Liberi Reader

Sora, are you alright?

Yes, I'm fine.

Are you going after Texas?

When I saw her a minute ago, she told me to wait for her.

Let's hunker down until this mess blows over. It's total mayhem out there.

If you don't want to lose her, you're gonna wanna go after her.

Lappland...

......

I feel like it's the same with Lappland.

For people like her, there's no point trying to guess at what they're thinking. It's better to just accept what they say at face value.

Only if every word they say is true can you start to figure if they're ultimately trying to weave truths into a lie.

Why's that?

Well, do you know who it is waiting in that room?

Giovanna Rossati.

If there's anyone who could actually get Texas to come back to Siracusa...

It ain't me, or Bernardo. And it sure as hell isn't Signora Sicilia.

It's her, Giovanna.

Cellinia, you're a lot taller than you used to be.

Makes sense, doesn't it? It's been years.

By the way, I met some of your friends from Lungmen. Your name came up a few times, and from what they said, I can tell they're worried about you.

...I didn't think they'd come here.

You're nothing like them, at all. I never thought you'd make such lively, outgoing friends with that personality of yours.

You don't count?

If you really thought I was your friend, you wouldn't have gone so long without writing me.

......

Alright. I know you must be hiding something else.

What about you?

Me?

Nothing much.

The liquidation came too suddenly. None of Columbia's famiglie could sleep at night. I couldn't bear to see that any longer, so I stood up to take charge of the situation.

I opened up talks with Signora Sicilia, and we basically managed to sort things out.

That's all there is to it.

You make it sound so easy.

Honestly, I should be complaining to you.

But it's been too long since I've had anyone to confide in.

So that's why you poured your heart and soul into your scripts.

Haha, could you tell? 'La Morte di Texas' my magnum opus.

There were some details in it that only you'd know.

I guess that means my memory's pretty good then.

But, I could never decide on what to do with Act III, with your 'death.'

I guess there's no need to think about it anymore.

Hah.

Actually, becoming a playwright had another purpose. It's an open secret that Bernardo passed responsibility for the famiglia to his son, while he went on to become the artistic director of his troupe, Compagnia dell'alba.

I wanted a chance to meet him. You know, there aren't many mafiosi who would do something like that.

But the one who ended up shattering all expectations, was him.

I guess I should've expected it after all, from the man who built Famiglia Bellone into what it is in just a single generation.

By the looks of things, he really wants to challenge Signora Sicilia.

You don't seem worried about it.

All I can say is, if Bernardo considers you his trump card against the Rossatis, he's counting his fowlbeasts before they've hatched.

You were right to come to me, Cellinia.

No matter what's going on between you and the Bellones, I can help you.

Join me.

The two of us, together, will make a difference in Siracusa.

And not just because you're Salvadore's granddaughter.

Because I know you, Cellinia. You can make a difference.

We'll start over together, Cellinia.

......

Don't you want to know how I managed to survive?

Giovanna, it was no fluke that I survived the liquidation.

So you're here, standing on this stage, performing this play... How much do you know about what happened seven years ago?

Seven years ago... Texas's father, Giuseppe, murdered his own father, Salvadore, and declared that the Texases would no longer operate under Siracusa's control.

That upset Signora Sicilia, who sent an elite force from the Twelve Families to Columbia to 'liquidate' the Texas Family.

You were part of that, weren't you?

Look who's such a smarty.

At the time, Cellinia Texas was a star-studded name. She was Columbian, but even the Siracusans had nothing but wonderful things to say about her.

This whole time... you've been trying to beat Texas?

Beat her?

No, no, no.

Back when the Saluzzos were looking after her, we were pretty competitive.

Sometimes I'd win our little contests, sometimes I'd lose.

I did want to beat her, but that had nothing to do with what happened later.

Then...

You certainly do care deeply for her.

Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with the plot of the story either.

At least tell me what happened.

I joined in the liquidation.

I was fantasizing about how she would fight me to the death for the sake of her famiglia. It got my heart pounding and my blood racing.

But, nothing could've prepared me for what I saw that day.

You're a hitman too, aren't you, Danbrown?

I am.

......

Signorina Lavinia, seven years ago, I was part of the team that carried out the liquidation of Famiglia Texas.

I arrived in the city ahead of time, took up a job at a carwash, and secretly observed the Texases' every move.

Then, the team from Siracusa arrived.

And a group of Columbians found me.

Columbian mafiosi are pretty careless. Real full of themselves.

I could've dealt with them easy enough, if it wasn't for that one girl.

I knew her. She was a Texas, but everyone said she was like a Siracusan.

...Cellinia.

When I see you, I'm sometimes reminded of her.

Was she as stupid as me, rambling on about ideals with a murderer?

...No.

Signorina Lavinia.

I never meant to make fun of your ideals. It's just... I can barely believe it.

Hearing you talk about that stuff... it's like listening to a real pretty fairy tale.

To me, your ideals are so pretty, they're a kind of shortcut to get me a good night's sleep.

That day, I was ready to fight for my life.

I was convinced she would see right through me.

But...

She let me walk right by her, just like this.

The associates of Famiglia Texas were already pretty much wiped out.

But, what about Cellinia?

She was the only one missing.

We couldn't let anyone live to talk about what happened, especially not the eldest daughter. So, we all went to track her down.

And that was when chaos broke out.

The Texas mansion went up in flames, burning away the famiglia's very existence.

And the arsonist... was standing there at the front door.

Right in front of me.

She slowly turned and walked towards me.

At that moment, I understood.

She decided to stand by and watch the end of her own famiglia.

But who could blame her?

Her father murdered her grandfather, and didn't want to be an accomplice to that.

Only she had the right to blame herself.

But, there's more to it than that.

When I looked into her eyes, what I saw was—

Exhaustion.

Cellinia's story... is no secret to Famiglia Saluzzo, or to me.

After all, the one who led the Saluzzo team at the time was none other than Signorina Lappland.

She got kicked out because she went out on her own to hunt down Cellinia. Her men got caught up in a counterattack, and a lot of them died.

I...

Look at the bodies on the street, Lavinia. Listen to the shouts and cries in the distance.

What can you do?

The only advice I can give you is the same I gave to Cellinia.

Run.

The farther, the better.

Even if your past is going to catch up to you, you'll at least enjoy a moment of peace.

Otherwise— you will die.

But, I...

I still don't want to.

Her past kicked down her door.

It might've been against her will at first, but she was forced out only to find nothing changed—

Maybe she'll decide the things she ran away from weren't actually all that bad.

Her life in Lungmen... might've been a slightly extended vacation.

And now, the one most intimately connected with her family and her past... is standing right in front of her.

That's what you wanted to tell me, right?

Yeah.

If that's the case... I will respect her decision.

Even though you're her best friend?

Because I'm her best friend.

Darn tootin'.

Unless— the pizza in Siracusa becomes inedible.

My grandfather was a sentimental man. He sent me to Siracusa, hoping I would remember my roots.

I lived there for a while.

People there told me all the time that I fit in, like a Siracusan.

But for me, I was just doing what I'd always been doing.

The way I lived my life in Columbia was no different than the way I lived in Siracusa.

And what I saw in Siracusa was no different from what I saw in Columbia.

You might know the story of Famiglia Texas like the back of your hand, but I saw it with my own eyes.

Life isn't a play where every move is sprinkled with a little heroism or villainy. What happened was just an undignified slaughter.

My father bought a counterfeit gun from Blacksteel. When he pulled the trigger, it exploded and did a number on him.

My grandfather fell to the ground. My father drew his knife with his injured hand, but the first stab went wide.

I heard everything from the doorway. Hoarse curses, groans of pain...

The commotion lasted for a long time before it finally ended.

In that moment, I was exhausted. Exhausted with everything.

So I decided to leave.

Are you telling me that Lungmen is your home now?

I don't know. I can't say for sure.

But, I at least know I had a pretty good time there.

......

You're just like you were back then. Blunt, and straight to the point.

......

Looks like I'm the one getting ahead of myself.

Here I was thinking you came to ask for my help.

Or at least, you'd want to catch up with me.

But in the end, you're here to tell me... that we can never go back—

You know, Cellinia, that's awfully heartless of you.

I was shocked when I heard you were still alive.

But you went ahead and stamped out my hope, all over again.

I'm sorry, Giovanna.

I don't want to be Siracusan, or Columbian.

I just want to be Cellinia Texas.

This is your last chance.

If you walk through those doors, you'll be my enemy. The Rossatis' enemy.

You'll be in our way, and I, as Donna Rossati, have a responsibility to eliminate everything that stands in our way.

Don't make me do this.

......

We're just too sentimental, Giovanna.