Read Novel Full Chapter 56
Chapter 56
True Objective
Even on the decisive day where they had to give their final decision to Leonardo, it was raining strongly as well.
Accompanying her father, Francesca was wearing a different red dress from the one she wore last time.
Her father got down from the carriage first, and after handing over all the guns to the [supervisor] of the mansion, he opened an umbrella to help Francesca get down.
“Francesca, take it slowly okay. We don’t want you to get wet from the rain.”
“Thank you Papa.”
Holding on to the hem of her dress, she got down under the shade of her father’s umbrella, and walked together with him to under the roof where the mansion’s supervisor was standing. This supervisor was not related to any of the families, and worked directly under the royal family instead.
“Well well, it is an honour to finally get to meet the beautiful daughter of the Calvino household.”
“Thank you for your kind words. We’ll be in your care today.”
Still holding on to the hem of the dress to make sure it didn’t touch the wet ground, Francesca gave a bow. And soon after, her father also spoke up.
“Has everyone arrived yet?”
“unfortunately, Lord Aldini has yet to have arrived……..”
Hearing those words, her heart ached a little.
“Hmm………very well.”
Folding back the umbrella, he looked at Francesca as she replied with a simple nod. After handing over the umbrella to the advisor, they entered the mansion.
(This is my first time coming to a [mansion] like this……..)
All the mansions inside the capital were jointly owned by the 5 great families.
These places were used by the family heads to discuss matters and negotiate under fair and impartial conditions.
Since if these talks were to take place on someone else’s territory, the other party would always feel undue pressure, so they had prepared many such places which were owned by all of them to avoid such a asituation.
(Inside this mansion, a barrier that disallows use of attack type skills had been set up. Thanks to that barrier, as well as the supervisor here, the maintenance costs for this place were also quite high though.)
If 3 of the 5 great families were about to enter a meeting, it was obvious that the other 2 families were also secretly keeping an eye on the situation as well. As she walked through the corridor, she started to feel a bit more nervous.
“Papa……..”
“Don’t worry. Above all, I will always heed whatever you want first and foremost.”
“……….Okay.”
Nodding to his reassuring words, she made a conscious effort to make herself look more confident.
Reaching in front of a big double doors, her father pushed them open with his two hands himself. At the round table placed in the centre of the room, Ricardo’s father Gerard was already seated there.
“You’re here early, Calvino………you really brought miss Francesca as well?”
“Hello again, uncle.”
While giving a polite nod, she glanced around the room to check without looking rude.
(During the event in the game, Ricardo was also supposed to be here in this mansion but……)
He was nowhere to be seen right now. Francesca took some deep breaths to make sure her nervousness didn’t show on her face.
Beside her, her already seated father asked straight as if bored.
“According to that greenhorn, both my daughter, and your son were also supposed to be here right?”
“And why would I need to obey him? From our point, the conclusion is clear. It is the same as what we discussed that day.”
Putting his hands on top of the table, Gerard spoke to her father.
“We will not negotiate with that damn Aldini brat.”
“……..”
Her father’s expression didn’t show even a flicker of change.
“We have no reason to let ourselves get cajoled by that brat’s words, and fulfil his demands. We simply follow the original plan, make Ricardo and that brat duel, and then free miss Francesca that way.”
“……..”
“Calvino, you’ll get to free your daughter from an unwanted marriage. And in return, we’ll borrow your family’s strength to corner that brat and reveal his crimes………if we do that, we’ll be able to fulfil the mission his Majesty has given to us…….”
Gerard leaked a huge sigh, and pressed on his forehead as if very tired.
“We’ve already wasted two whole weeks just to have this talk again. Once this nonsense is done, let’s have Ricardo ask for the duel and——-“
“Uncle.”
Gerard was slightly surprised that it was Francesca that cut his words to speak.
“What is it? Little girl.”
“Why is Ricardo not here today?”
On her questioning, Gerard looked suspicious but agreed to answer.
“He’s been quite embarrassed by his own immaturity at solving the drugs problem, and has been looking into that matter with even more desperation. Even though it’s clear that that Aldini brat is the culprit, I don’t understand why he refuses to listen to me.”
“………is that so.”
Francesca looked down and closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and having made her resolve, began to speak again.
“Sorry, papa. Like I asked you before, please allow me to talk for a little while.”
“Of course. Like I said, I’ll let you do as you wish first and foremost.”
“Yeah.——–thanks.”
“………?”
Gerard continued to look at their conversation with doubt as Francesca turned back to look at Gerard and spoke directly to him.
“Uncle, I will not get engaged to Ricardo.”
“…….”
Hearing that, Gerard simply frowned.
And then questioned, not Francesca, but her father who was sitting beside her.
“Calvino, does your family hold the same opinion as well?”
“But of course. My daughter’s decision is final.”
“………to let her do everything as she wishes is not always the best way to grant your child a truly happy life you know?”
“Even if that is the case.”
He pulled out his cigarette case again, and put it on the round table as he spoke.
“——–I didn’t really plan on letting my daughter get engaged to your kid in the first place anyway.”
“What…….?”
Without feeling timid in the even more tense atmosphere in the room, Francesca continued to speak.
” I too agree with everything you said as well, Uncle. The incident at the party, the culprit, that made the people go berserk, HAD to be at party as well.”
“……..that’s right, Aldini’s brat was there, you know that better than anyone.”
“But he was not the only one, was he? Worried for me, my father was also there, so was Graziano……and also…”
Realizing where she was leading the conversation, Gerard grimaced.
“Ricardo was also there. Is that what you want to say?”
“………in these two weeks since that meeting, I had been tirelessly investigating things as well. Why did Leonardo act like that? I believed that there had to be a reason for it.”
Truth be told, she had already told her father about the talk she had with Leonardo afterwards.
“Leonardo had done everything to break off our engagement in the first place. Because he believed that I would lead a life of sorrow if I were to marry him……….but as my friend, to free me, he played the part of the evil villain.”
When she said that, Gerard shrugged her shoulders.
“Your daughter’s a bit too pure Calvino. Honestly, she’s blindingly bright.”
“………I don’t need you to tell me that about my own daughter.”
Her father narrowed his eyes to show his displeasure. But Gerard paid it no heed, and continued to speak to admonish Francesca.
“Listen miss Francesca, you can’t go around believing every sweet word that comes out the mouth of a villain. Even if he says that it was to free you, his true objective must lie somewhere else. There’s no doubt about that, that’s why—–…..”
“Oh, I completely agree with that.”
When she cut in, Gerard’s finger twitched in place.
“What Leonardo really wanted to do, was not to annul our engagement. It’s the demands he seemingly made on whim which are his real objectives.”
“——-You don’t mean.”
His eyes, the same colour as Ricardo’s, suddenly opened wide with shock.
“Was Aldini’s true goal always to get Calvino’s distribution channels with the neighbouring country then!?!”
“……..”
Francesca’s father pulled out a cig from his box and placed it in his mouth. But he didn’t light it yet, and simply rested his chin on his hand.
“If Aldini were to get a hold of that, his cash flows will greatly increase. And if he has that kind of monetary power, forget standing on top of the five families, he’d even gain enough power to have a voice within even the royal family itself.”
“………But of course.”
“SHIT…….!! If that happens, Aldini would fully control this entire country from the shadows and…….”
“Uncle.”
Hearing Francesca, Gerard quickly stopped his words.
“Ricardo, won’t be coming here today, is he?”
“………Didn’t I just explain? My son hasn’t come, because he refuses to give up on investigating the drugs incident……..”
“Uncle, have you really not realized what it is that Leonardo is truly after?”
She focused herself and then calmly and slowly, uttered the next words.
“——Because, Uncle, it’s you who has been bringing the drugs into the capital after all.”
“—–……..”