Chapter 16:

The Council of Rainford

The Rise of Outcasts


It had been almost 2 years since the incident at Lavister Hall. I wondered what he had been up to all that time.

My heart couldn't hold it anymore. I got excited and scared whenever I thought about the consequences. But all I could do was hope.

“Sophia, come here for a second.”

“Coming.”

Father had been on the edge since that incident. Our family status dropped to the lowest degree but that didn't concern me at all. The one thing I was worried about, were the bounty hunters.

My brother got a bounty over his head and the prize was extreme. I wouldn't doubt it if my father was involved in that as well, since he wanted the headship back more than anything and he would certainly go to extreme lengths for that.

"What is it, father?"

“Are you doing as I instructed you?”

Father asked me while signing up some papers.

"Yes, indeed."

"Good, I don't want any more problems. Our status has taken quite the fall and I am trying to regain it back. You should understand your responsibilities and fulfil them by heart."

“I understand.”

Apparently, he had asked me to be friends with Stefano's son. A typical way to gain influence, but I followed my father's order since that day. I didn't want to provoke him any further since I didn't want to create unnecessary hurdles for my siblings.

Father was just working left and right in a foul mood, most of the time. Riccardo and Antonio were getting tired of this as well.

“You know sis, he was right.”

"What do you mean, Antonio

?"

"Life is getting truly exhausting here. I and brother Riccardo have to be with father most of the time. It is for the sake of teaching. Teaching us how to gain a higher status in society but his approach seems really pathetic to me. If I had to knock on their doors and beg, then I would rather not have a higher status."

“What about Riccardo?”

“I am not sure. He never discussed the matter with me but he looks exhausted all the time. It seems like he is done with all of this.”

"Hmmm."

"This place is cursed. I wonder if it's any better out there. I wonder where my brother is residing at the moment. Hey sis, how about we pay him a visit. We will sneak out at night; I know how to ride a bike."

I had a smile on my face.

“Do you take me for a fool, Antonio? Try something better next time.”

“Ah, you got me. Father asked me to force you to tell us about brother’s location.”

“So, all of what you just said was on father’s orders?”

"No. Those were my genuine thoughts. I truly feel that way but I am stuck here and can't do a thing. That's just fate, I guess."

Antonio stood up from his place.

“Going already?”

“Yes. Otherwise, Father will be furious.”

"Just for your information, I don't know anything about our brother. I have no idea where he is and what he is planning to do. I haven’t seen or heard anything from him since then. All I know is there will be something big after two years. I am telling you this so you can spare me with your games."

"I got something for you as well. It wouldn't be nice to have you providing info which I might not even give to father."

“What is it?”

"Father is tirelessly hiring bounty hunters to kill him but not a single one of them has returned.”

"I, kind of, figured that out."

"It's hilarious if you actually think about it."

And we both giggled.

“See you later, sis.”

Things were surprisingly getting better among us siblings since that day. I guess father's extreme behaviour put them on the edge as well and now, they are trying to find comfort within their close bonds.

Thinking back, it was right after the ceremony when things started to get worse for father. Giovanni was the one who cornered my father, along with the ones that hated us. It was not like I sympathized with father but they were trash as well

-Next day after Lavister Hall Incident-

“That stupid brat ruined everything.”

Father was extremely angry at the moment and why wouldn’t he be? Our elder brother organized this entire coup and stole the symbol of Leonardos. But I was more than happy with that.

"SOPHIA!"

“YYYY…Yes.”

“Tell me anything you know. Any information that will lead us to him. He must have told you something. Don’t try to hide it from me.”

“I swear, I don’t know anything.”

“What about you two?”

“We don’t know anything either.”

"DAMN IT!"

Father punched the table with full force.

"I kept telling him not to do anything that will put us in a sensitive position but he was more into rescuing those trash."

The day went by with my father's constant ranting.

The next day, he arrived.

"Andrea Leonardo, you seem to be not doing well."

"What is it, Mr. Giovanni?"

"There will be a meeting with the council at Rainford Chateau tonight. You are a special guest so make sure to join us."

“What do you mean by that?”

“You need to find that out yourself.”

Father fell onto the chair as soon as Giovanni left. He was both physically and mentally exhausted.

The maid ran and brought a glass of water. Father gulped it down and asked for a second glass. Naturally, I would have felt a little bad after seeing my father like this but he didn't put any effort to make things better. He was the sole reason for his downfall.

“Riccardo…”

“Yes.”

“It seemed like what I feared the most will happen at Rainford Chateau. The council never interfered with our matters, but that was due to the fact that we possessed Nox. But it's gone now…"

We quietly listened to our father's rambling and didn't try to interfere. Although I did realize one thing, that father was one big coward.

-Before the Meeting-

"Why can't we go with you, father?"

"This is not a child's play. We will discuss the uncertain future of this district and the unknown threat that is yet to come. They will not allow some kids into such affairs."

That was, probably, an excuse. He probably sensed the humiliation from miles away that awaited him at Chateau.

After half an hour drive, he finally reached his destination.

Guards opened the door for him and two butlers guided him to the meeting room.

There was a round table and seven seats around it. All of the guests had already arrived and they were just waiting for the VIP.

"Look, who it is."

“Someone who failed to raise his kid, am I right?”

“Not only that, he failed to prevent the coup.”

The inside of the Chateau was filled with laughter.

"Enough with that, gentlemen. Mr. Andrea, pardon for such a rude welcome, take a seat."

He was expecting this so it didn’t bother him much.

“Without wasting any time, we are diving right into the problem on our hands. First of all, Mr. Andrea, you are not the head of the district anymore. You not only let such an incident happen but you also let them steal Nox as well.”

“I understand.”

“The question is who will be the next head.”

"I say, we should nominate the one with the highest status. There are multiple of them so we need to figure out who to choose in this room."

“If that’s the case, then I will nominate Alan.”

“You mean Alessandra De Capo?”

“Yes.”

"I doubt it. That man doesn't care about status or anything. His mind works differently."

"Then, who do you nominate?"

He was completely left out of this discussion. It made complete sense as he was not a member of the council and he wasn't the district head anymore. There was no room for his suggestions.

“How about taking my suggestion?”

“Of course, Mr. Giovanni.”

"How about we place a bounty on Nicolo Leonardo and the one who brings his head will be chosen as the next head of the High End?"

Everyone was staring at Giovanni, including my father. He gave the most absurd suggestion.

“What are you trying to say?”

“What are the two most important things at the moment? The new head and Nicolo’s dead body. The reason I am desperate to get him dead is because of the intel that I had gathered which I will discuss later. The game here is that we will publicly announce the bounty and its prize. If some high-class family manages to kill him then we will assign them as the head with some conditions. If some fodder somehow kills him, then we will create a new story saying some XYZ family killed him. We will remove the evidence of that fodder killing Nicolo. It’s like killing 2 birds with one stone.”

Everyone was still staring at Giovanni.

"That's... not a bad idea."

He was still stunned to hear that; he couldn't say a thing.

“Indeed. This will also give Andrea a chance to reclaim the throne.”

“What?”

His eyes widened after hearing those words. This was exactly what he wanted, not knowing he played right into their hands. Or maybe he was aware of that but opted to ignore it.

“You mean it when you said that?”

“I do, we decided to give you another chance to atone yourself.”

Everyone had a big evil smirk on their faces, he realized that as well.

"Bring us the head of your son and the seat will be yours, once again."

"But..."

“The full authority will not be granted to you unlike before.”

There it was. The condition that you must agree upon before getting the seat.

"What do you mean by that?"

"After the death of Nicolo, we will retrieve Nox as well but it won't be yours anymore. That weapon will be in our custody. You won't make any decision without consulting us, the decision will only be made if the majority of us agrees on that. To others, you will be head but we will be the ones to run the system from behind. Do you now understand the position you will get?"

“It’s not a bad deal if you ask me. You will still be viewed and respected as before. that's all you care about, right?"

He was in deep thought. He understood the reasoning behind this. With the Nox being stolen, the council was currently the one with the most power in High End. But, to avoid creating any chaos, they went with that approach. This way, they could control High End while not being in public.

“What do you say, Andrea? Are you willing to join? Whether you win or lose, is not in our hands. If someone else succeeds before you, then you will lose your only chance.”

All he cared about was fame. He would not flinch on killing his own blood for the sake of something like this.

“I will definitely take part in this.” He gave an expected reply.

“That’s the spirit.”

"So, when are we going to announce the bounty, Mr. Giovanni?"

“Tomorrow.”

"Why are you in such a hurry? You still haven't told us about the information you got."

Giovanni spoke after few seconds.

“According to my informant, Nicolo and his friends will launch an attack in two years.”

“Can you trust that guy?”

“He has never been wrong before.”

“Well, we kind of expected this since they stole the Nox.”

"Yes, and I want to prevent that from happening, no matter what. We have two years to find and kill Nicolo."

“What about his team?”

“They won’t be a threat once Nicolo goes down. We will deal with them later.”

The meeting went on for a few more hours and father came home late at night. He didn't tell us a thing that was discussed in the meeting.

The next morning, the news from Mr. Giovanni shook the entire district.

His statement went something like this.

“In the light of the recent incident at Lavister Hall, I and the council decided to unseat the Leonardo Family. As for the new head, we have come up with a little game. The bounty has been placed over the head of the mastermind of the coup, Nicolo Leonardo. There is no deadline for this bounty hunting game, and the prize of this bounty is the headship of High End."

This caused a massive uproar. Getting the headship through such easy means was like a dream come true. My father was in his office, along with five more people that looked like mercenaries.

“I believe you have heard the announcement.”

“Yes, we did.”

"Don't you dare get this funny idea that you will be given the seat if you bring them the head. They will dispose of you in an instant and choose someone of their liking. They will accept only if some High-class noble brings them the head. The whole bounty game is just to tell everyone that everything is fair."

None of them said a thing. They couldn't deny what my father said. They were likely to get disposed of even if they were to succeed.

“So, what do you want from us?”

“Bring him to me, dead or alive and I will give you enough money that even your generations will feast upon for decades. It’s not a bad deal, it’s way better and safer than getting killed for the headship.”

“What are the chances that you won’t get us killed instead?”

"I have no reason to. After our deal, you will be on your way and I will be on my way. If you are not satisfied with that then, we can sign a contract that you will bring me his body and I will give you the said amount of money while not lifting a finger on you. Although keep in mind that a contract like this won't work with the council, they will not sign it."

The deal was beneficial for them, there was no point in refusing that. How hard would it be to catch a brat? They thought.

"Alright, fine. We are willing to accept your offer, but you also need to sign the contract."

My father signed the contract and sent it to the Ministry of Law and Justice. According to the contract, they would send the body to the ministry and receive their money there. Then, the body will be sent to Andrea Leonardo. Andrea would also be held responsible for their unexpected deaths within the boundaries of High End. This condition would be valid for one year once the ministry has received the body.

Once the formalities were done, all five of them scattered across the ten districts to find Nicolo.

The next day, the news came that one of them bit the dust. His body was found in Alibi District. They also found some bodies outside the district, they all seemed to be random thieves, guess they were after the headship as well. This was what you got for underestimating my brother.

The news of all five of them dead came soon after. My father was losing his mind. But he was not the only one, it was the same for other nobles as well.

Soon after that, they completely lost track of brother and his group. The bounty hunters came back empty-handed every day. According to them, they interrogated all the district but couldn’t find any lead.

Things were getting tense in High End. Giovanni was getting a bit anxious as well. He was worried about Nox and the destruction it could cause.

-Two months later-

"Hey, Andrea."

"Oh, good evening, Mr. Alan."

“It’s rare to see you in a bar. You usually drink at home.”

"Things have been really chaotic. No matter how many men I send, they all failed miserably. And lately, there is no lead. They can't find anything. Either he went into complete hiding or he is really good at disguising."

"Everyone is dealing with the same issue but I understand your situation is a bit different than usual."

“You are not sending bounty hunters?”

"I am not interested. Although, I did encounter them last week."

He stared at Alessandra.

“I have some valuable information that might help you.”

He had a grin on his face. Of course, he wanted something in return. He purposely came to this bar; he knew my father was here and in a vulnerable state.

“What do you want in return?”

"You are quick to understand the situation, I like that." He laughed. "I want Xchele."

“…”

Xchele was a historical weapon that was made more than 300 years ago. It was of no use but it served as a memento of our lineage.

“Why that? It can’t fire bullets anymore.”

"I know that, but you see, I am really fond of collecting weapons and that thing is a rare historical piece."

Trading a memento for a piece of information… my father didn't give a second thought to it.

"It seems like they are hunting down weapon traders from High End. They are in desperate need to collect weapons. There is your lead, I am sure you can work."

The information wasn't worth that memento but my father didn't care about any of that.

But, even with that information, he still couldn't do a thing. It has been almost two years and they failed to catch any single one of them. Giovanni was on the edge lately because of something related to Cassius.

Either way, the fated day was approaching. I was fully prepared for that. This whole place would crumble. Soon.

-june-
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