485 The Fall of the Mighty Mazzanti Family (2)
Minutes earlier, at the local Awakening Temple...
"So that's what happened..." Assistant Temple Master Sim muttered as he finished hearing from Sacred Devotee Bourne about what she and her group had found in the Crow Woods an hour ago.
Layla stood in front of the leader of the local temple, looking out of one of the windows of this man's office as she did her job of reporting what had 'happened.'
"And where are their bodies? Cesar Mazzanti's body is precious to us." Sim said, curious to know the man's true identity and to give his organization a chance to study someone so talented.
When a magician died, their Magic Gem and pentagrams crystallized in their being, leaving traces of what they were in life. Through autopsy studies of magicians' bodies, much could be learned about a given individual's magical form, potential, talent, and much more.
But Layla would disappoint this man. "Nowhere." She said. "When my group and I got there, their bodies had just been consumed by flames. Cesar, his right arm, and the basilisk died without leaving a body.
But I managed to bring back their spatial rings and the bodies of some of the 2nd-stage subordinates of the Mazzanti family."
Sim sighed when he heard that but didn't suspect anything. It was common for enemies to destroy the bodies of their opponents in situations like this.
"That's a shame. Cesar was a real monster." He commented as he closed his eyes.
Layla looked sideways at Sim but didn't disagree. 'Indeed, he was. Who else would have planned everything he did? The damned Vicente 'burned' more than 10,000 gold coins tonight to forge his family's downfall.'
"Anyway, I intend to leave for Saltstar City later today. I hope you don't need me for anything else." Layla said as she turned and looked into Sim's eyes.
"You're leaving already? Right now?" The man was surprised because he thought she would at least try to help them investigate the situation that had just happened.
Layla replied. "I have been here a long time, Assistant Temple Master. Sacred Devotee Barber assigned me to accompany Nun Barber. Now that she's gone to Saltstar City, I can't stay here any longer."
"Sigh... All right. I'll see what I can do about this problem. You can leave." Sim said.
"Good luck."
...
At the same time, Shelby was at her family's new estate, a place she had developed from scratch since taking the title of Viscount in Levi's name.
She was in her office, nervously looking out at the balcony before her, waiting for news.
Then the door opened, and Molly appeared with a serious expression on her face.
"So?" Shelby asked nervously, knowing how bold Vicente's plans were.
Vicente had planned to overthrow the Mazzanti family in less than 48 hours, a very short time to carry out an operation that could mean the future of everyone associated with the group.
Vicente planned to set up battles around Millfall and a major conflict at the family's headquarters against a rival organization of theirs.
Everyone knew that the Mazzanti family was trying to expand its arms, so it was logical to think they would antagonize powerful people.
Based on this logic, he wanted to justify his family's downfall, which would be evidenced by the end of their contracts with many local citizens, which he would ensure by tearing up several of their contracts.
On the other hand, Layla would be responsible for "witnessing" Cesar's demise and delivering the confirmation of his death to the local temple.
Her testimony would be enough since she was a 3rd-stage Sacred Devotee and "unaffiliated" with the Mazzanti family. From there, the local powers, including the army, would eventually learn of the deaths of Cesar and the family leaders.
With the many items left behind, ranging from ammunition, weapons, coins, and resources, as well as the bodies of many men, the whole incident should seem quite real.
But considering how quickly he had planned and executed it all, Shelby was a little concerned.
"It worked," Molly said as she nodded approvingly. "Vicente managed to stage a great fight. He used his skills to control a group of men to stage battles all over the city and then fought a big battle in his old headquarters.
Considering the many valuable items left behind and the information that members of the local temple are already spreading, it's only a matter of time before Commandant Cora closes the case."
Shelby sighed at the news, relieved that the Mazzanti family's demise seemed credible. "What about Vicente?"
"He is already out of town. He and some men are camping in the Crow Woods. They will wait for seven days and then join the Fuller family to leave for Saltstar City as planned." Molly replied.
Now that Vicente had engineered the downfall of the Mazzanti family, it would be risky for him to continue living in Millfall. Continuing in this town could potentially jeopardize everything he had forged that day.
So, he moved forward with his plans to leave for Saltstar City!
"I see... That's better." She said, feeling a little sad about the outcome of all this, even though they had achieved what they had planned so far.
She would have preferred Vicente to stay in Millfall until the end of the year, when Nina would be 10 and it would be time for them to leave the city for good. She enjoyed her relationship with Vicente and felt she was growing up faster with him.
Unfortunately, the previous incident with Sovereign Adams had a high potential to cause deadly problems for all of them.
With this latest staging, the investigators of Adams' death would have a dead suspect to pursue, which would give them all a good chance, including Shelby.
It was too late now to think about how things could have been different, and Shelby was only sorry and worried about the things she would have to do from now on.
"Are all the Mazzanti men in our group gone?" Shelby asked.
"Yes. Only the old members of the Staples family and the new recruits are with us now." Molly replied.
"Good. We'll be weakened for a while, but our title of Viscount is safe. Let's concentrate on maintaining our position for now.
When Vicente settles elsewhere and regains control of Millfall, we'll return with our plans to gain the title of Count."
"Yes, Miss."
