Liberi Reader

Why is she here...?

It's T-Texas!

We've already lost a lot of our men!

Tch, we shouldn't have let Lavinia talk to that piece of trash for so long.

Forget it. After seeing her colleague fall to utter depravity, that woman's spirit is done for.

As long as we can snuff out Leon's childishness, it doesn't matter how we do it.

Call our people back. We're leaving.

They... They turned around and left!

He's already dead. Took an arrow straight through the heart.

Thank you. If not for you all, I'd have been the one to die here.

Close your eyes, murderer.

What's this...?

A notebook?

......

A Siracusan judge license. He was keeping it in his breast pocket.

Its corner has been clipped, and it's written here that the holder was disbarred three years ago for malfeasance.

Malfeasance, huh. Malfeasance.

Could they really not come up with a better excuse?

Are you alright?

I... think I should be asking you how you got out of prison.

......

Trade secret.

Fair enough. I don't have the energy to pursue that either right now.

You need to rest.

I can't do that just yet.

This trail has gone cold. I need another lead.

Yan has a saying: 'haste makes waste.'

Of course I know that.

But time is a luxury I can't afford anymore.

Was Carracci important to you?

...No.

I only ever met him a few times.

After all, I am a judge, and our roles could hardly be further apart.

But as any resident of Volsinii can tell you, he was an extremely vigorous man, smoothly navigating his relationships with the famiglie.

He dedicated all his time and energy to the construction of the new city area, trying everything at his disposal to give the people a safer place to live.

By investigating his death, I've come to better understand his life.

Carefully, delicately, as if walking on thin ice, he would desperate rack his brain to produce anything of value that could be exchanged for a little more breathing room to carry out his work.

For example, building more schools and hospitals far away from the turf fought over by the famiglie.

I'm not sure how I should think of him. Maybe he was just a decent man, with the slightest bit of a conscience.

But the fates of decent people in Siracusa are already sealed.

Just like this man... a hitman carrying a judge license.

Siracusa has proper law schools.

They use textbooks published in Columbia. After graduating, students aren't restricted to working in local Siracusan law firms and institutions.

They also gain accreditation in Columbia.

Nowadays, our exchanges with Lungmen are becoming more and more frequent. Maybe with enough time, even Great Yan will come to recognize our certifications.

Sounds good.

It is. Of course it's good.

But none of that makes any difference.

My alma mater once invited me back to deliver a speech to my juniors, to give them some confidence.

So I went.

When I got up on that stage, I wanted to tell them to believe in what they had learned. But I just couldn't do it.

......

In Siracusa, the law works because of the existence of a single person, not because it's based on any sort of universally-recognized fairness.

In a sense, it's even more absurd than complete lawlessness.

More incredibly, after almost sixty years, the Siracusans have gotten so used to living in this environment that nobody dares to question it now.

Am I justice personified? No. I might be a symbol, but even I do not know what stands behind my back.

...Want to grab a bite?

...That'd be nice.

Grazie.

I didn't expect you to be here, Leon.

I heard someone attacked you, so I rushed over.

Nothing major happened, thanks to Texas's help.

But we're at another dead end.

Just drop it already, Lavinia.

Leon... I believe we had an agreement not to bring up things that might spark an argument at the table.

Now's not the time for that.

No, it's the only thing that lets us sit together and share a meal regardless of our positions.

If you insist on breaking it, then I'm afraid I must take my leave, 'Padrone' Leontuzzo.

You're messing around with your life on the line here!

I've been 'messing around with my life on the line' since the moment I became a judge in this city, Padrone.

I'm planning to talk to the Rossatis.

I don't care what they think about Cellinia's presence. This is a discussion they can't avoid.

We have the initiative. As long as we can keep them down, it doesn't matter if we have a double-agent in our midst, or other famiglie at our throats. We'll suppress them all.

That's not where the problem lies.

Things are incredibly tense throughout the city right now, and everyone's speculating about who did it. The situation will only spiral out of control unless we stabilize it.

I'll be frank. If you can really find the murderer, I'll spare no expense to help you push the case forward.

But right now, the other side has already come prepared. What you encountered today was, without a doubt, a warning shot.

Your investigation won't go anywhere, even if you try to press the issue. You're only going to land yourself in more trouble.

So I should just go along with your plans, drop the investigation, and let this case fizzle out?

Lavinia, you're not the kind of person to get carried away by her emotions.

Leon, you've worked with Ministro Carracci before. You probably knew him better than I do.

Regardless of how he ended up in that position to begin with, he still was a person who could make the city a better place.

These things happen every single day.

So are those in Siracusa who want to be good people doomed to die?

......

You're more important to me than he was.

To you, Ministro Carracci's death might be nothing more than a spell of heavy rain.

The rain won't fall on anyone who's standing inside, so you just wonder why it's lasting for so long.

If you're feeling particularly generous, you might even hand out some umbrellas to the people on the streets.

But for me... I'm sick and tired of asking myself how long I plan to stand there under the roof.

......

But how are you going to stop the rain all by yourself?

At least this time, I don't want to feel like a helpless bystander watching someone like Carracci die for nothing.

I've already done too much against my will.

Leon, if - and I mean if - my life could be exchanged for something...

That might make things a bit more bearable for me.

......

One thing I learned from the Columbians is—

If you want someone to listen to you, incentives can be more useful than violence.

But that doesn't mean I won't ever choose violence, Lavinia.

And this is exactly what I was talking about: the biggest difference between you and me.

You've always got the option of violence, but you refrain from using it because of your upbringing and self-control. I'd even like to thank you for your kindness.

That's not what I meant.

And I'm not blaming you either, Leon.

For you to even consider why the rain hasn't stopped yet is already exceptionally rare to see.

But you are the next head of Famiglia Bellone.

And I'm just a judge who can't help herself.

Our world views have always been fundamentally different.

Let's leave things here, Leon.

If you really want to help me, then keep doing what you need to do.

If you're able to negotiate with the Rossatis, that would already help ease up the situation.

However, unless you lock me up right now, nobody will stop me from finding the murderer.

......

Hold on.

Texas?

Oh right, you should head back with Leon. He'll need you in his negotiations with the Rossatis.

No, I have a better idea.

You needed a culprit, right? Then I'll be the culprit.

Do you even know what you're saying...?

It's the quickest way to get the situation under control.

I... don't need others to take pity on me.

Don't get the wrong idea.

I'm doing this for myself.

You're both right. If things continue like this, the situation will only get more and more chaotic, making it harder to find who's actually pulling the strings.

The best method we have is to find the killer before everything spirals out of control.

And of course, the other side will do everything in their power to prevent that.

So you're going to offer yourself up as bait?

Yeah.

Nobody else is a juicy enough target. I might just fit the bill.

......

You'd make Texas into the real criminals, and sacrifice some renown to take on all the blame, using peoples' ignorance of your famiglia.

And after that, you can release me.

That would be the fastest way to stabilize the situation, while also potentially drawing the true mastermind out of hiding.

An ambitious plan... but it might be worth a shot.

However, you're the last of the Texas bloodline, and this is Siracusa.

Personally, the most important thing about the Texas name is the reputation it brings me.

As I said before, I only have one goal: to see through my agreement with Bellone, and then leave Siracusa.

Then why... Why would you go out of your way to do this?

I also have a number of friends who are trying to change things for the better, in a place called Rhodes Island.

I'd never accept them dying in vain either.

......

If this plan goes well...

It might even put the other forces behind the scenes in counter-check.

I'm really starting to count my lucky stars that you're on our side.

Spare me.

If this is what we're going with, we'll need this trial to be a barn-burner. Ultimately, that's the only way we're going to keep the other famiglie down.

I'll handle all the other arrangements.

Now's our chance to hit back.

Then can you give me your assurance that you'll let me leave Siracusa?

I swear this to you: once we successfully execute this plan, nobody will pursue you ever again.

Those who've kept an eye on you, be it the Rossatis or any other famiglia, will only know that...

'Cellinia Texas broke out of prison and fled Siracusa.'

Sorry, Lavinia. This might fly in the face of the dignity of the law.

No... I don't think so.

All that remains... is to see things through.