Downfall Misery Part I | Downfall Trilogy I

Last Chapter

Last Chapter

The burial was serene.

There weren't really many guests who attended. In fact, not even a single visitor came to pay their respects and witness that funeral.

I stared at the black rose I was holding for a few minutes. I held the stem so tightly that I didn't realize my fingers had already been pricked by its thorns. I can see how my blood crawls on my skin and drips onto the grass.

I don't feel anything at all. If not, I even tightened my grip on the stem more and I could feel the thorns pressing against my skin.

The black rose is a symbol of the entire Valdigierro clan. It's part of our tradition.

The black rose is one of a kind, a rare and unusually stunning flower. Often used as a symbol of death and mourning, farewell or memory. It typically represents grief, sadness, loss, or the end of anything.

But on the contrary, black roses are not that bad at all. Despite its bad meaning for others, the black rose also represents eternal love because it is thought to help you attract one's soul mate. It also signifies genuine love and romance. Power, secrecy and Mystery--- since black is an uncommon and unique colour that eludes a sense of elegance, luxury, and sophistication.

"Until when will you keep this a secret, Oz?"

I threw the black rose I was holding into the crimson coffin as it was being lowered into the ground, and then I just stared at my bleeding hand.

"Per sempre." I simply answered Crusoe who was standing behind me. (Forever)

When it's just the two of us, that's when he calls me by my name. Salinco Crusoe Armendarez was my late father's most trusted right hand. Our family's consigliere.

He is not obligated to serve me as well, but he is still the one I chose when I took over for my late father. I felt that he was the only one I could trust when I was left alone in the dark world I had grown accustomed to.

He was been loyal to my father. He was even more loyal to my father, to the Valdigierros, than to the Masked Organization. And people like him are rare.

"What will you do with the businesses he left behind? Will you agree to his request?" He handed me a handkerchief, which I immediately accepted.

"Sai cosa crede la mia famiglia, Crusoe. Quanto siano importanti le parole nella nostra famiglia, specialmente nella morte." (You know what my family believes, Crusoe. How important words are in our family, especially in death)

"Sarà pericoloso. Troppo rischioso." (It will be dangerous. Too risky)

"La mia vita è già in pericolo ogni giorno, non c'è niente di nuovo in questo." (My life is already in danger every day, there's nothing new about that)

"Che ne dici della ragazza che stavi cercando?" (How about the girl you've been looking for?)

I was momentarily taken aback, and the woman he was referring to crossed my mind again. I can't get these beautiful and captivating eyes out of my mind. It's been a year, but that woman's beautiful face is still etched in my mind.

Her teary eyes were filled with fear. Her trembling yet seductive body. And her smell. Her addictive smell.

I wrapped the handkerchief around my hand and ignored his question. "This is my first and last visit here, Crusoe. So make sure nothing gets out about this. Erase everything about them like Al Giovanni Solomon and Mischa Elizalde never existed in this world."

It was his last wish. Even if it's just a letter, I still need to value it because the debt of gratitude is the hardest to repay.

Al Giovanni may not be a Valdigierro, but for me, he still deserves a black rose.