Chapter 37
“I didn’t expect you to come here.”
Killian spoke in a stiff tone.
“If I didn’t, my aide would nag me to no end. What choice did I have? I had to come.”
Jed, the aide standing beside her, shrugged. The woman glanced at Emily and asked,
“And is this your wife?”
Emily was curious about who this woman was—she had never seen anyone speak so informally to Killian.
But since all the women at the funeral wore hats with black veils, including her, it was hard to tell who anyone was.
Emily looked at Killian, hoping he would introduce her quickly, but for some reason, he hesitated.
“Why are you keeping your mouth shut like that?”
The woman clucked her tongue and suddenly extended her hand to Emily.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Messina Rezetta.”
The Rezetta family was one of the four major families in Vansenne, and Messina was their boss.
Though the Rezetta family usually didn’t associate with the other families, it seemed she had come out of courtesy following the death of Vito, the head of the committee.
“Oh, hello. I’m Emily Starr.”
The Rezetta family had such a weak presence in the original story that Emily only now remembered who she was, and they shook hands.
“But who’s this little guy?”
Messina tilted her head when she spotted Johan, who had been hidden behind Emily’s voluminous skirt.
“He’s too big to be your kid already.”
Killian quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.
“Claude’s son.”
“Oh, right. I heard you were raising him. The three of you look just like a happy little family.”
Killian glanced down at Johan with a strange expression.
‘Johan looks like he could be my son?’
Johan, sensing Killian’s thoughts, also made a face full of displeasure.
“Hey, are you good at studying?”
Messina chuckled and asked Johan.
“Yes, I’m good at it.”
“Really? I was too.”
Emily cautiously added,
“Johan even placed first in the recent midterms.”
“Ah, really?”
But Messina didn’t seem all that impressed.
“Kid, try to be the best at something other than studying. All you get from being good at studying is becoming a boring person.”
“I am good at other things too.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“I’m the best in the Empire at making poison.”
“Pfft, who gave you that title? If it’s true, that’s pretty impressive.”
Messina burst into laughter like she’d heard something truly amusing, then walked into the chapel. Watching her walk away, Johan felt a spark of vengeful annoyance.
“Uncle, are we close with the Rezetta family?”
“Not really.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Johan was sick and tired of adults treating him like some clueless little kid. When the three of them entered the chapel, Knox and Chambers were already there, seated.
Chambers, who spotted them first, greeted them.
“You’re here, Boss. And ma’am. The seats for the Starr family are over this way.”
Knox, who had approached with him, pointed at Johan and asked,
“And why did you bring this one?”
Johan raised an eyebrow and snapped back.
“Knox, you’re like a walking time bomb, so why shouldn’t I be here?”
“You never let a comment slide, do you.”
“You started it.”
Johan huffed and marched over to a seat, patting the one next to him.
“Emily, sit here.”
“Okay, sure.”
Emily gave a slight nod to Knox and Chambers and went to sit next to Johan. Knox and Chambers shook their heads at the sight.
“Killian, you’ll never make any progress in life as long as you’re living with Johan.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“A friend worries and this is what I get… Seriously, what’s your problem?”
Killian ignored Knox and went to sit beside Emily.
He glanced around but, as expected, Matteo, the boss of the Giuliano family, wasn’t present. Matteo had been shrouded in mystery even before he took over as boss.
Even at official events, he wore a mask, claiming it was to hide severe scarring. Then, for the past five years, he sent his second-in-command in his place, claiming to be bedridden.
Today, too, it was Nigel, Giuliano’s second-in-command, who held the seat.
When he met Killian’s eyes, Nigel gave a small nod. Compared to the hostility the Giuliano family showed toward Killian, Nigel was relatively polite.
As the atmosphere in the chapel grew busier with people looking for seats, Emily rose from her chair.
“I’ll just step out to the restroom.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Killian couldn’t let her wander among a crowd of black-suited men on her own.
“Huh? The restroom?”
When Emily looked flustered, Johan pushed Killian back into his seat.
“Uncle, just stay put. I’ll escort Emily.”
“Yeah, you stay here. All the other women are walking around alone too.”
“But still…”
Even among mafia members, most were Carpaists, so committing a crime inside the temple was rare.
Knox and Chambers, sitting behind them, looked at Killian with resigned expressions.
“And look at this.”
Johan grinned devilishly and pulled out a dart.
“It’s laced with a paralytic poison. If anyone comes near Emily, I’ll shoot them, so don’t worry.”
After hearing that, Killian could no longer argue.
“Then that’s settled. I’ll go with Johan.”
Emily quickly took Johan’s hand and left before Killian could follow.
Left alone once again, Killian watched them go while Knox and Chambers shook their heads in pity.
Once out of the chapel, Emily leaned toward Johan and whispered,
“There are smoke bombs hidden around the chapel. We need to find and disable them.”
“This place isn’t that big, so it’s easy to guess how the enemy will move. If I draw out their movement path, it’s actually pretty simple.”
Johan was in a sour mood. The older Starr family members still didn’t treat him like a full-fledged mafia member.
He was sick of being seen as just a smart kid who made medicine, so he eagerly took on the role of Emily’s secret agent.
“But Emily, how did you know there’d be a coup here?”
“Huh?”
Emily blinked at the unexpected question, then gave a vague answer.
“Women are just naturally good at sensing danger.”
“Wow, you really are amazing.”
Johan beamed at her, his eyes sparkling with admiration.
“It’s nothing, really.”
Emily gave an awkward smile and patted his shoulder.
“Well, I’m counting on you.”
“Sure. Just keep watch for a second.”
While Johan worked on disabling the smoke bombs, Emily scanned the surroundings.
Black-suited people were steadily filing into the chapel, but none paid much attention to her under her black veil.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t even know what Sam looks like.’
Emily prayed that he wouldn’t show up here as she anxiously kept watch.
Time passed—how much, she couldn’t be sure. Fortunately, Johan’s bold claims turned out to be true. He returned soon after.
“I’ve disarmed all the smoke bombs. Just like you said, someone had hidden them.”
“How many were there?”
“Four.”
“If there were four, then that should be all of them. Great job. Let’s head back in.”
“Okay!”
Just then, Killian, who had started to rise from his seat out of concern, spotted them.
“Sorry we took a bit.”
Emily and Johan hurried back to their seats.
“Everything went smoothly?”
“Yes, nothing happened.”
Johan leaned out to chime in.
“Who would dare approach when I’m right there?”
At that, a snort of laughter escaped from behind them. Johan, without needing to check, glared hard at Knox.
“What’s so funny? You should act your age.”
“Haha, my bad.”
Johan huffed and turned back to the front.
As the service began, the priest arrived and took charge of the funeral. On top of Vito’s casket lay flowers and the gun he had used in life. Soft music played.
“…Forgive him all the sins committed in his weakness…”
While the priest gave his eulogy, Emily nudged Killian.
“Is a man named Sam here?”
Prompted by her question, Killian finally began scanning the crowd for Sam.
“There he is.”
Killian pointed toward where Sam sat, looking completely serene. His eager, expectant expression contrasted sharply with Andymion, who looked devastated and was being consoled by his girlfriend, Maria.
Andymion didn’t seem to care at all about Sam’s presence.
“But why are you asking about Sam?”
“Oh, well… I overheard something strange when I went to the restroom earlier.”
Emily spoke with a serious expression.
