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[February 10th, 1944

...He said he would return to Sicily. He said he would work at Sicily's Office.

That means he will meet mamma. He will easily become her favorite student in a short time.

Soon he will steal her attention as well as her love.

I must hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up.

March 25th, 1944

...These visions made my head hurt. Sometimes I just want to cut my head to take the pain away.

I took 2 pills today and mamma praised me for my timely support. The happiness appeared in a brief moment before turning into negative feelings.

I need more praise.

April 9th, 1944

...I want to meet him. I want to see his fake polite smile. His surprising look, his endurance in front of me. Why does he need to be perfect all the time?

Has he ever been tired? I hate him yet I miss him so much.

Will he one day tell me that he actually hates me too?

May 4th, 1944

...The sunlight was so warm.

December 15th, 1944

...I dreamt of something from the past. In that shabby orphanage, Zanelli would clean our room every day and hang my pillow and worn-out blanket under the sunlight. I love the remaining heat and the smell of the sun that brought me straight to my dreams.

Today I coughed out blood.

February 29th, 1945

...Oh, I was deaf for a while. Luckily, no one suspected.

March 20th, 1945

...I may be unable to see his return.

It is too late for me to recognize the regret that has been inside me all this time. Mamma will be very sad about this.

*blood stains*

I don't want to die.

April 17th, 1945

...Somehow I feel like I have recovered. All the symptoms had disappeared and I didn't feel addicted to those pills anymore. It was the third day I didn't swallow any pill.

I will cook something for mama tomorrow. Hope she still likes my food.

Maybe I can use my weekends to meet Zanelli. I want to tell him that my hate towards him has finally vanished. I want our relationship to return to when we were still in that shabby orphanage.

I will buy some sunflower's seed and grow them in the yard behind my room. I want to watch their growth process day by day.]

Excerpted from "Federico De Luca's Diary"

—---------

As time flew, every wound would be healed eventually, leaving the scar that reminded us about the origination of it.

Some scars would fade, some were still there to the rest of one's life.

Mozzoni had a prominent scar on her face that began from the right side of her forehead, cut her eyebrow into two parts and ended at the bottom of her cloudy right eye. If anyone looked at that unique eye closer, they would discover the fact that it was a fake one.

It was April 18th, 1945 when the former Chief of Sicily's Office lost an eye as well as one third of her life span, due to an unbelievable bet that she had created in an unstable psychological state.

The next day, several wrinkles appeared on her face and her brown hair all turned to white. Her sight and health greatly decreased, yet they would slowly recover thanks to the cure from an arcanist who specialized in health-exchanging between two living individuals.

No one could find out the reason for her weird symptoms because she pretended that it was the result of a terrible shock. Moreover, the arcanist who helped her regain her health was also one of her loyal subordinates.

Mozzoni was rather crazy at that time as she couldn't accept the truth behind the death of her son, Federico. She would hold countless investigations, capture many suspects even if they were related to Federico or not and begin several ruthless interrogations.

Obviously, those activities had been secretly done without the knowledge of the Foundation.

In the end, the helpless mother would find the drug trafficking network in Sicily and crush them into pieces before announcing this news to the Foundation.

After the first two years without any hints to bring her son back, Mozzoni grew tired and doubted the ability of her innate arcane skill. Actually, from the beginning, the bet with Destiny, a vague concept, was something so ridiculous that she didn't believe it could work.

However, it was the only straw she could hold and the only chance she could depend on at that moment. If it wasn't for her arcane skill that had been activating all the time, Mozzoni would have already given up after she destroyed the drug trafficking line.

It was when another Federico appeared before her eyes, became her student and soon, her successor.

To tell the truth, Mozzoni had known about him even before he joined Sicily's Office.

In her son's diary, the name "Federico Zanelli" had been mentioned in almost every page since the second year he attended SPDM. The young man was depicted as an old friend from the past, a rival who he must surpass and his source of motivation.

In short, "Federico Zanelli" was someone whom her son strangely grew obsessive of till the day before his death.

As a result, Mozzoni had started to observe him as soon as he set his first step in Sicily's Office.

Apart from the same first name, Federico Zanelli was nothing similar to her Federico.

He was ambitious, arrogant and knew how to choose which masks to wear before others.

He was hard-working, talented and would meet all of her expectations in a shorter period than his other fellows.

He was just like a younger version of her.

Until the corner of the diary's pages turned yellow, Mozzoni felt like she figured out part of the reason why her son pushed himself over his limit.

'One day, I will be taller than you and my arcane skill will be stronger, too!'

'Mamma, one day I will become a great wonderful leader like you too.'

It was her who never took his words seriously and put much care in his unremitting efforts to meet her high standards for a successor. That was why the moment he met Zanelli, he felt threatened and became obsessed with the person that resembled her.

'The young girl in black once said that all the preparations were for the final ritual, which is actually a false one.'

Mozzoni slowly stood up and listened to the sound above.

'Based on the day, the chosen soul was no doubt my son. But why did Zanelli want to conduct this false ritual? Or did he know this ritual was false?'

The old lady let out a sarcastic smile.

'Despite the long period I spent with them, I didn't even have a clue about what they thought.'

This time, she could be sure that most of the minions had left the area around this secret underground shelter. As she went out, the night had begun to fall.

'That's why I need the help from those youngsters. Only youngsters know what other youngsters think and how to deal with them.'

Mozzoni hasn't known if the Timekeeper's unit was on her side or Destiny's side yet. But from the bottom of her heart, she truly hoped that they could prevent the ritual from completing as well as the final result of her bet.

Her next destination was a cemetery in Palermo, where her son's tombstone resided. It was also the place that she and Vertin's team decided to meet if something happened beyond their plan.

—--------

Palermo's outskirts, inside the territory of Greco's clan

After a while, the arrival of a black Lancia Aurelia and a familiar face they had seen in the wedding yesterday finally came.

"My lovely lady, I'm so glad that I can see you again."

Tennant took Beatrice's hand and put a light kiss on her fingers.

"I will always come to you if you need me, my love."

Beatrice came closer and sent Tennant a kiss on both her cheeks. Then, she turned to others and smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much for all the things you've done yesterday. If it wasn't for your help, the war between Greco and Marino would have already been sparked by those stealthy enemies behind the scene."

"You're welcome." Vertin replied, "We want to ask you a favor."

"Sure, I will provide you with anything in my ability."

The young lady nodded without hesitation.

"Of course, as long as you don't have any intention to harm Greco's clan."

She added with a sharp expression that appeared swiftly.

"We won't." Vertin firmly said.

"Our friend is missing and his last signal showed that he was somewhere in your family's territory."

"That's why we need permission to enter your territory to find him."

As soon as Vertin finished her speech, Beatrice immediately nodded.

"OK, I will tell the people ahead to make way for you. About nonno, I will inform him later. If he knows that it is you, he will agree anyways. Don't worry!"

With the guarantee from the favorite granddaughter of Greco's current boss, Vertin and her teammates successfully entered Greco's territory to search for their missing member, Click.

Based on the intimate gestures between Tennant and Beatrice, they thought she would come along, but it turned out that the young lady chose to return to her house.

"I will always put Nonno and Greco's clan at a higher position than anything, even my own life."

Beatrice calmly explained.

"I chose to come here because I knew that my men were following behind. As this is the most sensitive time, I will follow Nonno's words so that I won't cause any burden for him."

"Then why did you still arrive here? There is a high chance that it was a trap from the enemy to lure you out of your family's protection." Sonetto asked.

"It's because I'm Papà's daughter!"

The young lady's tone was full of pride.

"Papà would immediately come to Mamma's side if she needed him, even if it did cost his life in the end."

"Therefore, if my dear needs my presence, I will come to her side whatever it costs."

"Oh, my." The woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat looked at the speaker passionately, "You just made my heart flutter all of a sudden."

"You too. Your charming voice and eyes always tickled my heart."

Beatrice replied with her cheeks as red as a tomato.

"Alright, time's up."

Pavia lowered the glass window at his driver's seat and honked the car horn.

"It seems like someone is jealous of our romantic relationship."

Tennant intentionally raised her voice, as if to make the one in the car hear what she said. Then, she changed her sight to the young lady and spoke in a gentle tone.

"My lady, to tell the truth, I can't guarantee when we can see each other again."

Her crimson eyes now reflected only the image of her adorable lover.

"This mission is so dangerous that I may not be able to come back."

"I understand what you said, my love."

Beatrice patted the woman's gauntlet.

"As a woman who was born in a mafia's family, I have been mentally preparing for these situations since a long time ago."

"Just do what your heart tells you to do."

"...And may your future journeys always be safe and sound."

The woman chuckled.

"Same to you, my lovely lady."

...........

"My feelings told me that he's here!"

Balloon Party moved around the ruins of some abandoned buildings and shouted.

Contrary to her words, there was no sign of the ghost reporter.

"I can sense a faint amount of arcanum covering this area."

After inspecting all directions, Vertin gave out her investigation result.

"You meant it was a camouflage spell?" Sonetto instantly caught up with her thoughts.

Vertin nodded and pointed in four respective directions.

"These spots have slightly thicker arcanum than others. They may be the key points of a small ritual. Destroy all of them and the real landscape will be revealed."

Next, she divided the team into 2 groups with each group handling 2 key points. Group 1 consisted of Necrologist, Tennant and Balloon Party, while group 2 had Pavia, Sonetto and Vertin.

Soon, from each spot, they found a skeleton of a human that was still intact but there was no hair and teeth left.

"They took all the teeth away before burying the body."

Pavia said casually without any surprise.

"Fear and resentment fills these skeletons."

Necrologist patted the glass cage in her hands to comfort the disturbed souls inside.

"In the past, some priests and priestesses would use dead bodies of prisoners as an abundant energy source for countless rituals."

"The crueler a punishment is, the more energy they can extract."

"As even the body dies, the soul will stay there a long time before running out of energy."

"Therefore, it's not only a camouflage spell, but also activated as a different ritual."

"I can make many many Piñatas to blow all of them at the same time."

Balloon Party suggested her idea.

Necrologist slightly shook her head.

"We just need to dig their skeletons and bury them at another proper spot. That will be enough."

Right after she finished her words, the mercenary whistled and his wolf pack gradually rose from his shadow.

"Tonika will handle that direction. Leon and Maleficent go to the opposite spot. Peter goes to help these people and Andrea will be watched by me."

A plaintive howl responded to him as if asking why only it was the one being watched.

"Do you dare to promise that you won't break some bones and eat them?"

The man looked at it amusingly.

The wolf immediately turned their head to another direction.

"OK, now spread out boys!"