brother, we’re shaking them off little by little.”
The other hamster-man riding beside Little Dom gave a quick report.
“Where!”
At those words, Little Dom and his subordinate checked the rear of the vehicle.
The pursuers hadn’t given up. But the driver was using every bit of his skill to slowly lose them.
“....”
By the time the last car had faded into a faint speck, Little Dom and his men let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Boss, we’ll head back for now.”
“Yeah! Do that!”
In the end, Little Dom never made it to what should have been a glorious day for the Fellini Family.
He could have attended, of course, but the aftermath was the problem. There was every chance he would run into them again, and luck like this wouldn’t smile on him twice.
With no other choice, Little Dom returned straight to his territory and barricaded himself inside his safe headquarters.
“Just who the hell are they….”
The tension and fear lasted only a moment. Little Dom couldn’t help but discuss the mastermind behind the attack with his subordinates.
“Big brother, there aren’t many organizations in this city that can move on that scale.”
“Could it be the Fellini Family? Or one of the Five Families?”
“Either way, it doesn’t add up. Why would they want me dead!”
Little Dom snapped irritably at his men’s suggestions.
“It can’t be the Fellini side. They just accepted the Lusso Family’s surrender. Why would they move against me right after?”
“Not many people even knew you were heading to the hotel.”
All sorts of theories flew around, but there was no hard evidence, only suspicion. Regardless of what his subordinates said, Little Dom had already made up his mind about his next move.
He would summon the bosses of the Five Families first thing tomorrow.
While Little Dom reached a critical decision within his territory, the banquet on the top floor of the Grand Hevilly Hotel continued.
“Luke, do you really like apple pie that much?”
“It’s not that I particularly like it. It just suits my taste.”
“Isn’t that the same thing as liking it?”
Granada suddenly cut into my conversation with Felicia. He was sitting at the same table, savoring his own slice of apple pie.
“It’s a little different. There’s a subtle nuance.”
“...?”
Granada made a face that said he didn’t quite understand and focused on eating his pie.
On the other hand, Felicia—who had claimed she wasn’t in the mood to eat earlier—was now enjoying the apple pie with me. Her plate emptied faster than expected, so I cut her another slice.
“No, I’m fine now…”
Felicia waved her hands as if that was more than enough. But something felt off.
“Ugh!”
It happened in an instant.
Everyone in the restaurant who heard the sound turned to look at Felicia.
“Fel, are you okay?”
I was so startled I unconsciously used her nickname in front of everyone.
“I’m fine. It’s just… the smell of the food suddenly…”
“Morning sickness,” Granada said.
“What?”
“Unless you ate apple pie until your stomach was about to burst… it’s definitely morning sickness.”
Granada spoke with perfect calm and offered his congratulations to both me and Felicia.
“....”
Felicia and I met each other’s eyes and said nothing. It was something we knew would happen eventually, but it had come far too suddenly.
“Still… it’s not bad.”
Felicia gently stroked her lower belly. As I watched her, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze from behind and turned around.
Elena had approached with Salmo at some point and was now glaring at the two of us.
“What’s going on?”
....
When neither Felicia nor I spoke, Granada answered for us.
“It seems the princess of the Marinelli Family is pregnant. You must have heard that sound too, Donna Fellini?”
Salmo started to offer congratulations but stopped after seeing Elena’s reaction.
“...Are you sure?”
It wasn’t clear exactly who Elena was asking.
“Who knows?”
Felicia stroked her lower belly again in response to Elena’s question.
“....”
There were no words of congratulations, but no accusations either. Instead, Elena took Salmo and returned to the Lusso Family’s side.
“...As expected, I got pregnant first.”
“Felicia, congratulations. But provoking Elena too much is a bit…”
“Luke. That’s not how this works. We’re talking about us and our child. There’s no need to bring Elena into it.”
Felicia’s tone was firm. It was rare for her to speak so decisively in front of me.
“...Alright.”
“Still, it’s not certain yet.”
Felicia suddenly stood up and kissed me on the cheek.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the hospital for a bit.”
“At this hour?”
“Don’t worry. And I need to share this good news with the family.”
Yes, it was my child with Felicia… but this child was also Vito Fellini’s grandson and Vito Marinelli’s grandson.
I was curious what my father-in-law’s reaction would be, but for now I simply told Felicia what I needed to say.
“Sorry I can’t go with you.”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to apologize for that. That’s just how we are.”
Felicia told me to focus on my duties as Underboss. Then she began to leave.
Before she could completely walk away, I called out to Giovanni.
“Giovanni.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Put some wolves on Felicia for her return trip.”
“Two or three enough?”
“A few more.”
I mentioned that she was carrying my child. Giovanni raised no objections and followed my orders without question.
“Congratulations, boss. The Godfather would have been pleased.”
“...Who knows.”
If he learned I had a child with someone other than Elena, he’d probably throw a punch first. He would understand the importance of the political marriage with the Marinelli Family, but still.
“More importantly, the young lady didn’t seem to react much.”
“You really can’t tell from that expression?”
I pointed toward where Elena was sitting. Only then did Giovanni seem to understand, letting out a small “Ah.”
“She’ll probably confront you once this event is over.”
“Well, can’t be helped.”
Giovanni seemed to brush it off too casually, as if it weren’t his problem.
“On the bright side, the Marinelli side must be celebrating. Their eldest daughter is pregnant, after all.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. For us, though, it feels more like a funeral than a festival.”
“...The young lady is one thing, but Sarina’s reaction is going to be a spectacle.”
“Don’t tell Sarina.”
Better to get the scolding first
“Damn it.”
Clear letters appeared and then vanished above the espresso cup beside the meat pie. Come to think of it, that was a common saying back in the world I came from.
“She might have already noticed.”
“Then you stop her. Dealing with Elena alone is already exhausting enough.”
“Uh… you think I can actually stop her?”
Giovanni spoke as if it were inevitable, but even as he said it, he quickly moved to block Sarina, who had sensed something strange and was heading our way.
“What is it?”
“What? Ah, it’s nothing.”
While Giovanni bought time, Granada, who was sitting beside me, spoke up.
“Your relationships with women seem more complicated than I thought.”
“It’s not like I wanted it to turn out this way.”
“Hahaha! Of course not!”
I had no idea what was so funny, but Granada looked thoroughly entertained.
Meanwhile, while Giovanni was desperately holding Sarina back, Elena—who had finished speaking with the Lusso Family—approached.
“Luke, come with me for a moment.”
“Alright.”
It had been fine when I stood up on my own. After that, however, I was dragged off somewhere by Elena like a criminal being taken away.
“Elena, where exactly are we going?”
“Just follow me.”
Since the restaurant was on the top floor of the hotel, there was outdoor seating as well.
We had rented the entire top floor today, so there were no other guests. That meant all the outdoor seats were empty.
“....”
Elena stopped at the boundary between the indoor restaurant and the outdoor area.
She leaned her back against the marble pillar there and looked down at me.
“Elena, I know you’re angry about Felicia, but…”
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“I said it’s fine. So what if that woman gets pregnant first?”
From the reactions she had shown so far, it didn’t seem fine at all. Still, it was reassuring to hear her say it.
Elena stood with her arms crossed, back against the marble pillar. Whether because of her white fur coat or the alcohol she had drunk, sweat glistened across her body.
Was it the way the light reflected off her sweat? Her healthy, vibrant figure had never looked more radiant.
In that state, she stared at me with both eyes.
“I really like you, oppa. You already know that, don’t you?”
“....”
I knew it well. She had even dyed her father’s signature deep black hair to match mine.
“But isn’t it unfair that only that woman gets to be pregnant?”
“Huh?!”
There it was. Elena was finally showing her true colors.
I wondered if she was about to do something right here, but she stopped at pulling me into an embrace.
“When we get back to the hotel tonight, do to me what you did to her.”
“Wait, I need to mentally prepare for that…”
“Oppa. Answer me.”
“....”
Elena held me tighter even as she demanded an answer. The harder she hugged me, the more difficult it became to speak.
What a contradictory action. In the end, it seemed I had no real choice.
“Alright.”
*
After the banquet at the Grand Hevilly Hotel ended, the attendees returned to their respective places late into the night.
As soon as dawn broke, the bosses of the Five Families gathered early that morning at a restaurant in the western part of the city.
Vito Marinelli of the Marinelli Family, Mikhail Dragovich of the Dragovich Family, Darius Lusso of the Lusso Family, and instead of Eddie Sanchez of the Sanchez Family, his Underboss Gata Melata.
The Underboss of the Sanchez Family was a Golem, just like the boss.
Compared to Sanchez he was much smaller, but Sanchez’s size was so exceptional among the bosses that it had to be taken into account.
“Lusso, I heard what happened to you.”
“...Shut up.”
Dragovich had brought up how the Lusso Family had been the first to kneel before the wolves. Lusso responded with a curse.
As the four bosses sat around the large table drinking coffee, their respective family members stood guard around them.
Thud―!
The restaurant door burst open violently.
“Look, the kid’s here.”
Gata Melata spoke toward Little Dom, who was approaching with clear fury on his face.
“Little Dom, what’s this about? Why call all the bosses together so early in the morning?”
“Because I can’t trust any of you!”
Little Dom’s finger swept from Vito Marinelli and his son Manfredi Marinelli on the far right all the way to Darius Lusso on the far left.
“One of you sent people to kill me! That kind of move is impossible without the bosses’ permission!”
As Little Dom said, the Five Families had rules. If there was an unavoidable reason to eliminate the boss of one family, all bosses had to agree.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Squeak! Squeak! The little rat has no fear at all.”
Whether he understood or not, Lusso wore a genuinely confused expression while Dragovich reacted with clear displeasure.
“I faced the wolves for you, and I even overlooked your cheating! Is this how you repay me?! Cancel the order to kill me right now!!!”
Little Dom’s roar echoed throughout the entire restaurant.
Gata Melata looked at the hamster before him as if he were pathetic no matter what he said.
“Hey, you should have thought twice before touching Eddie Sanchez’s daughter!”
The moment Melata finished speaking, the bosses’ expressions changed instantly. It was no longer ignorance or displeasure, but clear hostility and murderous intent.
Except for Vito and Manfredi.
“...What?”
Little Dom asked back with an incredulous look.
“They say Sanchez is absolutely furious.”
“It’s not unreasonable for him to want you dead.”
While Lusso and Dragovich each added a word, Little Dom quietly took his seat. All the bosses of the Five Families and their representatives were now present.
“Hey, Little Dom. Hey!”
When Melata shouted, Little Dom finally looked at him.
“That’s why you shouldn’t lay your hands on just any woman!”
“....”
Little Dom had a lot he wanted to say. That he had touched Eddie Sanchez’s daughter? That was false.
From the beginning, she had approached him first, and he had clearly refused. After all, he couldn’t find even the slightest feminine charm in a walking lump of stone like that.
She must have spun some story to her father after being rejected.
“Melata, listen carefully.”
Little Dom hadn’t shaken off the habits from his time in the Sanchez Family. The fact that he was responding to Melata—who had once been his superior but was now beneath him—proved it.
“I never touched Eddie’s daughter. I refused her properly, and nothing happened between us!”
“Yeah, sure. Anyway, that’s how things ended up like this.”
“Hey, Solomon. We have rules too. But we can’t help but understand a father’s heart.”
Lusso, who had knelt before two wolves just the day before, explained it to him.
“So the boss ordered another boss’s elimination, and you all just stood by in the middle?”
“No, our Marinelli had no knowledge of it whatsoever.”
“...What’s the point of even having these Five Families! Useless bunch of bastards.”
Despite Manfredi’s words, Little Dom unleashed his anger on all of them.
Then he kicked his chair back and stormed out of the restaurant. The Elf and hamster-man subordinates who had followed him proudly trailed after their boss.
A short while later, Little Dom and the Solomon Family reached a critical decision.
They would withdraw from the Five Families and become a subordinate organization of the Fellini Family, just like the Lusso Family had done.