When the meeting ended and everyone left, only Alessio and Durinn remained in the room, together with their aides.
“That damned gay clown piece of shit,” grunted Durinn, stamping his feet in rage. “Thinks he can look down on me?! Alessio, are you really going to accept this?!”
“Of course not,” said Alessio, lighting a cigar. “But the board has already approved the decision, myself included. You can deny it all you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that Finocchio is the new head of the family.”
“But if we leave him, the world is his!”
“And I am telling you there is nothing we can do.”
Alessio’s expression made it clear the matter was not up for debate. He blew smoke into the air while Durinn stewed in his anger.
“Are you out of your mind, Alessio?! You should be the new head of the family! He stole that from you! Don’t you feel humiliated?! Frustrated?!”
“I do, I do.”
“So why—”
“He played the better hand this time. It is better to accept defeat with grace.”
“And where does that grace get us, you idiot?!”
Durinn could no longer hold back his anger. He was so engulfed by it that he couldn’t even maintain his manners toward Alessio—all notions of hierarchy had vanished from his mind.
“I’ve kept my mouth shut and followed orders, but I did all that ’cause I believed that you would be the head of this family! And you’re telling me you approve of that clown?! Is that so?! Well then, you just go right ahead and kiss his ass—hell, he’ll probably like it! I, on the other hand, am going to unleash everything I have been holding back until now!”
“You would turn against the head of the family?”
Under the weight of Alessio’s glare, Durinn snorted. “He’s not the head of this family. This is about revenge for my father. I have just cause.”
“You’ve got guts,” said Alessio, “but can you take him?”
“You think I’m scared of a clown? The only reason he’s head is because of that asshat Seeker kid, Noel. Without him, Finocchio would still be under me. He was lucky, nothing more.” An evil grin spread across Durinn’s face. “That’s why I’ll kill Noel first.”
“Don’t be stupid. You can’t beat the regalia.”
“I’m not targeting the regalia. My sights are set on Noel and Noel alone. Wild Tempest is strong because of its other members. Noel’s just a Talker. He’s weak. I’ll do whatever I want to him.”
Alessio was so dumbfounded by Durinn’s outsized arrogance that he couldn’t even speak. Durinn mistook the silence as a sign of his own victory. His mood suddenly brightened, and he laughed out loud.
“You just sit back and watch! First I’ll kill Noel, then I’ll take Finocchio’s head! And then when I take all his money, I’ll be the new head of the family! If you’re willing to kneel before your new boss, I’ll let you keep your spot as my number two. How’s that sound?”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Wonderful! Welp, I’m a busy man with lots to do, so I’ll take my leave!”
Durinn sauntered out with his men in tow. Alessio let out a long sigh, looking tired.
“He used to be so much smarter, but he let his power get to his head. All that arrogance has eaten away what is left of his brain…”
Durinn had once been an extremely capable individual, of this there was no doubt. There was no other way for a dwarf—a demi-human—to climb to such a high rank.
“Time is kind to no one. And Durinn’s time is up.”
“Boss, should we do something about this?” Alessio’s aide asked.
“It’s no business of mine if that dwarf is found floating facedown in a river somewhere.”
“I don’t mean Durinn, sir… I mean Finocchio. Are you sure it’s okay to allow him such a position?”
Alessio could hear the worry in his aide’s voice, and he chuckled. “That’s none of my business either. He said he wanted to do it, so let him try.”
“Be that as it may, sir—”
“Listen, even if he’s head of the family now, there are no perks. It’s going to be chaos in the empire after the battle with the Valiant. Finocchio has simply fallen prey to the whisperings of the snake.”
“The snake? But why?”
“I don’t know, but he probably wants to use the family for some reason or another—and to do that, he needed to trick Finocchio into taking control.”
Although Alessio had no proof, he was certain. The Finocchio whom Alessio knew was unconcerned with rank, so his change of heart had to be the work of someone else.
“He’s a pitiful, pathetic jester. As long as he is onstage, he will be worked to the bone and forced to entertain the crowds. But he will make a wonderful opening act. There is no one better to lead the family through impending chaos. Once he has played his role, the curtains will fall.”
Alessio had not yet given up on becoming head of the family—not by a long shot. He just knew there was no need for him to rush.
“If Finocchio is allowed a chance to cement his position and control the family, won’t that make it more difficult for you to take it?”
Alessio smiled and nodded. “Indeed it will. It would be very difficult with what I have now. That is why, just like Finocchio, I need a partner. And not one merely more powerful than the snake but one with whom I can create a strong bond.”
“A trustworthy partner even stronger than the snake? Does such a person exist?”
“You will see when the time comes.”
Turning away from his aide, Alessio breathed out a mouthful of cigar smoke. He walked toward the window and gazed at the garden, where he had once run around with his beloved pet dog. This, and the Luciano family, was his. He had no plans to hand it over to anyone.
That Durinn was right about one thing, at least…
Finocchio really had been lucky; that much was undeniable. He had great fortune to meet and partner with Noel—and this was how he had risen to head of the family so rapidly. But for Alessio, this was no reason to throw tantrums, like Durinn, or lament how unfair things were. Luck was uncertain and unreliable, so Alessio didn’t rely on it. He created what he needed, and he did it by his own hand.
Some ten years ago, Alessio had looked for a Seeker to partner with in order to further his position of power. It was not easy finding a worthy Seeker, and there had been a number of problems. Truly powerful Seekers had no reason to partner with a gangster. Alessio could offer them financial support, but it was all too easy to find other sponsors, so they’d all turned him away. Even if he did become a sponsor, he would be one among many, and this made the effort pointless. Pledges of loyalty valued between gangsters was a dying art, and it was unlikely that a Seeker would go out of their way to accommodate and support a mere financial sponsor.
Knowing this, Alessio changed tack. If he could not create the desired partnership with existing Seekers, then it was up to him to support the rise of such a Seeker—one with whom he could form an unbreakable bond.
Alessio had hidden his identity and approached the Seeker he deemed most suitable—she was young and had an exceptional Seeker record, but she’d been given the cold shoulder within her clan simply for her gender. Unable to find partners with whom she could go independent, she had soured of the Seeker world. Alessio pounced upon these feelings, creating a deep bond with the woman.
In the underworld, manipulating women was a basic art, and Alessio knew all its techniques. He knew that a woman in love will do anything for her man. He did not reveal his position in the underworld until her heart was his. At the time, he already had a wife and child, but he pledged his love to this Seeker all the same. She was enraged, as anyone would be, but she was in so deep that she could no longer let him go.
The woman retired as a Seeker and moved to a villa Alessio had prepared for her on the outskirts of the empire. He met her in secret, and the more they saw each other, the more he ensnared her. Something about passionate, forbidden love really resonated with women. The couple’s deep longing for one another led to the former Seeker bearing Alessio a child—a boy. For most, a child born to a mistress brought with it nothing but suffering and loss, but this was not so for Alessio. It was, in fact, the very reason he’d approached the woman in the first place.
Alessio showed his love child more care and affection than his lawful family. No matter how busy he was, he made time to be there for his son, imparting the Luciano ways of imperial education. The boy’s Seeker mother, having understood Alessio’s motives, trained her child in all things combat.
With the passage of time, the boy’s class turned out to be the same as his mother’s. This was common in Seeker bloodlines, especially when both mother and grandmother shared the same class. Everything had gone according to the Appraisal Association’s research papers. Alessio had, of course, looked into the woman’s lineage long ago; he’d chosen her specifically because of her bloodline.
When the child’s class manifested, Alessio pulled out all the stops, giving his son all the necessary knowledge and skills to be a great among Seekers. Thanks to these efforts, his boy began to display prodigious talents above and beyond all expectations.
Alessio was certain that, one day, his son would stand at the peak of the Seeker world. Noel and Finocchio’s collusion had taken him by surprise, yes, but this did not disrupt his ongoing plans. He would rule the underworld while his son ruled the surface world. The Seven Star Cup, the Valiant, Finocchio—all of them were simply rungs for him to climb.
However far you manage to go, Finocchio, you will always be nothing more than a clown.
Finocchio and Noel’s bond was fleeting. They were ultimately strangers. But Alessio and his son had a bond of blood, and this was absolute.
“The true lord of the darkness isn’t you, Finocchio,” murmured Alessio resolutely. “It is me.”